I’m a male stripper – there’s strict rules about where we can go fully nude
WILL Parfitt is a real strip tease, and he has bared all in an exclusive chat with The U.S. Sun.
When the British-born, Australian-based Parfitt takes to the stage, all the women in the crowd start going crazy.
The Channing Tatum lookalike flexes his muscles and toned abs as the room goes wild.
But Parfitt, who is part of the successful Magic Men touring show, won’t always be wearing his birthday suit.
Different countries have different regulations for strip bars – some allow full nudity whereas others strictly prohibit it.
In his hometown of Melbourne, for example, Parfitt and his pals can happily dance away without a stitch of clothing.
Yet in other cities in Australia, that’s just not the case.
“It’s a bit of a mixture,” the Brit told The U.S. Sun about the regulations in place.
“Some guys just go down to a G-string but it also depends where we are because in some venues we would only go down to our underpants.
“Here in Melbourne you can go fully nude and there’s no problem – you’re allowed to do that.
“But in Queensland, for example, when we go further north, some states are only allowed to go down to your jocks or a G-string.
“So it depends where we are really, but if you come to a show in Melbourne, a few of the boys do go fully nude.”
Parfitt and the Magic Men have successfully piggybacked off the success of the Magic Mike films and have taken the stripping scene by storm.
Big tours to the US, Canada, and Europe are in the pipeline and Parfitt is expecting a lively time on the road.
But with years of experience already in the bank, nothing fazes him.
“We do get some strange requests,” he admitted.
“I’ve had couples requesting me before. It’s just a husband and wife and he wants you to do a show for his wife, or he just watches.
“So there are weird requests like that, or sometimes it’s just normally like the outfits that you wear.
“We do divorce parties and I once did a 90th birthday – now that was a weird one. She was in the hospital not long before we did the performance but apparently, she kept saying, ‘When I get out here, I just want to have a male stripper because I’ve never seen one.’
“It was such a random request. But they just wanted to sort it out for there when she came out of the hospital which is kind of cute.
“She couldn’t really get out of the chair much. I was actually doing it mostly for her granddaughters and she was just watching!”
While Parfitt’s uncanny resemblance to Hollywood heartthrob Tatum has seen him bag over a million followers on Instagram, the 32-year-old has built on his new-found fame by helping establish the Magic Men.
It’s been a whirlwind success considering he arrived in Australia 10 years ago not even thinking about stripping.
He just wanted to have a good time, but explained: “Back in England I was just doing a little bit of labor and odd jobs here and there, just anything to get some cash coming in.
“I knew I wanted to go traveling, but then one year turned into 10 years living in Australia.
“After six months I was just thinking how good it was and I made the decision to try and stay and get my second-year visa.
“And then eventually I got my residency and here we are.”
Parfitt wasn’t sure what the future held until a club promoter started calling him Tatum’s little cousin as a joke.
That started the ball rolling and it’s been gathering pace ever since.
“I never did anything like this in England,” he said.
“But there is such a fitness culture in Australia so I began to hit the gym really hard. I still wasn’t thinking about getting into male entertainment, though.
“Magic Men was just starting out because of the Magic Mike film and they needed topless waiters. So I kind of stumbled into it.
“I’m glad I did, though.”
But what about Tatum himself? Has he been in touch?
A video posted on social media showed the actor on a red carpet being presented with a pic of Parfitt. The knowing smile proved Tatum knows about his doppelganger.
“It was funny seeing his reaction to that video, ” said Parfitt with a smile.
“He’s definitely seen my picture a couple of times, he didn’t double-take at the photo or anything.”
With the Magic Men schedule packed and with more locations being added all the time, the life of a male stripper is hectic and chaotic.
Meeting women, obviously, isn’t the hard part – it’s finding someone who’s at ease with the profession and the idea of him cavorting on stage every night with the crowd screaming and screeching.
Some of his fellow Magic Men are married with kids or have long-term girlfriends, while other younger ones are free and single.
“I always say it’s easy to meet women and it’s easy to get a date in this industry,” he said.
“But the hard part is trying to keep a relationship strong, especially when I’m touring all the time. Obviously, no one wants to see their partner grind up on someone else, so that makes it harder when you get to the more serious stages of a relationship.
“It’s pretty easy to get a date, but it’s just keeping them longer than a few nights.”
Magic Men has become one of the biggest, most attended male entertainment shows in Australia.
Is his family back home proud of his success?
“I think at first my parents were like freaking out a little bit when I said I was getting into the industry,” Parfitt said with a smile.
“But now when they see how mainstream male entertainment is, they’re proud of how much we’ve built the business up.”