Wiggle is the UK’s biggest strip club operator with four venues across England’s south coast. The late-night bars where men can enjoy a tipple in the company of topless women have been open since 2000
Running a strip club might sound like every lad’s dream job, but one owner has shed light on the hard graft that goes into running a saucy bar. Taran Ojla, owner of the strip club chain Wiggle, told the Daily Star of the work punters don’t see.
Taran and his father opened their first gentleman’s club in 2000 and now have four venues – in Weymouth, Bournemouth, Portsmouth and Southampton – along the south coast of England, making them the “largest” operators in the business.
In 2021, Taran took over the family business and has had to balance as many as 400 dancers performing in his clubs. He told the Daily Star: “We have approximately 400 dancers in rotation at our clubs, some work pretty regularly and some may only work a few days a year, they’re self-employed, so we don’t send a rota out to them, they let us know when they’d like to work, totally ad-hoc.”
He also explained how much strippers earn. “Strippers’ earnings can vary massively; they work on a self-employed basis, which means that they choose when they work, and we take a commission from their earnings,” he said.
“Typically, we can expect dancers to make £200-£500 per night on average, but some nights they can make £50 or some nights they can do thousands. The most I have ever seen one dancer earn is £12,000 in one night.”
Taran’s favourite part of his job is the “buzz” in the club on a good night, which can feel like “winning big at a casino”. He said: “I love the social aspect, no night is ever the same, we meet so many interesting characters and create so many memorable nights.
“I think the best thing about running the clubs is the buzz. When the club is busy, the dancers are earning big money, the customers are having a great time, and there is no better feeling than seeing everyone enjoy themselves. It’s like winning big at the casino, you get a boost of dopamine when people are spending big!”
But it isn’t all peaches and cream, as Taran explained the difficulties dealing with the decline in the UK’s night-time economy. He said: “We can first-hand see the decline in customer numbers and their spending habits, and I can’t blame them.
“We’ve kept our prices the same since 2021, to try and do the best for our customers, but across the board we’re seeing a decline in figures, many of our neighbouring clubs and bars have closed down, and I’ve had to lay off staff members as we just aren’t getting the revenue we once had. It’s really tough having to let people you love working with go.”
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