If you are gay and either live in New York City or have traveled here, chances are you went to a gay bar and saw your run of the mill go-go boy dance on a tabletop collecting ones. Yeah, it’s fun, but it doesn’t go beyond the simple wink and the five dollar bill being shoved somewhere inappropriate. It never goes beyond those lines of a personal interaction or getting to know the actual guy that is really your customer. This is where Adonis comes in. The actual venue of this place hosts some of the hottest men in the world in a very relaxed and chill environment. They do this twice a week on Wednesday and Saturday’s, and once a month, they host a private party that elevates what happens at the bar on an even larger basis. Just take a look at some of the pics in this article for example.
There are major differences between Adonis Lounge and a strip club that can be for men and women. One, it is not seedy whatsoever. It actually is a very inviting atmosphere. The men there are always having a nice conversation with all of the customers or patrons, and make them feel at ease with their personality and fantastic looks. They have even hosted some of the biggest gay porn stars in the world right now from Samuel Colt to Zeb Atlas to name a few, and they always bring their A game to the event. I have gone in recent months, and have had that exact experience, even making friends with some of them outside of the place. I am a sales and advertising person in the first place, and know how to get my point across without overdoing it. These guys do exactly the same. Chances are you are going to leave feeling pretty good and happy you decided to go.
This week, I sat down with the man behind all of this, Timothy De Iturriaga. Usually men in this position tend to be power hungry and a bit of a dick, but Tim was the exact opposite. He is one of the friendliest men I have ever met, and his attitude reflects the success of the events that he throws. Here is my interview with him.
So tell me just a little bit on how you started this concept?
I started dancing about nine years ago, for females. My older brother was working on Wall Street and needed extra money. He sent some photos out to agencies that turned out to be a stripping company. They asked him if he wanted to start dancing and he obliged. He started dancing at an event called “Hunkamania” and after three or four months I wanted to do the same.
I got hired at this hush hush place that was a gay strip club by me as a massage boy. I did really well, worked there for about five years. After that time, a light went off in my head where I realized this was the only place in New York City that was actually doing this type of venue. I thought I could do it better. I saw there were a lot of problems at the one I was working at. I was fortunate enough to get a spot in Greenpoint, Brooklyn and started my own show there. It started small, and then started to grow.
What was the original reception when you went out on your own?
The reception wasn’t good. The only customers I was getting were my customers who I built a repoire with. Without those dozen or so people who showed up every Thursday, I wouldn’t have made it. After a while word of mouth spread, and little by little more people started to show.
Was there a lot of competition for you at that point?
At that point, the competition was Club 20 and they were huge. I never thought I could compete against them. They started this whole format, and nothing else like this in New York City. There wasn’t an alternative. I still thought I could do it better than what they were doing though.
At what point did you start to see success?
I started it as a monthly party, getting a little bit of a positive outcome. Then I did it twice a week, and stayed there for six months. Got by, still there were some nights where there was only 8 or 10 customers and had the same amount of dancers. Those dancers stuck by me until now, and still have the opportunity to come back whenever. Even though people didn’t want to make the trip from Manhattan to Greenpoint, the event itself was gaining a lot of steam on the message boards and through word of mouth, so people were knowing about it more and more as time went on.
You talked briefly about this, but you seem to have loyalty to the guys that helped you start this, the dancers I mean. How important is it to keep that loyalty?
There is such a high turnover rate in this business in general. Week to week, month to month you see a bunch of new faces. There are a handful of guys that to this day are still with me, and they have been there from day one. We are talking years they have been there, so it’s good to see that they have stuck by me and have managed to stay really relevent in an arena that is tough to do so.
What can a new customer expect when they go to your venue?
To start, at Adonis it is Male for Male. People don’t think they actually exist, they only think ones that exist are the go-go boys dancing on top of the boxes. This is a much more intimate experience. You are going to see thirty, if not more, beautiful men of all ethnicities and backgrounds, mingling on the floor. Even if you can’t afford to come there and spend a decent amount of money, you can come and have a drink and enjoy a conversation with a bunch of different guys. It really is a great time.
What is your ultimate goal for all of this?
It’s become that and more. Everyone always ask if I want to get my own club, I don’t. Don’t want to do it six or seven days a week. The one thing that differentiates me from the other ones in the country is that it gives me the liberty to bring in a ton of different gay porn stars. Many of these venues can bring in two or three a year, I can probably bring in that amount a month. In any given year I can bring in forty of fifty guys with names. I can make it really interesting and different each time and making it a unique experience for the customer.
So as stated before, if you are a man into men, and are looking for a nice and relaxing evening surrounded by some really awesome guys both inside and out, Adonis is the place for you. Check it out every Wednesday and Saturday night and be on the lookout here for more updates as the weeks go on!
Adonis Lounge
221 East 58th Street
Take the E, F or M trains for best ways to get there.
