"I have a lot of college students, and they're just not meeting their bills now," says Susie McGowan, the manager at Cloud Nine, in Abilene. She says the economy can be cruel, but because of that more people are being forced out of jobs and wanting to come work for her. "We have had an influx of girls apply," says McGowan, "and we're hiring more people and we're playing to a larger crowd now."
She's had people applying as dancers and even for bouncers, after losing their jobs in other fields. People, she points out, didn't always work for gentlemen's clubs. "They were more professionals and people who are employed as managers and supervisors in other arenas."
Dancers, like Stephanie, who recently moved back to this area after living in Ft. Worth, say it's just easier to afford life out here. "The city is very fast paced, lots of money moves there, harder to find a job." Adding, that the slumping economy didn't make it an easier to find a job here. "I searched all over Clyde for a job, could not find one regular job. So that's when I said 'I'm going to go to a gentlemen's club.'"
She points out, that her story is just like many others at the club. "Just other girls same story. We need that money because we have babies or we have families."
With all of the people coming to this club looking for work, it's allowed the management to be more selective. "It's allowed me to improve the standards of the girls that work here," says McGowan.
