Welcome to Your Fantasy

Aug 31 2021 6k
Welcome to Your Fantasy Podcast artwork

In the 1980s the “male exotic dancers” of Chippendales were everywhere, selling the promise of women’s liberation for the price of a few dollars in a g-string. But behind the powerful mullets, oiled pecs, and non-stop parties lies a much darker story of greed, corruption and murder. Historian Natalia Petrzela exposes one of the great, sordid, unexamined stories in American culture.

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9. Where The Butt Ends

Aug 31 2021 60 mins  
It’s the end of the season, but it’s not the end of the story. Natalia is joined by fellow historians and co-producers Nicole Hemmer and Neil J. Young for a discussion of the things that fascinated them most about exploring Chippendales history. You’ll hear from the women who went to the club over the years, the dancers on what it feels like to age as professional hot people,

8. The Final Act

Aug 24 2021 39 mins  
Steve Banerjee’s final move leaves the community reeling. But the show’s legacy lives on in the lives of the people who built it, and in the theaters around the world where the Chippendales dancers continue to perform today. Follow us on Instagram for archival footage, photos and more at @chippendalesrevealed. Recreate the club experience for yourself with our playlist on Spoti

7. The Golden Goose

Aug 17 2021 41 mins  
When a hired hitman flips on his boss, the FBI begins an investigation that turns into a years-long international manhunt. Can the lead investigator—a rookie agent who plays by his own rules—match wits with the paranoid strip kingpin who manages to evade capture at every turn? Follow us on Instagram for archival footage, photos and more at @chippendalesrevealed. Recreate the cl

6. A Tad of Cyanide

Aug 10 2021 44 mins  
1991. The UK. An international muder plot featuring a hitman, cyanide, male strippers, and a kingpin who’s determined to take out his competition at any cost. Hollywood movie plot? Or just another day in Steve Banerjee’s reality? Follow us on Instagram for archival footage, photos and more at @chippendalesrevealed. Recreate the club experience for yourself with our playlist on

5. 31 Days in February...One Day in April

Aug 03 2021 40 mins  
The bigger Chippendales gets, the more paranoid Steve Banerjee becomes, until everything and everyone begins to look like a threat. A confidante creates a rival beefcake calendar, and a printing error of his own becomes a million dollar mistake. Meanwhile in New York, a stranger walks into the office of Nick De Noia, and changes everything. Follow us on Instagram for archival foota

4. Three Men and a Lawsuit

Jul 27 2021 53 mins  
In 1982, after being turned away at the door of Chippendales, a UCLA law student brings a racial discrimination lawsuit against the club. His life, and the life of one of the L.A. club dancers, become unexpectedly linked. Follow us on Instagram for archival footage, photos and more at @chippendalesrevealed. Recreate the club experience for yourself with our playlist on Spotify. Did

3. Part of the Act

Jul 20 2021 43 mins  
Greed. Cocaine. Porn in Times Square. It’s New York in the ‘80s and the destination for Chippendales’ flashy second location. As Chippendales gains national fame and daytime talk show ubiquity, Nick de Noia and Steve Banerjee enter into a fateful agreement aimed to take them to bigger heights. Follow us on Instagram for archival footage, photos and more at @chippendalesreveal

2. The Perfect Man

Jul 13 2021 47 mins  
The Chippendales show gets a revamp from Steve Banerjee's latest hire, Nick De Noia. An Emmy Award-winning children's TV producer with a big ego and even bigger opinions, Nick uses his song-and-dance sensibility to turn the show into a full-blown theatrical extravaganza. But could “Mr. Chippendales” be more trouble than he’s worth? Follow us on Instagram for archival footage,

1. A Disneyland for Adults

Jul 06 2021 49 mins  
When Steve Banerjee, a young Indian immigrant, arrives in Los Angeles, he is determined to start a successful business just like his two idols, Hugh Hefner and Walt Disney. And by 1979, he does. With the help of a Canadian pimp Steve turns his crumbling dive bar into the hottest nightclub in L.A. Welcome to the early days of Chippendales, where women lose their inhibitions and men

Episode 1 Sneak Peek: A Disneyland For Adults

Feb 10 2021 7 mins  
It’s 1987, and the Chippendales dancers are packing nightclubs across America with their sold-out male exotic dance shows. As crowds of women scream for the mullets, the spandex, and the tans...a shocking event about to change the course of the brand and its booming business forever. This is a sneak peek of Episode 1 of Welcome to Your Fantasy. To hear full episodes, every week,