Earlier this year I spent two weeks in Florida participating in the Poynter Fellowship for College Journalists. It was a good time; Melissa Lyttle was kind of enough to put me up during my stay and I got to meet some very passionate young journalists. As part of the fellowship we were expected to create a short photo story. For mine, I ended up at The Mons Venus, a world famous strip club in Tampa. The club’s owner, Joe Redner, is a controversial character in Tampa but he opened his doors and gave me a lot of freedom to work in his establishment. Below is the text I wrote to accompany the images.

A girl stomps into the dressing room in lingerie and high heels and lets loose with a sustained scream. Spitting her gum into the trashcan she fumes, “Fucking ASSHOLE! I just wasted so much of my time and so much on my game for a motherfucking one!” The others commiserate with her briefly before going back to their chatter, eating dinner or preparing to go out on the floor to hustle.  There is never a shortage of drama.

World famous, The Mons Venus is the pride of Tampa, Florida’s strip club scene. Opened nearly thirty years ago by Joe Redner, the unassuming building on Dale Mabry Highway employs anywhere from 200-300 girls. Redner, said to be the Larry Flynt of Tampa, is a controversial public figure who, despite his criminal record, has run for public office on several occasions, nearly winning in the most recent race.

The recession has put a pinch on strip clubs as well. Average pulls of $300-$350 a night become more rare and high points of $1,000 in a single night are almost unheard of. The girls all appear to be natural-born hustlers, sizing up every man who walks in the door to see who has money and what kind of girl he wants.

It’s another slow night. Not many dancers or customers. Every few minutes the jukebox runs out and the room fills with a strange silence until one of the girls hops off stage, pulls a dollar from her garter and chooses the next song.