Daniel Hernandez, who lives in San Diego, tells me he’s been coming here since 1997. By the end of the night, over 600 customers from around the world have plunked down the cover fee-$15 before 10 p.m., $25 after. Other gay men prefer to stick to their own: “They’re like, I’ve had my heart broken too many times by straight guys.”Īs the night continues, skinny men, hairy men, and dad-bodied men take the stage as the crowd-about three-quarters men-oohs and aahs. Many gay men “find the straight guy the sexiest thing, but they want his attention on them, not on the girls,” he observes. “When putting food on the table is dependent on putting smiles on faces, you become very fluid.” Howie-who is straight-makes enough in tips to justify his flying down every weekend from Chicago. “Every night, we were asked if we were gay or straight,” says Scotty. Questions about sexuality were ever present. Over his three years at Swinging Richards, he’s danced for many married “straight” men on business trips. The club is both a place for gay men and a “place for people who are still in the closet to be who they are,” Howie says. Customers gather on the side, dollar bills clasped in their fists, waiting to stuff them into the dancers’ armbands, or more adventurous locations. On another part of the stage, Scotty-all six-pack abs and floppy auburn hair-arranges himself into a Warrior II pose. Inside Swinging Richards on its last night, Britney Spears’s “Gimme More” blasts as crew-cut Howie, 43, does push-ups onstage wearing nothing but a pair of silver and white Air Jordans. They had their sense of community here.” Over the years the club has seen a number of celebrities walk through its doors, including Tiffany Haddish and Ed Sheeran.
“People have created memories here,” Belle says. Over the decades, Swinging Richards has been much more than a den of debauchery, says Cameron Belle, the club’s social media director: It was “a pillar of the LGBTQ+ community from its onset,” hosting benefits for organizations like Atlanta Pride and the Atlanta Gay Men’s Chorus. Swinging Richards’ 26-year life has coincided with a sea change in LGBTQ rights: In 2003, the Supreme Court struck down antisodomy laws Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell fell in 2011 and in 2015, the Supreme Court extended the right to marry to same-sex couples. In 1996, President Bill Clinton-who had already banned openly gay people from serving in the military-signed the Defense of Marriage Act, defining marriage as between a man and a woman only. When it opened, gay sex was still illegal in some states. Swinging Richards, which opened in 1996 on Northside Drive, was one of the few remaining strip clubs in the country that catered to gay men, and the first club in Atlanta to allow full-frontal male nudity. Striding past a crowd of about 150 on his way inside, a dancer asks if everybody is ready to see some-well, some Swinging Richards. It’s January 15 they’re here to witness the club’s last day. She’s been coming since 2014, and has the X-rated picture a dancer took with her phone to prove it. His friend Robin, wearing a velvet jacket, adds, “We’re here to worship at the church of Tyson!”-referring to one of the club’s dancers. He says it’s his third night in a row at the club.
Kris Kale Hanson stands outside Swinging Richards in a black wig and fishnet shirt, lips smeared with dark lipstick. Additional secured parking is available across the street at 1764 Cheshire Bridge Rd NE.ĬUMUNION MEMBERS – Show your CumUnion membership card at check-in and receive a $10 gift card to any of the Tokyo Valentino retail stores.Swinging Richards closed in January 2022. They have 50 discreet parking spaces in the rear of the store with 20 more spaces in front of the store. The place is kept spotless and is consistently well maintained. This means ONLY MEN will be allowed inside. Private rooms may be available for an additional charge.įor CumUnion parties, the ENTIRE VENUE will be reserved for CumUnion guests. adult toy store.Įntry includes a private locker (bring your own lock or purchase one for $5) and gives you access to 10,000 sq ft of play space with multiple levels, 20 video booths, glory holes, open and private play rooms, showers, and much more. Arguably the greatest adult superstore in the USA! Their 10,000 sq. Tokyo Valentino is an iconic Atlanta landmark located at the corner of Cheshire Bridge Rd & Piedmont Rd. Tokyo Valentino hosts the Atlanta CumUnion Party on the 4th Wednesday of every month. Join us on the 4th Wednesday of every month.įor more information visit .ġ739 Cheshire Bridge Rd NE, Atlanta, GA, 30324