What follows is a photo portfolio taken during the one-year anniversary celebration of the re-opening of Washington D.C.’s Secrets strip club. I spent nearly three years, off and on, stripping at the club back in the '90s, and the experience transformed my life, freeing me from inhibitions that had kept me from pursuing other goals. I went on to become a journalist, writing for The Washington Post, Entertainment Weekly, and Vibe, among others. When interviewing celebrities like Mariah Carey and Janet Jackson, I even used techniques I’d picked up from talking to customers at Secrets. (You can read all about it in my memoir, All I Could Bare: My Life in the Strip Clubs of Gay Washington, D.C.)
Secrets holds a special place in my heart. I missed it when it was closed for a few years and I knew I had to come back for the anniversary. The funny thing is that I’ve never attended my high school or college reunions -- and have no desire to go back to those places -- but I often have an aching, soul-deep need to return to Secrets from time to time. It made me who I am. -- Craig Seymour
For more information about Seymour, visit his website here.
To purchase Seymour's book All I Could Bare, click here. To purchase his photo book American Boys, click here.
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