Nkemjika Deborah, popularly known as DebbChina is a Lagos-based stripper who hails from Imo state. Also a businesswoman, DebbChina said some dignity should be attached to the stripping profession because it pays the bills and provides some level of financial security for erotic dancers.
In this interview with PREMIUM TIMES, DebbChina, who has an OND in Science Laboratory Tech from the Lagos State Polytechnic, talks about how she feels about her job as well as her future aspirations
PT: When and how did you start stripping?
DEBB: I started stripping in 2018 around November-December. A man took me to the hotel. I was broke at the time, I didn’t have money so I took the job and I started making little money but it was amazing at the time. That was how I started stripping.
PT: What were you doing before you started stripping?
DEBB: I used to do movie extras, video vixen. I am still a video vixen now but at that time, the vixen jobs I used to get came with small money. I worked for upcoming artistes that offered me like 10k, 5k. I did ushering jobs sometimes too.
Things have gotten better now that more people know me. I have been getting better offers, not too elaborate but at least, better than it used to be.
PT: Are your family aware you do this?
DEBB: Yes, everyone in my family knows the kind of job I do.
PT: How do they feel about it?
DEBB: When they first found out, my mum was like are you serious? I told her I dance, she asked what kind of dance and I told her club dance. She said okay but I should be careful. But my dad still hasn’t accepted the fact that I am a stripper till today but that does not bother me. I know where my money is going to and I am proud of it.
PT: Do you feel like you’re doing your dream job?
DEBB: I enjoy what I do.
PT: How much do you make per job?
DEBB: Every day is not Christmas so you can’t predict. The lowest I have made is like 20k but on good nights, I make N60,000, N80,000, N100,000, N150,000, upward. On really good nights we can even make between N200,000 to N300,000.
PT: Do you sometimes give in to male advances for sex?
DEBB: They sometimes ask me for sex but you know, this our job it is not every time that you have to have sex with someone because after dancing, you will be tired. When most of them come and they want me to finish the work, I will tell them no, I’m done or tell the person I am tired and chase the person away.
PT: Are your clients allowed to touch your body?
DEBB: Yes, as long as you are giving me money, you can touch my body but if you are not giving me money, you can’t touch my body. No matter where we go to, whether they are paying or not, the people we strip for have to spray us. If you spray me money then you can touch my boobs and touch my body. If the person is not spraying me money, he cannot touch my body.
PT: What part of your body is out of bounds for clients?
DEBB: Just my boobs. It cannot go beyond my boobs and men are not allowed to touch me down there.
PT: Do you give your male clients’ other benefits?
DEBB: Sometimes, If they offer me good money. They would whisper it in my ear when I strip for them and I will tell them it is just a dick rub or a blow job and I don’t have the strength to sleep with them.
PT: Have you ever regretted your decision to start stripping?
DEBB: No. Not at all. I made the decision and there has been nothing like regrets.
PT: What order things do you do apart from stripping?
DEBB: I do business. I make perfume oils myself and I sell them. I sing and I dance; apart from strip dancing, I do other dances like video vixen dance.
I used to sell wears for strippers but right now, I want to start making my own instead of buying from people and reselling. I want to start as my own brand.
PT: Are you in a relationship? What does your partner think about your job?
DEBB: Yes, I am. He is cool with my job. He is a crazy guy, he doesn’t care. He is also aware of how bad life has treated me in the past and he even told me that if he was a girl, he would do more than I am doing right now.
PT: Would you advise your colleagues in the business to be as open about it as you are?
DEBB: Yes, because I believe whoever would help you in this life will help you, regardless of who you are. Some people will say, stop telling them you are a stripper because it is not everybody that likes it and stuff like that. I will be like if he doesn’t like what I do, should I now lie about it? What if tomorrow, the person finds out that this is what I do how will he feel? If you want to help me, help me and if you don’t want to, you can go. God will make another way.
So, I usually tell them to be open about it. Some of them, their families don’t even know what they do. I tell them that at least, tell your mum, so she can know where you are getting your money from and she can pray for you.
PT: So you feel the job is nothing to be ashamed of?
DEBB: At all. You make money from the job and that money can save many lives. I know how many lives my own money has saved so we should not be ashamed at all.
PT: What is your most challenging experience being a stripper?
DEBB: I have challenges and one is that most men want to sleep with me. Secondly, most of these men that want to sleep with me will be like, I am not their spec and they don’t like me just so they wouldn’t spray me, but they would still want to fuck me. Those are my challenges.
PT: How do you handle negative comments?
DEBB: Some of them even come to my DM to insult me. I just read them and if I feel like I should reply, I will reply and restrict the person immediately so I stop seeing their messages. If I see negative comments on my posts, I just reply with laughs because it is only me that knows the game I am playing.
PT: How would you advise young girls that would want to be strippers?
DEBB: My advice to them is that this life sometimes would choke you that you won’t know what you are doing. At least, do proper stripping, I am not saying you should be doing sensations and hanging your legs. Enter stripping, leave matter if you are shy for the first time, you will feel accepted. Make this money today because nobody is going to help.
PT: If you were not a stripper, what would you be doing?
DEBB: If I were not a stripper, I don’t know what I would be. That is why I always say I am meant to be a stripper because it is from this stripping that I got money to do other things. I am made to be this that is what I believe. I don’t know about any other jobs.
PT: Are you looking to get married anytime soon?
DEBB: Not anytime soon but I will get married. I still have a lot to do. I am taking this career to another level. I want to open my own club. It does not have to be a big strippers club, a small club where people can come to enjoy themselves and have fun. I will invite girls to come and dance and make money.
When I reach that stage, I can say that yes, I can now think about marriage.
PT: After marriage, would you strip in your club?
DEBB: Yes, but that would be a once in a while kind of a thing.
PT: Do you want children?
DEBB: Yes, definitely, I want children. I want three kids.
PT: Don’t you think childbearing can affect your type of job?
DEBB: I would wish to strip while pregnant. I want to strip dance with my big baby bump. I think it would be kind of sexy. I think it would attract people’s attention that a pregnant woman is doing that.
PT: Would you tell your child about your present job?
DEBB: Yes, by the time my children clock five, I will tell them about what I do. I am planning to write a book about my life and everything about me. My child will read that book at the age of ten and understand the kind of life their mum lived first hand so that all the things people say will not matter to them.
PT: Any message to your fans?
DEBB: To everybody out there, if you feel you are doing your best, don’t look at what other people are saying. Some men would say, you are a prostitute, stop calling yourself a stripper. Stop criticizing and judging people, because you are not God. If you keep judging, the person will keep doing it.
If you are doing what you enjoy, stop listening to criticism, just do what makes you happy and you get fulfilment so you don’t end up regretting it. Make sure you do what you have to do so you don’t end up regretting it.
