Interviewing seven buff muscle guys in a hotel room is an unusual experience. You feel the room is a bit crowded, filled with muscles and testostorone.
With their Australian accents, they give lively answers to your questions, at the same time, constantly pumping and moving their pec muscles. In a few hours time, they will take off their T-shirts and jeans, oil their bodies and present themselves in a 90-minute cabaret called Thunder from Downunder.
It is the first time a striptease performance has been held at the Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall (
"It [the performance] will be full of fun, energy, humor and sexiness," the boys said in unison.
Male striptease shows or male cabaret revues are not something new in Taiwan. Four ears ago, Man's Power (now renamed Taiwan Boys) started performing and their shows can be seen occasionally in nightclubs or pubs in Taiwan, even at local religious fairs.
But a bigger, Las Vegas production, mixed with singing, dancing, theater, stunts and a parody of cult movies, will be the first time for a Taiwan audience.
"So, there will be no dollar-tipping at the show, right?" I asked.
"No, no. Our show is not tacky, not sleazy. The audience can look. They can also touch. But they have to be gentle, to stroke, but not chuck [money]," explained David Eller, the outspoken dancer who usually performs as the main host at the show. He is also good at imitating Elvis Presley on stage.
Instead of giving dollars, the audience is allowed to go up stage after the show and take pictures with the performers
"They can have a chat with us after taking the photos. And we can even have a drink somewhere after the show," Eller said.
"In fact, we are hoping to meet beautiful Taiwanese women here," said blond-haired Noel Oliver.
"And if Taiwanese women are too shy during our show, we will give them drinks and make them relax," Eller jumped in.
The seven performers aged between 23 to 35, have come from Las Vegas, which is where the troupe is regularly based.
Joining the highly reputable group, with 14 years of history, each of the lads have their own special talents. Some have more than 10 years of dance training and the others do surfing, are extreme sports champions, or even talk show hosts. They are not merely guys who go to the gym five times a week
"I was an aerobics trainer for the boys. And one day, they asked me to join the show with them and gradually I became a regular performer at the show," said Oliver, whose special skill is somersaults.
For the four shows in Taipei, they will be performing more than 30 songs, from Nirvana to Justin Timberlake, from Tom Jones to Van Halen and from the Bee Gees to James Brown. And in terms of costumes, there will be Arabian, military officers, Saturday Night Fever and a parody of the movie Blade.
Clearly, it is an attempt to exhaust all the fantasy types for women, a show in which the boys won't reveal themselves all at once. They will give enough entertainment to tease the audience, with a finely timed incremental removal of clothing.
Sounds great.
But to my disappointment, there will be no Outback scenes, no Men At Work nor Savage Garden. What's worse, there's no full monty either.
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