SA losing a lot of Lolly?
2006-11-30 01:00
Johannesburg - Sex is here to stay, but the "King of Sex", Lolly Jackson, seems set to go - from South Africa, at least.
Women have spat at him, he's been in jail 10 times, the South Africa Revenue Service (SARS) is after his millions, and his lust for speed and the curves of girls on tables have made him a legend.
Now, the controversial Teazers nightclub-chain boss, 50-year-old Lolly Jackson, is thinking of leaving South Africa.
"Mama Africa is dying slowly," says Jackson in his autobiography, Stripped - the King of Teaze, which was launched this week at the Rivonia Teazers branch.
"I have been through two divorces, lost a child, been shot at, robbed, hijacked and assaulted, yet, through it all, I remained motivated.
Fleet of luxury sports cars
"But, lose confidence in South Africa, and you lose your motivation for absolutely everything. I can understand now how people leave their roots behind.
In racy style, Jackson describes his journey from raunchy schoolboy who learnt to strike first to win a fight, his first jobs as biltong seller and diamond cutter with a salary of R64 a month, to one of the country's best-known entrepreneurs, with a fleet of Lamborghini sports cars.
The site of one of his eight Teazers branches, in Midrand, is said to be worth about R26m these days.
With his cheeky mottos such as "the best lay in town" for his paving business, Jackson set tongues wagging back in 1989, and promptly made his first million.
Jackson, born in the former Belgian Congo to Greek parents, unashamedly uses the King of Teaze to polish the image of his Teazers empire.
Yes, the girl on the table takes off everything.
But, according to Jackson, his strict rule against his strippers using drugs helped set new standards in a business that he admits is often seen as "dirty" (such views are prudish nonsense, he says).
Although his book is teeming with references to his own unfaithful actions, Jackson says his "girls" are not demons and also not sirens out to ensnare married men.
Earned R240 000 in 6 months
They have chosen a profession with a limited lifespan, which pays big dividends if handled well, so that one can retire early and become involved in other business.
Since the opening of the first Teazers club in Primrose, Germiston, in 1996, he has enforced the rule that no patron may touch a Teazers' girl.
"I understood that I was selling a fantasy and the moment that fantasy became a reality, I would lose clients."
Relationships between girls and clients are taboo.
Some of the dancers make good money - one took home R240 000 in six months.
Discriminated against
Jackson is fighting to have sex work decriminalised, and for unions to protect the interests of sex workers, because he thinks the legislation is archaic.
He feels that he's treated worse than murderers or rapists when he breaks the law.
He believes the country is badly run, that black economic empowerment is driving away rich, talented whites - and that when he's clocked at 259km/h in his sports car, he's punished more harshly than others.