Strip Magazine

March 2012 | STRIP magazine 1

STRIP

Brad Pitt

A guide for female exotic dancers

Lindsay Lohan

Solid Gold

Former teen star takes a role as an exotic dancer

Prepare now: Investment advice for your tax return

CHANNING TATUM ON HIS EXOTIC DANCER PAST

A VISIT TO BOURBON STREET IN NEW ORLEANSTAX EXPERTS ANSWER YOUR IRS QUESTIONS

ALSO INSIDE:

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Stripper Chauffeur

9TO SHAPE YOUR BUTTGREAT WAYS

Mar

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$

6.95


Brad Pitt: Stripper ChauffeurBefore he was one of Hollywood’s top actors, Brad Pitt worked as a driver for exotic dancers - and even did some dude dancing himself! By Johnson Nash.

Solid GoldGetting a tax refund soon? Don’t just put it in the bank, invest! Financial guru Peter Schiff tells you where he puts his money, and recommends you do the same. By Samuel Colt.

Don’t mess with the LohanOnce squeaky clean, Lindsay Lohan’s bad girl side is now out in full force. We catch up to her about her new stripper role in “I Know Who Killed Me.” By Lindsey Summerfield.

ON CENTER STAGE

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24

16

The Regulars

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The Naked Truth All the nude news you need to know this month

How to Deal When your kids want to know what Mommy does Beyond the Pole From stripper to film star: Channing Tatum’s story

Health & FitnessNine awesome ways to maximus your gluteus

Tipping Points Our tax experts answer your IRS questions. On the Road Visit the historic Bourbon Street in New Orleans on your next trip.

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On the cover: Brad Pitt sports a grey suit by Versace and a pair of twin pistols - one under each eye. Photo by John Caglioni.

INSIDE THIS ISSUE

2 STRIP magazine | March 2012

EditorialEDITOR-IN-CHIEF Jason BennettEXECUTIVE EDITOR John HomansEDITORIAL DIRECTOR Jared HohltMANAGING EDITOR Ann ClarkeDEPUTY EDITOR Jon GluckDESIGN DIRECTOR Thomas AlbertyPHOTOGRAPHY DIRECTOR Jody QuonCULTURE EDITOR Lane BrownSTRATEGIST EDITOR Ashlea HalpernNEWS EDITOR James BurnettFEATURES EDITOR David HaskellSENIOR EDITORS Rachel Baker, Christopher Bonanos, Raha Naddaf, Carl RosenFOOD EDITORS Robert Patronite, Robin RaisfeldFASHION DIRECTOR Amy LaroccaASSOCIATE EDITORS Patti Greco, Ben Mathis-LilleyEDITOR-AT-LARGE Carl Swanson

AdvertisingCall 212-508-0876PUBLISHER Lawrence C. BursteinEXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, PRINT AND INTE-GRATED SALES Leslie FarrandADVERTISING BUSINESS MANAGER Na-than Whitney

Operations & CirculationCHIEF OPERATING OFFICER Kit TaylorDIRECTOR OF CIRCULATION Kenneth T. SheldonCHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER Adelina Pep-enilla

Product Development EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF P.D. & EDIT OPERATIONS Kelly MaloniSENIOR PROJECT MANAGER AND SCRUM MASTER Trista SpidalettoSCRUM PROGRAM MANAGER Emily KramerPRODUCT MANAGERS Nick Eckhart, Randi Eichenbaum, Eve Taylor

Website Editorial & ProductionEDITORIAL DIRECTOR Ben WilliamsMANAGING EDITOR Adam PasickENTERTAINMENT EDITOR Josh WolkFASHION EDITORIAL DIRECTOR Stephanie TrongCOLUMNIST Jonathan ChaitSENIOR EDITORS Gilbert Cruz, Jessica Grose, Carolyn Murnick, Alan Sytsma

MarketingEXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, CREATIVE AND MARKETING SERVICES Sona Hacherian MARKET EDITOR Diana TsuiASSISTANT EDITORS Roxanna Asgarian, Joe Coscarelli, Charlotte Cowles, Joe DeLessio, Eliot Glazer, Alicia Kennedy, Noreen Malone, Jenny Miller, Lauren Murrow, Alex Rees, Vanita Salisbury

I’ve always been one of those people who sees a total stranger and won-ders what their life is like. What’s their name? What are their dreams? What kind of life do they lead? Strangers are just full of mystery.

And when it comes to mysteri-ous, exotic dancers have the market cornered. Stage names, costumes and make-up all

help transform a performer into someone you won’t even recognize the next day at the supermarket.

Perhaps because of that intrigue, there are a lot of negative misconceptions about strippers and their industry - and maybe even some that you believe yourself.

For instance, a recent Leeds University study of more than 300 exotic dancers showed that most of them are well-educated, responsible adults who make as much money as a lawyer or software engineer - but with far fewer hours.

Now, no one is saying this profession doesn’t come with challenges. But what I’ve found lacking in my conversations with women in this industry is that there’s really no voice for them. It’s often not considered a legitimate profession, or treated as some-thing shameful and immoral. I’d like to put an end to that.

That’s why I created this magazine. I want this to be a place of respect for the hard work you all do, but also a place of fun, snark and satire. I’m looking forward to pro-viding you all with useful information as well as entertainment and humor.

And with tax season here and the income tax deadline of April 17 fast approaching, now’s the best time ever to get some advice on how to invest that tax return from one of the best investment bankers in the world - although it’s also good advice any time of year!

So hold on to your platform heels, and let’s have some fun.

What does a guy know about stripping?

editor’s note March 2012

So, I know you’re all wondering...

STRIPt

Jason BennettEditor-in-Chief

Strip Magazine is a trade mark of Strip Magazine LLC, and its use is restricted and protected by U.S. law. Editorials and original articles are the property of Strip Magazine LLC. Copyrights to stories published by Strip Magazine LLC are retained by their original authors. All original images and data published by Strip are owned and controlled by Strip Magazine LLC.

For subscription information, please write to Strip Magazine, 1530 Jayhawk Bouldevard, Lawrence, KS, 66046.


the bare truthnews you need

TAMPA, Fla. - While currently in the news as the upcoming host of the June Republican National Convention, Tampa has another claim to fame - there are as many strip clubs as there are McDonalds on the Floridian town.

Forty-three of each, to be precise. Could this be why the normally up-

tight conservatives picked the town for their nominating convention?

With every hotel in Tampa already booked for the time of the convention, it’s a fair bet that the local dancing establishments will see a serious uptick

in business as well.Monica Davis, owner of Babydolls in

downtown Minneapolis, Minn., where the Republican convention was held four years ago, said there was a definite boom in the number of patrons.

“Oh, sure, they claim to be conserva-tives, but my club was chock full of old white men eagerly having pretty girls sit on their laps,” Davis said. “It just goes to show that whether you’re from a red state or blue, everyone is willing to spend the green to see some pink.”

TOPEKA, Kan. - If you’re looking to dance in the conservative Sunflower State, it might behoove you to keep aware of a little-enforced but on-the-books law designed to thwart prostitu-tion.

Under Kansas state law, the selling of sexual service can be construed as any contact, done for profit, that involves the contact of the genitals in an attempt to arouse.

It doesn’t matter whether fully clothed or not - even giving a simple lap dance

could be illegal. Kansas Attorney General Derek

Schmidt, when asked if giving a lapdance could be considered a crime, answered a definitive “It’s possible.”

Not only would the dancer face charges of prostitution, but the receiver of the lap dance could be charged a felony, too.

The law has been on the books for a couple of years, but so far it has been used to prosecute anyone.

LAWRENCE, Kan. - Dancers in this small midwestern town have to keep afoot of the ordinances regulation foot-wear in the workplace.

No, it’s not the OSHA violations you have to worry about, but something even more serious.

While it’s perfectly legal to take your top off and rub your moneymakers in a gentleman’s willing face, walk-ing barefoot in the club is grounds for solitication.

The attempted prostitution charge carries a penalty of up a year in jail on a first offense. While it sounds ludicrous, it’s something club owners Vicki and Jim Shultz take seriously.

“I couldn’t believe it when I first heard about it,” said Vicki Shultz. “But you have to remember that this is Kan-sas. Things are a little backwards here.”

Shultz said club owners have more important legal battles to fight, so the shoe laws don’t get much attention or

An unhealthy combo: politicians and sexThis month: The many Tampa, Fla. strip clubs are ready for the Republican National Convention in August, and going barefoot or giving a lapdance in Kansas could land you in the slammer.

Fast-food giant faces stiff competition in Tampa

Lap dances could be considered prostitution

You can bare it all in Kansas; just don’t go barefoot

continues on page 4


lobbying efforts.“Unfortunately, it’s easier to just comply

with a silly law than fight it at this point,” Shultz said.

In Montana, the state Supreme Court ruled in a similar case in 2009 that exotic dancers were not only employees, but also entitled to minimum wage, and the “stage fees” they paid to the club owners were kickbacks. The court decided that the dancers were entitled to payment of hourly wages, overtime and repayment of the rent fees.

Kansas attorneys didn’t appear to be going that far, instead focusing on the tax that businesses pay into the unem-ployment fund. Court documents don’t indicate how many dancers could be affected or the amount of taxes the club would owe.

Club Orleans contends that its danc-ers control their own performances, but Labor Department attorney Brett Flachs-barth argued Wednesday that the club’s tip policy, along with testimony from dancers in previous cases, suggested that the dancers were working under an agreement set by the owners.

The department in 2008 classified the dancers at as club employees, and an administrative judge ordered the club’s owner, Milano’s Inc., to pay an assess-ment to cover unemployment benefits. The club appealed to Shawnee County District Court, where a judge sided with the state in January 2009. The Kansas Court of Appeals upheld that ruling, prompting the club to appeal to the high court.

Dancers aren’t paid by the club but rather rely on tips from customers. The club sets a minimum tip of $1 for a dance on stage, $10 for a “floor” or “lap” dance, and $20 for a private dance in an area of the club dubbed the “champagne room,” according to court documents.

The club argues that the dancers are tenants because they pay between $20 and $50 a day to rent the stage, depend-ing on the time of day they perform. They also pay $50 for each half-hour’s worth of access to the champagne room.

Justices on Wednesday questioned how the amounts were determined.

“Do the dancers have some sort of elec-tion?” asked Justice Carol Beier.

“They are industry standards,” Merriam told the seven justices. “They do have an industry.”

The club’s owner also argues that its business is not primarily semi-nude danc-ing, but rather the serving of food and alcohol. The club receives only 15 percent to 20 percent of its revenue from the dancers’ rent payments. n

WEIGHTLESS. FLEXIBLE. LONG-LASTING.


how to dealde-stress your life

The “What does Mommy do?” talkTelling a child what you do for work can be an awkward but necessary conversation to have. Here is one writer’s story on how she did it.

by Natalie Johnson

It’s the question that every dancer who is also a parent will one day face. The one that requires a grown-up conversation with someone who isn’t one. She looks at me attentively with large blue

eyes. Her hair is long and chestnut colored, framing her porcelain face, her lips preternatural. She is small-er than I imagined, thin and insubstantial. Cloaked in a camel-colored overcoat, vaguely rakish, she brings to mind Amelia Earhart.

It is our second meeting. In the three nights since last we met, she has stayed in three different hotels — two in Beverly Hills and one in New York City, where she went, she says, partly because she had a business meeting, but also because her son loves to play in Central Park.

Her son’s name is Maddox Jolie, and she adopted him in Cambodia in 2002. Like his mother, the boy is airplane mad. She promised him on his second birth-day that she’d learn to fly. And just the other day, on his third birthday, she test-flew her new airplane. (She calls it “our new plane.”) She soloed for the first time in August.

Mounting the barstool, she removes her coat to reveal a tight black sleeveless top over low-slung jeans. On her left shoulder, skin-colored makeup barely covers an old tattoo. In the course of the evening, she will allow me to moisten the tip of my finger with my tongue and try to wipe off the makeup, under which had once been written BILLY BOB. (Also, she will turn her back to me and pull up her shirt and bend over, all of which to show me her new tiger tattoo, which stretches roughly from her shoul-der blades on down to the swell of her ass.) The shoulder itself, the arm, the neck, all of her, really, appears a bit too thin. She looks fragile, like a refugee.

Well known for blurring her personal and onscreen lives — the heroin-addicted bisexual model in HBO’s Gia; the fetchingly psychotic roommate in Girl, Interrupted, for which she won an Academy Award; the sultry and insatiable wife of Billy Bob Thornton in Pushing Tin, with whom she shared a real-life inter-est in tattooing, self-mutilation, and bloodletting — Jolie has reinvented herself once again.

On the eve of two big-ticket movie roles, as Alexander the Great’s mother in Oliver Stone’s epic Alexander, and as Brad Pitt’s professionally murderous wife in Mr. & Mrs. Smith, the latest incarnation of Angelina Jolie is a cross between her comic-book hero Lara Croft and her passionate do-gooder in Beyond Borders. Newly responsible but still untamed, she speaks softly, almost a whisper, sipping pinot noir:

I’ve always been perceived as kind of wild or bad or weird or crazy. If you knew me privately, you might think I was even wilder than my reputation. But I’m also much softer. I’m a soft woman. Softer than people think.

Most of the bad girls I play end up crying for some reason.I actually don’t have a place to live right now. I have a house

in England and an office in New York, but I have a bug in me to change everything.

I’ve always hoped that one day I would have a life that was more exciting than the characters I was playing in the movies. Now I think I’m on the right track. My life is as interesting to me as my work.

Often people make the mistake of thinking that just because there is a camera or a microphone in your face, you have to speak, and that can get pretty annoying.

There are all these metaphors from the early fliers about flying above the cynics of the world and being free. I don’t disagree with that. And I love the discipline of committing to something. Because this is the hardest thing I’ve ever done. Just the work of it and the commitment and how long it’s taken. The classes. The science and math of it. Meteorology. Navigation. All of it. I’m taking the English and the American courses at the same time. In America there’s one test; in England there are eight.

They say flying is better than sex. To me, it is. Absolutely. Hands down. It just is. Don’t ask.

For three years I’ve been a Goodwill Ambassador through the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. Initially it was just for myself, you know, wanting to get my hands dirty, to be a part of the real world, to get myself an education. But then I went to some hearings in Washington and I realized that a lot of people don’t understand what’s really going on.

In the last few months, I’ve been in a constant state of move-ment. I went to Chad — I spent my birthday [June 4, her twenty-ninth] in Chad — then to Cambodia. Then I went to Washington for Refugee Day, and then I went to speak at the secretary of

It’s okay to put it off, but make sure they hear it from you first.

Photo by Margot Kidder

continues on page 6


state’s open forum on trafficking. Traf-ficking is different in different areas of the world. In Cambodia, the highest rate of people trafficked are children for beg-ging. Hill-tribe girls are likely to end up used for sex or slave labor. Then I went to Italy to speak for We Are the Future, for children of conflict, and then I went to Spain for its Refugee Day. I went to Jordan for the Arab Children’s Congress. Then I went back to Cambodia to deal with the dams and the mining and the poaching. That was my summer vacation. In between, I took flying lessons.

I actually don’t have a place to live right now. I have a house in England and an of-fice in New York, but I have a bug in me to change everything.

I’ve always hoped that one day I would have a life that was more exciting than the characters I was playing in the movies. Now I think I’m on the right track. My life is as interesting to me as my work.

Often people make the mistake of think-ing that just because there is a camera or a microphone in your face, you have to speak, and that can get pretty annoying.

There are all these metaphors from the early fliers about flying above the cynics of the world and being free. I don’t disagree with that. And I love the discipline of committing to something. Because this is the hardest thing I’ve ever done. Just the work of it and the commit-ment and how long it’s taken. The classes. The science and math of it. Meteorol-ogy. Navigation. All of it. I’m taking the English and the American courses at the same time. In America there’s one test; in England there are eight.

They say flying is better than sex. To me, it is. Absolutely. Hands down. It just is. Don’t ask.

Often people make the mistake of think-ing that just because there is a camera or a microphone in your face, you have to speak, and that can get pretty annoying.

It’s an unbelievable feeling to be at one with the air.

I wanted to have a concrete skill where I could do something to help people in real ways. I’d love to be able to donate my ser-vices, to fly sick people to hospitals, you know, like people who have cancer, or people who have lost their limbs. I could deliver food. Anything. Just to be doing something practical would be great.

The media reports things in certain ways. They know exactly what they’re doing. Like in Darfur they say that the violence is Arabs against blacks. n

Cont. from page 5

how to deal


Known for his beefcake looks and macho roles as a soldier, boxer, or general bad-ass, Tatum’s new movie has him playing what might be his toughest role so far - himself.

Channing Tatum’s face, framed by a camouflage Snuggie, wobbled above me. “Hey,” he whispers, exhaling a cloud of

booze so thick I can practically see it in the chilly air. “I think we should go into the house before anyone sees us out here and shoots us or something.”

Near us, beneath the bushes we slept under, are a half-empty bottle of Patrón, a glow stick, an unopened bag of Stacy’s Pita Chips. I’m wearing a Snuggie, too. We are probably not exactly what the residents of this tiny mining town deep in the California desert would expect to find outside their windows.

Wait, pita chips? “You brought snacks out here last night?” I ask.

Tatum starts to giggle. He has a great laugh—a boyish, highly contagious stream of actual tee-hee-hee’s. It’s not

something you get to hear much in his movies, since his chiseled-out-of-a-side-of-beef looks mean he is usually cast as soldiers, boxers, or criminals. But in real life he’s like a big, good-looking Tickle Me Elmo. “Tee-hee-hee. I have to get a picture of this,” he says, standing up and fumbling in his pockets. Then his joyful expression suddenly collapses. “Stuff,” he says. “Where’s my phone?”

We search for it, but his iPhone isn’t at our campsite, so we go look in the house. It’s a house belonging to someone called Rusty, who, wherever he is, would prob-ably be flabbergasted to know that the star of such movies as G.I. Joe and the upcoming Roman epic The Eagle—not to mention a journalist from New York City—have just pried apart his La-Z-Boy in search of a piece of technology that, judging from the 1974 copies of Holly-

wood and McCall’s on his living room table, he does not necessarily know has been invented.

“It wouldn’t be in Rusty’s bedroom, because we didn’t come into Rusty’s bed-room,” Tatum says, tentatively peering at Rusty’s neatly made bed through the open door.

“No, we did,” I say. “Because at one point we were wearing those hats.” I point to the two straw hats sitting on Rusty’s dresser, beneath a sepia-toned portrait of what looks like a dwarf in eighteenth-century ornate, flowing dress.

“We were?” Tatum says, crinkling his forehead. Then he remembers. “Oh yeah! And I took a picture of that lady. With my phone. And that was after we left the bar. But was it before or after we went to the jail?”

Tatum starts to giggle again. “We’re in

From exotic dancer to action star, Tatum has come a long way in search of success. Now, he stars in a Steve Soderbergh movie based on his own life.

by Jessica Pressler

Photos by Tommy Gunn

continues on page 8

beyond the polecelebrating triumphs

Channing Tatum’s Chippendale’s past


somebody’s house right how,” he gasps. “Tee-hee-hee. How did this happen?”

It’s 7 a.m., so we have an hour to find his phone before the car comes to take us back to Los Angeles. We decide to retrace our steps. I swallow a couple of Rusty’s aspirins. “I’m having a beer,” Tatum an-nounces, cracking open a can of Rusty’s Coors Light. He hands me one. “You should have one, too. It’ll make us both feel better.”

Acording to Channing Tatum, every night out has its tipping point: “You know, that one part where you’re just like, ‘Is this going to be one of those nights?’ “ He’d said this to me the day before, as we were driving. We had just left Los Angeles in a town car headed for Randsburg, California, an old ghost town where he’d spent an afternoon shooting a short film for his friend, the actor Joseph Gordon-Levitt, and wanted to revisit.

The tipping-point theory also applies to Tatum’s life. Take, for example, the time he signed up to dance in an all-male revue in Tampa. He was living there after giving up a college football scholar-ship. (School always made Tatum, who

has ADD and “something like dyslexia,” bored and restless.) He’d always been athletic, and a dancer, and had gotten bored with the grind of day jobs he’d been working—house framing, cold-calling people for a mortgage company, cleaning cages at “a puppy-kitty nursery.”

“This is going to be crazy,” he recalls saying to a fellow dancer, who is still a friend, as they pulled on G-strings for their first shift at a nightclub called Joy. Then they made a pact: “Okay, we’re go ing to do this for a little while just to be crazy and insane; then we’re getting out.” And they did. Tatum’s stripping experience remained just that—some insane thing he’d done—until the man who hired him for that stripping job sold a tape to Us Weekly in 2009. It shows him, work-ing as Chan Crawford (he still goes by Chan), wiggling in front of a room full of screaming ladies in a tiny thong and copi-ous hair gel. His public-relations team

was horrified. This part of his past was meant to be secret.

“I had wanted to tell people,” Tatum said in the car. “I’m not ashamed of it. I don’t regret one thing. I’m not a person who hides stuff.”

Nor should he. Steven Soderbergh, the director who cast Tatum in the upcoming spy thriller Haywire, said he’d love to direct the movie of Tatum’s stripping life. And it was some “sketchy dude” who’d seen his work on the stage who planted in

Chan’s head the idea to pursue a model-ing career.

That led to a small part in a Pepsi ad, which led to a leading role in the dance movie Step Up and ultimately put him on a trajectory that has him, at 30, “poised to become the next Brad Pitt or Johnny Depp,” according to Ryan Kavanaugh, whose company, Relativity Media, has produced a number of Tatum’s films.

Whether or not that is true remains to

Cont. from page 7

“I had wanted to tell people,” Tatum said in the car. “I’m not ashamed of it. I don’t regret one thing. I’m not a person

who hides stuff.”

“

“beyond the pole celebrating triumphs


be seen. Although G.I. Joe grossed $300 million worldwide and he’s since landed a number of high-profile movies (he just signed on to anchor the movie remake of the former Depp vehicle 21 Jump Street), a lot of people still view him as a hand-some, affable beefcake.

“No one’s calling me for lawyer roles,” he said. “I still have a lot to do to prove myself.”

ightclub called Joy. Then they made a pact: “Okay, we’re go ing to do this for a little while just to be crazy and insane; then we’re getting out.” And they did. Tatum’s stripping experience remained just that—some insane thing he’d done—until the man who hired him for that stripping job sold a tape to Us Weekly in 2009.

It shows him, working as Chan Craw-ford (he still goes by Chan), wiggling in front of a room full of screaming ladies in a tiny thong and copious hair gel. His public-relations team was horrified. This part of his past was meant to be secret.

“I had wanted to tell people,” Tatum said in the car. “I’m not ashamed of it. I don’t regret one thing. I’m not a person

who hides stuff.”Nor should he. Steven Soderbergh, the

director who cast Tatum in the upcom-ing spy thriller Haywire, said he’d love to direct the movie of Tatum’s stripping life. And it was some “sketchy dude” who’d seen his work on the stage who planted in Chan’s head the idea to pursue a modeling career. That led to a small part in a Pepsi ad, which led to a lead-ing role in the dance movie Step Up and ultimately put him on a trajectory that has him, at 30, “poised to become the next Brad Pitt or Johnny Depp,” accord-ing to Ryan Kavanaugh, whose company, Relativity Media, has produced a number of Tatum’s films.

Nor should he. Steven Soderbergh, the director who cast Tatum in the upcoming spy thriller Haywire, said he’d love to direct the movie of Tatum’s stripping life. And it was some “sketchy dude” who’d seen his work on the stage who planted in Chan’s head the idea to pursue a mod-eling career.

That led to a small part in a Pepsi ad, which led to a leading role in the dance movie Step Up and ultimately put him on

a trajectory that has him, at 30, “poised to become the next Brad Pitt or Johnny Depp,” according to Ryan Kavanaugh, whose company, Relativity Media, has produced a number of Tatum’s films.

Whether or not that is true remains to be seen. Although G.I. Joe grossed $300 million worldwide and he’s since landed a number of high-profile movies (he just signed on to anchor the movie remake of the former Depp vehicle 21 Jump Street), a lot of people still view him as a hand-some, affable beefcake.

We were an hour and a half outside L.A., and the freeway fast-food chains and gas stations were giving way to a rusty Martian terrain punctuated by car-toonish cacti and the occasional bombed-out-looking shed. “How far are we?” he asked. The driver said it would probably be a hour more. Tatum leaned back.

“Wait until you see this place,” he said. We were an hour and a half outside L.A., and the freeway fast-food chains and gas stations were giving way to a rusty Martian terrain punctuated by cartoonish cacti and the occasional bombed-out-

continues on page 10


looking shed. “How far are we?” he asked. The driver

said it would probably be a hour more. Tatum leaned back. “Wait until you see this place,” he said. “I was actually going to camp out. I even brought my bedroll. But I wasn’t sure.”

It shows him, working as Chan Craw-ford (he still goes by Chan), wiggling in front of a room full of screaming ladies in a tiny thong and copious hair gel. His public-relations team was horrified. This part of his past was meant to be secret.

Nor should he. Steven Soderbergh, the director who cast Tatum in the upcoming spy thriller Haywire, said he’d love to direct the movie of Tatum’s stripping life. And it was some “sketchy dude” who’d seen his work on the stage who planted in Chan’s head the idea to pursue a mod-eling career. That led to a small part in a Pepsi ad, which led to a leading role in the dance movie Step Up and ultimately put him on a trajectory.

And it was some “sketchy dude” who’d seen his work on the stage who planted in Chan’s head the idea to pursue a mod-eling career.

Whether or not that is true remains to be seen. Although G.I. Joe grossed $300 million worldwide and he’s since landed a number of high-profile movies (he just signed on to anchor the movie remake of the former Depp vehicle 21 Jump Street), a lot of people still view him as a hand-some, affable beefcake.

We were an hour and a half outside L.A., and the freeway fast-food chains and gas stations were giving way to a rusty Martian terrain punctuated by car-toonish cacti and the occasional bombed-out-looking shed.

“Wait until you see this place,” he said. We were an hour and a half outside L.A., and the freeway fast-food chains and gas stations were giving way to a rusty Martian terrain punctuated by cartoonish cacti and the occasional bombed-out-looking shed.

“How far are we?” he asked. The driver said it would probably be a hour more. Tatum leaned back. “Wait until you see this place,” he said. “I was actually going to camp out. I even brought my bedroll. But I wasn’t sure.” n

Cont. from page 9

Revlon’s hottest new color is here.


2

health & fitnesslive healthy, live sexy

Searching for the perfect way to maximus thatgluteus? Our personal trainer Jill shows how to achieve buns of solid gold.

Get the perfect butt in 9 easy steps

1Side Leg Raises

This move targets the two small-er muscle groups in the buttocks, the gluteus medius and minimus. Raising the leg just a few inches will work these muscles.

Form: Lift the top leg while ly-ing on your side. Keep the hips stacked and the torso still; both knees facing forward. For a varia-tion that works slightly different muscles, you can turn the top leg out from the hip.

If you feel your “rear view” needs a makeover, the right fitness routine can provide a natural lift.

Can you achieve the “perfect” Brazilian beach butt seen on TV? That depends partly on your body type and genetics, but most everyone can shape up to look better in jeans. Ready to get started?

The shape of the buttocks is defined by muscles known as the gluteus maximus, gluteus medius, and glu-teus minimus (hidden under other muscles), as well as the overlying fat. Walking, run-ning, and climbing all work the glutes. Strength training that targets these muscles can help develop a tighter, more rounded look. Adding a few butt-busting moves to your routine may be enough to see a difference.

The Ball Squat

If you’re just starting out, a sta-bility ball can help with balance while you master the form. For each exercise on our list, aim for three sets of 15 repetitions. That’s a good start for beginners, says master trainer Dori Ricci, NASM, CPT. Try to do each exercise three times a week.

Form: Keep the ball between your low back and a wall. Slowly perform the classic squat. Walk your feet out in front so the knees stay behind your toes.

Ky Evans, instructor at The Studio in Marina del Rey, Cali.,, assists a cli-ent with a side leg raise. Photo by Cal Ripken, Jr.

by Erin Kurdlya

Check out more great exercises, work out video guides, and in-depth question-and-answer sessions with our experts on our website, http://www.stripmagazineonline.com

Online Exclusives! continues on page 13




3 4

5 6

The Forward Lunge

This butt builder also tones the thighs and calves, and it’s a pretty good calorie burner, too.

Form: Feet parallel, hip-distance apart, take one giant step forward. Lower your body slowly, bending both knees, and return to stand-ing. Repeat on the other side. Bend your knees no farther than 90 degrees, front knee stacked directly over your front ankle. Do not rest your back knee on the ground.

The Ball Squat

When you step backward into a lunge, it works the glutes a little more intensely and adds variety to your workout. Lunges also help promote hip flexibility and proper alignment, which can suffer when people spend long hours sitting at a desk.

Form: Use the same posture as in a forward lunge, but step backward to position the lower leg. Remember not to let the front knee push out in front of your toes.

The Dirty Dog

This butt-building move gained fame in the exercise videos of the 1970s as the “fire hydrant.” It targets two of the muscles groups in the buttocks.

Form: Keep your knees hip-width apart and your hands directly under your shoulders, elbows straight. Gen-tly stiffen the abs and keep your back in a neutral position with no sagging or arching. Slowly draw one knee up. Rotate the hip to bring the leg toward the torso, then away.

The Running Plank

In addition to challenging the gluteal muscles, running plank works the shoulders, hips, and core muscles. Do it quickly to burn calories while building muscle.

Form: Engage the abdominal muscles to protect the lower

back. Spread your fin-gers wide to protect the wrists.

Make sure to keep your back straight while you dip down in theforward lunge pictured above. Photo by Cal Ripken, Jr.

Cont. from page 11



78

The Bridge

This small movement isolates and works the gluteus maximus, the largest muscle in the body. Be careful not to use the back muscles; the glutes should do the work.

Form: Bend the knees 90 degrees, feet together. Squeeze the glutes and slowly move the thighs up off the ball. A small, controlled, 2-inch movement is the goal.

Form: Keep your knees hip-width apart and your hands directly under your shoulders, elbows straight. Gently stiffen the abs and keep your back in a neutral position with no sagging or arching. Slowly draw one knee up. Rotate the hip to bring the leg toward the torso, then away.

The Hip Lift

This classic is a surprisingly good workout for the glutes, as well as the hamstrings and hips.

Form: Begin on your back with your knees bent, feet hip-width apart. Slowly peel your spine off the floor from the tailbone, one vertebra at a time, tightening the glutes and hamstrings. Pause when you create a diago-nal line from shoulders to knees.

Lower slowly, one vertebra at a time.houlders, elbows straight. Gently stiffen the abs and keep your back in a neutral position with no sagging or arching. Slowly draw one knee up. Rotate the hip to bring the leg to-ward the torso, then away.

If you feel your “rear view” needs a makeover, the right fitness routine can provide a natural lift.

Can you achieve the “perfect” Brazilian beach butt seen on TV? That depends partly on your body type and genetics, but most everyone can shape up to look better in jeans.

Ready to get started? The following pictures show you the moves.

Trainer Tips

Cont. from page 13


9The Power Squat

The squat tops every list of butt-busting exercises. It directly engages the glutes, and you can build bigger musculature by adding hand-held weights. The key is to maintain proper alignment.

Form: Keep feet parallel, shoulder-width apart. Slowly lower hips as if sit-ting in an invisible chair; then return to standing. Make sure your knees do not push out in front of your toes. Keep your torso tight and back straight.

Lower slowly, one vertebra at a time.houlders, elbows straight. Gently stiffen the abs and keep your back in a neutral position with no sagging or arching. Slowly draw one knee up. Rotate the hip to bring the leg toward the torso, then away.


The hip lift is one of the simplest and most effective toning exercises. Photo by Cal Ripken, Jr.


Lindsay LohanExposed

Lindsay Lohan seems like a typical 18-year-old. She’s really concerned with boys and her hair, she’s fidgety and giggly, and she just bought these fuzzy purple boots from a Marc Jacobs sale.

But this seemingly typical teen, who first got noticed as a child playing those famous twins in “The Parent Trap” remake, has a full-time job. The freckled redhead has made herself a household name with films including “Freaky Fri-day” and “Mean Girls.”

And now she’s put out an album, “Speak.” The songs are hyper-produced and sound a lot like the other girls her age coming out with CDs: Hilary Duff and Ashlee Simpson, to name a couple. This latest venture could put Lohan at risk for further overexposure, especially after appearing in myriad magazines and newspapers (sometimes with seductive — and nearly nude — photos) and becoming a regular in the gossip columns for her

This latest venture could put Lohan at risk for further overexposure, especially after appearing in myriad magazines and newspapers (sometimes with seductive — and nearly nude — photos) and becoming a regular in the gossip columns for her tiff with Duff and a public breakup with “That ‘70s Show” actor Wilmer Valder-rama (search). Her father’s run-ins with the law aren’t helping her to stay out of the papers, either.

Lohan, though, says she is only trying to work hard and have fun, too.

AP: Why do an album?Lohan: I’ve been singing since I was a

little kid. I have been taking voice lessons since I was 6 or 7 years old. I used to put on shows for my Barbie dolls singing Madonna or Paula Abdul. But I started acting first, so it made more sense to just go with that, and I was young when I started. I wanted to be singing at 18 so if I sung a track or dressed a certain way in my video it wouldn’t make a difference,

which somehow it still does.AP: Is it hard for you to find some

middle ground because little girls look up to you and guys think you’re hot?

Lohan: Girls my age dress so much raunchier than I’d ever imagine myself dressing. And I understand that I’m a role model though, and I have to look out for that. I have a 10-year-old sister, too. But you also want to be appealing to guys and stuff, that’s just something girls feel. It’s hard. You want to be that girl that’s unattainable to all the guys because there are so many other girls out there that are like that.

AP: What is with people’s obsession with your breasts?

Lohan: God. I don’t know. They’re real though.

AP: Do you feel disconnected from people your age?

Lohan: In some ways, because my friends are in college now and they’re go-ing to frat parties and drinking beer.

She bared it all as a stripper in her latest movie, “I Know Who Killed Me.” Now Lindsay shares what it was like and what’s next for her.

Lohan in our Chicago studios in

a coral blue Marc Jaobs dress.

By Lindsey Summerfield



Exposed


AP: Is it hard for you to find some middle ground because little girls look up to you and guys think you’re hot?



Lohan: God. I don’t know. They’re real though.

AP: Why do an album?Lohan: I’ve been singing since I was a

little kid. I have been taking voice lessons since I was 6 or 7 years old. I used to put on shows for my Barbie dolls singing Madonna or Paula Abdul. But I started acting first, so it made more sense to just go with that, and I was young when I started. I wanted to be singing at 18 so if I sung a track or dressed a certain way in my video it wouldn’t make a difference, which somehow it still does.

AP: Is it hard for you to find some middle ground because little girls look up to you and guys think you’re hot?



Lohan: God. I don’t know. They’re real though. l have a drink, I’m not going to lie. But my friends in college are out getting wasted and I don’t really have a desire to do that.

I have sort of grown past it because I have a full-time job and responsibili-ties. It’s cool to have that, it makes you mature faster. n

Photo by Karen Whitman

Cont. from page 16


On the set of her new movie, “I Know Who Killed Me,” Lindsay has transformed from the teen beauty queen to a more grown-up sultry vixen. Photo by Brad Spangler.


Brad PittStripper Chauffer

In the parking lot outside a Los An-geles photo studio, a scruffy-looking guy sporting a goatee, black T-shirt and motorcycle boots sits on the curb puffing a cigarette. He’s listen-

ing intently to a stylish man rave about a cool camera shop. A passerby would barely notice the pair as they head into the building.

But when the photographer starts shoot-ing, the bearded guy seems to undergo a transformation. Grooving to Jimi Hen-drix on the sound system, he assumes an expression of ineffable cool, his posture somewhere between rakish and regal. He radiates glamour by the gigawatt. Sud-denly, he’s Brad Pitt.

That name, of course, refers to several entities that occupy the same broad-shouldered, 5-foot-11-inch frame. There’s the actor, whose talent and charisma draw crowds to movie theaters world-wide. There’s the celebrity, twice declared “Sexiest Man Alive” by People magazine, whose private life has been a source of public fascination for more than a decade. There’s the Brad Pitt of the past, who has put his stints as a serial romancer of co-stars (Gwyneth Paltrow, Robin Givens, Juliette Lewis) and errant husband of Jennifer Aniston (from whom he was divorced in 2005) far behind him.

Now 47, Pitt is an unabashed family man. Fatherhood is, indeed, his most consuming project: raising an unruly brood of six children ages 2 to 9 — three of them adopted, three biological, born in five different countries — with partner

Angelina Jolie. Their effect on Pitt has been, by his own account, profound. He credits parenthood, in great part, for his hard-won maturity.

“Kids hold up a mirror to you,” he says in his first extensive interview since 2009. “You can’t make excuses. You’ve got to make sure they’ve brushed their teeth and eaten a good breakfast. You want to be present if they wake up with a bad dream.”

The responsibility weighs heavily on the now-middle-aged actor. In a display of emotion any parent would relate to, Pitt says fears about his kids’ safety “keep me up at night.”

But unlike in most families, Pitt’s wor-ries have an added dimension. “We’re hunted,” he says, flexing his tattooed, muscular forearm as if contemplating retaliation. “Our kids have to live behind a gate. Outside, there are people with cameras.

“But I’ll take the trade-off. I never knew I was capable of experiencing so much love.”

In his newest movie, the sprawling and poetic Tree of Life — directed by the legendary Terrence Malick and opening in some cities this weekend — Pitt plays a father of three boys in 1950s Texas. (One son grows up to be an architect, played by Sean Penn.) That’s fitting: Parenthood is increasingly central to Pitt’s sense of self, influencing everything from the movies he chooses to make — “I want to leave some work behind that my kids will be proud of” — to his vision of the future

By Jonathan Brandis

Now a Hollywood icon, he once drove dancers to and from bachelor parties. Pitt talks about his past, present and future.

Add in a black cap and Pitt, pictured here at the 85th annual Academcy Awards, has come a long ways since his college days at the University of Missouri-Columbia. Photo by Greg Mitchell.continues on page 23


Add in a black cap and Pitt, pictured here at the 85th annual Academcy Awards, has come a long ways since his college days at the University of Missouri-Columbia. Photo by Greg Mitchell.



with Jolie.Though he has said the couple would

wait to wed until gay people could do so legally, he now acknowledges that the timetable may change. “The kids ask about marriage,” he says, sinking wearily into a sofa. He takes a sip of cappuccino. “It’s meaning more and more to them. So it’s something we’ve got to look at.”

For all the luxuries Pitt can give his children, he regrets that he can’t pass on the freedom he had as a child growing up the eldest of three siblings in Springfield, Mo., where his father owned a truck-ing company and his mother was a high school counselor.

“On the road, we’re a military mobile unit,” he says. “The kids have got their stuff down to one backpack, and they’re each responsible for their own bag. Mom does the packing; she’s quite gifted at that. Puts in just what we need — nothing extra.”

The family migrates between the multi-house Los Angeles compound he calls “our base camp” and film sets around the globe, spending downtime at a 1,000-acre estate in southern France.

“We’re pretty nomadic,” he says. “We go where the crops are.”

Pitt concedes that his family life “seems a bit extreme.” But “I like extremes. I guess I’ve always operated that way.”

Still, he says, “Angie and I do every-thing we can to carve out some semblance of normalcy for them, to re-create the kinds of moments that were special for us. It’s not unusual for the kids to be covered in paint. We have mud fights. It’s chaos from morning until the lights go out, and sometimes after that.”

The older kids are home-schooled, but their parents try to create opportunities to socialize. The family sometimes sneaks past the paparazzi to an undisclosed loca-tion for a football game with friends.

Pitt and Jolie carve out time to nurture their own relationship as well.

“There are no secrets at our house,” Pitt says, his blue eyes crinkling in a slightly wicked smile. “We tell the kids, ‘Mom and Dad are going off to kiss.’ They go, ‘Eww, gross!’ But we demand it.”

As he navigates his fifth decade, Pitt has begun to ponder the long term. “Will I be acting when I’m 80?” he asks rhetorically. “Definitely not.”

A passionate amateur photographer and architect (whose Make It Right founda-tion is building environmentally sustain-able homes in New Orleans for low-income residents displaced by Hurricane Katrina), he aims to explore those voca-tions more deeply in the coming years. He also wants to improve his French and his cooking skills — now limited to bacon, eggs and flapjacks.

But Pitt won’t be trading in biker boots for house slippers anytime soon. “I hope to keep riding motorcycles,” he says with that devilish grin, “until I can’t stand up anymore.”

Though he has said the couple would wait to wed until gay people could do so legally, he now acknowledges that the timetable may change. “The kids ask about marriage,” he says, sinking wearily into a sofa. He takes a sip of cappuccino. “It’s meaning more and more to them. So it’s something we’ve got to look at.”

The family migrates between the multi-house Los Angeles compound he calls “our base camp” and film sets around the globe, spending downtime at a 1,000-acre estate in southern France.

Pitt concedes that his family life “seems a bit extreme.” But “I like extremes. I guess I’ve always operated that way.”

Still, he says, “Angie and I do every-thing we can to carve out some semblance of normalcy for them, to re-create the kinds of moments that were special for us. It’s not unusual for the kids to be covered in paint. We have mud fights. It’s chaos from morning until the lights go out, and sometimes after that.”

The older kids are home-schooled, but their parents try to create opportunities to socialize. The family sometimes sneaks past the paparazzi to an undisclosed loca-tion for a football game with friends.

“There are no secrets at our house,” Pitt says, his blue eyes crinkling in a slightly wicked smile. “We tell the kids, ‘Mom and Dad are going off to kiss.’ They go, ‘Eww, gross!’ But we demand it.” n

A little-known fact about Pitt is that he didn’t originally plan to become an actor. An exotic dancer that he chauferred to events gave him the business card of a local talent agent - and the rest is history. Photo by Greg Mitchell.

Cont. from page 20


Solid Gold AdviceGetting a tax refund soon? Don’t just

put it in the bank, invest! Financial guru Peter Schiff tells you where.

By Jonathan Brandis

With the Dow rallying nearly 200 points per day and continued volatility in gold and silver, Strip recently interviewed Peter Schiff, CEO of Europacific Capital, to get his thoughts on what lies ahead. Schiff told KWN the gold bears are going to get pummeled, and he

also said the bias in stocks will continue higher, despite pullbacks. Here is what Schiff had to say: “You are getting a lot of chop in the market. There is conflict-ing information coming out regarding the economy and Europe, and the moves are news driven. I think the market is going to continue to have an upward bias, but you are going to have plenty of corrections.”

“I don’t know if this correction is over with. I don’t know that this 200 point rally is sustainable. We might selloff, but I’m not looking for the market to crash. If you are buying puts on the market and waiting for it to crash, you are prob-ably going to lose money. You are more likely to see a crash in the dollar, and

ultimately a crash in the bond market.But, again, it’s very difficult to try to time the crash in the dollar and the

bond market. It’s coming, but I think we will see dollar weakness before we see bond weakness. The Federal Reserve has the ability to post-

pone the weakness in the bond market by printing up more dollars to buy those bonds.

The Ultimate InsuranceBut the Fed can’t offset the weakness in the foreign

exchange market, unless it gets massive help from foreign central banks. I’m not sure that help is coming. Europe has its own problems. China and Japan are dealing with their own problems.

For them to try to simultaneously bail us out, by printing enough of their own currency in an attempt to stop the dol-lar from tanking, I don’t think that’s going to happen.... Schiff also had this to say regarding gold: “The bottom line

here is gold is headed much higher and the next big move in gold will be up. People who speculate are betting on a huge

drop in gold. That’s what the gold stocks are saying. They are forecasting a precipitous decline.


Solid Gold Advice

So, do you want to believe the speculators or do you want to stick with the long-term trend? I think a lot of the professional money managers, professional specula-tors, they’ve been betting against this gold bull market for the the last ten years. Betting against gold has been the wrong trade.

Over time, gold keeps making new highs. The same could be said for gold stocks, albeit at a slower rate. The gold shares reflect the fact that you’ve got a lot of skepti-cism. This is the antithesis of a bubble. Instead of there being euphoria and people speculating on a gold rally, they are all betting against it. Meanwhile, gold contin-ues to climb a wall of worry.

The gold bears don’t understand the fundamentals. These were the same people that didn’t see the housing bubble or the financial crisis. This is why you will see the few people that bet right on subprime, are also the ones that are betting on gold. These savvy players have a better understanding of the macro-economic funda-mentals.

Gold and Silver in Your PortfolioThe gold bears, they actually think the US economy is

sustainable. They don’t understand the structural prob-lems. They don’t understand the government solutions are actually worsening the problems. These people even buy the government PR campaign that there is no inflation.

Those of us who understand what is going on see the the inflation. We don’t buy the government propagan-da effort, we look at reality. The government tried to convince us there was no housing bubble, but I trusted what I could see with my own eyes, not what the gov-ernment was trying to spoon-feed me.

The gold bears think that gold was only going up be-cause of fear or Armageddon, and now they think it has been averted. Now they think gold is going to crash. They just don’t understand the gold market or what’s

driving it. I like the fact that so many people are on the wrong side of the trade. The bears will continue to get pummeled.”

When asked about the mining shares, Schiff responded, “I think there are some great opportunities in the gold miners. I own a lot of gold mining stocks myself and I’ve purchased more in my own account in the last couple of weeks. My intention is to buy even more if the selloff continues.

I am committing more money to the market and will continue to increase my buying as prices come down. Right now I’m buying the weakness and hoping prices come down so I can buy even more. I think the whole resource sector is cheap.”

“I don’t know if this correction is over with. I don’t know that this 200 point rally is sustainable. We might selloff, but I’m not looking for the market to crash. If you are buying puts on the market and waiting for it to crash, you are probably going to

Peter Schiff, CEO of Europacific Capital, advises keeping 5 to 10 percent of your investment in precious metals such as gold or silver. Photo by Clive Barker.

Gold has reached historic highs in the past few years, going from $200 per ounce to more than $1,000 per ounce. Schiff predicts it could eventually hit $5,000 or even $10,000 per ounce. All illustrations by Chad Owens.



lose money. You are more likely to see a crash in the dollar, and ultimately a crash in the bond market.

Global InstabilityBut, again, it’s very difficult to try to time the crash in the

dollar and the bond market. It’s coming, but I think we will see dollar weakness before we see bond weakness. The Federal Reserve has the ability to postpone the weakness in the bond market by printing up more dollars to buy those bonds.

But the Fed can’t offset the weakness in the foreign exchange market, unless it gets massive help from foreign central banks. I’m not sure that help is coming. Europe has its own problems. China and Japan are dealing with their own problems.

For them to try to simultaneously bail us out, by printing enough of their own currency in an attempt to stop the dollar from tanking, I don’t think that’s going to happen....

Schiff also had this to say regarding gold: “The bottom line here is gold is headed much higher and the next big move in gold will be up. People who speculate are betting on a huge drop in gold. That’s what the gold stocks are forecasting. They are forecasting a precipitous decline.

So, do you want to believe the speculators or do you want to stick with the long-term trend? I think a lot of the professional money managers, professional speculators, they’ve been betting against this gold bull market for the the last ten years. Betting against gold has been the wrong trade.

Over time, gold keeps making new highs. The same could be said for gold stocks, albeit at a slower rate. The gold shares reflect the fact that you’ve got a lot of skepticism. This is the antithesis of a bubble. Instead of there being euphoria and people speculating on a gold rally, they are all betting against it. Meanwhile, gold continues to climb a wall of worry.

The gold bears don’t understand the fundamentals. These were the same people that didn’t see the housing bubble or the financial crisis. This is why you will see the few people that bet right on subprime, are also the ones that are betting on gold. These savvy players have a better understanding of the macro-economic fundamentals.

The gold bears, they actually think the US economy is sustain-able. They don’t understand the structural problems. They don’t understand the government solutions are actually worsen-ing the problems. These people even buy the government PR campaign that there is no inflation.

Those of us who understand what is going on see the the inflation. We don’t buy the government propaganda effort, we look at reality. The government tried to convince us there was no housing bubble, but I trusted what I could see with my own eyes, not what the government was trying to spoon-feed me.

The gold bears think that gold was only going up because of fear or Armageddon, and now they think it has been averted. Now they think gold is going to crash. They just don’t under-stand the gold market or what’s driving it. I like the fact that so many people are on the wrong side of the trade. The bears will continue to get pummeled.”



“I don’t know if this correction is over with. I don’t know that this 200 point rally is sustainable. We might selloff, but I’m not looking for the market to crash. If you are buying puts on the market and waiting for it to crash, you are probably going to lose money. You are more likely to see a crash in the dollar, and ultimately a crash in the bond market.

But, again, it’s very difficult to try to time the crash in the dollar and the bond market. It’s coming, but I think we will see dollar weakness before we see bond weakness. The Federal Reserve has the ability to postpone the weakness in the bond market by printing up more dollars to buy those bonds.

But the Fed can’t offset the weakness in the foreign exchange market, unless it gets massive help from foreign central banks. I’m not sure that help is coming. Europe has its own problems.

Cont. from page 25


““China and Japan are dealing with their own problems.

For them to try to simultaneously bail us out, by printing enough of their own currency in an attempt to stop the dollar from tanking, I don’t think that’s going to happen....

Euro Pacific Precious MetalSchiff also had this to say regarding gold:

“The bottom line here is gold is headed much higher and the next big move in gold will be up. People who speculate are bet-ting on a huge drop in gold. That’s what the gold stocks are forecasting. They are forecasting a precipitous decline.

So, do you want to believe the speculators or do you want to stick with the long-term trend? I think a lot of the professional money managers, professional speculators, they’ve been betting against this gold bull market for the the last ten years. Betting against gold has been the wrong trade.

Over time, gold keeps making new highs. The same could be said for gold stocks, albeit at a slower rate. The gold shares reflect the fact that you’ve got a lot of skepticism. This is the an-

tithesis of a bubble. Instead of there being euphoria and people speculating on a gold rally, they are all betting against it.

Meanwhile, gold continues to climb a wall of worry.

The gold bears don’t understand the fundamentals. These were the same people that didn’t see the housing bubble or the financial crisis. This is why you will see the few people that bet right on subprime, are also the ones that are betting on gold. These savvy players have a better understanding of the macro-economic fundamentals.

The gold bears, they actually think the US economy is sustainable. They don’t under-stand the structural problems. They don’t understand the government solutions are actually worsening the problems. These

people even buy the government PR campaign that there is no inflation.

Those of us who understand what is going on see the the inflation. We don’t buy the government propaganda effort, we look at reality. The government tried to convince us there was no housing bubble, but I trusted what I could see with my own eyes, not what the government was trying to spoon-feed me.

The gold bears think that gold was only going up because of fear or Armageddon, and now they think it has been averted. Now they think gold is going to crash. They just don’t under-stand the gold market or what’s driving it. I like the fact that so many people are on the wrong side of the trade. The bears will continue to get pummeled.”



The Final Word“I don’t know if this correction is over with. I don’t know that

this 200 point rally is sustainable. We might selloff, but I’m not looking for the market to crash. If you are buying puts on the market and waiting for it to crash, you are probably going to lose money. You are more likely to see a crash in the dollar, and ultimately a crash in the bond market.

But, again, it’s very difficult to try to time the crash in the dollar and the bond market. It’s coming, but I think we will see dollar weakness before we see bond weakness.

But the Fed can’t offset the weakness in the foreign exchange market, unless it gets massive help from foreign central banks. I’m not sure that help is coming. Europe has its own problems. China and Japan are dealing with their own problems.” n

The gold bears, they actually think the US economy is sustainable, said Schiff. “They don’t understand the structural problems. They don’t understand that the government solutions are actually worsening all the problems.”



tipping pointsfinancial advice

Have questions on how to file your taxes? Not sure if you’re an employee or private contractor? Our tax advice experts will make your 1040 easy.

The Tax Man Cometh

Q uestion:

I worked as an exotic dancer over the summer. I assume I would be considered an independent contractor since I was not paid by the establishment to work there. I actually had to pay them. I will not receive a 1099, however I thought it might be beneficial to file a Schedule C because I am Head of Household and have 2 chil-dren. My income was $8000. Am I on the right track or way off?

Answer:You are on the right track in thinking

of yourself as an independent contractor. As an independent contractor you need to keep track of all income and expenses just like a self-employed business owner would.

All self-employed individuals and independent contractors report their business income and business expenses on Schedule C. Business income is all income received, not just what is reported on 1099s. When the IRS examines tax returns with a Schedule C, they will look beyond the 1099s to prove income.

Be sure to deduct the monies paid to the establishment where you danced. You will probably have other deductible items such as costumes, props, makeup and tanning sessions. It’s important to capture all of your deductions for two reasons. You will lower your income tax and self-employment tax.

Income tax doesn’t need much explana-tion, but you should be aware of what self-employment tax is. Self-employment tax is the mechanism in which self-employed individuals and independent contractors pay into Social Security and

Medicare. Regular employees have Social Security

and Medicare taxes withheld from their paychecks. This withholding represents half of what is being remitted on their behalf. Their employers matches the other half. Self-employed individuals and independent contractors are both the employer and employee with regards to these payments.

Self-employment tax is calculated on Schedule SE based on the net income (income after expenses) from Schedule C. This tax has a rate of 15.3%, so planning for the additional tax liabil-ity is important not to overlook.

Question:What can

I deduct as an independent contrac-tor? There are a lot of expenses - travel, makeup, jewelry, perfurme, new clothes, shoes, manicures, pedicures and so much more. Help me save money!

Answer:First, according to Internal Revenue

Service (IRS) Publication 535, Business Expenses, “in order to be deductible, a business expense must be both ordinary and necessary.

General RulesAn ordinary expense is one that is com-

mon and accepted in your industry. A necessary expense is one that is helpful and appropriate for your trade or busi-

ness. An expense does not have to be indispensable to be considered neces-sary.” Because of the broad scope of this definition, in audit, IRS generally only denies the most flagrant expenses—and more often attempts to differentiate and deny non-deductible personal expenses.

However, even the business use percentage of an otherwise per-

sonal expense is also deduct-ible (such as the portion

of a vacation spent conducting business.)

Also, IRS always looks at the individual “facts

and circumstances” of a claimed business deduc-

tion to determine if there is a “preponder-ance of evidence” to support the use of the expense to reduce

income. As a result, a given expense may be deductible for

one business, but not another. IRS also requires

documentary evidence of any expense over $75, such as receipts, bills, or can-celled checks. A diary or log is sufficient evidence for mileage deductions.

Most independent contractor business deductions reduce net self-employment income—which reduces self-employment tax (15.2%), as well as federal tax (up to 35%) and state taxes. The few allowable personal deductions (1040 Schedule A) and employee unreimbursed employee expenses (1040 form 2106) only reduce federal and state taxes.

Travel ExpensesIf you maintain a permanent “tax

home” that you return to on a regular basis to live and work, then you may de-duct travel expenses between temporary

By Neil Johnson, The Tax Dude



tipping points financial advice

assignments (less than 12 months). Any additional costs for your family would not be deductible. If you do not maintain a permanent home, then you are consid-ered an “itinerant worker”— wherever you work is considered your tax home, and the travel expenses between assign-ments are not deductible. If your assign-ment is, or becomes permanent, then you may deduct some costs as personal moving expenses (on 1040 form 3903), but not as business expenses.

Should your agency not provide reimbursement for travel (typically airline fares), hotel, rental car, or gas, you may deduct these out-of-pocket travel expenses. Additional items that can be deducted include fees for U-Hauls, pack-

ing supplies, storage, tolls, parking, and vehicle expenses such as mileage.

Professional ExpensesAll licensure expenses are deductible—

including state license fees, DEA license fees, drug testing, and fingerprinting; as well as continuing education expenses and seminars. Also, any contractor paid liability insurance is deductible—such as malpractice insurance—if you purchase your own policy.

Special-use clothing and equipment, such as scrubs, shoes, lab coats, and stethoscope, may be deducted, as well. Care and maintenance—from laundering to cleaning—also falls into this category, whether on temporary assignment or at

home.Professional journals, subscriptions,

and reference books are also deductible. The business-use percentage of Internet expenses and cost of any on-line research can be deducted, too.

Temporary Living ExpensesGenerally, the largest deduction for lo-

cum tenens physicians with a permanent home is temporary living expenses while working away from their residences. If you maintain a permanent home, and return there on a regular basis to live and work, then you may deduct all duplicated out-of-pocket expenses while on tem-porary assignment—including housing, utilities, and half of your meals. As an alternative, you may use a daily meal per diem rate from IRS publication 1542, without receipts. However, keep in mind that you may not deduct the lodging per diem found in this publication, which is for employers to use for reimbursements.

Any deductions taken should be offset by reimbursements, stipends, or allow-ances. Reimbursements received on a dollar-for-dollar accounting program are not included as income to you and not deductible. In addition, any stipends or in-kind benefits you may receive on temporary assignment (such as a lodging stipend or apartment), that you would have been able to deduct had you paid for them, are tax-free to you.

Telephone ExpensesYou cannot deduct any charges for basic

local telephone service for the first tele-phone line to your home, even if used for business, or required for on-call. Howev-er, you can deduct business long distance, any additional business line, and extra features for business use, such as call waiting. Additionally, answering service expenses are deductible. For cell phones, the cost of all billable business calls can be deducted. It also seems appropriate, though not audit-tested, to take a percent-age of initial so-called “free” air minutes based on the business-use percentage of total minutes, as well as the cost of the phone if it—and its charges—are not covered by your staffing company.

Cont. from page 29

Illustrations by Jeremy Renner


Insurance ExpensesIn addition to malpractice insurance

and vehicle insurance (if using the actual expense method), independent contrac-tors who are self-employed may cur-rently deduct 100% of health insurance premiums paid on behalf of the owner, as well as his/her spouse and dependents. However, while the deduction reduces federal and state income taxes, it does not lower self-employment tax. Life insur-ance premiums, on the other hand, are a personal, non-deductible expense.

What you can’t deductOther non-business expenses include

personal income taxes (federal, state, and local—although state and local taxes may be taken as a personal deduction on 1040 schedule A), charitable contributions, and political contributions.

The last word. While this discussion could not cover all possible deductible or non-deductible business expenses, any omissions hold little if any significance. For more information, explore www.irs.gov. n

ReferencesInternal Revenue Service. (2005, May).

Per diem rates [IRS Publication 1542]. Washington, DC: Author.

Internal Revenue Service. (2004). Busi-ness expenses [IRS Publication 535]. Washington, DC: Author.

Internal Revenue Service. (2004). Tax guide for small businesses [IRS Publica-tion 334]. Washington, DC: Author.

Internal Revenue Service. (2004). Your federal income tax [IRS Publication 17]. Washington, DC: Author.

Internal Revenue Service. (2004, Decem-ber 6). Optional standard mileage rates, Rev. Proc. 2004–64, Internal Revenue Bulletin 2004-49 [p. 898].

The preceding discussion is general in nature, and should not be considered advice for any individual tax situation. You should consult with your personal tax planning professional for specific guidance relating to your unique circumstances.


Bourbon Street, New OrleansTake a trip to the Big Easy. Explore the city’s rich cultural heritage, or head on down to the most famous street in the world for a night you’ll never forget.

on the road places to go

For anyone who has never been to New Orleans, it’s ab-solutely a place you must go, especially during music festival season in the spring and summer.

During the recent French Quarter Music Festival, more than 200 musicians on 20 stages along the waterfront showcased the local talent in a five-day blues and jazz spec-tactular - and there’s a new festival almost every weekend.

And of course, you must try the food. It doesn’t matter if you know your gumbo from your étouffée. The locals are friendly and there’s hardly a bad place to eat in downtown New Orleans.

If you’d like to work while you’re down there, there’s just one place to go - Bourbon Street - where the bars are open 24 hours a day. There’s a whole assortment of clubs to choose from - some better than others. Visit our website to see which clubs are the most highly rated!

Clockwise from top-left: Downtown New Orleans, as seen from a ferry on the river. The Hustler Club is the most well-known club in New Orleans. Thousands of tourists fill up Bourbon Street on a daily basis. Transportation can be expensive in New Orleans, so find a hotel in the area. Photos by Jason Bennett.


Bourbon Street, New Orleans


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