"Ladies, let's hear it for Will Ryder!"
Steven Dewall
Will Ryder of Centerfolds: Nothing says sexy cowboy like pleated denim pants.
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A gaggle of frenzied women hoot and clap as Ryder, a dancer at Centerfolds, the only all-male strip club in Seattle, strides toward a solitary silver pole to the opening strains of a Kid Rock song ("Cowboy... cowboy..."). As layers of clothing come off, the women get frenetic, pawing at Ryder as he works the crowd, picking up tips. Within a couple of songs, he's back on the stage—only a crumpled cowboy hat stands between the audience and his birthday suit.
Ryder pumps at the air and, after allowing a couple of peeks at the family jewels, takes his bow. "That was Will Ryder," the MC says. "Lap dances are $10, ladies."
Centerfolds Inc. began operating under an adult-entertainment license in 1995, according to Katherine Schubert-Knapp with the city's Executive Administration Department. In so doing, its owner, Mark Overton, snagged one of only five adult-cabaret licenses allowed under a moratorium the city maintained for more than 18 years, before U.S. District Judge James Robart struck it down in September 2005, finding "that the City's current licensing scheme is unconstitutional." (The moratorium wasn't formally lifted until last June.)
But without a serious cash injection, bachelorettes in Seattle may have to look for other ways to get in a last hurrah of wanton debauchery before settling down, as Overton has struggled to keep the business afloat.
Since 1994, the state departments of Revenue, Labor and Industries, and Employment Security have filed 27 tax warrants for unpaid taxes against Overton and Centerfolds, according to King County Superior Court records. Department of Revenue spokesperson Mike Gowrylow says warrants are only filed after extensive attempts to reach the owner. But despite such efforts, the department still files about 5,000 per year. "Unfortunately, it's fairly common," says Gowrylow.
In many cases, the warrant is enough to get people to pay the bill; and for a while, Overton was no exception, usually taking care of the total shortly after the issue showed up in court. Except in 2004, when a warrant was filed for $11,680. That warrant is still outstanding, Gowrylow says, although he concedes it is possible that Overton has been making installment payments, which would not show up in court documents.
That 2004 warrant is significant for Overton because, two years earlier, he dissolved Centerfolds as a corporation and obtained a new license as a sole proprietor. Under that designation, Overton is personally responsible for any debts incurred by Centerfolds. Gowrylow says some people choose the sole-proprietor route to avoid the costs associated with incorporation. Overton's corporation was maintained by attorney John Hess, who was disbarred in 2001 for legal malpractice, one year before Overton became a sole proprietor.
Overton has a history of getting himself entwined in financial snafus. In 2004, he was evicted from his Federal Way home. Overton claimed that he had entered into an agreement to eventually buy the house he was living in and had been overpaying the rent, but the landlords claimed he owed them $2,100. The financial issue was eventually resolved, but Overton pursued an additional claim that he was the rightful title holder of the Federal Way home. The judge ruled against Overton on his claim of a right to ownership last February, writing: "Plaintiff Overton indicated he would be earning money from various enterprises to purchase the property, but those funds never materialized and his expressed intent to purchase the property never became a reality."
Furthermore, in 2006, Overton was sent to collections by a San Diego–based company, Transwestern Publishing Co. LLC, for failing to pay for Centerfolds ads in phone directories. He never responded, and a judge granted Transwestern the right to collect $6,252.46 plus interest.
While Overton did not return repeated requests for comment, the traditionally good-looking (6-foot-2, tan, perfect teeth), 27-year-old Ryder talked about his experience at Centerfolds over a mint mocha at a downtown coffee shop, dressed in an orange sweater and brown slacks.
The Pacific Lutheran University graphic design grad was fired from a job in retail and looking for something to pay the bills while he interviewed for more traditional daytime employment. "I was thinking, 'Well, if girls can do it, why not a guy?'" he says of his decision to pursue a career in exotic dancing.
He landed an audition at Centerfolds, and started working the door that night. The next day, he got his adult-entertainer license and started working the stage. Ryder says he makes up to $300 a night. And despite the occasional rowdy customer—one woman took a bite out of his backside—he isn't looking to get out of the business any time soon.
"It's more money than a regular job," Ryder says. "And I'm having fun doing it."
But the dancers are all independent contractors, so their success does not necessarily reflect Centerfolds' revenue. Overton makes his money from the $17 cover charge. The only men at Centerfolds are the ones taking their clothes off. And per their contract, the dancers pay a house fee and make all their money off tips.
Centerfolds' hours also have been cut back. While some online club directories list the club as open seven nights a week, it is currently only open Fridays and Saturdays—though if there are requests from bachelorette parties, the club may also open on a Thursday.
