These women make a living pouring beers and collecting tips but they aren't your average bartenders.
They
call themselves 'skimpies' and can earn up to $6,000 a night by
travelling to pubs in remote towns in Western Australia just to
entertain miners and farmers in their lingerie.
Shae,
29, has worked as a skimpy for almost a decade and says the money is
the biggest draw card for the 300-odd women in the industry.
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Courtney and Shae (right) are
bartenders in rural Western Australia. They call themselves 'skimpies'
and serve drinks and entertain patrons in their lingerie
'The money is very good, that's why we put up with so much s***,' Shae told Daily Mail Australia.
'We
get paid a base rate to be at the pub around $1,000, but you can earn
five times on top of your base rate from tips during a four hour shift.'
Shae and her colleagues feature in a new documentary called Skimpy that will air on ABC2 on Monday night to shed light on their careers as skimpily-dressed bartenders.
'You've got to be comfortable with who you are and the way you look to do this,' Shae said.
'We
meet a lot of weird characters who will pick on you for personal things
like if they don't think you're the right body shape. So you really
have to have a thick skin, especially when alcohol is involved.
Skimpies can earn up to $6,000 a night
by travelling to pubs in remote towns just to entertain miners and
farmers in their lingerie
Shae, 29, (right) has worked as a
skimpy for almost a decade and says the money is the biggest draw card
for the 300-odd women in the industry
'We
do get hit up all the time for 'extra' stuff. It generally scares off
the new girls because they don't know how to handle it.
'I just turn it around and make a joke of it. You get some dudes being creepy and I just refer them to the brothel.
'A
guy once paid me $50 to take my shoe off and take a photo of my foot
and other men have offered to buy my underwear. There's always something
interesting going on.'
Shae,
who can travel four to five hours for a four-hour shift in regional WA,
said it took several years to learn to deflect criticism and build up
the confidence she has now.
Skimpies like Courtney can travel four to five hours for just a four-hour shift in regional WA
Shae said it took several years to learn to deflect criticism and build up the confidence she has now
'I
remember when I first started I'd have a complex. Some shifts I'd run
off to the bathroom to cry because of someone saying something to me,'
she said.
'But
majority of the customers just want to chat and have a good laugh. Some
guys have been out bush for 60 days so they just like having a female
to talk to.'
Skimpy documentary director Mariel Thomas spent a week on the road with Shae and her colleagues as they worked a bar circuit.
'What I found surprising was the skimpies are part of the furniture at these venues,' Ms Thomas told Daily Mail Australia.
Skimpies
are as much a part of the WA mining landscape as road trains and
stubbies and whenever men have flocked to mining boomtowns, women
providing the entertainment haven't been far behind.
Shae and her colleagues feature in a
new documentary called Skimpy that will air on ABC2 on Monday to shed
light on their careers as skimpily-dressed bartenders
'What
I love about these girls is that they are really sassy and smart.
They're party girls but I was expecting clichés and stereotypes,' Ms
Thomas said.
'A lot of them are just doing it to save for university or to buy a house.'
While Shae turns 30 next month, she admitted she wasn't ready to give up being a skimpy.
'I'm
studying at the moment - I'm doing a dress making design course. I want
to be able to eventually design costumes for the girls,' she said.
'I can't just walk away from this lifestyle and the money, it's been too long. So I'll just combine both of my careers.'
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