people with the right chemistry. I lined up some of the best African American guys in this business for an urban adult club. Charles “Pop” Young and Disco Rick and Manny. Manny is the type of person that has a very upscale professional look in a club. Charles “Pop” Young has street credibility amongst a lot of people. And Disco Rick is the emcee, the host, to keep the vibe in the club going. And a young lady by the name of Liz joined the team. With that team, we created a vibe and a chemistry that all the artists loved. All the major artists were talking about it in their songs. Three years later King of Diamonds is the biggest urban adult club in the world, in the state of Florida. We created a nice vibe for the celebrities along with the customers. The celebrities can come to a place where they’re not being harassed and asked for autographs, because everybody is a celebrity. There’s been a lot of publicity surrounding King of Diamonds claiming that rappers have spent hundreds of thousands of dollars. How much of that is real and how much of it is exaggeration to hype up the artists and hype up the dancers? Well, I cannot disclose the amount of money the artists spend. But I will say this: there is nothing fake about any of it. Sometimes niggas spend over a million dollars in there, depending on who is there. And yes, the dancers do leave there with thousands of dollars. It can be very lucrative for the dancers themselves. There’s a common perception that a woman would only strip if she didn’t have any other options or maybe was abused in the past. Have you found that to be true, or do you think the dancers choose to be in the business because of the financial benefits? It can be all of the above, but mainly it’s about the financial gain. A lot of the entertainers have their own businesses or support their way through college or support their family. So there’s a lot of different things, but I don’t think it’s belittling your character just to be [at a strip club]. They actually love what they do. A lot of them are smart enough to understand that they have a skill they can use, and utilize the money to invest in another business. So when they do retire, they retire into another business. It is very lucrative to be a dancer. You mentioned that your wife was hesitant about getting into the adult business. Do you feel like King of Diamonds has broken the stereotype of the typical strip club and made it more of a professionally-run business? Has your wife changed her opinion? Well, I don’t disrespect my wife. Me and my wife have been married for twenty years so we under-
stand each other and understand what levels of respect to uphold. The urban nightlife crowd tends to be fickle. What do you have planned for the future to keep King of Diamonds at the top of the entertainment game? We have a lot of plans, but I probably won’t disclose them because the other clubs will be reading the article. But we do change according to the times. We are not a one-set club. When you come in there, Disco Rick creates a good vibe and Liz changes the whole atmosphere and decor. The atmosphere changes all the time. There is a lot we do to keep making the place vibe. We’re just trying to create that. A lot of major artists have done events at King of Diamonds. In your mind, what are the top three events you’ve had so far? Diddy kicked off the first one and opened the door; celebrities started wondering what was going on at King of Diamonds. Jeezy brings a big crowd wherever he goes. Cash MOney, Young Money, YMCMB, they bring a lot to the table. Rick Ross came in on a helicopter. So I know you asked for three, but those four [events] were top notch. Aside from putting together the right team of people, what are some other key components to the success you’ve had with running a strip club or nightclub business? You have to be straight and direct with your customers. Don’t put a celebrity above a regular customer. Your customers and your celebrities should always be treated the same, and always welcome people with open arms. I believe that taking care of your customers is key. Customers are the reason we exist and the reason we’ve sustained this far. I understand your son Terry Jr. is also involved in the entertainment business also. Yes, my son has an artist that he’s developing by the name of Young Duce. My son knows a lot of people he networked with at a lot of clubs because of me, and he’s putting his artist through that system. Is there anything else you’d like to say? I’m actually looking at expanding King of Diamonds to other states. We have imitators out there who tried to call themselves King of Diamonds, but when it is a King of Diamonds of yours, you’ll know it’s us. //
OZONE MAG // 15