Celebrities are normal people too, and just like us, they had to get their start somewhere.
Ex-NFL star, Chad Johnson opened up in a recent Instagram Live about his work before he became the Chad Ochocinco we know today. He shared that during his time as a Santa Monica College student back in 1997, he worked as a stripper in order to support himself. At the time he lived alone in Los Angeles.
“I used to strip at The Right Track,” he shared. “I used to be a dancer. I could tell you because we are family. In 1997, I was in LA. My mom was out there, but I really couldn’t live with my mama, so I had a place in Santa Monica. Sometimes, I was short on my light bill. Them candles, light em. I used to strip. I used to be a dancer. If anybody in the chat is from LA, that’s a little bit older. I used to strip at The Right Track. I bulls*** you not.”
He continued to share some insight on how to make the kind of money he made, expressing that it was a pretty decent amount.
“I used to make about $2,500, $3,000 a night,” he explained. “Sometimes the night would be slow, and I couldn’t make it to work because I had football practice, [but] the key is, the key back then…Back then, you danced for the big women. The big women tip you good. You know, having $2,500, $3,000 back in 1997 as a little kid, you know how much money that is? Boy, I was making a killing.”
Ochocinco revealed that his stripper name, “Twix” was because he was very skinny at the time. He also made sure to let his followers know that he isn’t ashamed of his past. He said it builds character and teaches you to improvise. The football star says it helped shape him to be the man he is today.