Stripping away the downturn

Desperate times, weird choices. As the economic downturn deepens, many underemployed Westerners are finding a growing market for their one sure - if stereotyped - attribute: bare cheek.

'There is a stripper gap,' says 'Tyson', the manager of the Hotmale Dance Company. 'And as Western drifters and backpackers leave Hong Kong, the slack is being taken up by business professionals who need the extra income.'

We don't doubt it. Over the past 12 days, SAR has encountered the following:

? a top architect in a gorilla suit on a table in Alibi.

? a journalist stripping in a Happy Valley cigar club.

? a Web site developer dressed as a policeman at a Wan Chai hen party.