Asian Uncle
Welcome to Asian Uncle, the unfiltered dive into Asia - from the back-alley brothels to the shadowy underworld gang, from hardcore military life to the spiritual mystique of Tibet. This isn't your grandma's history lesson on sanitized travel guide. Asian Uncle pulls back the curtain on the continent's most controversial, misunderstood and surreal corners.
Each episode, we explore the raw, untold stories - whether it's the truth behind Thailand's nightlife, untold life of pimping in China or Yakuza's business empire. Come with me on my journey that explored the hidden and dark world of Asia that you never learned about in school.
Asian Uncle
S1E1 - China's Heaven & Hell: Working as a pimp - Part 1
What happens when your father suggests you take a job as an "Assistant General Manager" at a friend's Chinese KTV nightclub? My journey through Shenzhen's vibrant nightlife industry during China's economic boom reveals a world few outsiders ever glimpse.
During the early 2000s—what I consider China's golden age of economic expansion—I balanced respectable daytime work at an investment bank with evenings spent managing hostesses in a marble-floored, fountain-adorned entertainment palace. This wasn't the stereotypical "pimp" role portrayed in movies; there were no drugs, kidnapping, or violence. Instead, I witnessed an elaborately structured society with its own rigid hierarchy, unwritten rules, and surprising humanity.
From the "young masters" (rural young men working as waiters) to the "princesses" (women who served but didn't socialize) to the powerful "mama-sons" (middle-aged women who kept everything running smoothly), each person occupied a specific position in this parallel economy. The establishment operated with remarkable efficiency—25-35% cuts on alcohol sales, calculated tip distribution, and presidential suites that could host 80 people. Beyond the business mechanics, I observed how people created niches for themselves, like the "hideous" princess whose personality earned her higher tips than her prettier counterparts.
This untold chapter of my life reflects broader truths about China's rapid transformation during that era—a society in flux where money promised to change everything, cities rose from nothing, and ambitious youth flocked to urban centers seeking fortune. Follow my stories for more insights into this fascinating period and the hidden systems that powered China's nighttime economy.
I've been thinking for a long time how I should introduce my first impressions of China to leave something memorable. I didn't want it to be cliche. I also didn't want to do some sort of a travel vlog. So, after careful consideration, I decided to share a unique profession that I had after I decided to live in China for good and I lived in China I would say at to live in China for good, and I lived in China, I would say, at the golden age of economic expansion. It was vibrant, it was dynamic, cities were being built from the ground up and you saw mass capital injection and mass migration of the youth from the rural areas, suburbs, into the cities. There was a common drive that everybody shared the hunger for money to change their lives. That really attracted me to stay there in the first place.
Speaker 1:I'll share my experiences working at corporate jobs, doing business, living there in general. But we're going to hold off on that a little bit because the profession that I did was not only unique, it had a dark side to it, it was behind the scenes and it wasn't in the norm. It's from personal experience and obviously it's not written in my resume, it's not documented anywhere and you'll probably never hear this from anyone else. A lot of the details my family doesn't even know and, truth be told, it's not something to be proud of, and those that have came before me or worked as my colleagues formerly, or anybody who's been in this line of work, regardless if you are a manager, down to the hostess no one would ever admit it, nor would anyone want to share this or talk about it. It's not something you would share at a family dinner either, and it is seen as a rather shameful act in traditional Chinese society. So before we start, don't imagine this the wrong way.
Speaker 1:I didn't work as a pimp in the way everybody would imagine. It wasn't the stuff you see in movies. We didn't kidnap anybody, we didn't drug anybody, we didn't beat anybody. I didn't work on the streets either, for one money was enough to entice them. You didn't need to get physical or use drugs and it was also in a very professional setting. I wore a suit to work every day. I did it full time, but I also had a day job. I worked at an investment bank and I helped them do R&D on IT. It wasn't a difficult job, since I had some experience here already and I got my degree in it. Unfortunately, work didn't go smoothly my first year there, mainly because the language barrier for one, and also I had difficulty understanding that side of the culture. I had been in China before, but only traveling with my parents, and I've never been in that kind of setting where it was cutthroat and you had to learn your way to navigate your way around in order to survive. And everything that we're going to talk about next.
Speaker 1:Several episodes happened in Shenzhen, china. Now it's known for its IT. It's an IT hub of China, but it wasn't like this in the 80s, throughout the 90s and even the early 2000s, and instead it was an international hub for visitors. It borders Hong Kong very convenient, and it's part of the Guangdong province, and so Shenzhen in general. At the time when I was there in early 2000s, it was a small, compact city. It had some dirty beaches, but great food and everything was accessible, walking distance, sometimes even work. It was cheap, it was convenient and doing this job wasn't my decision.
Speaker 1:I didn't just wake up one day like shit, I'm going to go pimp some hoes. No, it was actually my father who suggested it. The culprit right, and my father's a little crazy. He thinks in a different dimension sometimes, and so at the time I was young, 22, 23, and he suggested that I work at a KTV nightclub that his friend invested in. To do what? On my name card it said assistant general manager, but my job description was that of a pimp.
Speaker 1:And in case you don't understand what a Chinese KTV nightclub is like, let me explain. In slang. We call them PR joints here in America, and PR stands for public relations. Joint is exactly what it means. It's normally a hole in the wall somewhere hidden amidst the surroundings of Chinatown. It wasn't like that in the mainland. The PR joints there were a lot bigger. They weren't hidden and we call them KTVs or nightclubs.
Speaker 1:Some were decorated extravagantly. For instance, the one that I worked at had marble or glass everywhere, and there's a grand piano in the middle, roman columns and statues all along, even a fountain, a huge fountain in the middle, roman columns and statues all along, even a fountain, a huge fountain in the middle spearing water. It was a little bit too much, especially that fountain, because not only do people throw coins in there, fuckers puke in there too. So it was disgusting. I could clearly recollect the scent as you walked in towards the elevator of practically any club. It had a perfume smell to it, slightly different from club to club, but one thing that's similar is there will be sex in the air, and so once you approach the elevator, the door opens and there's a hostess inside, dressed in a gown, ready to push your button. Not that button, but the elevator button, depending on which floor you want to go to. It was a little bit unnecessary, but it showed class. It showed that it was high end. You went up to whatever floor you booked, and when the door opens, that is when the party and the show starts.
Speaker 1:You wouldn't be dazzled by the decorations at first. You would be shocked by the lines of women and men standing on each side. So typically, the women stand on the left side in height order, and the men stood on the right. They all had to wear specific uniform. The woman changes their uniform, I would say quarterly, from stewardess to nurse, to waitress, and even wearing nightgowns, and the men, of course, would just be suits and tux. So they would stand on each side and then they would bow and scream out 欢迎光临, which is welcome in Chinese, to whatever palace name it is, and a little bit about the job function of the men on the right.
Speaker 1:They weren't just there to bow, they were called 少爷 in Chinese, which means young master. It's a polite term we call waiters. And that's exactly what they did. They were your busboy for the night. They went to the bar to get your alcohol. They grabbed your fruit plate from the cutter, they grabbed your food from the chef and many times they would carry your drunk ass to the bathroom or even help you drive your car back home in case you couldn't do it yourself.
Speaker 1:And these Sauliers waiters would be kids at 18, 20 and they're the bottom of the hierarchy. And they're the bottom of the hierarchy. They're normally not educated and from very rural areas like villages. So we had a nickname for them too amongst ourselves. We didn't say it directly to them, but we call them peasants because a lot of them did come from farms. They worked for the company, but they had to listen to us, the managers no-transcript. They spoke in a lot of different accents. So Chinese people do have different accents depending on where you're from. If you're from a rural place, it's pretty obvious, because when you spoke Mandarin, or when you tried to, we couldn't understand you. It was very distinctive at that time. Everybody speaks it really well now, but back then we still had a strong dialect tone. But back then we still had a strong dialect tone.
Speaker 1:So in front of them, on the other line, would be the ladies. They were called gongzu or princesses. This term is only used at the ktvs, don't use it anywhere else. It's very distinctive, okay, and they're a little bit different from the hostesses. Even though they might wear sexy outfits, they're not the ones that chill with you, drink with you, sing with you and let you grope them. They're the ones that actually serve you inside the room. So the少爷 stands normally outside and watches the door. The princess kneels in front of the table wherever you're at, next to the TV. She pours your alcohol, orders your song, grabs your drinks and cleans up after your ass.
Speaker 1:Both of these played support roles. They survived off tip. They don't get tipped as much as they don't get tipped as much as the girls, the hostesses, and it's a hierarchy down each one. For instance, the princess would get paid typically half or 60 percent of what the hostess made in tip, and then the sawyer would get around 30 percent of what the hostess would make pretty much the math. The good thing, however, about the support role is that? One they didn't have to drink as much. Two they didn't have to be groped by old men, and that was something that separated the classes.
Speaker 1:The princesses are normally young girls. A lot of them chose to be princesses for several reasons. The top reason, I would say, is because they're alcohol intolerant, either with allergy or they can't drink. Two believe it or not, a lot of them have boyfriends at home or working other jobs and they didn't want or felt comfortable. Stooping to the next level. The rest were either new and didn't feel comfortable yet, or they were just straight up ugly yet, or they were just straight up ugly. No guy wants to go there. Throw money at an ugly toad, just sorry, it is what it is. But they did find their niche.
Speaker 1:For instance, I remember this pudgy little princess that I worked with. She was there for the entire time I was there. She was fucking hideous. Not you want to punch in the face, hideous, but definitely you wouldn't want to sleep with her, even if you're drunk. Sometimes the manager had to remind this bitch to shave her pits, but her personality made up for all her faults. On the outside. She was ready to get to work. She was a crowd pleaser. She can sing, dance and get everybody high, get everybody drinking and spend money. She was that type of person so she would actually get tipped more than the other princesses. Just because she knew what she had to do, she found her little niche.
Speaker 1:Anyway, after they bow, you go check in. There will be somebody at the door. There'll be a stand or a desk. You tell them who booked the room and they will lead you inside. Normally we wouldn't allow walk-ins, but if we did, there'd be a couple of things. One, nobody would take care of you because we didn't book it, so we don't get a cut. Or two, you're going to get ripped off Because we didn't get the cut. We're going to make more money off of you in tip or in other services. There was an occasion a couple of white dudes strolled in and we ripped them the fuck off. It is what it is. You're in a new country, you strolled in, you don't know anybody. That's how the system worked. So once confirmed the room that you book, depending on how many people you want to fit, they will lead you in.
Speaker 1:Normal VIP rooms could fit maybe 8 to 20 people and have two waiters and two waitresses. We had presidential suites. They were humongous. I don't even remember how many square foot or square meters it is, but I knew it can fit up to at least 80 people and if you had less than 10 inside, for instance, there'd be echoes.
Speaker 1:It was located on the balcony on top of the third floor and not many people booked it. It was pretty expensive for that time and once the customers situate themselves inside, the person who booked you the room, the manager, the assistant manager or the mama son would take charge from there, and their job is very critical. They're going to be there to take care of you the entire night and also to make sure you spend a lot of money, because the team takes a 25 to 35% cut off your alcohol bill. And, of course, every room had a minimum. The bigger it is, the higher the minimum. Obviously, I was the assistant manager assigned to a head manager working on the second floor of a three-story KTV and every floor there should be one to three teams like us and around 20 VIP rooms per floor with a presidential suite. All the way on top There'd be a basement where you parked there's valet and from there you take an elevator straight to the first, second or third floor, the manager would typically be in charge of a section of the floor or the entire floor, and the assistant managers would be their bitches.
Speaker 1:The mama-sons, on the other hand, are the backbones of the entire operation, and this derogatory term of mama-son is actually not Chinese, it's Japanese. We don't call the mama-sons where I worked or anywhere else Typically, we call them mommy. That's it, mommy for short. They typically be middle-aged women, supposedly, but it's not always the case. I would say that they were young enough to still keep up and party, but too old to not have been heartbroken. You get me Like late 20s, early 30s, and let me tell you, guys, these women were amazing.
Speaker 1:They knew men better than they knew themselves. They can read people and, most importantly, they kept all the girls in check. If there ever was a problem with any girls showing attitude, getting kicked out, they would take over. They're kind of like sergeants on the battlefield, and we had a term for that in Chinese too. We call them lao you tiao or old fried dough, meaning they're hard to chew and probably been through too much grease.
Speaker 1:I was very close to several of them and they all had some sob stories behind them and most of, if not all worked from the bottom up. They're either princesses, hostesses and themselves, all the way up the bottom up. They're either princesses, hostesses themselves, all the way up to Mama Sun, where there are a community enough clients to book their rooms and they no longer had to share a cut with the people on top of them. And they rarely like to share their personal stories unless you knew them. I'll probably share a couple of their stories without mentioning names, but unless they're shitfaced you wouldn't hear much. But then you can see, you can sense that it was a long learning curve. Thank you for tuning in and please follow for updates. Uncle Wong, wishing you all the best.
