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
S1E4 - China's Heaven & Hell: Working as a pimp - Part 4
China's opium war shame has shaped its modern approach to drugs and nightlife in ways few outsiders understand. From the death penalty for drug distribution to mandatory rehabilitation programs that leave permanent marks, these policies directly impact entertainment venues like KTVs (karaoke television clubs).
Walking into these establishments as both a manager and reluctant "duck" (male companion), I witnessed firsthand how money drives an elaborate ecosystem where youth and perceived inexperience command premium prices. Behind closed doors, competition for clients creates constant tension, while unwritten rules warn against forming attachments with colleagues – advice I sometimes failed to heed as a newcomer to this world.
The surprising gender balance of this industry struck me most. While KTVs appear designed for male pleasure, women clients seek companionship too. My first experience serving a female client – a heartbroken woman in her early thirties driving a yellow Porsche – taught me more about navigating this complex terrain than any training could. From mixing expensive wine with Sprite (a peculiarly Chinese habit) to understanding the subtle differences between "chickens" and "ducks" in cultural slang, these intimate details reveal much about contemporary Chinese nightlife.
Most poignant were the stories behind the glamour – mama-sons supporting children while hiding their profession, managers dispensing hard-earned wisdom, and the constant awareness that age eventually ends these careers. As I stood outside those private rooms contemplating my choices, I never imagined the education I'd receive about human nature, cultural shame, and the lasting impact of historical trauma on modern entertainment.
Want to hear more unfiltered stories about China's entertainment industry? Follow Asian Uncle for weekly episodes that pull back the curtain on experiences rarely shared publicly.
Welcome back again to Asian Uncle. Now back to our second topic. It's worth mentioning here that China has a zero-tolerance policy towards drugs, and they've been very successful at it, something I believe the US should learn a thing or two. This, I believe, is a result of the shame our culture had to endure because of the opium war. For the first time in China's history, we were attacked by Westerners foreigners on our soil. They looted our capital and forced China to sign unfair treaties. This was perhaps worse in Chinese people's minds than the Japanese invasion during World War II. During World War II, why? Because these countries got away with it, all eight of them Russia, uk, america, germany, hungary, italy, japan. They put the Chinese to shame and eventually ended Chinese imperialism, ended the 300-year reign of the Qing Dynasty. Walking through the British Museum now feels like walking through a souvenir collection of countries that were once invaded. So, as a result of all this historical background, the Chinese hate drugs and they look down upon people who use them. So imagine if US had the same zero drug policy as China the death penalty for distribution and six months mandatory state-operated rehab. These rehabs are no joke, not like the American ones where you can go in because of a court order and just leave if you want to. You're not leaving one of these places and once you're done, this leaves a permanent mark on your record. If found guilty of distribution, processing of drugs, smuggling, whatnot, you will be trialed as if you committed murder. The chances of you getting away with a death penalty are slim to none. They will shoot you as a result.
Speaker 1:Clubs like ours did. We have drugs, yes, but it was very limited. You barely noticed it. The management procedures at the KTV also was very detailed and it made very good business sense in terms of we didn't have to beat or force any of these girls to make them listen. Money alone was enough. So the less mileage quote unquote you have meaning the less you slept around or the younger you looked, the more you can charge a premium. Everybody knew how they made money, where they made money.
Speaker 1:Typically everyone was happy, but when the customers left, the club didn't turn quiet. Instead, it gets more rowdy. Why, instead, it gets more rowdy? Why Everybody's drunk, tipsy and yelling at each other about stealing each other's customers. That was something you could not avoid, or hard to avoid. Is that somebody's? For instance, I have a customer coming in. I'm not too familiar with them and one of the girls takes them and then they book their rooms from the girl and not from me. From now on, that's stealing my, my customer. So there would be some tension regarding that between mommies, between managers. For the most part it was just bullshit. Everybody was drunk, whatever. Always some bullshit to deal with. But what was really bad was the ladies' room. You know that hidden room we mentioned way back.
Speaker 1:Every night there'll always be I mean always some drunk girl crying in the corner Saying how much she hates her life, her parents, her boyfriend, whatever. But the manager always told me in Chinese, rabbits don't eat the grass around their nest Another way of saying don't shit what you eat. Why? It's simple. Not only will they get special treatment from you, but they'll probably start asking you to pay rent. That's what always happens. And he always tells me Dude, what if your dumbass falls in love with one of them? Are you okay with seeing some slimy dude take her out, or are you going to just pay her rent and marry her? Don't be stupid. That was my lesson. That was how I was taught.
Speaker 1:I admit openly that I did pay rent, sometimes Once or twice, but I was young and this was all so new to me. A couple months into work I've already gotten used to it. I could still wake up drunk and function at work the next day and for some reason I started to like working these night shifts. Every night would be different and it wouldn't be long until I had some of my own clients clients that I made good impressions on and I started booking my rooms instead of the PR girls. It worked the other way around for the most part, because if you keep booking that girl's room, you have to keep calling her to chill with you in that room. You're not going to book her room and then call other girls. That would also, I don't know, some girls might get jealous as a result. They would like to book the mommies and above because we can show them different girls all the time.
Speaker 1:No one except my manager knew that I had a day job and that I didn't do this for a living. If everyone knew, then they would treat me different and I wouldn't learn as much. I didn't even use my real name, because if my company or my colleagues found out, that would have just been embarrassing. It's kind of like if you were working as a prostitute and your friends walk in on you one day. That's not something you want to have happen. It's probably one of my worst nightmares, for me as a manager and even for the PR girls. Good thing is I was new in China. People didn't know me. I walked around freely and people in my company were probably too poor to afford coming to these places, and the only person that actually came that I knew to visit me was my dad. He came sometimes just to chill. He would come alone, order like a bottle of red wine, grab a girl and just chat, drink a little, sing a little and leave.
Speaker 1:It was a what would you call it? A different lifestyle, and KTVs sounds like a paradise for men. There's a lot of different types of KTVs. There's also a lot of different types of places where you can go if you don't want to find a prostitute, but these were all in one sector. They all were used to please men, but, on the contrary, we actually serviced women as well. At the time I just didn't know about it. This was the first time I had ever done something like this getting paid to be someone's company and even though people didn't say it. But it was something degrading, especially in our culture. So Chinese, we have a slang for female prostitutes we call them chickens or 鸡 in Chinese. And men, it was just as degrading. We call them ducks or 鸭子 in Chinese.
Speaker 1:And as I stood outside the room about to go in, a lot of thoughts spun in my head. Was I ready to take that step into the dark side? I was both excited and worried at the same time. In the back of my head, I imagined a hideous old lady that was going to eat me alive. It wasn't anything about my reputation. It was more of what I would have to endure, but I couldn't have been more wrong.
Speaker 1:She was young and pretty for her age at the time she was in her early 30s, I would guess. And when my manager took me into the room, I didn't have to try out like the ladies. I'd have to stand there and have them pick because I was the only one. She had some criterias right. Like I mentioned last episode, she was still singing at the time, so she was finishing up her song, but she politely waved, smiled and asked me to sit down, and while she was singing, I could tell from her lyrics that she's been heartbroken plenty, and as she was singing, I could almost feel her cry. And by then I'd been around so many women that at least I learned how to read their mood. And she had two girlfriends with her at the time, but they didn't call anyone, they didn't have any company. My manager would bounce in and out to entertain them, but again, I was the only one getting paid to do this and I remember, as I was sitting there she was still singing.
Speaker 1:I had this fake smile on and many thoughts ran through my head again and again like bro, did you just become a fucking gigolo? But I waved those thoughts off real quick because she just finished her song and her friends were relatively quiet and you could tell who was picking up the tab. They probably just came out to comfort her or something I don't know. And they just took turns singing. And she asked politely would you like to order more food? And I gazed at the table. There was a nice bottle, expensive bottle of red wine and plenty of food. Like the hoe that I am, I shook my head and I smiled back no, I'm good. She picked up the wine, I did mine, she took a sip and I drank all of mine. I was very nervous.
Speaker 1:And one thing to note that's very interesting when I first got to China is that they like to mix their red wine regardless if it's cheap or expensive with Sprite Okay, like the Coke Coca-Cola Sprite. Okay, I'd like to mix it with soda. It made it taste great, but it also creeps up on you very high in sugar. Right, if you're diabetic, don't do it. We didn't have much imported red wine back then. We had a china great wall brand. It was not bad, but you know it was not good either. Mixed with sprite, it was actually okay. Some people would even mix it with, like green tea, and it would just get you hyper and drunk at the same time. It really, really wasn't a good feeling, especially as your body ages. Right, I prefer whiskey than Remy, but wine and Sprite was the most common, then it was beer.
Speaker 1:So, anyways, she mentioned that she's a light drinker and asked me to sing something to her in English, and I think I picked a classic like Right here, waiting, or Tears in Heaven, something like that, and in the middle of my song she walked up and began dancing with me. She didn't have any strong perfume on, it was mostly like fruity lotion smell, and she was very gentle and I could tell she had a lot on her mind. She placed her head on my chest and just kind of dwelled into the moment and I was just a young dude and she could conveniently tip me for the company and comfort. Afterwards we sat down, we drank a little more and she started to ask questions like where did I go to school, high school, college, and where did I learn my english, what it was like living in america, new york city? You know, I don't want to offend her at the time by asking her the same questions back, because it just felt impolite because I was getting paid for it. So I felt like the bitch. So I tried to act like one.
Speaker 1:And she didn't stay too long. It was maybe around like 11 o'clock. We only sat for maybe three hours and she said she was tired and she had to get back. She had work the next day. So after she got the check we walked downstairs, I sent her out and she asked me if I wanted to go for a midnight snack. I didn't know how to respond Because she just said she had work the next day. She had to leave early. Yet she asked me out for a snack. I was confused Because in my knowledge, if somebody asks that, it means that they might want to take you back home or seriously just get food with you.
Speaker 1:I turned to the manager. He was right behind me. He could tell I was shook. He was such an asshole. He started giggling and then he whispered into my ear he's like yo, this girl is going to work you tonight. And while he said that, somehow she probably got the idea that I was uncomfortable, so she said it's okay, maybe another time.
Speaker 1:It was a very embarrassing moment for me. My face was red and at the time the valet driver already picked up her car and it was in front of the door. It was a bright yellow Porsche and instead of waving or kissing me goodbye, she squeezed my cheek like a grandma would do and said in Chinese oh, you're so cute. I smiled back, but the only thought in my head at that time is when is this bitch gonna tip me right? I was my first time and after she left, my manager quickly pulled me over and said good job. And I said for what he said, for playing hard to get. Afterwards he said she left me a nice tip on the tab. She never pays cash. So I get t tipped twice to three times as much as the most expensive lady. So if they got 70 bucks I would get 200 around, or 150, 200 for just three hours of being a submissive boyfriend. It's not a bad deal.
Speaker 1:After that experience, one of the nights I had a drink with my manager and he told me something I would never forget. He's always telling me stories or giving me life lessons that I would never learn otherwise. He said I understand, you're young. If you want to sleep around, do it with the mama sons. Why? Because they're a part of the team. We have the same interests. You have your needs, they have theirs. Pr girls, on the other hand, they're trouble. They come and go. The last but not least never sell yourself short or cheap to a female client. It was hard for me to understand what he meant back then, especially the third part never sell yourself cheap. I was only 23 at the time. What do you mean sell myself cheap? Like should I ask for rent too? There was a system for the PR girls, but there wasn't a system for people like me.
Speaker 1:I kind of want to give a little bit of time to mention the mama sons. First of all these mama sons. They were not old either. Some of them had wear and tear, mostly were PR girls themselves, but they had a sexy, mature feel to them, as if they didn't care anymore, like they could just take out one of their tits and just walk around like that kind of I don't care anymore, meaning I'll sleep with whoever. I want Everything for them, from drinking to making perverted jokes. It was very casual for them. They had nothing to hold back. They knew they only had a couple of years to make money before age takes a toll on them. The heavy drinking every night makes you age like no other and sometimes I felt bad for them.
Speaker 1:I had a mama son that had a kid. She didn't tell anybody about it, but the kid was three years old. She hired her nanny to take care of him while she worked. And did she sleep around and make money otherwise? Yeah, because her husband left her and she had no choice. So these were some of the things that we would see, even from our peers, and it was very disturbing at times. That's all the time we have. We'll pick up next episode. Thank you again for tuning in and follow for updates. Have a great rest of your week.
