MY NIGHT AT THE METAVERSE’S SEEDIEST STRIP CLUBS

There are no shows, no dancers, no bouncers and no cover. All there is are darkened rooms, mutant avatars and the vague promise of something raunchy. It’s 11 a.m. on a weekday, and I’m at Club Ruby, a virtual reality strip club located in a shadowy corner of the metaverse. Like a real dive, it’s dark inside save for the fluorescent red lighting, which illuminates the matching polyester sofas and cascades across the crimson curtains that garnish each private room. In the corner, there’s a bar, and a stage with two poles on either side. Really — it’s just like any other strip club. Then I start meeting people.

Immediately, I’m welcomed by a shirtless man in a gimp mask, who says he’s stripped down because he’s in Brazil and “it’s hot.” Across the room, someone gives a petite, dark-haired anime girl in a maid’s outfit some tips on how to move around in VR. I turn to watch a tiny frog dance on the stage, and hear an American dude behind me say: “She was asking me to fuck her. She got Butterball naked in front of 30 other people. Then, yeah, she added me on Discord.” Read more >