Show & Tell: Jon Howes of Chippendales

Q: When did you move to Las Vegas?

A: When we moved out, I was in fifth grade. I went to Lamping Elementary, Bob Miller Middle School and Coronado High School.

Q: Did you want to be a dancer back then?

A: No. I wanted to be a pro football player. ... I stopped playing football after high school. I almost played in college but I decided to stay home. I'm currently enrolled at UNLV, still chipping away at the old degree.

Q: In what?

A: Finance. After high school, I went right into college and started to work at Wells Fargo. As soon as I turned 21, I got a job at The Cosmopolitan, which was way more entertaining (laughs).

Q: How did you get into Chippendales?

A: I was at the gym one day and got approached by one of the guys. He said, "We're doing auditions. You look like you have the right look. You should audition."

Q: That must have been strange.

A: At the time, I was 21 and making pretty decent money. I'm, like, "Why would I want to go and take my clothes off?" I thought about it for a while, and finally I went home and asked my mom: "I got asked to do this. What do you think?" She looked at me, and she's, like "You have to." I'm, like, "What do you mean I have to?" She said: "You don't understand. You have to do this. Who gets asked to do something like this? You have to do this!"

Q: You have the coolest mom ever.

A: If you knew my mom, you'd understand (laughs). Just (with) any opportunity, it's, "You have to. Why aren't you doing it?"

Q: What's it like to have all of those women in the audience screaming at you?

A: It's crazy (laughs). At first it was, "Are they really screaming for me? Are you sure?"

Q: Do women really throw stuff?

A: During one of my first three or four shows, I came offstage to go into the audience to interact with the crowd, and a girl threw pair of panties at me. It was a pretty big pair of panties and they got stuck smack dab on my face. They just stuck there, and I'm mortified. I can't see, and I don't know if I'm supposed to throw them back or keep them (laughs).

Q: What are the best things about being a Chippendale?

A: We have the most amazing fans. And the camaraderie with all the guys; we're really close. We call ourselves a fraternity. And the other cool thing is travel. I got to go to, I think, 15 different countries in Europe. Last month I got to go to Hong Kong and Taiwan, and I'm looking forward to seeing some new countries when we hit Ireland and the U.K.

Q: Has your mom seen you dance?

A: Mother's Day this year, I took her to brunch and then I made her come to the show. She was so happy.