‘Down Under’ men work hard to stay in shape

Clint Scott's body is a temple -- a 5-foot 10-inch, bronzed, hard, muscular temple -- where hundreds of women worship each week.

It's also a bank, his personal savings and loan, because without those rippling washboard abs, firm and defined pecs and perfect derriere, Scott, 33, would be out of work.

"Our job is to be in shape," says Scott, a member of the Australian male strip show Thunder from Down Under.

And oh, what a job it is. Dancing on stage, ripping clothes off to the beat of a soundtrack. Showing off nearly everything the good Lord gave them. Turning hundreds of women -- grandmothers, sisters, aunts, mothers -- into shrieking fan girls who think nothing of groping half-naked, hot, muscular strangers.

"That was the greatest moment of my life!" Ashley Bacon of Detroit gushes after running her hand across Scott's chest. The moment was over in a flash, no pun intended. The Australian stripper had hundreds of other screaming women waiting for their chance to ogle, grab and spank him during a recent performance at the Excalibur, 3850 Las Vegas Blvd. South.

The job is not as easy as it sounds. Really. Because after that daily 75-minute stretch of complete and utter adulation they receive, the real work begins. In the gym.

The Aussie hunks are contractually obligated to look like Adonis, or at least "maintain visible abs."

The show itself provides a strenuous cardiovascular workout, says Matthew Fardell, 38. All that dancing, leaping on stage and fending off over-eager audience members burns a lot of calories. But the men still must adhere to a regular workout schedule.

A performer in Thunder for the past 10 years, Fardell also serves as the troupe's fitness coach. He has a bachelor's degree in exercise science and is a licensed personal trainer.

Fardell was recruited to audition for Thunder while pursuing his master's degree and working at the Melbourne Sports Aquatic Center in 2001. It was quite a shock for him to go from a farm town with a population of only 500 to standing on stage with 500 women shrieking over him. He says it took him about six weeks to get used to the fact that he was stripping in front of others.

While Fardell designs workouts and diet plans if necessary, most of the dancers follow their own routines.

When he first joined the show five years ago, Scott hadn't lifted a weight. He didn't have to; he lived on the Gold Coast of Australia and spent his time pursuing a professional surfing career while break dancing for fun. That kept him trim and tanned.

In 2006, a Thunder from Down Under representative recruited him to compete on a reality show for a spot in the Las Vegas lineup and Scott started a regular workout routine.

Now, he works out twice a day during this time of year. The Thunder men are preparing for their annual calendar photo shoot in May, so they step up the intensity of their workouts to look their best. And Scott is training for triathalons. He plans to compete in one a month until the season ends in October.

"I've noticed a big difference since Matty started helping me with my diet," says Jesse Shelley, 25.

Shelley was a professional rugby player, a fullback for the Parramatta Eels in Australia, before joining the show more than two years ago. He was fit, but he ate like a typical young man: burgers, fries, junk food.

Now, he allows himself a cheat day, he says, but throughout the rest of the week, he's eating rice, chicken, fish and vegetables. Shelley is blessed with a fast metabolism but he still works out at least an hour each day.

The abdominal muscles are the hardest to develop and the first to go when you start losing your conditioning, Fardell says, so the Thunder men use them as their visual measuring stick.

"The mirror doesn't lie," Shelley says.

The unofficial goal is to keep everyone below 12 percent body fat but most of the dancers are in the single digit percentages, Fardell says. To keep the performers on track, Fardell measures their body fat and administers a fitness test once a month.

Each Thunder dancer must bench press 225 pounds, squat with 275 pounds and perform chin-ups with a natural grip, doing as many repetitions of each exercise as they can.

"It's more of a benchmark than anything," Fardell says. "Just to give people a chance to see where they are."

Though they look like perfect physical specimens, the performers are still human. Sometimes, they get off track. Gain a few pounds. Get a little soft in the middle. When that happens, peer pressure is more of a motivator than their contracts.

"If you gain weight, the guys will make fun of you," Scott says. "No one wants to be made fun of."

Contact reporter Sonya Padgett at spadgett@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-4564.