A Night of Thunder... from Down Under

Macho Men Even Your Mother Would Love

by Cheryl Fusco Johnson

Cheryl's knitting group and their friends spent a raucous night watching Aussie male dancers Thunder from Down Under.

An avuncular science-fiction writer I knew years ago proffered sage advice. “Keep trying new things,” he said, “and you’ll never grow old.”

So when my knitting group recently discussed Australian troupe Thunder From Down Under’s impending one-night stand in my town, I voted to go. Here’s why I love these knitters: they did, too! Clicking needles fell uncharacteristically silent—temporarily not disgorging booties, caps, and scarves—as we knitters expressed disparate levels of interest in watching male exotic dancers perform. Camaraderie trumped prudence: we purchased tickets for 15 women, aged 87 to 21.

Four hours before show time, I met Thunder guys Adam Hughes, 38, and Shannon Robinson, 23. Posters around town sporting bare-chested hunks in tight denims had revealed Thunders’ sculpted physiques. For my readers’ sakes, I felt compelled to uncover training secrets in person. Despite their mega-macho appearance, Adam, formerly a physical education teacher, and Shannon, previously a personal trainer, were earnest and friendly.

“This is what we do for a living,” Adam said. “We’re very proud of it. It’s not the most noble of professions, but we’re doing a job where everyone is smiling and happy to see us.”

Shannon elaborated, “Our motto is 100 percent every time. Every time you challenge yourself. As soon as you step onstage, you switch something on. You don’t slack off, especially when you come to a place like this. It makes all the difference when you bring that big show and that energy to some of the smaller towns.”

Fairfield sports abundant first-rate, live entertainment. Still, when the knitters met for a pre-show Mexican dinner, my skepticism about Thunder energizing this small town vanished. Women hailed friends at nearby tables, extolled each other’s outfits, and tittered over the upcoming show. Strolling to the theater, we spotted groups like ours all over the square.

The next day, one knitter remarked, “It was an amazing night for people watching.” Given the nature of the show, an unsurprising statement, until she added, “I enjoyed seeing all the women, young and old, dressed up.”

The theater lobby pulsed with chattering women. Nearly 500 seats had sold. Our gang flocked around a table, savoring gourmet chocolates and Old Baileys Irish Cream. When the lights flickered, we filled a center theater row. Oddly, only one of us pulled out her knitting.

Screams erupted seconds later when video rolled of Thunder guys posing for sultry poolside photos. These guys hailed mostly from Thunder’s permanently based Las Vegas group. Soon we learned the touring troupe looked equally luscious: about 30 earsplitting minutes later, they bounded onstage and started dancing. We knitters were shocked—and not just because the audience grew even shriller.

Fairfield women dance. Summer Saturday nights we boogie in the grassy town square. We dance indoors all year: salsa, swing, English country, contra, belly dance, square dance, Duncan, Irish step, hip hop, tap, Nia—we do it all. Our daughters earn university degrees in dance. Our April art walk’s theme is dance. As one knitter later remarked, we take pro-level dancing at amateur events for granted.

Thunder guys danced like most of our husbands and boyfriends—gamely, bravely, disarmingly determined to please us. But not, as we’d naively expected and as one knitter astutely articulated, “transported, taken to the spirit level from which the dance exudes.”

Adam confessed that he had two left feet when he joined Thunder. “I came from an athletic background, track and field. Most of the guys, all us Aussies, we play cricket and rugby, all sorts of team sports.”

Few Thunder guys started as dancers.

“We’ve had plumbers, electricians. We’ve had business people,” Adam said. “It’s a very sought-after job in Australia.”

Being merely adequate dancers—some were better—didn’t diminish the guys’ charm.

One knitter was “totally impressed with these guys’ ability to use their muscles while pleasing the eye. I had great fun,” she said.

“The guys were laughing at themselves and smiling at us like we were all in on the joke,” another knitter commented. “They respected our intelligence, and their little dances for us seemed like gifts, a fulfillment of our fantasies.”

“We’re just ordinary blokes from Australia,” Adam claimed. “You know, we could be someone’s brother, someone’s friend from school or work.”

Yeah, maybe, if your coworker, school friend, or brother maintains a godlike-appearance. Despite traveling constantly, these guys look like the men of our dreams. (I mean this metaphorically. The blue-eyed sweetie in my dreams is shorter and sexier, with lots more chest hair and less on his head.) How do they do it? “Once a week, sometimes twice,” Adam said, “we have a cheat day, where we’ll have anything, really, pizza, ice cream, stuff like that. But basically we have to be strict all the time.”

“Lean meats. Basic carbs. Rice with nothing on it,” Shannon intoned.

“Vegetables. Broccoli. Tofu,” Adam added.

Talking about their workouts, they seemed happier. “We try and get gym hookups in every town we go to,” Adam said. “Sometimes we can’t, so we’ll do our own exercises.”

“Go for a run. Go for a walk,” Shannon explained.

Adam elaborated, “When you travel, you’ve got to do cardio. When you’re sitting on planes or cars, your heart rate’s not going anywhere. You’ve really got to pick yourself up and go for the power walk around the neighborhood or jog or find a gym.”

Is it worth it? Eating boring food? Working out five, six days a week?

From his first Thunder show, he was addicted, Shannon reported. “It was a big rush,” he said. “This is as good as it can get.”

Adam explained, “We’re a bunch of Aussie guys traveling around the countryside, looking as good as we possibly can, dancing for you ladies, having fun. That fun brings life. It projects out into the crowd.”

“Our women’s night out was great fun,” one of the quieter knitters reported. “To see a full house of mostly all women enjoying a fun, raucous night was wonderful. Thunder From Down Under were great entertainers.

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