The demand for male strippers increases during the warmer months.

Male students scouting for a summer job might consider flirting with an unorthodox option: stripping.

Demand for male strippers skyrockets in the warmer months, reflecting a broader national trend toward hiring scantily-clad men as entertainment for special events.

Christian Newman, an Auckland-based accountant who runs Strip of Meat, a company offering a range of nude and semi-nude male entertainment services across New Zealand, says while demand has only increased in the decade since he founded the company, finding the right men for the job continues to be a struggle.

Ollie has amassed an impressive collection of drawings done by partygoers appreciative of his physique.

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Demand for Strip of Meat's packages, which include topless waiters, life drawing models, and strippers, has increased 33 per cent from last year, Newman says. In summer, Strip of Meat has about 30 bookings across New Zealand every Saturday.

Ollie plans to continue working with Strip of Meat having finished law school.

''We've got the demand from customers," Newman says.

"But we just don't have the guys."

The 170-odd men on his books are casual contractors, who are paid upwards of $50 an hour, plus transport costs if the distance travelled is more than 10km. His contractors have been known to make around $600 for only a few hours' work.

Newman says 95 per cent of bookings are hen's parties, with the remaining 5 per cent comprising gay stag parties, birthday parties, and the occasional "divorce party".

The lack of advertising platforms available to adult entertainment companies is a major factor in attracting talent. Newman says he once paid to advertise on TradeMe only to have the ad taken down and receive a warning from the company. Social media platforms such as Facebook and Instagram also ban adult advertising beyond a company's business profile page.

Newman has had some success advertising on Student Job Search, he says, though he's wary that some applicants appear too young.

''We don't want to be sending people along who the women could think it's their kid who's serving them the drinks."

Lexie Annan, a spokeswoman for Kiwi Strippers, which also offers female stripping services, says the rules around advertising online are a constant source of frustration.

Models advertising bikinis or even hair products are similarly clad, she says.

"But because it's associated with our company, it seems to be a problem."

While Kiwi Strippers has about 15-30 men they contract across the country to provide stripping services, "there's never a shortage of women who want to work."

Both Annan and Newman note an increase in demand for male strippers, attributing it to greater awareness and acceptance, and a greater range of services available. Newman also cites increased disposable income, and the film Magic Mike, as factors in male strippers' current popularity.

Newman, who has never stripped but has dabbled in topless waitering, acknowledges potential contractors' concerns around how the work is viewed by society.

"I've had staff who were training to be lawyers, builders, accountants and a whole lot of other people who've been keen, and they've chickened out."

He also wonders if men realise getting their kits off is a successful money-spinner.

"A lot of guys out there are going to the gym, working on their bodies, who love to show them off on Facebook and Instagram," he observes.

"They don't realise you can actually be paid for this."

Strip of Meat's contractors apply online, where they supply three photographs and basic information. If their body, and to a lesser extent, face, makes the grade, they undergo a phone interview, during which Newman gauges their confidence, enthusiasm, intelligence, and most importantly, charisma.

"They have to be able to walk into a room, light it up and take control of the party."

"Ollie" (a stage name - Stuff has agreed not to use his real name because of his concerns about the potential impact on his longer-term career prospects) has been a contractor with Strip of Meat since late 2015. The 23-year-old Auckland University Law Honours student, who has recently handed in his dissertation, says attitudes towards those in the entertainment industry are changing.

Ollie compares taboos surrounding stripping to those around tattoos.

"It was much more frowned upon than it is nowadays - the taboo has relaxed," he says.

"There's not a sense of 'only people who can't do anything else are strippers'. I met a female stripper yesterday who's doing a PhD in Antarctic microbiology. It's really challenging those old-school ideals that certain types of people do certain things."

Ollie, who lives with his mother and doesn't drink, recalls his first gig as a topless waiter, at a hen's party for a Samoan wedding. On arrival, he and his co-waiter walked through the house introducing themselves to guests and having their photos taken with them.

"It took 15 minutes to get from one side of the house to the other," he says.

"There was just this real high of, 'they really love us being here.'"

Two years later, Ollie, who works out five days a week for 90-minute sessions, has amassed an impressive collection of drawings done by partygoers appreciative of his physique. He has recruited his best friend and his cousin to the Strip of Meat cadre.

Ollie plans to continue the work following his graduation from Law School, adding plenty of his gigs have been attended by lawyers.

"If you're at the party, you can't knock me for being there too."