Advertising for an apprentice is very difficult.
The perfect apprentice will be organised,
motivated, punctual, reliable.
It's hard because you can't actually say
"Double-ended dildo show" on Facebook.
MALIBU: Some people do this sort of work
and it's just a little thing on the side
or they keep it on the down-low and it's a big secret.
But Bonnie has no secrets. She lives it and breathes it.
BONNIE: I've done shows from Darwin right down to Brisbane, everywhere.
All I need is a girl to help me make this more fun.
The industry is complex. But most of the time
I'm butt-naked in the middle of the bush.
Hi, I'm Bonnie. I'm the one and only Bonnie Tonic.
and I live in Central Queensland.
I'm an outback stripper.
This week, we're going to Mackay. You need to be prepared.
You can't just...
piss off into the middle of nowhere
and not have what you need.
Sometimes I've got to drive hours and hours west.
I've even driven out to Mt Isa.
That was pretty full on, that takes about 10 hours.
I'm an old hat at it. I've been doing it for 17 years now
so I kind of feel like it's just second nature.
When I do a bucks' party,
I'll usually rock up to a room full of screaming guys.
If it's not a room, it'll be a paddock full of them.
Come out. Whoo! Rip your giant coat off.
Start dancing, kick your legs around...
shake your boobs.
I feel like I'm on a Broadway stage or something, you know.
Well, when I was growing up I was just an awkward tomboy
and every day I'd walk past the titty bar
and you'd hear all the commotion
and you'd hear all the screaming and yelling.
But as soon as I was old enough, I went into that titty bar,
got me tits out.
It was exciting, and I can't lie to me mother.
She knows me too well.
So I rang her and on the phone, she basically said
"Oh my god, that's it. I'm disowning you."
And then like five minutes later...
"Oh my god, I love you.
"Just don't talk to strangers. Don't take drugs."
We were raised sort of hippy so we weren't embarrassed.
Like, we're all adults, if we're all safe and comfortable...
well, they're just boobs.
#bestboobsincq
She's known by her boobs, I think.
Some people say they're not real.
But, no, I think they are.
My name's Melinda Slingsby. I'm 45 years old
and I'm also known as Malibu
but I don't go down easy like the drink.
Bonnie I've known for about... probably 15 years.
Oh, she's outrageous.
She has no filter. But she's a lovely girl.
She's one of the few kind, not mean girls that you find in the industry.
She understands you know, the concept
that it's a memory that people are making
when they book their bucks' party and stuff like that.
And these days, it's hard to learn
the art of striptease, I guess.
There's no other girls here. The job always comes back to me.
I'm trying to get an apprentice. I have advertised on LinkedIn.
I've advertised on Gumtree. I've advertised on Facebook.
(Sighs) It's difficult.
People don't take it seriously.
You could be making $500 an hour.
I've had a couple of girls apply.
Some have been lovely,
they're like "Hey, I can get topless but I can't do nude."
I'm like "Well, we can totally do that
"but you're probably not gonna make any money."
Like, I do triple-X shows.
How would I explain Bonnie's show?
Explicit, full on, hard core.
You can do what is called controlled touching.
So if people are being polite and courteous,
you can shake your boobs in their face.
We call that a motorboat - that's industry terms.
You need to be in control of the show
and of what's going on but still being able to...
have a good time.
You need to know what's going on around you.
CORRIN: Have you had any scary moments?
A few times.
I've been up at pubs where guys have grabbed me on the box.
A guy lifted my skirt over my head and licked me from front to back.
You practise your right hook with that.
A lot of times over the years, people think that it's okay to...
Like, they don't realise that's actually sexual assault.
What people think is that because you're a stripper, that that's okay.
That you don't deserve the same level of respect and courtesy
as other women.
CORRIN: What's the biggest misconception, I guess?
That we're prostitutes.
Because we're not.
One or the other. You gotta do one or the other.
Guys ring me when they book jobs all the time
and "How much for extras?"
It's like "Well, that's not what that is, mate."
I get slut-shamed a lot.
I'd be trying to get my groceries out
and people would be "Get your tits out, ya slut."
Yelling "Oh, ya f*cking dog." I mean, how horrible is that?
Who would say that to anyone?
I don't have to be ashamed because what I'm doing isn't bad.
My main focus isn't the stripping.
It's I wanna make people happy.
I'm at my happiest when I'm watering my garden.
I'm wearing my Crocs.
I'm watching my flowers grow, the sun shines, mate.
I feel like I'm in heaven.
MALIBU: The Crocs drive me insane.
Bonnie, the Crocs need to go.
I did ask her recently about what her plans were.
She said to me she wants to try and wrap it up
by the time she's 40... but we'll see about that.
Let's just see if the girls hold up that long.
I'm not doin' too bad at the moment.
35, and they're not down around me knees yet.
You need to like who you are.
I'm lucky, I don't have to hide my lifestyle from my family.
I can understand why for a young woman
that that may be intimidating to start with.
"What if my brother sees it?"
or "What if my boyfriend doesn't like it?"
Well, get another one.
F*ck him.
Shit, if I cared what people think
I probably would've quit a million years ago.