‘It’s UATL’ podcast: Former Magic City dancer weighs in on NBA debate

She started working at the club in 2006 when she was 18 years old. She was known as “Atlanta’s Diamond.” She left two years ago to pursue nursing.

In late February, when she heard that her former employer would partner with the Atlanta Hawks for a one-game collaboration, it was good news.

“This is big,” she thought. “This is what we deserve after being so low key for so many years and being such a staple in our culture in the city of Atlanta.”

But this week after the NBA announced it was canceling the planned promotion, Glover wasn’t surprised.

In an interview with AJC reporter and “It’s UATL” podcast co-host, DeAsia Paige, Glover discussed her experiences working at the famed building on Forsyth Street in downtown.

As a teen mother, Glover left Ohio to find opportunities in Atlanta. She had worked in a small club back home, shunned by her parents.

Her first night working at Magic City, she saw Usher. She remembers so much music business was handled there that not only the dancers were hustling.

“I always like to describe it as a place where everyone is naked, not just the girls,” she said. “The customers bare themselves as well.”

During her time, Glover was the top performer, a student of the women who came before her.

Despite the fact that no photos, social posts or promotion can be shared from inside, Glover always felt like the brand of Magic City would expand beyond Atlanta.

That the Hawks would partner with the club only made sense. In her experience, any promotion is a boon for the dancers, but also overdue in terms of acknowledging Magic City’s place in Atlanta culture.

Glover said she “sees both sides” of the debate around whether this particular promotion should’ve been canceled.

“I’m a little biased because I do believe in the art of nudity,” she said.

“I do understand the other side, too, because I used to take my daughters to the Hawks games and I can imagine if there was like a collaboration with the strip club and I didn’t know about the culture and I was still attached to the old stigmatism of the strip clubs, I probably would judge.”

She also notes that all of this online furor speaks to Magic City’s — highly marketable — lore. From its celebrity clientele, connections to hip-hop culture, and love (as well as critiques) for its lemon pepper wings, it’s a synonymous with Atlanta staples like Coca-Cola, making it an easy talker.

“When you think of Atlanta, you think of certain things and certain brands and businesses that have been around for 30-plus years, and they’ve been around that long because they are reputable and they’re doing something right,” she said.

On a more personal level, Glover is hopeful the discussion can shift toward changing attitudes about her past profession.

For now, she’s glad her parents have come around. Canceled or not, the thought of Magic City partnering with a brand name is a breakthrough.

“You know, it took a while to get to this point. We’ve opened the door, and it’s nothing but other great things to come about behind it because we have nothing to hide,” she said.

“We do great, clean business.”

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