Goldfinger

Has Reykjavík turned into a sex capital? Sitting at Maxim´s early in the evening, drinking cups of coffee, Davídsson wonders about all the fuss.

Look, you basically only have three or maybe four clubs that people really come into. There´s Maxim´s and Ódal and of course my new club, Goldfinger, he says, making sure to plug his new business venture. The other clubs in town are not that popular.

 

To meet Davídsson is instantly to like him. With an ability to spin words like a fast- talking politician, Davídsson defies the image of the stereotypical strip bar owner. His gregarious personality matches his oversize frame; he speaks with ease of someone who´s making garbage bags full of money. Most importantly, though, he treats his staff with a great deal of respect, takes them on trips to the Icelandic country side and makes sure all his girls get paid. And paid well.

 

You hear stories of girls that come to Iceland but don´t make what they expect. This isn´t necessarily because they are being ripped off by owners. It´s just that they end up in bad clubs. Just how prosperous are Maxim´s and Goldfinger? Walk past Maxim´s at 3 a.m. and witness the revilers queuing to get a peak inside, or on a weekday, after the pubs close, head for Goldfinger- the only bar in the Reykjavík area open seven days a week until 6 a.m.- and witness taxis driving up to the entrance one after the other like a giant caravan on its way to a Grateful Dead concert.

 

It´s this type of popularity that caused the Icelandic government to take a closer look at the industry. When the clubs first opened, a law on the Icelandic books started that artists could enter the country without a work permit and stay for 30 days, then left, only to return at a later date. Today the law still stands, but it´s been amended so that it ceases to cover those working in night clubs.

The dancers are still coming and nobody seems to care because, despite the fact that this industry is normally associated with drugs and prostitution, it´s remained relatively clean in Iceland thanks to the fact that most clubs are located downtown, in the midst of Reykjavík´s cultural happenings.

 

We keep hearing that there´s no drugs or prostitution in these clubs, says Kolbrún Halldórsdóttir, Minister of Parliament from the Left Green Party, one of the politicians responsible for proposing legislation to regulate the industry. Icelanders can be a bit naive. In other cultures, prostitution and drugs often follow this industry so why should Iceland be any different. Ask Davidsson about prostitution and he laughs.

Look, a commission sent around undercover guys to find prostitution in the clubs. They tried to lure girls into prostitution by offering them 5,000 dollars to go home and sleep with them. Go out to deCODE[a genomics company] and offer those girls that type of money and see how many takers you get. Prostitution? Not in my club.