By John Hayden
When most people come out of retirement, it’s often because financial circumstances have changed. That’s not the case for Charles Horton. He was bored.
Now, South Florida’s LGBTQIA+ is benefitting. This year, he bought LeBoy at 1243 NE 11th Avenue, just off 13th Street, in Fort Lauderdale and LIT at 2440 Wilton Drive in Wilton Manors. After less than a year, both are thriving under new ownership and new vibes.
Horton says none of this was really planned.
“I came down [to South Florida] to visit, found a house, and stayed with the intention of being retired. A friend worked here and found out that LeBoy was for sale. The serial entrepreneur in me knew it was a great deal. Then LIT came around and it was exactly the same financial deal.”
Early Unretirement
When Horton was 18 and just out of high school, he realized he’s a ‘serial entrepreneur,’ and opened a check cashing company which he sold at age 30, fulfilling his goal of being a millionaire and retiring by 30. Turns out fulfilling that goal wasn’t as fulfilling as he dreamt.
“I thought I was retiring for life. I ended up retired and depressed at 30. I went to a Tony Robbins seminar and realized we needed a purpose in life, so I started a payday loan, title loan, and installment loan business. I got it to 80 locations and sold it three years ago.”
From there, he wanted to open a gay retreat, an idea that was better on paper than in reality.
“I was sitting out there in Marshall, TX, with no friends, nobody, living in a travel trailer. It hit me that this was the worst idea on the planet instead of the best.”
That’s what led him to South Florida, and yet another unsuccessful attempt at retirement.
“I came here to be with a couple of friends and just loved the area.”
Bettering Lives
Owning bars, and strip clubs specifically, often means working with young people still getting started in life and trying to find their way and making a lot of cash. Horton works with employees at both bars to help them enjoy their 20s, but plans for the decades still to come.
“I love being involved in the community,” he says. “The big thing for me buying bars is to better the lives of people who are here. One of my first goals was to make sure everybody had access to health insurance for all the dancers and everyone.”
He’s worked with Midland Cares to set up his employees with PrEP (or medications if they are HIV+) and get the type of regular care that keeps people healthy in their youth through middle and old age. Many dancers move here but find the price of housing expensive, especially when you need to pony up the first month, last month, and a month’s security deposit.
“I’m trying to make sure people have places to live and stay. That’s the current task. I love seeing everything grow.”
Bartenders and dancers can make hundreds of dollars a night, but for dancers, that window isn’t open for long. Horton started young and invested well and wants his experience to help others.
“What I’d like to do next is to be able to have investment vehicles. There are people here that can make $1,500 in a night and they spend all of their money, as most kids do. I’m trying to work to get a financial advisor to show them how to invest and make plans and give them tools to invest.”
Horton also works to provide a safe, clean environment for his staff. “We’re always looking around and making sure rules are being followed. It’s making sure everyone is in the right mindset.”
As for what’s next for The Drive’s newest power player, he doesn’t know. Horton says he’s looking for the right opportunities and will know it when he sees it. But a third retirement doesn’t seem like it’s on the horizon.
