We’ve always loved the “Humans of New York” series because it provides a deeper (and even weirder) glimpse into the humanity, vision, and spirit behind the characters of New York—and the world. And let’s be honest, there’s a lot of, er, characters.
But no one has stood out more than Tanqueray, a 70’s-era costume designer, stripper, and storyteller.
In the brand new installment of the series, we meet a hero called Tanqueray, who has become the Internet’s new obsession — and with good reason. In fact, Tanqueray—who many are calling “a legend” and “iconic”— was so interesting that the Humans of New York account gave her three posts’ worth of space (most subjects get a single post).
Tanqueray is that bitch. A legend. Iconic. Your faves could never. We have to stan. pic.twitter.com/6PcZgqkdAV
— Er!c (@ericthulhu) November 19, 2019
In Tanqueray’s story, we get all the goods: First, her mom threw her out of the house. She said, “My mom threw me out of the house at seventeen for getting pregnant, then had me arrested when I tried to get my clothes.”
We need a Tanqueray from Humans of New York docuseries ASAP
— King Williams (@IamKingWilliams) November 20, 2019
Tanqueray got out of jail and went to college, learning to make costumes for strippers.
Tanqueray was smart though, so she got out of jail and into college.
“The warden did some tests on me and found out I was smart, so I got a scholarship to go anywhere in New York. I chose the Fashion Institute of Technology, which I hated. But by that time I was already getting work making costumes for the strippers and porn stars in Times Square,” she said.
Some of us live boring, predictable lives…and some of us are Tanqueray.
Tanqueray lived a life of wild, long NYC nights, loads of fashion, and tons of partying (we won’t even get into the steaming hot, oh-so-juicy details — but trust us, just go read the details).
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“I danced in so many mob clubs that I learned Italian.”
Tanqueray herself worked as a stripper, so she had the hot goss on all the mobsters that rolled through looking for a little fun:
“The scene was different back then. All the adult clubs were mob-controlled. It all flowed up to some guy named Matty The Horse. Honestly, the mob guys never bothered me,” Tanqueray told Humans of New York.
“They were cool, and I liked how they dressed. They wore custom made suits. And they went to hair stylists, not barbers. These guys wouldn’t even let you touch their hair when you were f*cking them,” she said.
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Apparently, a former President of the United States used to visit her friend Vicki for fun times. Tanqueray explained, “Madame Blanche set my best friend Vicki up with The President every time he came to New York. And don’t you dare write his name cause I can’t afford the lawyers.”
Nixon?! Reagan?! Bush?! Who are you, Mr. President?
Head over to the Humans of New York account to see much, much more of the godd*mn delight we now know as Tanqueray.