Kriti Mehrotra
Although a bespectacled Somen Banerjee AKA Steve was rather nerdy-looking, often seen in a dress shirt, slacks, and tie, he was essentially a pioneer within the adult entertainment industry in the 1970s and 80s. After all, as explored in Hulu’s ‘Welcome to Chippendales,’ he established the titular all-male striptease club catering exclusively to women, only to fall from grace once his criminality came to light. Yet for now, if you wish to learn more about his son Christian “Bane” Banerjee — with a specific focus on his past experiences as well as current standing — we’ve got the details for you.
Who is Christian Banerjee?
From what we can tell, Christian Banerjee was born in 1990 as the youngest (only son) of two to Irene Katherine Banerjee (née Tychowskyj) and Somen “Steve” Banerjee in Los Angeles County, California. He spent his initial few years surrounded by his elder sister, Lindsay, and several shirtless, buff males at his parents’ workplace or their luxe bougainvillea-filled residence in Playa del Rey. Unfortunately, though, it all started crashing down when the FBI apprehended his entrepreneurial father on counts of attempted arson, murder for hire, as well as racketeering in September 1993.
While Christian lost Steve to suicide in October 1994, his mother sadly passed away following an intense battle with breast cancer in February 2001, which means he became an orphan at 10 or 11. Steve and his sister were thus sent into the care of his maternal aunt and uncle in Buffalo, New York, yet it does not appear as if he ever had a great relationship with them owing to the past. As per his account, not only had they been fighting with Irene since his father’s arrest, but they would allegedly get into quarrels with him before kicking him out on many occasions once he was a teenager.
“Lots of times, I slept on park benches,” Christian said. However, the one aspect that bothers him the most is the fact his mother had told him “they stole the money” shortly before her demise. His father had allegedly kept significant funds for the family in Swiss accounts, but there was absolutely nothing there when they tried to retrieve the same sometime after he passed away. Yet, it’s imperative to note there has seemingly been no official investigation to back Christian’s implied accusation of the stolen inheritance — nothing suggests his maternal family pilfered any money from Steve.
Christian Banerjee is Focusing on His Venture Today
Christian had actually gotten into fitness and bodybuilding at a relatively young age, idolizing the physique of the dancers his father had employed at Chippendales, so he pursued a similar career. The youngster initially served as a personal trainer and owned-operated a supplements business, but then moved on to stripping upon realizing there was a lot he didn’t know about Steve or his venture. Christian, fortunately, landed a few gigs in quick succession, driving him to train hard, and that’s when he discovered stripping gave him a “sense of meaning” through the association it held with his late father.
“It wasn’t the fact that I wanted to be a stripper,” Christian told the New York Post. “It was my destiny. It wasn’t like I saw ‘Magic Mike’ and wanted to emulate what I’ve seen. This came from a much deeper place in my soul.” Therefore, today, at 32, the Los Angeles, California resident continues to make a living as a dancer-entertainer under the moniker Bane Strippendale. He used to be a lead stripper at Hunk-O-Mania but is now the owner of his own company Strippendales, which operates throughout Southern California in Los Angeles, San Bernardino, Riverside, San Diego, Santa Barbara, and Orange Counties.
Read More: What Was Steve Banerjee’s Ethnicity? Where Was He Originally From?
