An FKK Sharks Fan's Guide to Sao Paulo
I was originally inspired by a post in this subreddit talking about Scandallo vs FKK Sharks - although I can no longer seem to find the account I think I saved his name as OKSwimmer.
This guy indirectly influenced (much time later) me and a buddy to head to Sao Paulo to check it out ourselves. If you're still here somewhere, thank you.
I thought I'd give back by giving another look on how an FKK Sharks regular can enjoy, with a focus on the Sharks regular POV (big lineups, prices, extras for GFE, club amenities, and so forth) for the major nightclubs in Sao Paulo: Scandallo, Gauguin, and Casarao.
I've been to Sharks for about a decade now (minus COVID times, as I am US based), and I've seen the ebbs and flows of the club over time. I think there's a cloud hanging over the locals, and while as a foreigner I still enjoy it, it's also clear to me that now is the time to scout for alternatives while still enjoying Sharks where I can.
Logistics:
Frankfurt airport is an international travel hub with many worldwide options. When leaving the airport, an Airliner transport to Darmstadt takes but 30 mins and is efficient, cheap, and reliable.
Sao Paulo's main international hub, GRU, is a well maintained and modern airport. However the transport into Sao Paulo itself is not as well developed. The traffic of Sao Paulo is horrendous and I would budget 1 hr to travel from airport to city center. The primary recommendation I have before you go is to download and set up the 99 app. It is Brazil's version of didi, and offers better rates than Uber. If money isn't a concern then Uber is also effective. You'll use it a lot - for the major clubs the Metro is not an effective method of transport.
Finances:
At the time of this writing,
500 BRL = approx $100 USD = approx 86€.
Its slightly more, technically 5.18 to 1, but I rounded for simplicity.
One of the main obstacles you'll run into in Sao Paulo is not getting to the clubs. It's getting cash! While most ATMs in Germany impose no limits on cash (at least not one an American ever seems to observe- it could just be higher than my bank's own limit of $2000 USD per day), Brazil's ATMs put very stringent limits on how much cash you can take out per day. The best of them (Banco Bradesco) allows 2500 BRL/day, approx $500. Some of the others have lower limits. This works out to you needing to hit the ATM virtually every day assuming you're indulging, so locating yourself near a few good ATMs run by big, official banks is key (Bradesco, 24horas, Santander)
You also have the option of bringing cash which you can exchange at the casas de cambio (money changers), but be prepared to get a 4.7-4.9 rate offer. Terrible! If you're exchanging a lot you can negotiate, so definitely use that option if you're doing cash exchange.
Lastly, you can pay by card at these clubs. Even assuming you had no concern about the paper trail (I don't, actually), they charge a RIDICULOUS markup fee (10%). That's worse than any hit you'll take exchanging cash, although the benefit is you don't have to walk around with a giant wad of cash in your pockets.
Sao Paulo itself is relatively cashless. I haven't run into a single store or restaurant that did not take a visa card, with one exception. It seems you need a Brazilian ID to get a metro card for the subway. First country I ever encountered that this is the case, and this makes it kind of annoying as you need to go to the ticket counter and pay in cash for single ride tickets.
Timing:
One of the most interesting contrasts to Sharks is that in Sao Paulo, Tues-Thurs are the big days with the best lineups, and Fri/Sat are the slowest. Chatting with some of the girls, this is driven from one of the biggest contrasts to Sharks: many of these girls are just normal girls with other jobs, studies, and generally a life. They want to go out on weekends. They want to rest on weekends. They want to spend time with the rest of their friends who are off on the weekends - they work the nights on the weekdays often after their job/class/etc.
While this is certainly still the case for some Sharks girls, I've found that in general it is not. They came for this job, and they work when the volume of customers is the highest.
For those of you who really like a vibe with a girl that has other things going on - this is a far better environment. For those that don't care - well, this might be worse, you can't guarantee your favorite girl will be back the next night or on the weekend.
This also creates the next contrast: at Sharks the lineup starts trickling in throughout the day, maybe 3-4pm all the way through 8-9 when girls slowly decide to leave as the night carries on.
Scandallo opens at noon, but nothing is really going until 7-8pm at the earliest. Gauguin opens at 5 and doesn't start going until 8 at the earliest. Casarao isn't even open until 10pm. It IS advisable to be there at 7-8-9 if you want the best girls though - the true 10/10s get attention early.
Closing time seems to be 4-5AM.
Clubs Environment:
Scandallo is the classiest environment of all the major nightclubs. It blows sharks completely out of the water - where we're acutely aware of how sharks is a crumbling industrial warehouse, Scandallo is the highest of high end clubs with 4 main areas: a nightclub, a restaurant, a billiards room, and an outdoor patio. The cleanliness is excellent. The restaurant serves terrific food - I had sushi and filet mignon and it was all done very well. You could fit 20 of the sharks "restaurant" inside their restaurant - it was the size of a large, real restaurant. The patio is the best place for a chat with softer music and many tables and couches and a bar (around the size of the Sharks outdoor area), and the nightclub has a stage with live music acts and a DJ.
Gauguin is like a smaller version of Scandallo. The nightclub itself is the primary congregation area for Gauguin, but it also has an outdoor patio about half the size, and no restaurant although food is served. Casarao is the smallest and the least classy - there's an upstairs and downstairs area and each feels somewhat cramped and small. There's really nowhere to get away from the loud music, and while they do serve food in the downstairs area, I did not touch it.
Sharks fans are going to be most at home in Scandallo - it's the closest in size and the potential to spend an extensive amount of time there. The lineup is larger than Sharks. Gauguin and Casarao both boast large lineups as well - maybe more comparable to sharks - but lack the sheer size and scale.
One of the things that Sharks fans might feel the most lacking is the entertainment. For sauna/cold plunge/massage fans, Sharks at least has the wellness stuff to kill some downtime on. I can't say Scandallo has anything of the sort. However, given that there's much more expectations around spending time with girls NOT in the room, there's just far less downtime overall.
The entry prices are-
Scandallo: 600 BRL entry, 400 consumables.
Gauguin: 150 BRL entry.
Casarao: 60 BRL entry.
These entries can vary. Sometimes these clubs have an "event" and raise the entry. Some extremely popular bands play at them. The only way you can know is to look for their news (e.g. on Whatsapp). If that's too much work you can just cross your fingers.
You need ID to go into any club is Brazil. They seem relatively indifferent to what kind - an American driver's license worked for me for example.
The Game:
For the most part, in Sao Paulo the girls will not approach you unless you meet their eyes and give them some sign. In Sharks, that's the case for some but you also have quite a number of sharks doing their shark thing.
However, approaching a girl you like is no different than sharks, the usual smile and cold open. One huge difference is that while English is commonly used at Sharks, I'd estimate that only 20% of the girls in these clubs speak any English at all, with only maybe 3-5% approaching anything resembling conversational.
One compensating factor is that phones are allowed at these clubs, although taking photos is still not tolerated, it's understood that the translator is a major part of communication.
The girls are remarkably accustomed to this, and I had some surprisingly good conversations at these clubs, far better than Sharks. When the phone isn't allowed, you run pretty dry on the average Romanian girl's English vocabulary by the 10 minute mark. The other difference is that at Scandallo/ Gauguin, the flirting is expected and part of the experience. On average I spent 60-90 minutes with a girl before any mention of the room, and it was anything from talking to cuddling on the couch, to cheeky foreplay, or kissing.
If you have any command of Portuguese at all, I expect your experience will be 2x better than mine. I speak some Spanish, which did help as some of the girls also spoke decent Spanish.
Bring a battery bank if you're going to spend all night and also need your phone to call a ride back.
Now for the attractiveness / lineup quality, Scandallo is the cream of the crop. I saw 10-15 girls each night at a level of attractiveness I considered to be 9 or 10 out of 10 (I like slim but not skinny, natural, soft features). By comparison at Sharks that might be 1-3 girls per trip. To give you an idea of my preferences: The old controversial Simona that sat at the bar was a 9 for me. Current petite lulu is a 7. Current Elsa is a 9. Lexi (Sarah Michelle gellar lookalike) is an 8. Rahel is a 7. The tall, model-like cataleya was an 8 once upon a time, like a 6 the last time I saw her. Old Angelina Jolie-like Kitty was an 8.
Gauguin was 2nd best, but the number of stunners was at a much lower ceiling, with maybe only 1-3 girls entering to the 9/10 territory, and Casarao didn't have any. I want to reiterate that the average attractiveness was still very high, and I was very happy with the looks in every location, but the only one that beats the pants off of Sharks is Scandallo when it comes to the looks ceiling. As with any club, there's always plenty, plenty of girls that are unremarkable (the bulk of them). If they were just girls off a dating site I'd certainly be happy if they showed up, but in this environment not even a consideration i'd take them.
It's safe to say I had sessions with some of the hottest girls I've ever seen in my life, and that's something I rarely say about any Sharks trip, although again I'm perfectly, perfectly happy with "very attractive". It's just when you've done this hobby long enough and the list of girls piles into 4 digits, mental rankings and tiers start to form more clearly.
One of the warnings is that implants and butt lifts are quite common in Brazil, and holding to my natural preference required some filtering. If you're into that more plastic look anyway, you'll be even happier than me.
The Room:
Scandallo: 340 BRL room fee, Girls 1000-1500
Gauguin: 250 BRL room fee, Girls 700-1000
Casarao: 120 BRL room fee, Girls 500-700
All of the above is 1 hour.
When compared to sharks, these prices can seem a bit hefty. However one of the distinguishing factors is that the service standard seems much, much, much higher.
Sharks has had a string of hit and miss experiences of late, with lackluster DFK even at the 50€ extra paid, rushed rooms, and a general lack of higher standards. For those that have been with Maxima, that is closer to "above average" in Sao Paulo where in Sharks I'd call Maxima "the best service you can get".
This doesn't mean you shouldn't clarify expectations before the room, but in general expect GFE to be included, BBBJ to be included, and in most cases the full hour is guaranteed (a call comes up from reception at 50 mins in Gauguin). The girls are passionate, and in general from building that rapport for 90 mins before the room there's often some inside jokes, laughing, joking, and teasing.
One note: if you're obviously a tourist and ask a girl to name a price, she'll often quote 2000+. I wouldn't even ask. Make an offer you think is fair. Make it inside those ranges, be aware if you're shooting for a girl that probably has tons of customers vs one that probably doesn't when thinking about your offer. Be aware if it's 9pm vs 3am. Be prepared to walk if it's not agreed to. Getting stuck in extensive negotiations is not how one should spend their time, and it's a vibe killer for me.
In all cases, after the business, you'll be led to a lobby area with the girl with a reception for the rooms. For casarao, this involves going outside and to the building next door. Scandallo and Gauguin have it attached. The rooms all have their own private shower and they give you clean towels (packaged in plastic), condoms, and soap. Girls never seemed to have a problem when I brought my own condoms.
The quality of these rooms is good but nothing remarkable, I would consider them to be slightly less grimy than Sharks in the case of Scandallo and Gauguin, although the size is similar. For Casarao, slightly more grimy than Sharks.
It's also possible to take a girl out of the club, paying an exit fee. I haven't done it myself but I hear it's 500 BRL. I personally don't love the idea of a stranger in my room (never had a bad experience myself but I heard too many stories) so if this is your thing, there's a number of good love motels in Sao Paulo. You can also get the girl's number and skip the exit fee as long as she's willing to spend time with you at the rate you agree to.
The most analogous experience to us sharks folks, however, is the club to the room, back to the club. I'd argue it still wins for safety, convenience, and some of us don't really want to talk to the girl all night.
The aftermath:
So you finish up and walk out. Post nut clarity sets in. What are you doing here? Maybe time to get a drink and relax.
In these clubs, your tab is on a wristband or card that is tied to the ID you gave when you entered.
I presume that the intention is this obfuscates the tab you're running up on drinks, and this is how they make money. Scandallo I think is the worst offender - water is 40 BRL there. By comparison the rather well made filet mignon is 140 BRL.
I see a lot of shit talked about Sharks mgmt but man, the club is still somewhere you can spend all day. Food and drinks and some entertainment (wellness) included. If you tried to do that at Scandallo you'd die of thirst or go broke - although again the food at Scandallo is fantastic and worth mentioning as a perk. Gauguin has unremarkable bar food you can order, and Casarao has nothing that looks edible.
When you're ready to go you settle up your tab.
City Safety:
I never personally felt in any danger in Sao Paulo, but it's definitely worth noting that this is not Germany.
There's still inadvisable places to be at night so I'd recommend the Uber/99 straight from club to hotel, vice versa when you do these things.
If you stick to that, I also imagine you'll feel perfectly safe.
Summary:
Sharks wins: Experiences besides girls in the club (Wellness features, place to hang out all day, included food/drinks), ease of logistics (e.g. currency), ease of use of English / German
Sao Paulo clubs wins: Looks by a wide margin, quantity by a small margin, experience with girls in the club (flirting, chatting), experience in the room (more GFE, passion, etc)
Without considering service variance: Sharks would win on price vs Scandallo, but be level with Gauguin, and be more expensive vs Casarao.
If you all want to know about the other parts of the scene (Clinicas), it's much more cheaply priced and some of the girls are very hot and the service i experienced was excellent. No club environment though so it isn't really comparable to sharks. Happy to share if you ask.