By Peter Berton

LOS ANGELES – Nick Hawk roared into the public consciousness in Showtime’s reality TV series Gigolos, a series about the lives of male escorts in Las Vegas.

Hawk cashed in on his infamy by launching a line of sex toys, a booking agency for strippers and careers as an author and consultant specializing in how to seduce women.

At first blush, it might seem strange that a former Air Force crew chief should end up as an escort and stripper, but spend a few minutes with Hawk and you’ll learn his career path has been anything but accidental. According to him, he “planned out everything in [his] life way in advance.”

YNOT.com: Most boys want to be cowboys or firemen when they grow up. You wanted to be a gigolo?

Nick Hawk:When I joined the Air Force, I planned on doing my four years and then strip to finish up college and start my acting career. I continued to take multiple acting classes for four years after I graduated [from] college.

I was always interested in the gigolo stuff but knew it wasn’t easy to get into. Luckily, Garren James with Cowboys4Angels.com found me, and the show found him.

You got your big break on Showtime’s Gigolos. What that has meant to your career?

Doing the show was the biggest decision of my life. I was perfecting my acting craft and getting some serious callbacks. [I thought] an adult or a reality show wouldn’t be the best choice for my career and [Gigolos] was both, but it was an opportunity I couldn’t pass up. The show opened up the minds of many women out there and obviously blew up my gigolo-ing career as well.

In 2013, you launched your own adult toy line. How has business been?

I have to say it’s pretty amazing to have a dildo molded from your penis sold in most adult stores around the world.

The line was actually my idea. It was the first way I decided to capitalize on what I was doing. I approached one of the largest adult toy distributors in the world, Cal Exotics. They loved my ideas, and the rest is history.

I was hoping for four or five products. We made 23 and a sex position book. The line is kicking some ass.

You also advise men about how to pick up women. What do most men do wrong?

Every man is at a different level and needs different advice. It’s almost easier to teach ones with less experience, because they don’t make a lot of the errors society teaches men — such as putting your personality on steroids as a reality actor would when the cameras are rolling. It’s best to show the real you and develop the real you into a better and more interesting person.

I do my best to make [men] confident and comfortable in their own skin; then we go out and hit it hard. We sometimes approach over 50 women in a night. I will participate as their wingman or listen from a distance with a microphone and earpiece. After each encounter we talk about what happened and explore ways to make the next one better.

You also run a stripper booking service.

Yes. I manage strippers in four different states.

When you’re not doing all of those things, how do you relax?

I love what I do, but I also enjoy my time and clearing my head. Training, sports and the outdoors are how I find my peace. I play basketball, I’m in a flag football league, Jiu Jitsu, snowboarding, I love hiking with my dogs and taking my wakeboarding boat to Lake Mead.

What have you learned about people and life?

I’ve become a sponge. I love to meet new people, teach them what I can and absorb what they can teach me.

Life is about becoming a better person, and you only will do so if you open your eyes, ears and put much thought into everything you do. You will never really learn something until you really want to learn it and care to, even in simple social situations or while watching a movie. You should constantly be analyzing and interpreting any and all data you encounter to grow as a human.

What are your future goals?

I’m happy, but I would love to do more music, TV and movies. I have two lead roles I’ll be filming in the next year, and I’m very excited about that.

I would also love to host TV shows and possibly create and produce my own someday. I have a few good ideas. I’m still considering a psychology PhD, but that would require six more years of my life.

What do few people know about you?

I’ve told very few people that I was very shy when I was younger. I wanted people to think I was always a strong, confident person, but that was not the case.

Now I want people to know they can make changes in their life. We are capable of endlessly improving ourselves. It takes inspiration, motivation and practice. I consider very few people to have the confidence I possess today.