Just about everyone in southeast Kansas goes bananas over the Pittsburg State Gorillas. Especially the greatest of the Great Apes -- the school's official mascot, Gus the Gorilla. A spirited simian, Gus can pull off tough gymnastics stunts and show his sexy side with a naughty striptease. He's a hard-working, hairy guy who knows exactly how to make thousands of Gorilla fans go ape shit. Gus recently swung by to chat with Playboy.com about stripping, flipping and all the other monkey business that goes along with being one of the nation's best mascots.

Playboy.com: College mascots tend to be cartoonish, but you look like an actual gorilla. Does that scare people?
Gus the Gorilla: Sometimes. The real young kids mostly just love me, but some of the kids -- shoot, even some of the college students -- are scared to death of me. But I don't really aim to intimidate. I'm a pretty laid-back kind of guy.

PB: Do you have any special moves on the field?
Gus: I do a striptease just about every game. The band will play a song and I'll strip to it. Sometimes I'll wear breakaway pants with boxers, or I'll pull my shorts down and have a thong on underneath.

PB: How does the crowd react?
Gus: They go berserk. I've had one or two that have complained, but you always get that.

PB: Do you use any props?
Gus: I've got a little Nerf football that I throw into the stands, and the crowd throws it back to me -- that's a big tradition. Two years ago I got some players in trouble 'cause I threw the football to them on the sidelines. Coach didn't like that too much.

PB: Have you ever gotten into a fight with another mascot?
Gus: Well, me and the Washburn Ichabod -- I can't even explain to you what an Ichabod is -- played around a bit last year. He was being mean to a little stuffed gorilla, so I stole it from him, ran up into the stands and wouldn't give it back. That's as far as it's ever gotten. If you're really fighting, you're taking it way too serious.

PB: Do you get heckled by the opposing fans?
Gus: I've had bananas and banana pudding thrown at me, but there's not much heckling.

PB: How do you get pumped up for a game?
Gus: I munch on some Southwest Baptist Bearcat burgers, and have a few Missouri Southern Lion tails. Then I listen to "Welcome to the Jungle."

PB: What has been your most embarrassing moment as a mascot?
Gus: I do a roundoff back tuck -- we call it the "monkey flip." I was performing it at mascot nationals, and it turned into a monkey flop. I went up and about halfway around, and then I landed flat on my face.

PB: Do you flirt with the ladies during the games?
Gus: Of course. It's more fun when they're sitting with their boyfriend, because you can brush him off. I'll sit down next to a girl, maybe use the old yawn trick to get my arm around her, then scoot in nice and close.

PB: Are there any mascots you admire?
Gus: Aubie from Auburn can dance like no other, and [University of Minnesota's] Goldy is just crazy -- he's in another world.

PB: Is it true that you used to have a mate?
Gus: I used to have Gussie, a female Gorilla. She was the mascot for the women's teams, who were called the Gussies, but a few years back, somebody complained that it was politically incorrect, and now all the teams are the Gorillas. So Gussie has been retired.

PB: Do you miss her?
Gus: Oh yeah. But, you know, it's probably a good thing she's not around anymore. Now I don't get in as much trouble.