Announcement time 🗣🗣🗣

Y’all have been asking for it, so I’m delivering! After months of planning, pitching, and practicing I can finally announce:

Pole Dancing for Strippers: A 30 Shift Challenge

This is a pole dancing challenge for strippers.

I get SO many questions from dancers about how to increase their stage presence, make more money on stage, what should we even be doing on stage, etc. 

So, I figured why not collaborate with X-POLE, other dancers, and myself to bring the H&B community a series that gives y’all both visuals and detailed instructions on pole dancing in a FUN and CHALLENGING way that is sure to make you more money… for FREE!!

This challenge would not be possible without the generosity and support of X-POLE. X-POLE are the leaders in aerial and pole fitness. They most likely provide the poles in your club and pole fitness studios! The amazing thing about X-POLE is that they specialize in bringing professional poles to your home (that you can take up and down as you please)!!

I just received my XPERT PRO and am super impressed with the stability and the quality of the pole. It’s the pole you’ll see in the picture and video tutorials I’ll share throughout the challenge!

In this challenge, you’re going to learn pole dancing skills that will push your body and your earnings to new levels.

The difference between this challenge and other pole dancing challenges and/or classes is that the skills I’ll be highlighting have been selected for strippers and our unique needs (making $$$).

It’s all about optimizing your stage presence and adding skills that will incite customers to make it rain on you!! We’ll do this together, over a period of ten posts and 30 shifts.

Each of the ten posts will have three “challenges” for a stripper to attempt on both their in-home pole and on stage. Each post will include pictures, videos, and real-life testimonials from exotic dancers who utilize these tips and tricks in their own stage shows!

Materials Needed

So, you will need one thing for this challenge: a pole.

This can be your own pole, a pole in a pole fitness studio, or the pole in your club! With your own pole, you can practice whenever and wherever you please. If at a pole fitness studio, inquire about “open pole” sessions so that you can practice freely. If the only pole you have access to is the one at your club, that’s not a problem, as I often used to go into work early or when I knew the club would be dead just to practice on stage!

A word about pole fitness studios: this is my least favorite option for practicing pole dancing as a stripper. When taking classes, you have no control over the style, type, and level of pole tricks they teach. It’s also most likely that your instructor isn’t or wasn’t a stripper. So just be careful about spending your hard earned money at a place that doesn’t respect strippers or their founding and contributions to the pole dancing community. Do your homework first!

What Should I Expect? Is this challenge even for me??

This challenge is for you if you want to:

✔️ Make more money on stage

✔️ Feel more comfortable on stage

✔️ Have been wanting to go to a pole studio, but aren’t sure if they’re the right fit for your stripping needs

✔️ Challenge yourself

As I mentioned, this challenge will be rolled out over a series of 10 posts. Each post will be posted weekly and will include 3 “challenges.” Each challenge will be a skill to try out on stage during your shift.

There’s 3 phases of the challenge:

1. Grounded: Floor work & transitions
2. Getting your feet off the ground: Beginner tricks
3. A$$ in the air: Intermediate tricks that require climbing the pole

Bonus content: If you sign-up for the challenge (there will be a sign-up form at the end of this post) you’ll receive additional posts on how to tie all the tricks together into a routine that you can use on stage right in your inbox!!

All skills will be visually demonstrated and detailed, written instructions will be provided!

Bet. When does the challenge start and how do I sign-up?

The challenge will go live the first week of May 2019!

Pole Dancing For Strippers will be posted on a weekly basis right here on Half & Bad!

If you sign-up in advance, you’ll receive the challenges a day before everyone else AND bonus content which will include routines, extra tips, and other helpful ~things~!

Sign-up HERE ⬇️

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In the meantime, check out my other posts about stripping! 

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Welcome to my new series: How to Talk to Customers… FOR STRIPPERS (obvi). 

This will be a short series (aka multiple different posts) that’s gonna go over how to talk to strip club customers in a way that leads to more money in your pocket. 

I’ll be writing this post using my own knowledge, tips and tricks from other strippers, and also using some non-specific conversation tips from other industries that I think need to be used by dancers in our industry! 

I’ve said time and time again that the most successful strippers aren’t just the most ~attractive~ strippers in the club- it’s the ones who not only rely on their looks, but also on their hustle. 

Being able to hold a conversation goes a looooooooong way ($$$) in the club. 

This series is going to be broken down like this:

• Conversation starters + the initial approach (THIS POST)

• How to hold a conversation 

• Tips for closing the sale 

• Talking to regulars 

Conversation Starters + The Initial Approach

That’s the topic of this post. 

This post is basically a list of what to first say to initiate a conversation with a potential customer and tips and tricks to make the conversation easier to keep going. 

This post is broken up into a few parts that are based on some environmental factors:

• General tips 

• Body language

• The first words that should come out of your mouth

• Day shift specific conversation starters

• Night shift specific conversation starters

• After hours specific conversation starters

• Approaching groups 

• Conversation no-nos

Disclaimer: any of these tips can be used in any situation if you play it right!! 

So, let’s get to it so you can make this moneyyyyyy!

Related post: Preparing to be a Stripper + Everything You Need to Know

General Tidbits

1. Conversation skills are necessary

2. Quiet =/= disinterested. A quiet customer DOES NOT always mean they aren’t interested in you! Some guys are shy, new to the whole thing, broody/hard to get, etc. 

3. Never start with “do you want a dance?” 

4. Don’t talk dirty if it’s not YOU 

5. The key is to get them talking about themselves

6. Stick with open ended questions.Aka not questions that require a strictly yes/no answer. Your questions should lead to more information which leads to new directions to take the conversation!

7. Don’t completely hide your intelligence. The “bimbo stripper” act is so 1990s. 

8. Keep track of your lies 

9. Don’t spend too much time with one customer without any form of compensation

10. Being on autopilot is your worst enemy 

11. Smile for god’s sake 

12. Try to remember who you’re talking to. It’s never good if you’re talking to someone you’ve already talked to before and they realize you don’t remember them.

13. Don’t fear rejection 

Body Language

Your body talks. 

14. Do your best to keep your body in full view, regardless of where you’re sitting in relation to the customer 

15. Too early physical contact can lead to unclear boundaries about what is acceptable without payment.

16. If you approach a customer at a table:

• Stay in full view
• Lean in to them

17. If you approach a customer in a section/on a couch:

• Sit on your knees or cross your legs
  • Keep it sexy and playful!

• Lean against the railing
  • This is my personal fave cause it can actually be kind of intimate to be leaning against the railing/borders of a section with a customer.  

• Sit next to the customer on the top of the couches
  • You’ll look like you belong

18. If you approach a customer at the bar:

• Lean against the bar, but you keep your body language open to the customer

Those First Words…

The first couple things you say to a customer are v important. If you approach a customer with respect things will tend to go in your favor! 

Hoe tip: always, always, always greet the customer and introduce yourself!! Even if it’s not the first thing you say to someone, it should be somewhere in the beginning of the conversation. 

19. “Hi, I’m…” 

20. “Hi, how are you?” 

21. “Hi, you look like you need some company” 

22. “You look lonely/bored”

23. “Whatcha drinking?”  

24. “Where are you from”

25. Compliment something about the customer

26. “Do you mind if I sit with you?” 

Day Shift

In my experience, conversational skills are most used during the day shift. Customers generally aren’t in a party hard type of mood and are more interested in you. 

27. “Are you here on your lunch break? 

28. “Are you sneaking away from the office/playing hooky?”  

29. If they’re eating the buffet (🤢) ask: “How’s the food?”

30. “What do you do for fun?” 

31. “Have you been here before?” 

32. “What do you do?” 

33. Talk about what’s on the TV 

My overall day shift vibe: witty, friendly

Night Shift

34. “What’s the occasion?”

35. “What brings you here?” aka a nice way to ask why the fuck are you here.

36. “Have you been here before?” (A true classic) 

37. “How was your day?”

38. “Ready to unwind?”

39. Compliment the girl on stage 

My night shift vibes: flirty/dirty, good time with personal attention

After Hours

40. “Where were you before finding your way here?” Most people end up at the booty club once the local bars and clubs close

41. “What’s the occasion?”

42. “How’s your night going so far?”

My after-hour vibes: party girl, let’s keep it going to the AM 

If you need more tips on working at an after hours/urban strip club, I got you. 

Approaching Groups

43. “Heyyyyy guys!” (A classic)

44. Acknowledge everyone first, before focusing on a specific person in the group. People are sensitive and might fuck with your money if they feel that you were rude/left them out

45. Latch on to one person in the group (after you greet everybody)

46. “Who’s the guest of honor?”

47. “You guys look like you are up to no good!”

Sticky Subjects

As a general rule, avoid these subjects:

48. Religion

49. Politics (unless he brings it up first)

50. Family

51. Your shift details (such as how much money you’ve already made, how shitty it is, when you usually work, etc.)

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Sign up for my newsletter to be the first to access to the second installment on how to hold a conversation with customers!

Two things I always have to ask myself before leaving for work:

1. Where the fuck is my work bag??
2. Do I have everything I need

I literally triple check my bag as I’m heading out the door and I’m constantly paranoid that I’m going to forget something that I’ll end up desperately needing halfway through a shift (this may or may not have something to do with my work-related anxiety).

When I first started out, I had a checklist on my phone of all the things I NEEDED to have in my dance bag for a successful shift. Nowadays, I have it mostly memorized, but I still wanted to share that list with you guys! 

Stay tuned till the end for your free checklist of all the things a stripper needs in her work bag!  

For all things stripping check out these posts!

First things first, you need a designated work bag.

Your work bag is your work bag. I suggest not using that bag for anything else but work. If it’s designated just for all things stripping, then you won’t have to worry about taking things in and out and possibly forgetting an important item. Plus, you won’t have to worry about packing a million things into your bag when you’re late for a shift, because almost everything should be in there anyways! 

The goal is to grab and go. 

When choosing a bag, look for something that’s durable and large. 

Your bag is most likely going to take a beating in the locker room and you need it to be big enough to hold all your things and all your money!! 

My bag looks like this and was a free bag from Sally’s for spending a certain amount of money (don’t judge). I love it because it’s that nylon/canvas material on the inside (so I don’t have to worry about spills) and the outside (so no tears/rips/holes). The zipper and tassel that was once on it are gone because like I said… your bag is gonna get fucked up in the locker room. 

Popular options that I see often in the locker room are sport duffle bags and other large totes like mine. 

What’s in my bag?

Heels

Don’t evertake your heels out of your bag (unless you’re wearing them of course). 

It hasn’t happened to me, but I would literally die if I walked into the locker room after paying the house fee and realizing that I forgot my heels. 

I actually keep my heels in the little bag that they came with because then I know that I always have both and because… glitter lol. 

Two to three outfits

Accidents and SWEAT happen. Moods change. Vibes change. Some outfits work better on some days then others. 

That’s why I always suggest having more than one outfit with you at all times! 

Spray deodorant

I like spray deodorant because then I can spray it on the inside of my thighs and back and on parts of my body as needed! I’m a sweater so it’s v important to keep deodorant in my bag at all times. 

I also feel like spray deodorant does a better job of being pretty much invisible and keeping me dry. 

Facial spray

 I keep both Mario Badescu facial spray and Urban Decay Chill setting spray in my bag, always. 

Like I said, I’m a sweater and with that plus wearing a full face of makeup I feel better after a good, refreshing spritz to the face. 

Makeup bag

Depending on whether you’re the type to get ready in the locker room or the at home, how much makeup you bring is up to you. 

I’m the type to get ready at home, so I just bring a smaller makeup bag that has the beauty items I need to touch up my makeup just in case I need to mid-shift. 

Baby wipes

Almost self-explantory.

I keep baby wipes (all natural bc I’m sensitive) to use after I use the restroom (even strippers poop at work) and after a particularly nasty or sweat-inducing customer. 

Hand sanitizer

Self-explanatory.

Strip clubs are nasty.

Money bag

For all dat $$$.

Unpopular practice, but I actually don’t take my money bag with me onto the floor. I’m SO paranoid that I’m going to put it down and forget it somewhere, so I always run my tips back to my money bag in the locker room and keep it locked up in my locker. 

Which brings me to the next item.

Combination lock

ALWAYS LOCK YOUR LOCKER.

Don’t be naïve, keep your money and belongings LOCKED and AWAY.

I would recommend a combination lock for two reasons:

1. You don’t have to keep track of a key
2. I’ve been to some clubs where my key lock doesn’t fit in the lockers. Combination locks almost always fit (I haven’t been anywhere where they haven’t).

Gum/mints

Stanky breath will most likely turn off a customer. Same goes for alcohol breath. After a customer buys me a drink and I’m done with them (lol$$$), I always go back to the locker room to freshen up a little and that includes freshening up my breath! 

Ibuprofen

Stripping is hard on the body. So are menstrual cramps! 

Be prepared!

Plus, it’s always nice to share with other dancers and can help you make friends.

Hair brush

Dancing and customers who like to play with your hair can sometimes leave your hair fucked up. No need to worry cause you have a brush in your bag! 

Hair spray

Depending on your hair type and needs, keep either hair spray or a detangling/moisturizing spray in your bag! 

This has saved me soooo many times. 

Tampons

Obviously.

Snacks

Stay energized, ladies! Plus, being hangry with overwhelmingly sensitive, male customers is not conducive to making money.

A good luck charm

Have a good luck charm or something that brings you joy every time you see it!

Good vibes only!

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I have compiled all of this into a free, downloadable checklist for you guys!!

Get Your Checklist!!

Send me my checklist pls

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Happy stripping,

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