Up the Pole

Our guest this week has been in the pole industry for 20 years! Her studio, Pole Trix in Victoria, BC, started as a kids dance studio. Hear the story of how her business grew and grew (even with 50mm brass poles!) as she chats with host Amy Bond on this week's episode. 

Host Amy Bond talks with Jamie Elchert, founder of the Memorial Pole Championship in Ohio. Jamie is a seasoned pole competitor who created this competition with two missions: to provide access to a quality pole competition in the Midwest with paid, industry leading judges and to raise funds for her sister’s memorial scholarship fund. Jamie and Amy talk about the wild adventure that is running a li...

Host Amy Bond talks with industry maven Natalya Nightshade about her background in ballet and skripping, about being a serial entrepreneur, and building her Tampa, Florida pole studio. Natalya Nightshade is an award-winning, international pole performer, instructor, and business owner. She is the creator of Nightshade Designs, Nocturnelle Pole Show, and most recently Studio Nightshade, a local pol...

Up the Pole host Amy Bond talks with Dan Rosen of PoleLOLs and Pole Destroyers, and formerly an IRL studio owner, about being a traveling polebrity, his decision to sell his studio, and how he built his online pole conditioning business. We ended this interview early due to technical difficulties, but expect to hear more from Dan soon! We're releasing this mini-episode as a preview for their...

Host Amy Bond talks with world renowned pole artist Kristy Sellars about how her studio, PhysiPole, expanded from 8 stage poles set up in a rented martial arts dojo to over 20 locations across Australia. They chat about the struggle to find the right booking software, which Kristy is working to remedy with Groovio, her latest business baby. This pole world powerhouse has so much more to say in our...

Emily of Altius Pole Studio in Bend, Oregon, talks with host Amy Bond about how opening her studio in the middle of the pandemic was a surprisingly good idea. They discuss how trauma-informed teaching can make students feel safer. Can you ever truly create a safe space? What makes for a good pole instructor? How do you even know if you can afford to open your own pole studio? Emily and Amy dig int...

Amy Bond, host of Up the Pole, chats with Vikka Wrexx of Wrexx Dance in Allen, TX about her experience moving from Russia and opening a pole studio in the US. They discuss the term "russian exotic," the sink-or-swim style of training pole in Russia, and what kind of community Vikka wanted to build with Wrexx Dance. 

Crystal Song of Songbird Dance in San Francisco chats with host Amy Bond of Pole + Dance Studios about the realities and surprises of running pole studios. Does Crystal regret getting the pole-a-way system? Can you be friends with your instructors? She also gets into why her $5-a-day virtual assistant didn't work out and why she's taking a step back from hosting a lot of guest workshops....

Amy Bond of Up the Pole Podcast talks with Hannah Mico, one of the co-founders of Midwest Movement Collective, an intentionally inclusive and all-varieties dance & movement studio in Grand Rapids, Michigan. MMC opened in June 2022, and welcomes diverse styles, modalities, and people. Hannah started pole dancing in 2017, and has competed twice through Pole Sport Organization (once earning a sil...

Host Amy Bond talks with Milissa Marshall of Dazzling Diva Fitness in Winchester, Virginia. Marshall took over the reins of her studio when it was at risk of closure, becoming a pole studio owner nearly by accident! 

Posture and movement specialist Lorae Lyn talks with host Amy Bond about working with pole dancers' bodies, opening and expanding her own practice, and more! 

NY based Pole Position Dance Studio owner Taylor Starke (@starkestruck) talks with host Amy Bond about the delusion required to jump into becoming a studio owner, creating a studio culture that feels authentic, and more. 

Cari Leigh started her business as a tiny pole studio in the back of her dad's coffee shop, and Victoria was her student. Years later, they had the opportunity to become partners and, as their new business boomed, open a second location. Amy Bond, CEO of Pole + Dance Studios, talks with them about why it's so important to have help when you're building a pole studio, and so much mor...

From eight foot ceilings in the back of a sex boutique, to hourly rentals of a shared space using stage poles, to 10-person waitlisted classes, Kelly Campbell of Rise Pole Fitness chats with Pole + Dance Studios CEO Amy Bond about her journey becoming a pole studio owner in Sacramento, CA. 

After meeting at a yoga studio that had a few sensual pole classes, Kirsten and Sharon decided to partner up to open their own pole studio with their personal savings account. Amy Bond, CEO of Pole + Dance Studios, talks with them about everything from partnership to hairballs to wearing a thousand hats as a small business owner.