July 11, 2022 • 24 mins
Gigi Maguire was a renowned exotic dancer turned entrepreneur.
She comes onto the podcast to talk about her journey at the world-famous Atlanta's Magic City and shifting to open her own dance studio teaching people the art of pole dancing.
Her life beyond the pole has been filled with guest appearances on tv shows, advocating for the positive representation of pole dancers, and she is one of the cohosts of Angela Yee's Lip Service podcast.
Host IG:@itstanyatime
Guest IG: @gigimaguire
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hey, money Movers, Welcome back to Money Moves, the daily
podcast determined to give you the keys to the Kingdom
of financial stability, wealth and abundance. Our next guest was
one of the top pole dancers in the Atlanta exotic
(00:22):
dance scene. You may have seen her on season two
of We TVs Beyond the Poll, and she is one
of the co hosts of Angelaus Award winning sex and
relationship podcast Lip Service. Money Movers, please welcome Everyone's favorite
entertainer g G McGuire to the podcast. Hi, G, I'm
so happy to be here. I'm so excited to have you.
(00:44):
This is gonna be a great conversation and I think
that is representative of something that is so Atlanta and
so much a part of our culture, which informs the
entire urban culture across the world. So I'm really excited
to have you here today. I'm excited to be here.
And thanks for that intro. Girl, you made me seeing
so bossy. Oh my gosh, I mean you're an o
g to the scene. I've read a lot about you,
(01:06):
and I think that this is gonna be such an
interesting conversation because so many young women in Atlanta, the
South throughout the world. Have been entertainers for years and
years and years. So to have a veteran like yourself here,
there's been movies made about you. It's gonna be a
really fascinating interview. So welcome to Money Moves Crazy. Thank you,
Thank you for having me, Gig. Welcome to the podcast.
(01:28):
I want to start with your background, tell us about
how you got into the entertainment and dance industry, and
talk about your journey through up all these years. Yeah,
it's been one hell of a journey. Um. To really
try to make this quick because it is a long story.
I actually was introduced to the entertainment industry when I
(01:49):
was twenty years old. UM. I'm originally from Philadelphia and
the first club I worked at was a club called Delilah's. Um.
I have a technical dance background, so um, ballet, jazz, tap,
I've done all of that since the age before my
high school was a performer arts high school, so it
was like fame, you know. I was running around in
two twos and ballet shoes and stuff. UM. I actually
(02:12):
UM had I'm a mother. I had my daughter at
the age of seventeen. UM. At the age of nineteen,
I was basically homeless, and UM, I turned to dancing.
I had a U I had a court case pending,
and um, you know, and the rest over my head
and you know, things that had just gotten really hard
(02:32):
for me. Her father had passed away, and I turned
to dancing just as a ware survival fast for a
few years later, I moved to Atlanta. By the time
I moved to Atlanta, I was bar attending. I had
no intentions on dancing again, but I just so happened
to do the amateur night concepts that Magic City and
I want, and when I want, I was offered a
job to dance there by the owner himself, Big Magic,
(02:53):
which is a history making moment because it's I'm a
one of one, you know, nobody else has had the opportunity. Um,
and of course I took him up on an opportunity.
It changed my life. I want people to understand, like
why that's so significant because Magic City has been around forever.
It's one of the probably most famous, world renowned um
strip clubs in Atlanta in Atlanta, So for men to
(03:16):
audition an amateur night and get a job on the
same night, like that was history breaking. Tons of girls
do amateur night, but no one gets offered a job.
Well right they Over the years they stopped doing the
amateur Night. I wish they would bring it back. Maybe
they should bring it back and let me host it. However, UM, yeah,
that was a one time situation UM for me to
win that UM contest. It was strictly off a skill.
(03:39):
I was a hundred and ten pounds. I was a cup.
I didn't have all this body audi ade I have
happeneding now, but I had talent they had never seen before.
So that was what made me stand apart from the
rest of the girls in the competition, as well as
the rest of the girls at the club. I eventually
became their very first featured entertainer as well, and created
a group called the Snack Pack, which is like world
(04:00):
We're now known for all of our illustrious m Poe
tricks and theatrics that we would do on the stage. UM.
I eventually stopped dancing and opened the a Pole Dance
Studio UM, and then I moved to New York for
love and I ended up hosting Angels podcast, which is
where I am now. Oh but I'm back in Atlanta
(04:20):
because that love ships staled and yeah, I'm sure if
everyone tunes into your podcast, you're gonna tell the story.
They're like, you know, I talked about it all the time.
I am an open book. I'm very open and honest
about everything. I only know how to be one way,
and that's me, right, and I have no problem sharing. Um,
I feel like why not, you know, why hide behind anything?
(04:43):
Always standing what you do and what you say, and
you never know who you can help with being open
and honest about your journey and telling your story. So
I'm always here for that. So I love this And like,
obviously our podcast is called Money Moves, and of course
Cartie v made that's so famous because she was always
at their making Money Moves and she is, you know,
one of the biggest examples of a dancer turned entrepreneur
(05:04):
turned rapper, etcetera, etcetera. And this is also your story.
Can you talk a bit more about your young girls
getting into um dancing and what is the truth behind
how much money they actually make versus what the reality
is because I think a lot of people don't know right. Well, UM,
I want to start by saying that I have been
(05:25):
retired for ten years now. It's been since two thousand
eleven that I worked at Medic City. So, UM, you
know times have changed. UM, I will say back then,
I don't know, on average, maybe five to ten thousand
a week, depending on you know, how things were. Um.
(05:45):
The night of my last dance, I left with almost
thirty thousand. UM. I've had a lot of memorable seven
to ten thousand dollar nights. UM. I've had birthday sets
where I've made sixteen seventeen thousand. UM. I've had nights
where they was a money fight on my stage with
rappers and ball players, and I've also keeping it one hunted.
I've also had those nights where I went to the
(06:07):
club and bought outfit or some shoes, and got my
hair makeup done and had a couple of drinks and
ate some food and left out of there with less
money than I started with. You know that happens as well. So,
you know, even being a top entertainer, even being a
show stopper, even being a very popular woman in the club,
everyone has those nights where it's just not your night,
(06:27):
and you know, it comes with the territory. So these days,
I don't really know what's going on as far as
how much money these girls are making. But I have
to say that we ain't have um scamra. We had
a scammers in the in the Thieves that was blowing
all the free money. So I don't know it might
even out with what's going on these days. You know,
I ain't in the club, so I don't really know.
(06:49):
Oh my goodness. Well, one thing that's really interesting about
your story and your journey is you you left pole
dancing started your own hole dancing studio. UM so entrepree
viewership just sort of changed into being able to share
like the how to use the poll dancing with others?
Can you talk about starting that business? So I would
be on stage at Magic City and I would do
(07:10):
these crazy Poe tricks and you know, flips and jump
upside down and end up in a split, and women
would come to the stage like, oh my god, can
you teach me how to do that? I want to learn?
I want to learn. Um So I started out literally
take in my portable pole to people's houses and hotel
rooms and doing private lessons. That turned into me getting
my own studio space, and then when I left Magic
(07:31):
City after my retirement party, I continue to do that
full time. UM the majority of my students were not dancers.
I had a few girls who dance who wanted to
improve their pole skills, but the majority of my students
were everyday woman. I had lawyers, I had teachers, I
had you know, every day you know, moms and and
wives and um, my class schedule was pretty fool. But
(07:55):
I tell you my money maker was the poll party's,
the birthday parties, the best at parties. Yeah that was
when you know, the girls really came out and and
wanted to participate and do it more of a means
of fun. Yeah. Um, but I honestly believe that pole
dancing is the best workout for a woman. It's full body,
(08:16):
it's core, and it's confidence. Like it it just gives
you this power, this power from within that you really
don't know you have until you know, you see yourself
on a pole, where you feel yourself accomplishing something that
you didn't think you can do, and that just brings
on a whole different level of confidence, which is sexy.
You know. I think it's really interesting how we've sort
of started to normalize pole dancing across just society, where
(08:39):
you're getting like these stay at home moms who are like, hey,
I'm gonna have a pole dancing party, and they're becoming really,
really into it. So I have friends who you would
never guess they're in the car pool line. This is
not their job or occupation, but they are incredibly talented
and they're finding people like yourself to teach them all
these patented tricks that you've developed over the years. So
it's really kind of incredible. And I also love that
(09:00):
that it's it's become normalized as a workout and for
the beauty in it as well. Yeah, it's definitely a
former art um in my opinion. And again it's it's
such a great accomplishment when you just can nail something
that you never thought that you would actually be even
strong enough for or have the talent we're skilled to
(09:21):
be able to do. And I've seen that in in
so many of my students over the years. Like, that's
a huge accomplishment as a teacher for me to be
able to help someone see their potential in that way.
So do you have like patented moves that people know
that g made overs? So my um my signature move
was this move called crazy legs, where I would climb
(09:43):
to the top of the pole flip up side down,
and I would switch like when shield wipe ers. My
legs legs, legs, legs, legs, legs all the way down
the pole, and then at the very bottom, I would
open both legs and then drop flat into a split. UM.
Also with the snack pack, there's this trick that actually spotted.
Imagine shout out to my whole systems. They created a
trick called the surfboard that everybody knows right where the
(10:04):
one girl lad is flat and the other girl stands
on top. So UM, the snack pack remixed the surfboard
because there was five of us, so we remixed it
and made it a double surf so you would have
one girl stands on the top, one girl on the bottom.
That move was made popular in Cardi B's money video.
It was also made popular own p Valley. UM. But yes,
the snack pack, UM contact credit for that. Um. There's
(10:28):
so many the bicycle the p n oh. So we
would all get on one pole and do sit ups
unis unanimously all the same time, and we would call
that the P ninety workout. So that was another one
of our signature. My abs already hurt, my arms already Okay,
So first forward. Now you're back in Atlanta, You've done podcasts,
(10:48):
you've started your own business, and you know, there's a
lot of TV shows that are coming up. P Valley
is one. I've heard rumor that some of your moves
and some of your life stories kind of inspired by
what we're seeing in P Valley. This is a little
bit of art imitating life, is not true? Yes, yes, yes,
there's a lot of similarities. And um, the creator herself
(11:09):
has also said my name about you know, they really
just wanted to give um Mercedes Mercedes Sundays the same
type of environment it would be when I packed out,
and she actually said my name Gi McGuire packed out
Magic City on a Monday night. Um. There is also
the similarity of again the Pole Group, the signature, I mean,
(11:31):
the future Pole Group. There's the familiarity of Autumn Nights
being hired from the amishon Night contest. You know. Um,
when Mercedes retired, she opened up a dance studio, even
though it was from Majorrettes. But you know, she still
had the same storyline that I had in my real life.
So there are a lot of similarities and um, spoiler alert, Um,
(11:51):
your girl has been invited maybe to the Pink okay
um in this upcoming season. So, UM, this is a
this is an actually exclusive I'm giving you. UM. I
haven't talked about it even on my own podcast yet,
but UM, I will be making a cameo appearance in
the second season of p Valley and I'm so, so
(12:12):
so excited about that because, UM, you know, it's one
thing to be casted on the show like that as
a dancer or entertainer, but it's another thing to be
casted on the show like that as yourself. You know,
there is no character needed. You know, I'm showing up
as myself, UM on the show. So like huge, you
know to me so and you're no stranger to television.
(12:33):
You start on we TVs Beyond the Pole. Can you
talk about how that came about? Because that's pretty exciting.
People are loving that show. Oh my god, Beyond the
Pole is amazing. It gives us as former entertainers, a
chance to um, give the everyday woman to inside and
the insight on how we are as entertainers. Because you
hear all of these things about strippers, UM and media
(12:56):
and movies. UM. Strippers are usually portrayed as drug addicts
as prostitutes, um, you know, having a lot of children
or being really loose you know, in bed or whatever
like that, and um, you know that's not always true.
You know, there are levels to everything, and there's definitely
levels to the entertainment industry. But you know, we are
(13:18):
portrayed in such a negative way that Beyond the Pole
gave us UM the opportunity to show the real life
of a entertainer, of a former entertainer, to show that
we are entrepreneurs and we are homeowners and we are
um there's some married women on the cast. There are um,
(13:38):
you know, mothers, and we're educated and you know, we
are everyday women. It's just that we chose that hustle.
We chose you know, that lifestyle, and we chose that
job as a means of survival and as a means
to make our money. But that doesn't mean that, you know,
we're craft out prostitutes and we don't have educations or
custody of our children. So that show, actually, you know,
(14:00):
gave us UM the opportunity to change the narrative of
what people think of entertainers. It shows that we are
entrepreneurs and that we are out here handling in our business.
And yeah, we might have strip to make our money,
but we took that money and flipped into something positive. Um,
and that show provides the world a look at that
side of the entertainer, you know, And I think that's
you know, one of the beauties of just being able
(14:21):
to showcase different people who make money in different ways.
You know. One of the things I think we talked
about this before um we were up and rolling. You
talked about the mindset of dancers back in the day
when you were dancing to now, and you gave like
a very distinct difference between what people looked to do
when you were young and dancing and now can we
let's let's dive into sort of that. So again, I
(14:44):
retired from the entertainment industry ten years ago. UM, and
back then, there weren't a lot of women who went
the entrepreneurial route. There were more women who were looking
for a rich man to come save them. You know,
they were trying to get with a ballplayer or you know,
some type of man that of is you know, of
high standards or high society too, you know, sweep them
(15:05):
off their feet and save them from the strip club life.
These these dancers are taking the entrepreneurial route. They want
to be their own rich boss, their own rich bitch,
and they want to make their own money. And you know,
they're taking their lives into their own hands. And I
salute these young girls, and you know, all of the
women in the entertainment industry, all of the women who
(15:26):
are taking the entrepreneurial route, because it isn't easy, and
you know, it's it's definitely has been a shift of
more of that happening than women, you know, depending on
these men to save them. And you know, I'm not
knocking it because I would say, Okay, I was self
made and I was saved by a rich man that
matched me as took care of me. You know. Um,
(15:47):
But at the end of the day, I'm no longer
in that situation, and no shade because that was my life,
it was my experience. But I can't say, honestly, um,
as a woman, it feels so much better to be
able to off these things on my own. It feels
so much better for me to be able to maintain
the same lifestyle that that man provided for me, with
my own drive, my own hustle, my own money, my
(16:09):
own education and talent, you know. So um. Again, not
to knock those who are out here looking to be
saved and taking care of and kept, but you know,
we can do it on our own, ladies, and it's
such a better feeling and it can't be snatched away
from you when it's yours. Okay, that's our Grandma's and
aunties always used to tell us, have something of your own, baby,
(16:31):
have something of your own, right, and it's I mean,
it's true, no matter if you're lawyer on Wall Street
or this like, have something of your own and not narrative,
doesn't matter like who you are, if you're working in
a grocery store and or you're you know, working on
Wall Street. Have something of your own. And it feels
good when you do. Yes, honestly, it really does. Okay,
So Gigi, tell us what's next for you? What's does
(16:53):
the next iteration of gig I've been gonna say three
point oh, okay, three point out. So Um, I've been
back here in Atlanta for the past two years. Um.
I have always been asked in d m s and
and by younger women, UM, that I might need on
the street or that I might see, you know, when
I'm hanging out with the clubs or whatever about mentorship.
(17:16):
You know, I'm always constantly asked, Um, you know, can
I can I teach them the game? Can I give
them some pointers? Can I help them get you know,
whatever skills they need to be able to become an entertainer.
So I've decided to do a E book. Yeah, I've
got to do it. The book I'm currently working on that,
(17:37):
um to where I'm giving away this game, well selling
this game, but I'm giving away um the keys you
know to unlock those doors that people feel like they
can't just like I don't want to know the game?
So like, is it game when you walk into work
and you're like, who do I pick? Or like, what's
the I mean, this is gonna be a teaser, y'all.
(17:57):
You can buy the book, it's gonna be for sale.
But I'm just saying this is great. It actually starts
from your mindset of what type of entertainer you want
to be. You know, there are levels to everything, and
there are definitely levels to this entertainment game. So you
have your dancers who travel all around to different clubs,
you know, and work at whatever city they may be in.
(18:18):
You have your dancers who stick to one club and
the said city that they live in. You have your
dancers who travel around in the city that they live in.
You have your dancers who are sneaky strippers who have
a day job sneaking strip at night and nobody knows.
So that's the first step is figuring out what type
of entertainer you want to be. UM, there's also levels
in your skill of entertainment. So the average stripper is
(18:39):
then get on stage, booty, pop to shape, to step,
do a little shape work, take her clothes off, make
her money, and go out about her business. Then you
have your dancer entertainers who are actually going to put
on a performance. They're gonna do the pol tricks. They're
gonna entertain, you know, with their four moves and with
their personality and dons. I'm gonna tend that person might
(19:01):
not get all the way naked, because I never did. However,
the stage presence and performance that you're giving is so
top notch that these guys not even realizing that they're
not seeing what they really want to see underneath that
g string or you know, your outfit. UM, next would
be you know, there's so many things you need to
know as far as your look, your hygiene. Like I
(19:22):
hate to say it, there was a time when I
managed the strip club in Philly back in and I
hate to say that, there were so many young women
that I had to go through daily hygiene tips with
as far as like hair removal and just you know,
just really keeping yourself top notch, keeping your skin intact,
and just coming in just that part of it. Yeah,
(19:46):
you would like to think, or you would assume that
would be common sense considering it's your industry of employment.
But I couldn't see why this is well needed. Yeah.
I remember a time where I was standing watching the
stage and this girl bent over and she literally had
like a whole fro in between her cheeks, and I
literally waited for her to get off stage, and I
took her upstairs and you know, very discreetly told her
(20:09):
that she needed to shape her butt crat and guess
what she said. I don't know how I had to
teach her. I literally had to end that moment take
her into the shower stall and teach her how to
shape her book cry. And this is a grown woman,
maybe I don't know, three years old. You know, there's
some things, um, It also goes into um how to
(20:32):
interact with the clients, right, Because here's one thing. When
you get hired at a strip club, I don't care
what type of club it is. If it's a truck
stop club, if it's a hole in the wall in
the hood, if it's a Magic City or a King
of Diamonds. I'm gonna tell you what. They're not going
to teach you. They're not going to teach you how
to do your job. They're not going to teach you
how to dance. They're not going to teach you how
to interact with the customers. They're not going to teach
you how to even interact with your own co workers.
(20:54):
As long as you look the part and you can
represent that club and make them some money as well
lest yourself, then they're gonna tell you to get dressed,
and they're gonna throw you out on the floor. It's
up to you to figure it out. And this is
the reason why so many women don't make it in
the strip club industry. In the very beginning, they get,
you know, overwhelmed with all of what's happening and they
don't really have the answers. And the next girl that's
(21:16):
but booty hole naked next to you trying to make
the same dollars. You ain't gonna give you the keys
to win You're hun competition. So it's like so many
young girls get lost in the WorldWind of not knowing
what to do that they just say, this is not
for me. But if you know, you have someone or
some type of manual that you can go to and
you know, kind of get a heads up on these
(21:37):
are the things that you should do. These are things
that you shouldn't do. You know, these are questions that
you ask, These are icebreakers. UM. One thing that most
entertainers UM don't know is that it doesn't take a
room full of people for you to make your money. Right.
It could be three guys in the club. They could
be thirty guys in the club, They could be three
hundred guys in the club. It only takes one. It
(21:59):
only takes that one guy that got his eye on you,
that got a pocket full of money, and boom, you
then made your thousand dollars dollars or whatever you need.
It was your goal for that night because he had
it and he had it to get to you. Now
you can also welcome to every single guy and accumulate
what you might need or make it on stage or
however you make it. But um, girls often see a
club or think of a slow night off day and
(22:22):
think that, oh, it's impossible for me to make money
that night. And that's the biggest misconception as a dancer
that you can have, is that on a slow knight
you can't make money. I made most of my money
on slow nights, very very very often when I was
an entertainer. It's kind of like that adage of like,
work smarter, not harder. There you go, there you go.
I say that all the time. I say that all
(22:44):
the time, or not harder. That's exactly what it is. Okay,
So you actually mentioned that at one point you manage
a strip club. Are there a lot of female owners
in the industry? Here? Isn't? There isn't. And if I
could say that, that would be a long term goal
of mine, just the like bucket the I worked at
(23:04):
Vanity Grant in Philadelphia. I was the entertainment director. So
I wasn't like the GM or anything, but I was like, um,
what's her name of parlor nights? I'm in charge of
the girls, you know, Like I did the hiring, I
did the firing, I did the rulemaking. I oversaw the night,
you know, to make sure that everything was cop aesthetic
with the girls following all the rules and staying classy.
(23:27):
That was like my number one thing is that it
was urban club, but I wanted it to still have
that class about it. You know. I didn't want it
to be a black hood club. I still wanted it
to have some luxury. It was a very beautiful venue,
and you know, I hired the best of them girls
that I can find, and I really wanted to keep
that luxury, you know, that high level experience and girl.
(23:51):
I was like a one woman army when they came
to that because those girls wanted to be ratchet so bad,
and it was like every time I wasn't looking, it
was breaking the rules. And I was like, the world
left it right. That club drove me crazy. I had
to quit f eight months. I couldn't need to do it.
The more. Wow, oh my gosh. I feel like you
are a wealth of stories and information and there's something
for everyone in here. G G. Do you mind sticking
(24:11):
around for our deep dive segment to further talk about
how you've managed to turn dancing and sexuality into a
brand that has lasted years upon years. Absolutely absolutely alright,
Money Movers, We're going to be back with g G
for our deep dive segments, so stay tuned. You won't
want to miss this. Thank you so much for tuning
in Money Moves audience. If you want more or a
(24:32):
recap of this episode, please go to the Bank Greenwood
dot com and check out the Money Moves podcast blog.
Money Moves is an I heart Radio podcast powered by
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(24:52):
Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts from
Hey, money Movers, Welcome back to Money Moves, the daily
podcast determined to give you the keys to the Kingdom
of financial stability, wealth and abundance. Our next guest was
one of the top pole dancers in the Atlanta exotic
(00:22):
dance scene. You may have seen her on season two
of We TVs Beyond the Poll, and she is one
of the co hosts of Angelaus Award winning sex and
relationship podcast Lip Service. Money Movers, please welcome Everyone's favorite
entertainer g G McGuire to the podcast. Hi, G, I'm
so happy to be here. I'm so excited to have you.
(00:44):
This is gonna be a great conversation and I think
that is representative of something that is so Atlanta and
so much a part of our culture, which informs the
entire urban culture across the world. So I'm really excited
to have you here today. I'm excited to be here.
And thanks for that intro. Girl, you made me seeing
so bossy. Oh my gosh, I mean you're an o
g to the scene. I've read a lot about you,
(01:06):
and I think that this is gonna be such an
interesting conversation because so many young women in Atlanta, the
South throughout the world. Have been entertainers for years and
years and years. So to have a veteran like yourself here,
there's been movies made about you. It's gonna be a
really fascinating interview. So welcome to Money Moves Crazy. Thank you,
Thank you for having me, Gig. Welcome to the podcast.
(01:28):
I want to start with your background, tell us about
how you got into the entertainment and dance industry, and
talk about your journey through up all these years. Yeah,
it's been one hell of a journey. Um. To really
try to make this quick because it is a long story.
I actually was introduced to the entertainment industry when I
(01:49):
was twenty years old. UM. I'm originally from Philadelphia and
the first club I worked at was a club called Delilah's. Um.
I have a technical dance background, so um, ballet, jazz, tap,
I've done all of that since the age before my
high school was a performer arts high school, so it
was like fame, you know. I was running around in
two twos and ballet shoes and stuff. UM. I actually
(02:12):
UM had I'm a mother. I had my daughter at
the age of seventeen. UM. At the age of nineteen,
I was basically homeless, and UM, I turned to dancing.
I had a U I had a court case pending,
and um, you know, and the rest over my head
and you know, things that had just gotten really hard
(02:32):
for me. Her father had passed away, and I turned
to dancing just as a ware survival fast for a
few years later, I moved to Atlanta. By the time
I moved to Atlanta, I was bar attending. I had
no intentions on dancing again, but I just so happened
to do the amateur night concepts that Magic City and
I want, and when I want, I was offered a
job to dance there by the owner himself, Big Magic,
(02:53):
which is a history making moment because it's I'm a
one of one, you know, nobody else has had the opportunity. Um,
and of course I took him up on an opportunity.
It changed my life. I want people to understand, like
why that's so significant because Magic City has been around forever.
It's one of the probably most famous, world renowned um
strip clubs in Atlanta in Atlanta, So for men to
(03:16):
audition an amateur night and get a job on the
same night, like that was history breaking. Tons of girls
do amateur night, but no one gets offered a job.
Well right they Over the years they stopped doing the
amateur Night. I wish they would bring it back. Maybe
they should bring it back and let me host it. However, UM, yeah,
that was a one time situation UM for me to
win that UM contest. It was strictly off a skill.
(03:39):
I was a hundred and ten pounds. I was a cup.
I didn't have all this body audi ade I have
happeneding now, but I had talent they had never seen before.
So that was what made me stand apart from the
rest of the girls in the competition, as well as
the rest of the girls at the club. I eventually
became their very first featured entertainer as well, and created
a group called the Snack Pack, which is like world
(04:00):
We're now known for all of our illustrious m Poe
tricks and theatrics that we would do on the stage. UM.
I eventually stopped dancing and opened the a Pole Dance
Studio UM, and then I moved to New York for
love and I ended up hosting Angels podcast, which is
where I am now. Oh but I'm back in Atlanta
(04:20):
because that love ships staled and yeah, I'm sure if
everyone tunes into your podcast, you're gonna tell the story.
They're like, you know, I talked about it all the time.
I am an open book. I'm very open and honest
about everything. I only know how to be one way,
and that's me, right, and I have no problem sharing. Um,
I feel like why not, you know, why hide behind anything?
(04:43):
Always standing what you do and what you say, and
you never know who you can help with being open
and honest about your journey and telling your story. So
I'm always here for that. So I love this And like,
obviously our podcast is called Money Moves, and of course
Cartie v made that's so famous because she was always
at their making Money Moves and she is, you know,
one of the biggest examples of a dancer turned entrepreneur
(05:04):
turned rapper, etcetera, etcetera. And this is also your story.
Can you talk a bit more about your young girls
getting into um dancing and what is the truth behind
how much money they actually make versus what the reality
is because I think a lot of people don't know right. Well, UM,
I want to start by saying that I have been
(05:25):
retired for ten years now. It's been since two thousand
eleven that I worked at Medic City. So, UM, you
know times have changed. UM, I will say back then,
I don't know, on average, maybe five to ten thousand
a week, depending on you know, how things were. Um.
(05:45):
The night of my last dance, I left with almost
thirty thousand. UM. I've had a lot of memorable seven
to ten thousand dollar nights. UM. I've had birthday sets
where I've made sixteen seventeen thousand. UM. I've had nights
where they was a money fight on my stage with
rappers and ball players, and I've also keeping it one hunted.
I've also had those nights where I went to the
(06:07):
club and bought outfit or some shoes, and got my
hair makeup done and had a couple of drinks and
ate some food and left out of there with less
money than I started with. You know that happens as well. So,
you know, even being a top entertainer, even being a
show stopper, even being a very popular woman in the club,
everyone has those nights where it's just not your night,
(06:27):
and you know, it comes with the territory. So these days,
I don't really know what's going on as far as
how much money these girls are making. But I have
to say that we ain't have um scamra. We had
a scammers in the in the Thieves that was blowing
all the free money. So I don't know it might
even out with what's going on these days. You know,
I ain't in the club, so I don't really know.
(06:49):
Oh my goodness. Well, one thing that's really interesting about
your story and your journey is you you left pole
dancing started your own hole dancing studio. UM so entrepree
viewership just sort of changed into being able to share
like the how to use the poll dancing with others?
Can you talk about starting that business? So I would
be on stage at Magic City and I would do
(07:10):
these crazy Poe tricks and you know, flips and jump
upside down and end up in a split, and women
would come to the stage like, oh my god, can
you teach me how to do that? I want to learn?
I want to learn. Um So I started out literally
take in my portable pole to people's houses and hotel
rooms and doing private lessons. That turned into me getting
my own studio space, and then when I left Magic
(07:31):
City after my retirement party, I continue to do that
full time. UM the majority of my students were not dancers.
I had a few girls who dance who wanted to
improve their pole skills, but the majority of my students
were everyday woman. I had lawyers, I had teachers, I
had you know, every day you know, moms and and
wives and um, my class schedule was pretty fool. But
(07:55):
I tell you my money maker was the poll party's,
the birthday parties, the best at parties. Yeah that was
when you know, the girls really came out and and
wanted to participate and do it more of a means
of fun. Yeah. Um, but I honestly believe that pole
dancing is the best workout for a woman. It's full body,
(08:16):
it's core, and it's confidence. Like it it just gives
you this power, this power from within that you really
don't know you have until you know, you see yourself
on a pole, where you feel yourself accomplishing something that
you didn't think you can do, and that just brings
on a whole different level of confidence, which is sexy.
You know. I think it's really interesting how we've sort
of started to normalize pole dancing across just society, where
(08:39):
you're getting like these stay at home moms who are like, hey,
I'm gonna have a pole dancing party, and they're becoming really,
really into it. So I have friends who you would
never guess they're in the car pool line. This is
not their job or occupation, but they are incredibly talented
and they're finding people like yourself to teach them all
these patented tricks that you've developed over the years. So
it's really kind of incredible. And I also love that
(09:00):
that it's it's become normalized as a workout and for
the beauty in it as well. Yeah, it's definitely a
former art um in my opinion. And again it's it's
such a great accomplishment when you just can nail something
that you never thought that you would actually be even
strong enough for or have the talent we're skilled to
(09:21):
be able to do. And I've seen that in in
so many of my students over the years. Like, that's
a huge accomplishment as a teacher for me to be
able to help someone see their potential in that way.
So do you have like patented moves that people know
that g made overs? So my um my signature move
was this move called crazy legs, where I would climb
(09:43):
to the top of the pole flip up side down,
and I would switch like when shield wipe ers. My
legs legs, legs, legs, legs, legs all the way down
the pole, and then at the very bottom, I would
open both legs and then drop flat into a split. UM.
Also with the snack pack, there's this trick that actually spotted.
Imagine shout out to my whole systems. They created a
trick called the surfboard that everybody knows right where the
(10:04):
one girl lad is flat and the other girl stands
on top. So UM, the snack pack remixed the surfboard
because there was five of us, so we remixed it
and made it a double surf so you would have
one girl stands on the top, one girl on the bottom.
That move was made popular in Cardi B's money video.
It was also made popular own p Valley. UM. But yes,
the snack pack, UM contact credit for that. Um. There's
(10:28):
so many the bicycle the p n oh. So we
would all get on one pole and do sit ups
unis unanimously all the same time, and we would call
that the P ninety workout. So that was another one
of our signature. My abs already hurt, my arms already Okay,
So first forward. Now you're back in Atlanta, You've done podcasts,
(10:48):
you've started your own business, and you know, there's a
lot of TV shows that are coming up. P Valley
is one. I've heard rumor that some of your moves
and some of your life stories kind of inspired by
what we're seeing in P Valley. This is a little
bit of art imitating life, is not true? Yes, yes, yes,
there's a lot of similarities. And um, the creator herself
(11:09):
has also said my name about you know, they really
just wanted to give um Mercedes Mercedes Sundays the same
type of environment it would be when I packed out,
and she actually said my name Gi McGuire packed out
Magic City on a Monday night. Um. There is also
the similarity of again the Pole Group, the signature, I mean,
(11:31):
the future Pole Group. There's the familiarity of Autumn Nights
being hired from the amishon Night contest. You know. Um,
when Mercedes retired, she opened up a dance studio, even
though it was from Majorrettes. But you know, she still
had the same storyline that I had in my real life.
So there are a lot of similarities and um, spoiler alert, Um,
(11:51):
your girl has been invited maybe to the Pink okay
um in this upcoming season. So, UM, this is a
this is an actually exclusive I'm giving you. UM. I
haven't talked about it even on my own podcast yet,
but UM, I will be making a cameo appearance in
the second season of p Valley and I'm so, so
(12:12):
so excited about that because, UM, you know, it's one
thing to be casted on the show like that as
a dancer or entertainer, but it's another thing to be
casted on the show like that as yourself. You know,
there is no character needed. You know, I'm showing up
as myself, UM on the show. So like huge, you
know to me so and you're no stranger to television.
(12:33):
You start on we TVs Beyond the Pole. Can you
talk about how that came about? Because that's pretty exciting.
People are loving that show. Oh my god, Beyond the
Pole is amazing. It gives us as former entertainers, a
chance to um, give the everyday woman to inside and
the insight on how we are as entertainers. Because you
hear all of these things about strippers, UM and media
(12:56):
and movies. UM. Strippers are usually portrayed as drug addicts
as prostitutes, um, you know, having a lot of children
or being really loose you know, in bed or whatever
like that, and um, you know that's not always true.
You know, there are levels to everything, and there's definitely
levels to the entertainment industry. But you know, we are
(13:18):
portrayed in such a negative way that Beyond the Pole
gave us UM the opportunity to show the real life
of a entertainer, of a former entertainer, to show that
we are entrepreneurs and we are homeowners and we are
um there's some married women on the cast. There are um,
(13:38):
you know, mothers, and we're educated and you know, we
are everyday women. It's just that we chose that hustle.
We chose you know, that lifestyle, and we chose that
job as a means of survival and as a means
to make our money. But that doesn't mean that, you know,
we're craft out prostitutes and we don't have educations or
custody of our children. So that show, actually, you know,
(14:00):
gave us UM the opportunity to change the narrative of
what people think of entertainers. It shows that we are
entrepreneurs and that we are out here handling in our business.
And yeah, we might have strip to make our money,
but we took that money and flipped into something positive. Um,
and that show provides the world a look at that
side of the entertainer, you know, And I think that's
you know, one of the beauties of just being able
(14:21):
to showcase different people who make money in different ways.
You know. One of the things I think we talked
about this before um we were up and rolling. You
talked about the mindset of dancers back in the day
when you were dancing to now, and you gave like
a very distinct difference between what people looked to do
when you were young and dancing and now can we
let's let's dive into sort of that. So again, I
(14:44):
retired from the entertainment industry ten years ago. UM, and
back then, there weren't a lot of women who went
the entrepreneurial route. There were more women who were looking
for a rich man to come save them. You know,
they were trying to get with a ballplayer or you know,
some type of man that of is you know, of
high standards or high society too, you know, sweep them
(15:05):
off their feet and save them from the strip club life.
These these dancers are taking the entrepreneurial route. They want
to be their own rich boss, their own rich bitch,
and they want to make their own money. And you know,
they're taking their lives into their own hands. And I
salute these young girls, and you know, all of the
women in the entertainment industry, all of the women who
(15:26):
are taking the entrepreneurial route, because it isn't easy, and
you know, it's it's definitely has been a shift of
more of that happening than women, you know, depending on
these men to save them. And you know, I'm not
knocking it because I would say, Okay, I was self
made and I was saved by a rich man that
matched me as took care of me. You know. Um,
(15:47):
But at the end of the day, I'm no longer
in that situation, and no shade because that was my life,
it was my experience. But I can't say, honestly, um,
as a woman, it feels so much better to be
able to off these things on my own. It feels
so much better for me to be able to maintain
the same lifestyle that that man provided for me, with
my own drive, my own hustle, my own money, my
(16:09):
own education and talent, you know. So um. Again, not
to knock those who are out here looking to be
saved and taking care of and kept, but you know,
we can do it on our own, ladies, and it's
such a better feeling and it can't be snatched away
from you when it's yours. Okay, that's our Grandma's and
aunties always used to tell us, have something of your own, baby,
(16:31):
have something of your own, right, and it's I mean,
it's true, no matter if you're lawyer on Wall Street
or this like, have something of your own and not narrative,
doesn't matter like who you are, if you're working in
a grocery store and or you're you know, working on
Wall Street. Have something of your own. And it feels
good when you do. Yes, honestly, it really does. Okay,
So Gigi, tell us what's next for you? What's does
(16:53):
the next iteration of gig I've been gonna say three
point oh, okay, three point out. So Um, I've been
back here in Atlanta for the past two years. Um.
I have always been asked in d m s and
and by younger women, UM, that I might need on
the street or that I might see, you know, when
I'm hanging out with the clubs or whatever about mentorship.
(17:16):
You know, I'm always constantly asked, Um, you know, can
I can I teach them the game? Can I give
them some pointers? Can I help them get you know,
whatever skills they need to be able to become an entertainer.
So I've decided to do a E book. Yeah, I've
got to do it. The book I'm currently working on that,
(17:37):
um to where I'm giving away this game, well selling
this game, but I'm giving away um the keys you
know to unlock those doors that people feel like they
can't just like I don't want to know the game?
So like, is it game when you walk into work
and you're like, who do I pick? Or like, what's
the I mean, this is gonna be a teaser, y'all.
(17:57):
You can buy the book, it's gonna be for sale.
But I'm just saying this is great. It actually starts
from your mindset of what type of entertainer you want
to be. You know, there are levels to everything, and
there are definitely levels to this entertainment game. So you
have your dancers who travel all around to different clubs,
you know, and work at whatever city they may be in.
(18:18):
You have your dancers who stick to one club and
the said city that they live in. You have your
dancers who travel around in the city that they live in.
You have your dancers who are sneaky strippers who have
a day job sneaking strip at night and nobody knows.
So that's the first step is figuring out what type
of entertainer you want to be. UM, there's also levels
in your skill of entertainment. So the average stripper is
(18:39):
then get on stage, booty, pop to shape, to step,
do a little shape work, take her clothes off, make
her money, and go out about her business. Then you
have your dancer entertainers who are actually going to put
on a performance. They're gonna do the pol tricks. They're
gonna entertain, you know, with their four moves and with
their personality and dons. I'm gonna tend that person might
(19:01):
not get all the way naked, because I never did. However,
the stage presence and performance that you're giving is so
top notch that these guys not even realizing that they're
not seeing what they really want to see underneath that
g string or you know, your outfit. UM, next would
be you know, there's so many things you need to
know as far as your look, your hygiene. Like I
(19:22):
hate to say it, there was a time when I
managed the strip club in Philly back in and I
hate to say that, there were so many young women
that I had to go through daily hygiene tips with
as far as like hair removal and just you know,
just really keeping yourself top notch, keeping your skin intact,
and just coming in just that part of it. Yeah,
(19:46):
you would like to think, or you would assume that
would be common sense considering it's your industry of employment.
But I couldn't see why this is well needed. Yeah.
I remember a time where I was standing watching the
stage and this girl bent over and she literally had
like a whole fro in between her cheeks, and I
literally waited for her to get off stage, and I
took her upstairs and you know, very discreetly told her
(20:09):
that she needed to shape her butt crat and guess
what she said. I don't know how I had to
teach her. I literally had to end that moment take
her into the shower stall and teach her how to
shape her book cry. And this is a grown woman,
maybe I don't know, three years old. You know, there's
some things, um, It also goes into um how to
(20:32):
interact with the clients, right, Because here's one thing. When
you get hired at a strip club, I don't care
what type of club it is. If it's a truck
stop club, if it's a hole in the wall in
the hood, if it's a Magic City or a King
of Diamonds. I'm gonna tell you what. They're not going
to teach you. They're not going to teach you how
to do your job. They're not going to teach you
how to dance. They're not going to teach you how
to interact with the customers. They're not going to teach
you how to even interact with your own co workers.
(20:54):
As long as you look the part and you can
represent that club and make them some money as well
lest yourself, then they're gonna tell you to get dressed,
and they're gonna throw you out on the floor. It's
up to you to figure it out. And this is
the reason why so many women don't make it in
the strip club industry. In the very beginning, they get,
you know, overwhelmed with all of what's happening and they
don't really have the answers. And the next girl that's
(21:16):
but booty hole naked next to you trying to make
the same dollars. You ain't gonna give you the keys
to win You're hun competition. So it's like so many
young girls get lost in the WorldWind of not knowing
what to do that they just say, this is not
for me. But if you know, you have someone or
some type of manual that you can go to and
you know, kind of get a heads up on these
(21:37):
are the things that you should do. These are things
that you shouldn't do. You know, these are questions that
you ask, These are icebreakers. UM. One thing that most
entertainers UM don't know is that it doesn't take a
room full of people for you to make your money. Right.
It could be three guys in the club. They could
be thirty guys in the club, They could be three
hundred guys in the club. It only takes one. It
(21:59):
only takes that one guy that got his eye on you,
that got a pocket full of money, and boom, you
then made your thousand dollars dollars or whatever you need.
It was your goal for that night because he had
it and he had it to get to you. Now
you can also welcome to every single guy and accumulate
what you might need or make it on stage or
however you make it. But um, girls often see a
club or think of a slow night off day and
(22:22):
think that, oh, it's impossible for me to make money
that night. And that's the biggest misconception as a dancer
that you can have, is that on a slow knight
you can't make money. I made most of my money
on slow nights, very very very often when I was
an entertainer. It's kind of like that adage of like,
work smarter, not harder. There you go, there you go.
I say that all the time. I say that all
(22:44):
the time, or not harder. That's exactly what it is. Okay,
So you actually mentioned that at one point you manage
a strip club. Are there a lot of female owners
in the industry? Here? Isn't? There isn't. And if I
could say that, that would be a long term goal
of mine, just the like bucket the I worked at
(23:04):
Vanity Grant in Philadelphia. I was the entertainment director. So
I wasn't like the GM or anything, but I was like, um,
what's her name of parlor nights? I'm in charge of
the girls, you know, Like I did the hiring, I
did the firing, I did the rulemaking. I oversaw the night,
you know, to make sure that everything was cop aesthetic
with the girls following all the rules and staying classy.
(23:27):
That was like my number one thing is that it
was urban club, but I wanted it to still have
that class about it. You know. I didn't want it
to be a black hood club. I still wanted it
to have some luxury. It was a very beautiful venue,
and you know, I hired the best of them girls
that I can find, and I really wanted to keep
that luxury, you know, that high level experience and girl.
(23:51):
I was like a one woman army when they came
to that because those girls wanted to be ratchet so bad,
and it was like every time I wasn't looking, it
was breaking the rules. And I was like, the world
left it right. That club drove me crazy. I had
to quit f eight months. I couldn't need to do it.
The more. Wow, oh my gosh. I feel like you
are a wealth of stories and information and there's something
for everyone in here. G G. Do you mind sticking
(24:11):
around for our deep dive segment to further talk about
how you've managed to turn dancing and sexuality into a
brand that has lasted years upon years. Absolutely absolutely alright,
Money Movers, We're going to be back with g G
for our deep dive segments, so stay tuned. You won't
want to miss this. Thank you so much for tuning
in Money Moves audience. If you want more or a
(24:32):
recap of this episode, please go to the Bank Greenwood
dot com and check out the Money Moves podcast blog.
Money Moves is an I heart Radio podcast powered by
Greenwoods Executive produced by Sunwise Media, Inc. For more podcast
on I heart Radio, visit the i heart Radio app,
(24:52):
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