YAS Podcast: Lulu #15 Transcript
Lulu has been a stripper for long enough to have seen the changes in the industry. At work places that used to pay the strippers to work, she has seen the work floor morph into a more abusive and exploitative system. AM can relate, working in Los Angeles since 2002, there is definitely a difference with how strippers work and are treated now compared to two decades ago.
*This transcript was auto-generated and may contain minor errors.* *This transcript was auto-generated and may contain minor errors.* Begin transcript after opening credits.
AMD (00:00)
Hey there and welcome to Yes, a stripper podcast. On this podcast, we’ll discuss how classifying each other as people and workers is dangerous to society and marginalized groups of people. We’ll also talk about the climate in and outside of the strip clubs and all of the amazing things that strippers do. And of course we’ll talk about all of the things in between. I’m your queen, AM Davies, and this is Yes, a stripper podcast.
Hello and welcome to another episode of Yes, a stripper podcast. We’re back with another amazing new guest. And before I introduce her, you know, today’s thought of the day is, isn’t it great to reconnect with people from your past? I spent a lot of time trying to maintain very long-term relationships. And sometimes that doesn’t always work out.
But one of my favorite things is seeing somebody that I haven’t seen in a really long time and feeling like nothing has changed and hardly any time has passed. And I find that happens most of all with my stripper friends. To give you an example, I’ve known strippers since 2002 for a very long time. It’s 2020, you guys. And sometimes I’ll hear from them from
from women that I haven’t seen in 12 years. And we still express how much love we have for each other because there is just a bond that’s created inside the dressing rooms and inside the strip club that is just so irreplaceable. There’s really truly nothing else like it. And I just wish that more women had the opportunity to be able to experience something like this. Just the other day, a stripper that I worked with over 12 years ago,
sent me the kindest words and sent me a gift. And we literally haven’t been in each other’s physical presence for a decade. And she was still there to support me and send me love. And so I just wanted to make sure that anyone who’s not a stripper or hasn’t had that experience, you really understand that there is almost like a lifetime bond with these people. And so that brings me to our guest.
on our show today who is Lulu. Hi Lulu, will you say hello?
Lulu (02:31)
Hi. Hi, what’s up?
AMD (02:33)
Yeah, Lulu and I used to dance together at Jumbo’s Clown Room. Lulu, what year was it that you stopped dancing at Jumbo’s Clown Room?
Lulu (02:44)
I was trying to remember that last night. think it was 2016.
It seems like a decade. seems like so much has changed since then.
AMD (02:58)
Yeah, it’s like a light
Lulu (03:00)
It’s
been new since I had you in a show in a downtown venue.
AMD (03:04)
Right,
we did see each other that one time, but you wanna know what? Now that I’m thinking about it, I wasn’t in LA, right? In 2015 and 16, I was like gone.
Lulu (03:15)
You had already been gone from Jembo’s, I want to say, a year or two.
AMD (03:19)
At least a couple because I moved to the East Coast temporarily December of 2013. So I would have been gone for like two and a half years while you were still there.
Lulu (03:31)
I’ve seen you twice in what, 10 years almost?
AMD (03:34)
No, seriously, you’re right. You’re right. And yeah, yeah. And I see your face right now and I see you, your physical being and it’s like, yes. No, you do. You have an age and I feel like I look the same and like, I still feel connected to you regardless.
Lulu (03:46)
Please say, right.
It’s funny that you just mentioned how long you’ve known strippers and it made me think
I started the web in San Francisco, I think in 1995. you’ve been tripping. Not to age me. It’s been that long. With a long hiatus to have kids. So I did take at least eight to 10 years off doing other things and being a mom. But yeah, I started in the, in the nineties in San Francisco. Nice. Making a lot of money.
AMD (04:11)
God.
Yeah.
I’m sure, Dr. Yeah.
Lulu (04:36)
I don’t think I’d still be doing this now, but here I am.
AMD (04:40)
Totally, yeah. So you were stripping in 1995 in San Francisco. Like, that must have been… What was that like?
Lulu (04:52)
It was my first time dancing, so it was, ⁓ I was in beauty school during the day. I worked at a salon at night. I didn’t have enough money. And it was, it was during that huge boom in San Francisco where, I mean, I would make thousands a night just, you know, dancing on stage twice. It was fantastic.
AMD (05:15)
Just dancing on stage like twice, would make thousands of dollars.
Lulu (05:19)
Yeah, well you’d circle the rooms, do lap dances. You know, they had the champagne room or whatever it was called back then. Right. Yeah, it was amazing.
AMD (05:28)
So I read this book called Strip City.
by, gosh, I want to say her name is Lulu too, Lucy Lulu Piranha. Have you heard of this book? So she basically finished her stripping career by ⁓ traveling across the country and ⁓ to all different strip clubs around America. And one of the things that she said in around 1998 was how ⁓ the lap dances got more and more full contact.
Lulu (05:41)
So, thank
AMD (06:03)
which like she basically saw the evolution of lap dancing and she said back in 1998, I don’t know how the future strippers are going to handle this because it’s already getting more and more contact as time goes on. So you were dancing in 95. She made this comment and like noticed it in like 98, 99. What do you have any like memory of any shifts in regards to that?
Lulu (06:29)
It started off pretty easy, you know, there was always security around. It was lit, you know, I felt safe. Towards the end of my career at the Gold Club, ⁓ I felt like it became very aggressive with men. I felt like there were so many hands on, especially like when you were in like the champagne room or the whatever it was called back then, I don’t remember. I do remember leaving a few nights feeling violated.
So I think towards 19, let’s see, let me think when I finished, I left before 9-11. I think my last year there was 1999 because I was going to move either back to LA or to Vegas. I don’t know why Vegas was going to be a better option. I remember feeling like I wasn’t protected and that if I wanted to make any money, I had to put myself in positions that were making me lose sleep at night.
if that makes sense.
AMD (07:28)
yeah, totally. So it sounds like your boundaries were challenged.
Lulu (07:33)
sure.
Yeah, especially really drunk men. And I remember ⁓ I remember drinking with this guy and I don’t know if he what drugs he was on. just remember constantly trying to get his hands off of me and he was just trying to get inside of my clothes and in my underwear. And I felt like the girls around me may have been allowing that behavior and I wasn’t in the champagne room very often. It wasn’t my thing to sell laptops. I wasn’t good at it.
So I would do like a lot of table stuff on the floor. But once I got upstairs and started making money up there, I didn’t feel safe.
AMD (08:08)
for sure. ⁓
Lulu (08:24)
I never thought about it until you’re bringing it up, but it may have just been, you know, going into a recession or making less money and strippers feeling
AMD (08:32)
you’re right, that did happen.
Lulu (08:34)
So around that time, yeah, I feel like maybe it was just, it also reminds me of my mental shift at Jumbo’s. I think there as a nighttime gig once in a while, I had a day job. It was fun, know, hanging out with you guys in the dressing room was highlight of my life. But then when I quit my day job and I didn’t want to have to have babysitters take care of my kids and I kind of
AMD (08:44)
Okay.
Lulu (09:03)
jumped off a cliff with faith thinking that my Pilates career would take off and I could just do jumbos once in a while. Once jumbos became my main source of income, my mentality changed. I got grouchy. You know what mean? The nights where you wouldn’t make money, I could see where there were dancers there that just weren’t happy anymore because that was your main source of income. And I saw my own shift in how I was treating people, how I was treating customers.
I started yelling at people. Yeah. So that was, that just kind of reminded me of you need to make money and what, what happens with your own psyche. Does that make sense? Yeah.
AMD (09:44)
Yeah,
totally. Yeah. So when I started stripping, was 2002. And I was like so stoked that I was making a thousand dollars a night. And the other strippers were like the older ones were basically laughing at me. Like we had to make double this in the 90s. And I forget because there was the money was still good in 2002. How good the money was before 9-11. Right.
for the recession with George W. Bush as president. yeah, it must have just happened so quickly because I believe that recession didn’t just sneak, it snuck up, right?
Lulu (10:26)
Yeah,
for sure. Yeah, I just remember there would be one night where like really young guys just had thousands of dollars and then all of a sudden and actually I was supposed to work on the night of 9-11 but I ended up staying home and I remember girls were like you should have come in we all made so much money because everybody was in such a panic that they spent like everything and girls made like $4,000 easy that night so then I had this regret of not going but I was too emotionally drained.
AMD (10:54)
yeah, what a devastating day that was for so many of us. Yeah, I get it. Yeah. then, and then I think, that brings up a really great point. If you said you were emotionally drained and like going to that job, feeling emotionally drained as we all know is a big no-no, right? Because then you’ll do you said would get grouchy.
Lulu (11:14)
For sure. Yeah. I mean, I remember girls saying that they kind of wanted to go in just to be together with us, with their stripper family, not knowing if there was going to be, you know, any customers, but they all did well. And I mean, it was the gold club. You could sit there and eat dinner and, you know, drink all night. I remember eating like chicken piccata before my shift. Like I was a piglet, but anyway, ⁓ I remember girls saying they cried downstairs backstage, but then they’d have to go upstairs and, and dance and work.
AMD (11:37)
so different.
Lulu (11:44)
And I’m an ugly crier, so it wouldn’t have worked out.
AMD (11:49)
Yeah, yeah. What were you doing towards the end at Jumbo’s when you were like, when you would have those nights where you would get grouchy? Like what was your…
Lulu (12:03)
I’ve never had a filter on my mouth or my face. towards the end, I remember having nights where, you know, there were amazing pole dancers there at the time. ⁓ I remember them just, you know, like hanging upside down by a piece of skin on their thigh and seeing like a dollar land on the stage. And I remember seeing that happening for almost two or three hours, you know, coming out of day shift, going into the night.
And there was, remember specifically, I remember last night, there was a corner, that corner, there were people tipping, they were great. And then the whole rest of the room, you’d see like $1. And I would be like, come on, you guys, you can’t just rely on one side of the room to tip when all of these girls are thinking, I didn’t, I never did tricks, but you know, we’re still up there and giving it our all, you know. And I think by the end of the night, I started yelling at the side of the room that wasn’t tipping and the,
The bartender that evening yelled at me because if I was scaring off the customers, they were going to leave and then they wouldn’t make money. And I had to remind them they get an hourly wage. You know, we don’t. And then one particular night I was harassed physically by women and men all in the same night. And I remember a guy putting out money to tip and I went to grab it and he snatched it away. So I grabbed it and then he tried to put it inside my bra and I
I grabbed him by the throat and my fist came up and then I stopped because I knew if I punched him, management wouldn’t have my back.
AMD (13:36)
Right, % they would not.
Lulu (13:39)
And I remember that not the bouncer dragged that guy outside and they didn’t kick him out. He was allowed to stay even though he’d already harassed a couple of girls. It was just I was kind of the epitome of not having it. ⁓ And I just went home feeling like I wasn’t protected again. That this was my job. I’m putting myself out there like all of these other women. Women that are, you know, putting themselves in physical danger. If they get hurt, who’s going to help them? Nobody. You know, so.
AMD (14:08)
Right.
Lulu (14:09)
That was probably the last of my shifts because I couldn’t let it go and I was always either hiding in the dressing room because I couldn’t interact with people towards the end because I felt very protective of dancers. That’s always been part of the mom side of me maybe. If no one else is going to speak up, someone’s going to and my big mouth would do it and then I’m the one that’s getting in trouble.
AMD (14:34)
Right, right.
Lulu (14:38)
But also knowing I have kids to feed and wanting to make money. it was tough.
AMD (14:42)
Yeah.
Very tough. Yeah. So it was kind of, sounds like it was just like a last straw thing for you.
Lulu (14:48)
Yeah, yeah, and then I think I tried to just take some time off and then they just didn’t have me back So I let it you know, it was it was a difficult ⁓ Way to leave I didn’t have closure But at the same time it wasn’t like I was making that much money anymore and you had nine ten girls on a night shift, so
AMD (15:11)
Yeah, yeah, they were increasing the amount of dancers on night shift for sure.
Lulu (15:15)
Yeah. You know, I know that my body was just physically feeling beat up and it wasn’t worth, because I didn’t know how to scale down. You know, once you’re on stage, you’re on stage and you do what you love. So I felt like my body was taking a beating for, you know, $25, $30 per set, which didn’t seem worth it anymore.
AMD (15:35)
Right, especially because you have no options to support you as far as benefits. Like, you know, I’m close to 40 now and I remember when I was in my 20s and I was stripping and I was like, all over the stage, you know? this male customer one day was like, in your 40s, you’re gonna have the body, like the damaged body of a football player. And I was like, you don’t know your time.
Lulu (15:51)
pew pew pew pew
AMD (16:03)
It’s fine forever. Cut to I’m 39 and I’m like, oh, back. I feel everything. I have chronic injuries and pain from stripping and pole dancing for 18 years and I don’t get anything for it. And I’ve been serving this country. You know?
Lulu (16:05)
Right, mm-hmm.
Right.
Right.
AMD (16:32)
Yeah, so the point that I’ve been making a lot lately is that we are, know, strippers and sex workers are the lifeblood of society. Like we educate people, we guide people, we entertain people, we listen to people. And but we are the butt of everyone’s jokes. We are given no benefits. We are we’re not protected properly, as you’re saying. and we’re just shit on. But we’re the number one place people vote you.
Lulu (17:01)
Right.
AMD (17:01)
⁓
For entertainment and to view sexuality. ⁓
Lulu (17:10)
Yeah. I’m just so tired. Yeah, I feel, I mean, ⁓ I’m going to be 48 this year. I had to calculate that this morning when I was thinking about it. And no shame in saying it because I feel like still having the Bombshell show and having women come up to me like some nights I won’t perform and I’ll just either, you know, producing it and being a kitten or, you know, working on sound.
AMD (17:12)
Tired of it.
Lulu (17:38)
it is but I need to work on that night and then if I add on sorry someone’s watching this if I add on performing on top of all of that sometimes it’s too much but then other nights I’ll miss it but then there are a lot of women I feel like in the audience that will come up to me afterwards and say you really inspired me and I found a lot of power in your performance and I feel like I ⁓
I have no shame in saying what my age is because who knew I would be still doing this in some form at this age because when I was dancing at the club I thought the women that were 35 were old. You know what I mean? Like maybe things have changed too but I wish that I wore knee pads. I wish that I had massages or you know whole other thing but
AMD (18:28)
Yeah.
Lulu (18:31)
There’s still an empowerment, I feel like, for me at my age to still perform and I still feel great when I come off that stage. It’s very few and far between that when I come off stage I feel bad about something.
AMD (18:44)
Right, right. And I think, you bring up a really good point, like ageism definitely is an ism that exists very heavily in that industry. when I was 35 and still stripping, I was I was ageism-ing myself. was like, bitch, I cannot believe you’re 35 still doing this. But I was at the top of my game. I was the most talented I had ever been. And I still looked amazing, but I still…
was being mean to myself about being in my 30s and still dancing. And then I think once I hit around like 37, I got over that and I realized how much like our brains are fucked.
Lulu (19:29)
Basically, yeah, it’s a daily struggle
AMD (19:32)
Yeah, and oh
100 % well because it’s not just through being a stripper like I actually have a really interesting story my aunt my old my elder aunt she’s like 60 something and she broke her hip recently and the doctor like kind of brushed her off as a geriatric and Meanwhile, even though she’s in that age bracket
she’s extremely active and climbs mountains and shit. And he was giving her medical advice based on her age and not based on her physical capabilities. And my uncle, my older uncle was like, think that women ⁓ her age are invisible in a lot of ways. And I was really proud that my uncle had such a profound, because usually men don’t get it.
Lulu (20:28)
True, you’re right.
AMD (20:29)
especially ones that are set in their ways. And so I think that that really applies for older women who are still dancing. I think it’s great. If I could still be in the club, I would be.
Lulu (20:43)
Yeah, I mean, I feel there’s a there’s a very strong sexuality in women. mean, I will say the women that I hire for my show are probably and not everybody reveals their age, but I’m going to guess on an average mid 30s, 40s. There really aren’t women in my show that are in their 20s. And I and everybody looks amazing. There’s a different sort of sexuality that I think you come into in your
30s and 40s. Maybe it’s a different kind of a confidence or a fuck it this is, you know, I don’t know, I’m proud of it. But that’s not to say that it’s not a daily thought in my mind, especially like if I look at the lineup that I have coming in when we had a show, should say. If I looked at a lineup and everyone had…
you know, they’re young and they’re strong and they have all of these amazing sets or, you know, elaborate shit. And then I’m like, okay, it’s just me coming out with freaking outfit and I’m just going to attack the crowd because that’s what I do. But it would still be fun for me, but it still was very, a large insecurity of who I was not up against, but who I had to share a stage with. And then it was like, okay, do I really want to be the like over 45?
dancer along with like you know when I get like Jordan Kensley out there like Michelle Lamour who’s tough and burlesque and like all these performers and I’m like what the fuck am I doing? But I would still get compliments so I haven’t stopped. I’m proud but again I’ll retire eventually.
AMD (22:16)
Of course. Great.
Yeah, whatever you want. It’s not based on anybody else’s standards. Just based on what you’re ready for is what I’m hoping.
Lulu (22:33)
But yeah, I don’t want to base it on anybody else’s standards, but it’s still dancing for a public crowd that in my case for the bombshell show in Venice, it’s a free show. So we don’t know who’s going to show up. It’s not like you’re buying a ticket for a pole show or a ticket for a burlesque and you know what you’re getting into. We are just performing for whoever’s in Venice that night. And we do have a large following and we have regulars, but it also and not to get up to off topic, but it also
I have to be careful who I hire because I also have the responsibility of protecting them on how the crowd is going to not accept them. But do know what I’m trying to say? Totally. They’re her seat.
AMD (23:15)
Yeah,
yeah, and this actually is not off topic. It’s absolutely on topic. I did want to sort of really make sure that people understand the context and the background of what it is that you’re doing now. ⁓ And that is your show, Bootleg Bombshells. ⁓ Can you tell us like what inspired you to start that show? Yeah.
Lulu (23:39)
⁓
I was dancing at Jumbo’s and I was doing little solo gigs at like Harvelles and some other spots and I was teaching Pilates during the day and my client said, you should check out the townhouse. My neighbor owns the townhouse and they have a burlesque show and I said well you know you can tell them if they need dancers and while I said they all go. She’s like no you call them. So I called them they said okay come in on a Wednesday night after comedy we’ll have you do a quick audition. So I went in there and did like
I think I did like the cramps or something and it was so awkward. mean the comedy show ended and then it’s just me doing my little routine in front of, you know, there’s no pole, there’s no stage to really dance on, but they loved it and they hired me and they said, okay, next week can you bring in your troupe and bring your music and we’ll start your show. What is it called? What’s the name of your group? And I was like, I don’t have a group. It’s just me. I thought you just needed a dancer for, you know, one of your burlesque nights.
And they said, no, we haven’t had burlesque in like six months. after comedy, the bar is empty. We need a burlesque group. You called us. Can you do it? And I said, yes, I can do it. And I brought in like two performers. We didn’t have an MC. It was, it wasn’t horrible. It was just extremely awkward. was, and I brought in Leah Costa. It was my first poll.
AMD (24:58)
Yep.
Lulu (25:01)
I don’t know if you worked with Mystic when she was at Jumbo’s. so back then. So Mystic was our MC, our first MC. Amazing. And it was me, Coco, or I don’t know if you knew where I secure back then, but me, Coco, and Lee would do three solos each, have a 15 minute intermission, and then come back and do a solo each and that and then Mystic would end the show. And that was the format for like
I want to say two years and then I was like, isn’t working. Like we can’t just come back out and do another routine. So then I had us each do one performance that we started bringing in one guest performer weekly. And then it just kept evolving. It kept changing. I mean, we started off as a burlesque show because that’s what the bar wanted and that didn’t work for Venice. So I had to.
make it more performance art and out of the box and edgy and I didn’t want it to be a classic for a last show. And you know we just had our seven year anniversary in February of having a weekly show in Venice and you know up until quarantine of course. And we started doing monthly residencies at Harvel’s and El Cid on Sunset so right before this hit we were
reaching this whole new fucking level of like amazing shit. I’m really button like we Obviously our shadow band and I shouldn’t say obviously but we are shadow band the bombshells so we have bus benches in Silver Lake advertising the show which was helping and I Don’t know. It’s it’s become this whole different thing. I have some of the best for last
whole aerial contortionist that LA has to offer and I’m so proud and humbled to be a part of it. Like I know I’m the producer, but it’s very humbling every week to see these people on stage and we’re really kind of allowed to do whatever we want and how express whatever you want to express. ⁓ I have a gay guy on the show who’s incredible. Again, I have to protect him a little bit more at Townhouse. ⁓ But yeah, we…
We’re at like 375 shows now. No, that was the last show we did was like our 370.
AMD (27:17)
here.
Total total. Yeah, yeah 75 shows a year would be really really hard to do. Yeah
Lulu (27:27)
I’m not doing that. Sorry.
AMD (27:32)
375 shows that is absolutely incredible yeah and you’re providing an opportunity for dancers and and making sure yeah and are there safety measures in place like do you talk to security at these places that you’re
Lulu (27:51)
Yeah.
so I learned the wrong way. Luckily it was with my own performance that I need to give the security guys warning if there’s going to be an act that might trigger people that might, ⁓ bring upon a stronger response than if it’s just somebody stripping. And I’ll say that I have a Rosemary’s baby act where I come out as me a Pharaoh pregnant.
and ⁓ I danced to Devil Inside and I basically, like I come out with the baby and it’s not an abortion because the baby’s alive but I self abort this baby and I’m swinging around intestines and like there’s blood and like I’m, it’s pretty, it’s very tongue in cheek but I guess a woman did not like the act and we didn’t give a trigger warning before I started and she threw a shot glass at my face while I was dancing.
AMD (28:35)
Yeah.
my god.
Lulu (28:46)
I remember dancing and getting hit in the head and like going what the fuck and then Lux and Tito were on the sidelines and they said they thought that I was running across the stage to break up a fight and then they realized that I was the fight because I just jumped into this woman’s lap and then I was like shit I’m the producer I can’t have this reaction so I stopped and then I went and finished my act bloody and covered in like
blood and glass and like dripping whiskey from her shot glass. my god. So anyway, we do have a fair amount of political acts and you know acts that might make you uncomfortable. So now I do ask for people, please give me that in your description so I can tell the bouncer this next act might make people upset. Keep an eye on shit.
AMD (29:35)
Yeah, that’s it.
Lulu (29:37)
⁓ I’ve learned that.
AMD (29:40)
Wow, did you end up talking to that woman after?
Lulu (29:43)
No, they kicked her out and I didn’t get to talk to her. She was really drunk. And again, who knows? I don’t know what her personal… I mean, she could have been mad for so many reasons. It could have been because I just pulled baby out of my vagina. She could have been mad that her boyfriend was looking at me in my underwear. Who knows? Do you know what I’m saying? It doesn’t matter why she got that mad. It doesn’t allow her to assault a performer. But, you know, I don’t want to have a show that isn’t…
How do I say it? That’s a double negative. I like having a show that’s gonna push the boundaries a little bit. I like that some of the performers will make you feel uncomfortable and make you think. Like some of Coco Ono’s performances are out there and they’re wild, that they’re thought provoking. So I think the Bombshell show is successful because it’s not the same cookie cutter, glove peel, stocking peel.
AMD (30:41)
Right.
Lulu (30:42)
Classic I just don’t it’s not my thing. So yeah
AMD (30:46)
So do you consider your performers or even yourself during these types of performance a stripper or pseudo stripper or how do you guys, how do you define it or create a distinction?
Lulu (30:59)
I
mean, are you if you’re saying like, there a difference between a burlesque performer and a stripper conversation? Is that what you’re saying?
AMD (31:07)
I guess so. guess you guys are more burlesque. Aren’t you definitely are burlesque. You would consider it more than that. ⁓
Lulu (31:14)
We,
we, how do I say this? We identify it as a burlesque show because that’s an easy way to market it, but at the same time that’s gotten us shadow banned. So that’s one thing. Second, if I call it a variety show because we have so many different types of performers in one night, ⁓ I try to keep it well-rounded so that whoever shows up, there’s something for everybody in it. Bottom line is we’re all getting naked at the end of the night. So we’re strippers.
AMD (31:37)
Yeah.
Right.
Lulu (31:44)
So I know that there’s a lot of conversation about being a classy burlesque strip dancer and I’m not a stripper. I don’t agree with that concept. I think we should all be united in this and fighting for equal rights and not getting banned on social media. We should be able to do whatever the fuck we want. ⁓ So if that’s where your question was going. ⁓ I wouldn’t say we’re burlesque.
AMD (32:09)
Yeah.
Yeah, I think burlesque dancers are strippers because they’re stripping, but definitely there’s a cultural difference between burlesque and stripping. But then like over time, as things do, they start to morph and evolve and I’ll see women in eight inch heels calling themselves burlesque dancers while classic burlesque dancers don’t wear stripper heels. So there’s definitely a culture like integration happening.
Lulu (32:36)
Right.
And I feel like, you know, maybe the burlesque dancers didn’t notice the shadow banning until it started to affect them. Or also maybe pole students didn’t notice it affecting them until the pole dancing hashtags started trickling in. Right? So I mean, that’s why I like there should be some sort of like solidarity as far as how we are.
AMD (33:03)
100 % because even if you don’t identify as a burlesque dancer or stripper if you’re taking photos of yourself in your bikini Then you’re going to basically you’re doing the same thing just without sequence on it right now and so and you’re also getting shadow ban and so because the discrimination of sex workers takes place if you even slightly resemble a sex worker in any way, which is really easy to do because Sex workers are just women wearing tiny clothes
⁓ A lot of women wear tiny clothes, fitness people, swimsuit models, influencers. So yeah, it’s gonna bleed into that. And I just wish that more people understood that by the mentality of thinking, well, it’s okay because it’s like those types of people are being shadow banned. No, it’s catch up to you. ⁓
Lulu (33:35)
Bye.
Yeah, yeah,
Yeah.
I did change my ⁓ Bootleg Bombshells page to a male profile. I was reading Jordan’s, you know, her comparison between her sites. And we were at, I mean, I’ve had a show for seven years. We were at a plateau of 4,500 followers for a very, very long time. I changed it to male. I don’t hashtag anything anymore. Like I might hashtag live entertainment variety show.
but I don’t say burlesque, don’t say women, I don’t say anything. And now we’re almost to like 7,700. It was a huge jump.
AMD (34:36)
The same I actually did the same with my personal account. I’m a male and on my big business account for yeah artists were also male and like in a week our follower count in our engagement rate went up and We know I also stopped I rarely use hashtags Yeah, and it because it’s they they set the algorithm like ⁓ man like automatically
Lulu (34:51)
Isn’t that crazy?
AMD (35:06)
And then they say that these things don’t exist. But when so many people report the same thing, it’s like you’re lying to us.
Lulu (35:13)
Right.
Right, right.
AMD (35:18)
And if you don’t want to use the word shadow ban, the action of shadow banning is happening. if you’re like shadow banning doesn’t exist, whatever the fuck you want to call it, it exists. Okay. Yeah. We’re all hearing it.
Lulu (35:28)
Right.
I don’t know how to advertise my show anymore, to be honest. And it’s a huge gamble for me to have a show at Harvel’s and El Cid because I’m promising all of these performers a base rate, not knowing if I’m going to sell tickets or not. So then that anxiety of me having to make a certain amount of money at the door, period, before the show even starts, is extremely stressful. Luckily, we’ve been OK. And I don’t know what’s going to happen when we come back. ⁓
AMD (36:00)
Right.
Lulu (36:02)
but without being able to advertise on Facebook. I tried back in the day using a picture of Tito in a suit, gorgeous, like a very gentleman-like in a speakeasy setting, and it was still banned. It was blocked for sexual nature or something. And I called it a variety show. ⁓ I was talking to Segan from Lucha Vabum, because he does their marketing, and he was like, yeah, use a guy, and then segue into the sexy females. That’s how they do it for the wrestling shows.
but it still didn’t work. luckily again, we have the best ventures that we’re helping. But otherwise I don’t know how anybody advertises a show these days.
AMD (36:42)
They don’t. It’s very difficult. know the Poll Show LA, which has been happening in Los Angeles for like a decade. Yeah. ⁓ She had a whole fight with Facebook. Not this past show, but the one before. And they wouldn’t post anything for her. And it’s a huge show and it really greatly affected ticket sales. So this whole algorithm.
Lulu (36:52)
was going to say, decade,
AMD (37:12)
is not just discriminating against people, it’s ruining people’s businesses and like endeavors in a world where we need creativity and entertainers and artists to make shows and, and you know, what would we do without that? Like that is, you know, and they’re just making it harder and taking it away. I don’t know what they want, what their end game is, you know? So do you not want any
Sexual any sensual sexual type shows ever is that what they’re going for that they just want us to completely stop Because if we’re not advertising it on Facebook or Instagram like the rest of the world Yeah, like we can’t afford to buy bus benches all the time. I’m sure that wasn’t a cheap thing for you So how the fuck else are we supposed to get people to know about these shows or do they just want us to stop all together? Like I really want to know what their endgame is
Lulu (38:00)
Yes? No.
think you just said it.
AMD (38:12)
I mean, how in fucking world? can’t do that.
Lulu (38:12)
I mean, I’m sorry, say it.
I don’t, yeah, I think it’s just a regulation. ⁓ You know, I don’t know how it’s gonna change now too because of just what we’re going through with the quarantine and the amount of live stream shows. And I don’t know how that’s being monitored really, you know, the live shows. We were really lucky when the first lockdown information hit. ⁓ I wanna say.
We had a show planned for a Monday night, a 90s night, and everything was just starting to like, we might go into lockdown, we’re not sure. And I canceled, we had a Rob Zombie show in, sorry, in Harvells in Long Beach, and they were like, you have two tickets sold the day before. they’re normally like, it’s a huge selling show, it’s one of our best. They were like, but Long Beach is almost on lockdown, and it’s raining, and we don’t think you’re gonna have.
walk-up sales, so we canceled that. And then I joked about canceling the Monday night show and saying, okay, we can all just do it from my house, because I ⁓ have lots of space. And then that Sunday, I was like, I have to cancel it. don’t feel safe. I don’t feel morally responsible as a producer bringing people together in a small space when this corona thing is now building. ⁓ And then that night, the mayor actually shut it down. So I felt better about that decision.
AMD (39:33)
this level.
Lulu (39:41)
Our first live show that Wednesday, we were supposed to have a show at the townhouse. We did it live from The Vertitude from Danielle G’s studio. And it was amazing. It was so fun. It was really nice to have the comments coming in live to see people’s responses. You everybody was home and it actually, we brought the show to people’s living rooms that have never been able to go to the townhouse at midnight because I know it’s a fucking late night. Like I don’t want to go to my show sometimes on a Wednesday night because it’s exhausting. But you get a second win.
⁓ the only thing that shut us down was Instagram, I think at the 40 minute mark turned us off and then we just came right back on, but we were able to use, ⁓ popular music. I feel like we weren’t able to save it to Instagram lives. People could see it the next day because of some copyright songs, but I do feel like the live stream stuff when we’re able to get back into a bar, I think we’re still going to add the live show component.
our show. It was one of our most successful tipping nights we’ve ever had having a lot. It was nice to share that with the dancers that I know were really worried about what their future is and I feel unfortunately a large responsibility for that. Like I know it’s not my fault that the bars aren’t open but I feel really sad for a lot of my dancers that solely rely on this income.
AMD (40:47)
Bye.
Lulu (41:08)
So ⁓ I do think it’s going to be interesting on how we’re monitored if it’s live.
Yeah. you know, a different way to market this shit. all.
AMD (41:17)
Yeah.
Yeah, and I feel you on feeling very sad for dancers who rely on live performances to make their income because they have, there is no backup and there is no backup because their worker status isn’t being respected as it should be. yeah, and there’s 10, tens of thousands of strippers displaced right now.
Very little options. It’s scary.
Lulu (41:52)
Yeah. Yeah. And I don’t know. I don’t know that. And forgive me for not knowing the difference between all of the grants. But I know that there are some that are specifically saying that if you are in, you know, any sort of sexual nature of your performances, you cannot qualify. ⁓
AMD (42:07)
Yeah, that’s very, that’s a, the small business loan is very specific. ⁓ but, and then I’m hearing, I got a message from someone that said, have a sex worker business and I applied for the loan and I got it. And so like, and they were like, I’m not sure if this is some sort of like marketing thing or, if there’s this, if they’re just saying that, like it’s just so, and, what
Lulu (42:10)
Okay.
AMD (42:36)
What I got from that message is like, who the fuck knows? There’s so much uncertainty. There’s so much different information. Just try everything. Regardless if they tell you that you’re excluded, just try anyway and find out for yourself because there’s literally no way of telling what’s real and what’s not right now. So yeah, yeah, but the link is…
Lulu (43:01)
That’s good.
Just
read the fine lines and make sure it’s not something you have to pay back and then you’re going to screw yourself later. It’s not all free money.
AMD (43:11)
Definitely.
But yeah, think that that definitely was like, think that our government and our corporations and the social media that we’re all on is definitely has been sending a very loud message for the last few years, which is sex work is not okay. Sexual expression is not okay. Being different is not okay. And being proud to exhibit your body is not okay.
And that message seems to be getting louder and louder. And quite frankly, I’m scared. And I try to say these things out loud to other people so that other people get angry enough to the point where I’m angry, where we’re all talking about it and where like, because I’m getting ready. Like I wrote, I was so angry the other day. was like tap, tap, tap, writing, writing, writing. And one of the things I wrote was let’s just disappear for 24 hours.
Lulu (44:05)
Mmm.
AMD (44:06)
Like
let’s take all sex work, like shut down Pornhub, shut, like make all of your things private, like put your social media on pause, don’t offer any sex work to anybody, and what would the world do?
Lulu (44:21)
I’m the worst than a quarantine. That’s worse than a quarantine. Yeah.
AMD (44:26)
No, no, nothing. No, nothing for 24 hours. I don’t know. Maybe a week. I don’t know. I don’t know. It’s just an English like maybe of an idea, but this shit is bullshit. I’m fucking tired of it. Yeah. Yeah. So it’s really nice to hear the because you’re not producing shows where there’s extensive nudity and you’re still feeling such a noose around.
Lulu (44:55)
Sure. ⁓ Yeah, and I have to explain that too, especially to the venues that we are extending out to. I townhouse is one thing. We’re solid there. And I know that we’ll do well. Like even if we don’t make a lot of money in tips, we’re OK. But the other places where they’re trying to advertise and if they all share a post and then they say all of these hashtags that I know will get flagged, then I have to reach out and of educate.
their management and their social media, if they’re not used to having a burlesque show or whatever, you know, that we go down to pasties, you can’t put this, this and this because of this. And it’s, it’s almost shocking to them. Um, and again, it’s on my shoulders then to advertise if they’re not doing it. I don’t know.
AMD (45:41)
bullshit. Yeah it is. I think the best thing to do is just continue to have open dialogue about it so more people can get it you know and then I’m hoping that the more conversations that happen publicly someone who has real power to do something
to either use their voice or use their connections with lawmakers politicians or executives at social media like someone that has the power to make a difference will ⁓ you know my dream is to interview JLo and really get her to understand the damage that she’s done to so many people and because she’s got such a powerful voice and following
And so, you know, someone like that could make a real difference in how strippers and sex workers are viewed. ⁓
Lulu (46:34)
Yeah, I never saw the Hustlers movie. I just figured it would make me mad.
AMD (46:39)
Yeah,
I haven’t seen it either because I’m same-thee-us and I totally have to see it and I keep saying that and I just… Nah, I’ll just walk to the office for the 50th.
Lulu (46:49)
Right, I’m not ready to put myself through that.
AMD (46:53)
Yeah, I want to just want something that makes me happy, you know?
I know. That too. Yeah. Yeah. All right. Well, we’re going to move into our next segment, which is stripper tips. Want to be fabulous just like these strippers? Pay attention. It’s stripper tips.
Lulu (47:20)
So I had a hard time with this and I’ll say it because I didn’t know if I wanted to come from advice as a dancer or an advice from a producer side of it. There’s also a weird producer mom side of me. ⁓ You know, obviously we’ve already talked about the longevity of your body and like you might not or people might not think they’ll still be doing this in their thirties or forties or beyond. So take care of your body. That’s my first like,
Just do whatever you can. mean, have fun. It’s the best job. There’s not many jobs where you can make this amount of money in a short period of time. Have fun doing it. Have such a supportive group of women usually. Can’t speak of that across the board. But I’m going to say from a producer side, no matter if you’re just a stripper or a dancer or whatever, just be fucking professional.
and your reputation follows you. Because I will say when I hear of other dancers, you know, someone will say, you should hire so-and-so, they’re really great. I want to know what they’re like to work with, what they’re like backstage. Are they going to be a fucking diva and take up all the space? Are they not going to send me their goddamn music on time? Do I have to chase you for information? So I’ll say being professional and showing up for a job in that mindset will get you rehired.
Being a diva and coming in without having a ⁓ bit of professionalism about you will, you know, I won’t hire them again. I don’t care how great you are. So that’s, that’s just my side because I definitely have made a lot of friends in this business and I’ve lost a lot. And it’s, know, it’s okay if people don’t like me because I’m not rehiring them because of their, it’s usually a lack of professionalism. So that’s, that’s where I’m going to come in from that.
AMD (48:55)
Right.
think it’s great. That’s good. And you’re right, especially for younger dancers and entertainers looking to expand and get into new things. I think that’s really, really great advice.
Lulu (49:26)
File your
AMD (49:28)
my gosh, yes, please
file your taxes. It’s so important. It’s so important for so many reasons. So thank you for saying that.
Lulu (49:38)
Mean, you know, I’m a bookkeeper during the day and now I’m getting a lot of my stripper fencing my god, am I gonna get the the stimulus check because I didn’t found my taxes the last two years Is it too late? And I’m like, okay, I’m not a CPA. I don’t know if it’s too late, but fucking do it Yeah, so yeah, that’s my that’s my mom’s side of it I guess
AMD (49:51)
Yeah, exactly.
Yeah, perfect. It was a great, that was a great segment. Thank you.
Lulu (50:01)
Thank
you. You’re welcome,
AMD (50:04)
Get ready for our rapid fire question round. It’s time for four for one. Okay, Lulu, we’re starting your four for one. Here we go. If you were a superhero, what two powers would you have?
Lulu (50:18)
super metabolism and invisibility.
AMD (50:23)
nice. The metabolism, I wasn’t expecting that.
Lulu (50:27)
That’s a new one, right? I will say that’s because I know that I’ve had to watch what I eat now that I’m getting older and I used to have a really good metabolism. So that’s my personal.
AMD (50:38)
That’s very
good. Alright, next one. Where’s the strangest place you’ve had sex?
Lulu (50:43)
Sorry, excited again.
AMD (50:44)
Where’s the strangest place you’ve had sex?
Lulu (50:47)
Strangest. ⁓ First time was in the woods in Rhode Island. Yeah, it’s a set. It was terrible. on a concrete.
AMD (50:53)
Cool. ⁓
⁓ on concrete? Yeah, the next one. Have you ever worked on the hood of a police car?
Lulu (51:00)
That is terrible.
worked on it? no, I can’t twerk at all. No. I have a huge ass I can’t twerk.
AMD (51:07)
work.
We need to remedy that. Yeah. If it were legal to go topless outside in public, would you free your nips?
Lulu (51:20)
Yes, but not in front of my children.
AMD (51:22)
Interesting. Really?
Lulu (51:27)
Yes, but that’s a whole other like burlesque stripper mom segment. That would be a whole other thing.
AMD (51:35)
Yeah, very interesting. I want to like go down that rabbit hole with you, but we can’t
Lulu (51:41)
It’s
a good one. all of the things that you think about on a daily basis, but add teenage daughters to your life and see how that changes your mindset on how you would want to.
AMD (51:43)
time.
Lulu (51:55)
Talk about how we are treated and the amount of exposure you want while having a 13 and a 15 year old, two girls. Different story.
AMD (52:00)
Yeah.
Wow.
Yeah, I bet it is. I really appreciate your honesty and like, and that perspective because I don’t have children. So I’ve never had to think about those types of things. So ⁓ I appreciate that. Thank you. Yeah. Lou, this has been so great spending time with you. ⁓ Can you please tell everyone how they can follow you and find out more about bootleg bombshells?
Lulu (52:21)
Well, this
Sure, for now we’re mostly just posting on Instagram at Bootleg Bombshells. I’m not good at Twitter, I will admit that. ⁓ And our website, which is also just bootlegbombshells.com. I’m hoping that we’ll have live stream shows again soon, ⁓ but not until we can safely bring a group of 10 people together. I’m not really interested in putting us each in our living room, in our kitchen dancing for you. So we’ll wait until it can be a little bit more.
professional and I’m not saying that to discredit anyone else dancing in their home. I just want to wait until we can have ⁓ a different setting. So for now, mostly Instagram on our website. ⁓
AMD (53:14)
Great, well we’ll make sure that everyone goes there and follows bootleg bombshells. To our audience, we just want to say thank you so much for tuning in as always. Thanks for tuning in. We’ll see you next
Lulu (53:19)
Amen.
week. Thanks honey. Thank you.