In this week’s episode, I interview Squeak Machine (Jill) and Booboo Brian (Brian) in Awakenings Studio in New Orleans. We talk about how they started in the stripping and entertaining and pole dancing industry, arriving to their industry names, encouraging & creating space for strippers or entertainers, and Mr. Pole Dance America!
Known for her high-pitch voice, Jill got her nickname “Squeak Machine” when she was still in school. Eventually, she embraced that nickname and just used it to her advantage. Squeak (Jill) started pole dancing in 2003 and she was entirely self-taught for several years.
On the other hand, Brian Wolf was coined during his early competition days. Now, he is widely known as Booboo which is derived from his cute nickname Boo. Everyone just started calling him Booboo Brian which he thinks is fun, easy to say, and speaks a lot about his personality.
Squeak (Jill) joined forces with Booboo Brian during the 2017 MPDA event. These two coordinators are just starting their pole competition journey but excited to take MPDA to new heights!
This episode is sponsored by my favorite knee pad company of all time, Bee’s Knees.
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How They Started Their Stripping Journey
- Squeak (Jill) started pole dancing in 2003 and she was entirely self-taught for several years.
- At age 18, Jill worked as a stripper in a club to support her education which went on for years during and after college. She has marked her 20th year in the stripping industry this year.
- Having gained skills through her job, Jill started teaching pole dancing in a studio. In 2007, Jill started to take interest in Pole dance fitness when frequent back pain issues started making her concerned for her overall health. She reached out to studios in her area to learn more about proper pole dance fitness and improve her technique before finding her home in Awakenings Studio.
- Booboo Brian (Brian) started taking private classes with Veronica Nichols in 2013 where there were limited pole dancing coed classes at that point
- Booboo Brian (Brian) was always in touch with his sensual side/sexy side which drove him to burlesque dancing which is somehow a pre-courser to his aerial dancing/pole dancing journey. He was on a scholarship program that certified him to teach pole dancing
- Booboo Brian (Brian) joined Mr. Pole Dance America in 2016 and kicking off the very first all-male pole competition, he took the first place title.
Creating a Space for Strippers
- Awakenings Studio support the local stripping community and has helped a lot of women to have a space for them to train pole dancing safely.
- One of the reasons Squeak (Jill) is supporting local stripping community because she wants to build the gap between stripping community and pole community.
- Squeak (Jill) started developing memberships for stripper dancers in Awakenings Studio to get the strippers to come to them and make them feel part of the community. They also want to create a space for the strippers to properly train techniques like body conditioning and muscle and body warm-up in pole dancing.
- Having to work as a stripper, it made a lot easier for Squeak (Jill) to encourage other dancers to enroll in the Awakenings Studio and learn proper pole dancing techniques.
- Squeak (Jill) is very hands-on with coaching and giving feedbacks to her staff and instructors on a regular basis. She makes sure they are provided with proper training and they can openly communicate their needs to her.
Mr. Pole Dance America!
- This competition is very special to both Booboo Brian (Brian) and Squeak (Jill) because it brought them together and made them a lot closer.
- Mr. Pole Dance America is a competition for male identifying pole dancers and was originally hosted by Philip Deal who retired from the pole scene, handed the competition over to Squeak (Jill) in 2017 and the competition has since found its home in New Orleans.
- Squeak (Jill) joined forces with Booboo Brian (Brian) during the 2017 MPDA event and decided to keep the event going.
- Squeak (Jill) feels very strongly about the competition for the reason that she wants men to have more representation and inspiration in the pole scene.
- They are passionate about giving cash prizes to encourage more male pole dances to join the competition.
- VIP Section gets to choose the People’s Choice on different categories in the competition
- Partnered with a sponsor, Pole Tarot, who creates a mini show which features Awakenings finest dancers and aerialists. This mini show takes you through a tarot reading as pole dancers and aerialist captivate the audience based on the symbolic nature of each card pulled.
Quotes:
“It only takes one person to go up on stage and do pole in a unique way that sparks interest in somebody who would have never thought they would have ever do it. It’s really important that they have their own personality, their own style, and they support each other.” – Squeak Machine (Jill)
“That’s the one thing about competitions that I love, it’s meeting the people. Everyone has that pumped up energy and it’s cool to see everyone’s craft on stage.” -Brian Wolf
“I wish I would have taken a little bit longer because definitely I love teaching like it’s my heart but like, once you start teaching it’s kinda more about the students and not about your journey any more. So it’s kind of definitely hard to balance that. But I love inspiring students. That’s just one thing I’ve just always wanted to do, I would love to point you in the right direction.” – Brian Wolf
“The first time I ever touched a pole was in a crowded room of like 80 to 100 people just sitting there, watching me, and I just had to figure it out. And that’s all I’ve ever known for the longest time and performing like onstage and the amount of energy the audience gives back to you just makes it so easy.” – Squeak Machine (Jill)
“I was like, okay, like I could keep doing pole for a couple more years and retire from stripping. But if I want to start doing this like longterm, or if I want to keep doing it, even as a hobby, I need to learn how to do this correctly and I need to get some kind of fitness training.” – Squeak Machine (Jill)
“And so I have a workshop menu, I have prices and I was like, I’m always negotiable. And then when I go there, I would treat it like a legit job. I just want it because my biggest thing is I would feel so much better if I felt invited back and welcomed back and meeting the students and getting close to the students.” – Brian
“The only difficult thing is that as a studio owner, I don’t want to promote to polers. I already have poler’s in my studio. So Instagram and Facebook are a great way for me to find people who maybe have an interest in bar or politics or something connected to pole, but maybe they would have never searched for it themselves. Then Instagram will put that like in front of them. So it gives them an opportunity to discover something” – Squeak Machine (Jilll)
Squeak’s Favorite Performance of herself – When she is making all the money on stage at Hustlers & Dance Filthy USA 2019 – Squeak – Professional 2nd Place
Brian’s Favorite Performance of Himself – 2016 PSO Pacific Pole Champion, Brian Wolf & Dance Filthy USA 2018 Professional Champion – Brian Wolf
Squeaks’s Favorite Performance of someone else – Chilli Rox Special Guest Performance Dance Filthy 2019
Brian’s Favorite Performance of someone else – Miss Pole Dance America 2016 – Nadia Sharif
To Connect with Squeak Machine & Brian Wolf of Mr. Pole Dance America:
Studio Website | Squeak Machines Instagram | BooBoo Brian Instagram
Want to hear more? Check out Episode #17 with Brittany Gillespie and Episode #18 with Torwa Joe.