We opened as Sydney Pole Dancing School and Candice and I handed out pamphlets in Pitt Street Mall about an open day.
Somehow word got around, I think we somehow had 3 lines in the SMH about it, and 100 people showed up.
Oh, and I forgot to mention, the guy that managed the massage parlour was NOT happy about us being there, even when it was just the 4 of us getting it all ready, so we called the owner about our concerns. He sent two “heavies”. That’s the only way I can describe them. Dark glasses inside, big, intimidating, wouldn’t shake my hand, just grunted.
Our open day people were about to arrive, this DID NOT LOOK GOOD!
Bobbi’s husband came and took them out onto the balcony thank goodness. (I was so naïve, it wasn’t till a few weeks after we opened that I realised they offered special massages at this venue).
Bobbi, Jamilla and Candice (in “teacher uniforms”, so schmancy) did a show and we talked to everyone about how classes wouId work and EVERYONE wanted to sign up.
I was breastfeeding at a little table and writing on pieces of paper (no laptops, I don’t think I even had a home computer) shouting out
“Jamilla, that one’s full, can you do one straight after?”
“Hey Candice, these people can only do Saturdays. Can you do Saturday?”
“Hey Bobbi, can you do Thursday night?”
and the very first, all beginners, timetable was born!
So with print outs of conditioning exercises and 6 people sharing 2 poles we thought we had it sorted but of course everyone just sat and watched the 2 people on the poles. Everyone was having a ball but we knew it wouldn’t work.
We spent the first 8 week term looking for our own premises, trying to prove to people that we weren’t a brothel and that pole dancing could actually be fitness, “no sir, we will not have a bar”.
It was CRAZY how conservative people were, it pissed me off that we sometimes had to get Bobbi’s husband to call real estate agents so they gave us the time of day!
We FINALLY found a place on Castlereagh Street, ripped up the carpet, sanded floors, put in 14 poles, painted everything pink and got ready for Term 2. All with a baby in the middle of the room with pillows all around protecting him from the building detritus.
The ceiling looked shit so we just staple gunned lengths of black material up, so dodgy!
We got a cool stage built as well and glued zebra and pink fur around it, the height of class!
There was a promotion with Dulux at the time and when you bought so many litres of paint you got a paint tin of jelly beans so we handed them out in the next few open days and chucked the can on the reception desk for students. We had a LOT of jelly bean cans.
When they were used up people complained so we’ve had jelly beans ever since.
Ness x
