Up the Pole S2E7: Jamie Elchert

Up the Pole S2E7: Jamie Elchert

Host Amy Bond talks with Jamie Elchert, founder of the Memorial Pole Championship in Ohio. Jamie is a seasoned pole competitor who created this competition with two missions: to provide access to a quality pole competition in the Midwest with paid, industry leading judges and to raise funds for her sister’s memorial scholarship fund. Jamie and Amy talk about the wild adventure that is running a live event where everything that can go wrong, inevitably does go wrong. They discuss the business of pole competitions, which team members Jamie found essential, why she was adamant about paying her judges, and what she's working on for the upcoming years of MPC.

Up the Pole S2E6: Natalya Nightshade

Host Amy Bond talks with industry maven Natalya Nightshade about her background in ballet and skripping, about being a serial entrepreneur, and building her Tampa, Florida pole studio. Natalya Nightshade is an award-winning, international pole performer, instructor, and business owner. She is the creator of Nightshade Designs, Nocturnelle Pole Show, and most recently Studio Nightshade, a local pole studio + intensive destination. As an instructor and studio owner, she strives to create a space for community where diversity, authenticity, and exploration is at the forefront.

Up the Pole S2E5: Dan Rosen of Pole Destroyers and Pole LOLs

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

Up the Pole S2E4: Kristy Sellars

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

Up the Pole S2E3: Emily of Altius Pole Studio

Emily of Altius Pole Studio in Bend, Oregon, talks with host Amy Bond about how opening her studio in the middle of the pandemic was a surprisingly good idea. They discuss how trauma-informed teaching can make students feel safer. Can you ever truly create a safe space? What makes for a good pole instructor? How do you even know if you can afford to open your own pole studio? Emily and Amy dig into all these questions in Episode 3 of Up the Pole Podcast, Season 2.