Episodes
18
Latest episode
Jun 2026
Language
EN-US
A podcast about the joy, heartache, and business of running a pole dance studio.
Our guest this week has been in the pole industry for 20 years! Her studio, Pole Trix in Victoria, BC, started as a kids dance studio. Hear the story of how her business grew and grew (even with 50mm brass poles!) as she chats with host Amy Bond on this week's episode.
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.
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 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.
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.
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.
Amy Bond, host of Up the Pole, chats with Vikka Wrexx of Wrexx Dance in Allen, TX about her experience moving from Russia and opening a pole studio in the US. They discuss the term "russian exotic," the sink-or-swim style of training pole in Russia, and what kind of community Vikka wanted to build with Wrexx Dance.
Crystal Song of Songbird Dance in San Francisco chats with host Amy Bond of Pole + Dance Studios about the realities and surprises of running pole studios. Does Crystal regret getting the pole-a-way system? Can you be friends with your instructors? She also gets into why her $5-a-day virtual assistant didn't work out and why she's taking a step back from hosting a lot of guest workshops.
Host Amy Bond talks with Milissa Marshall of Dazzling Diva Fitness in Winchester, Virginia. Marshall took over the reins of her studio when it was at risk of closure, becoming a pole studio owner nearly by accident!
Amy Bond of Up the Pole Podcast talks with Hannah Mico, one of the co-founders of Midwest Movement Collective, an intentionally inclusive and all-varieties dance & movement studio in Grand Rapids, Michigan. MMC opened in June 2022, and welcomes diverse styles, modalities, and people. Hannah started pole dancing in 2017, and has competed twice through Pole Sport Organization (once earning a silver medal at PSO Great Lakes in Chicago). Through pole dance, Hannah took an interest in other dance forms, including ballet, contemporary, and even tap dance! While she isn't an expert in any form of dance and doesn't consider herself a master of any form of movement, she is enthusiastic and excited about the pathways safe & comfortable movement can open for adults of all ages, abilities, and identities.
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