There are a lot of social media pages and coaches dedicated to recovery, mobility, and fitness for regular people. Not many are dedicated to the stripper community niche. The ones that I have seen are dedicated towards performance techniques, like floorwork and pole work. I would like to propose a new philosophy, a new way of conceptualizing the lives of strippers everywhere.
How many times have we all heard, “I could never be a stripper, I can’t (dance/walk in heels/do pole tricks/etc)?” Probably a similar number of times have we had to bite our tongues and smile, because this industry is sink or swim babe. Just like the vanilla perspective on sex work, our perspective could use a little refinement. We all know that stripping isn’t all money rain and champagne. We know that those things come at a steep price- and not just for the customers. Mysterious bruises, hangovers, irregular and inadequate sleep, all the pain! Back, feet, knees- it can feel like our bodies are falling apart.
When I was about 6 or 7 years into my career, I moved to a bigger city and set a goal to retire before my body did it for me. I started going to yin yoga, working out more, and attempting to eat healthier. I felt better, but not great. I felt like the damage I had done to my body in the industry was irreversible. I was leaving shifts three hours in because I had pain in the lower half of my body that made it unbearable to be there any longer. We were only allowed to sit down on the sales floor with customers, not alone or with other dancers, and I liked to get there early. Sometimes I got to sit, sometimes I stood around for three hours, refusing to sit in the dressing room in case I missed an opportunity. I knew something had to change. Thankfully, that rule is no longer in place, and I can now physically handle a full shift (6-8 hours for me). I also take far more dressing room breaks, to preserve my sanity and hearing.
I will admit that I was still lucky; had the lockdown of 2020 not happened, or been as long (my city closed clubs for 7 months), I would not have been able to physically rehabilitate at the same rate. I also had a partner who was a fitness professional with certifications in multiple specialties, and a personal hyperfocus on health and wellness. I was able to openly discuss ideas and get real time feedback about the concepts that were beginning to form as I studied for my personal trainer’s certification, while we trained together.
In truth, being a trainer was not the goal. When I told my partner that I wanted to get certified in teaching yoga, they suggested that I do my CPT first, to build a stronger foundation of knowledge about the body. They were right, and I am grateful they pointed me in that direction.
As I progressed through my certification, I kept connecting the material I was learning to my own lived experience as a stripper. I had so many lightbulb moments as I cycled through a range of emotions. Excitement about the mental connections- I love puzzles, riddles, and problem solving. Disappointment and disgust about the lack of education, training, and safety protocols for strippers. Anger and bitterness followed as I grieved for the stripper collective; fear of not having an industry to go back to after the pandemic changed the world. Finally, determination to be the voice we all needed as baby strippers. I began to develop a concept I call holisting hustling.
Holistic hustling is an approach to the industry that centers our health and well-being, our experience, and prioritizes the long term investment. Personal experience and anecdotal observation tell me that many of us are not training and recovering in a way that is optimal for our highly unique, specialized and demanding jobs. Most of us have to recover from an imbalance of intense/long performance times and significantly less training time. No other profession expects performance time to exceed training and recovery time, especially not year around. Centering and honoring our body’s needs based on our lifestyle will yield better results overall.
Because our industry is not regulated like other performers, athletes, and laborers, there is a lack of education, training, standardized practices and safety precautions. Holistic hustling focuses more on recovery, corrective exercises, and compound movements in order to counter the side effects of heels and optimize energy expenditure.
Although I have developed this concept over years, just like anything, it is a work in progress, always being refined, evolving to meet the needs of the people whom it serves. My journey has taught me many things that I hope to share with others so that they will learn from my mistakes, but I am still on that journey, with many lessons I have yet to learn.
Happy hustling babes!
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