We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Blanco Bleu a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Blanco, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today We’d love to hear from you about what you think Corporate America gets wrong in your industry and why it matters.

In my particular industry of pole and yoga, there tend to be moving parts. In Pole, well as soon as someone hears the phrase pole dancing, immediately most think, stripper/sex worker. While those women are absolutely the pioneers, there’s something deeply profound, and freeing in pole dancing. That most don’t get the opportunity to experience due to the stigmas associated with it. On the flip side, as pole dancing has grown on the world, there is a discord, and a push to separate “pole fitness” from “strip tease”. As though if doing the exact same thing for money in a club, versus free in a studio, somehow demeans a person. To pivot towards yoga, for my community, black people, yoga has typically been associated with the white stay at home mom. And the society panders towards that with big brands like lulu lemon, and fabletics, that don’t appear to be inclusive to all. Yoga, means to yoke, to bring together in community. Most aren’t aware of that, and the yoga ideology pushed by corporate America, doesn’t help promote that narrative. Which is sad because there are so many positive effects to incorporating yoga into one’s life, but when one doesn’t feel that a particular space will be excepting, it makes it difficult to to engage in those spaces, and experience what they can offer.

Blanco, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I am a pole dance & yoga instructor with a luxury Waistbead company. My goal is to combine my retail jewelry business with my background in dance, health, and wellness through travel instruction, and ultimately opening a wellness studio. I want to share with others what pole & yoga did for me. How it allowed me to tap Into a side of myself, my womanhood that I didn’t believe existed.
Currently I’ve been grateful to come in to contact with so many women who want the same. To feel sexy and sensual naturally. To enjoy and embrace themselves, all while maintains health and wellness through dance. Couple that by sliding on some beautiful, authentically hand crafted waistbeads from Lagos Nigeria. If you’re unaware, waistbeads are literally beads that are traditionally worn on the waist by African women. The waistbeads signify the essence of her femininity, coming of age, 1st menses, marriage, fertility, and to attract a mate. The spirituality and energy behind it all, is a world of wonders.

Do you sell on your site, or do you use a platform like Amazon, Etsy, Cratejoy, etc?

I chose Etsy originally because it was the cheapest site that allowed me to do business. While it’s a great site, takes a very small percentage, and allows for some customization, it’s just a starter in my opinion. When you really start making some revenue, I would suggest getting your own domain name, and investing in a site that you can customize for your clientele. It will allow you to house more, and make it easier for you to be found via search engines by having your own platform solely linked to you. Additionally, theres no competition on my own site. When you’re on other platforms, it’s easy to find another vendor selling what you sell or something similar for half the cost. Where as, once you come to my site, the only option is me.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

Plenty of times through out this journey, things have dried up. From seasonal changes, to covid 19. When the capital isn’t there, sales aren’t happening, but bills and supplies are still needed it gets tough. You question whether you can keep up. You contemplate going back to a 9-5, you may get a part time gig, and then realize you can’t put in as much as you really need for your business to thrive. It’s such a push and pull, you get annoyed and exhausted over it. But when you believe in something so much that you can’t see anything else, you don’t let it deter you. You use the hardships and the failures as ammo to keep going.

Contact Info:

• Website: TheBLANCOBeads.com
• Instagram: @ShesBleu__
• Facebook: BLANCO Bae
• Linkedin: Brezelle Bey

Image Credits
Darryl Cobb (black & white portrait)