We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Mel Rice. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Mel below.

Mel, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. We’d love to have you retell us the story behind how you came up with the idea for your business, I think our audience would really enjoy hearing the backstory.

Witty bimbo began when I returned to the Strip Club industry after seeking help in recovering from drug and alcohol abuse 3 years ago. I had been in the industry previously for about 10 years and really valued the women I worked with and the services we provide, but I knew if I was to return to the industry as a healthy and sober person, I would have to bring my healthy coping mechanisms and holistic lifestyle with me. I was terrified at first to return to the industry that seemingly nurtured my addictions and self-sabotaging behavior, but I also knew there was a way. I felt so strongly that if we had a conscious community in the club, we would thrive and uplift each other in every part of our lives. Thus, I began hosting guided meditations before work with anyone who wanted to join -dancers, waitstaff, management, DJs, etc. As interest grew in these meetups, we started a social media page and titled it Witty Bimbo -a funny play on words dealing with the stereotypes we encounter and the humor we embody to cope with these stereotypes. I then decided to broaden our scope and offer homebuying classes through my connections in the real estate industry. This was the foundation of our 3 core principles: Community, Healing, and Education. These principles are so important because many in the industry have suffered trauma throughout their lives and deserve healing, community connection, and educational resources for future planning and success.

At the end of last year (2022) Witty Bimbo became an official 501c-3 nonprofit and we began our journey working full time for this cause.
I have such a strong connection with the women in our community and see a collective of entrepreneurs and healers that if given proper guidance, could really provide a positive impact in the world.
The most exciting thing in this work is seeing and hearing the positive results from the community we serve.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

My name is Mel Rice and I have been a veteran of the SW community in Austin for 13 years. I studied theatre and love performing my entire life, so when I moved to Austin when I was 20, I was naturally interested in the nightlife performance industry. Having battled drug and alcohol abuse, I returned to the industry looking through new lenses and wanted to bring this clarity to my work and my community. I strongly believe S*x Work is a healing craft and can be approached with dignity and respect and I wish to bring that understanding and compassion to all the people we serve as well as the general public. Our pride lies in our 3 core principles: Community, Healing, and Education. We implement these values through community events, healing workshops, and educational classes.
Our goal is to facilitate healthy communication tactics in order to better serve each other, as we work together. S*x workers share a special bond and we wish to nurture that connection and spark growth for and with each other. We believe that everyone deserves an equal opportunity to mend their wounds and work with their trauma in order to solve it. Thus, we urge healthy healing practices such as meditation, breathing exercises, and therapy assistance. These programs not only help the individual, but encourage better workplace morale and performance. By offering free training in many disciplines, we believe individuals can pursue their self-improvement -on their terms. Our classes range from financial literacy to self defense, and beyond.
This programming allows the s*x work community to see its self as a collective of entrepreneurs who can serve resources for each other and share their gifts with the world.

How do you keep your team’s morale high?

Working in the nonprofit sector is a wonderful place with many good-hearted people. In this work there are lots of ideas from different sources and creative people, and sometimes the amount of ideas and help being offered can be overwhelming, honestly. I do my very best to ensure everyone on my team is given the time to makes their ideas known and understood. Making time for open brainstorming as a collective is important as well. I make sure to have one-on-one time with all of our collaborators and staff and hear what their needs are and how to better meet those needs. As an event-based community building organization, we are fortunate to have lots of opportunity to connect and be vulnerable and honest as a team.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

When we began our journey as an official 501c-3 nonprofit, there were so many hurdles in establishing basic needs such as a bank account. Because the work we do serves a marginalized and often taboo community, most businesses would not work with us. We state clearly in our mission that we serve the S*x Work community in Texas and this wording makes many uncomfortable, but that is exactly why we believe it’s important. As I was looking for a bank to operate our donation and expense accounts, I was shocked to be turned away not once or twice, but 5 times due to our business being “high risk”. I remember thinking, “How could this be? We are only trying to serve our community!” But most institutions would not even ask details or questions -they simply said “no” or hung up the phone.
Luckily, we found a great bank that has been so generous and helpful and it could not have worked out better.

This simple task at the start of our endeavor taught me that resistance is normal and to be expected and to let it motivate us and our passion for our work.

Contact Info:

• Website: wittybimbo.org
• Instagram: @witty_bimbo
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/630944698411982