Podcast: Download (Duration: 27:59 — 25.7MB)

Get Notified About Future Episodes 

Apple Podcasts | Breaker | Google Podcasts | Overcast | Pocket Casts | Radio Public | Spotify | RSS 

Episode Highlights 

0:48 - Getting to know Endy
2:08 - How’s pole dancing?
7:07 - “There are so many different ways of feeling empowered and every time I do one of these calls, I find out like a new way”- Jessica
8:25 - How is living in Texas compared to Portland?
13:20 - What made you move to Portland?
14:29 - “I've just always wanted to see more and I didn't want to end up in the same place that I started”- Endy
16:20 - Are you happy with where you've ended up?
18:29 - “Definitely do it, but definitely plan things out.”- Endy
19:50 - “I think it's easy to get the idea of what life will be like in your head and kind of strive for that and things to happen in real life”- Endy
22:12 - Endy’s thought about piercings she would like to get when the pandemic is over
26:03 - Endy’s last pieces of advice
27:22 - “Everything you're feeling is completely valid.”- Jessica

Photo by Just Jessica June LLC

Endy: I recommend everyone do it, if you can and if you don't want to go to studio, I've never actually been to a studio yet. I mostly learned from YouTube and Instagram but I definitely recommend either getting one at home, or finding a studio that you feel comfortable and there are pluses and minuses to everything. It's okay to do it at home if you stretch and everything and you make sure that you're going slowly because that's the hardest part is seeing everyone do all these crazy tricks. You're like, "I want to do that." But you can't just jump up there because you will hurt yourself, but if you want to get it, learn it, guide it in safely, probably working at a studio a little bit better to have like a teacher spot you and make sure you're actually in the correct position like me. Whenever I get something right, I'll be like, yeah, that looks right, that feels right, but I could have my technique completely wrong and I won't know until I actually get around a professional who's been doing it for years it's like no, your arms shouldn't be there you're gonna break it or something.

Jessica: When it hurts, does that hurt your muscles or does it hurt to feel the tension of the pole?

Endy: It's a little bit of both. Your muscles definitely hurt the next day and then also just being on the pole, it has traction and everything, so your body, if you slide down it hurts. You can grip it with your thighs and you're just holding it and that's painful.

Jessica: Yeah.

Endy: I have really bad calluses right now from doing it all the time, but I mean, it's a lot of fun. It's worth it, I think. I'm not gonna start rotting anytime soon, so I have to do something to stay active.

Jessica: Yeah, I've been going on daily walks and yesterday, Sean was like, "Do you want to go for a run?" And I was like, "When have I ever wanted to go for a run?"

Endy: Exactly.

Jessica: You think that would change in quarantine? It is not.

Endy: Yeah.

Jessica: Oh, so cool. I completely forget you just that. How long did it take for you to be able to get up? Like get up on the pole?

Endy: Honestly, a couple weeks, I have little goals of things that I want to try to learn how to do, so when I first started, I was like, "Okay, I want to learn how to spin." And I did that and then I was like, "Oh, I want to climb pole." And I did that. That was really, really hard. I actually have my friend, the one who is dancer, come over and actually show me how to do it a couple times, because I just was not getting it and I wasn't gripping myself right and then my next goal was to invert, which to put my body upside down. I have that now and my next step is to hook my knee after I invert so that I can do other stuff upside down. I'm working on that still, so I just have little progression steps that I go slowly. Like, I'll see something on YouTube, and I'm like, "Oh, I want to try that." But I have to do it like baby steps.

Jessica: Yeah.

Endy: Yeah.

Jessica: Oh, that's so cool. That's super impressive.

Endy: Thanks.

Jessica: Yeah, so there's just so many different ways of feeling empowered and every time I do one of these calls, I find out a new way and I had always heard I have other friends who pole danced and I've seen their posts and they just have so much joy, but you're the first person I've actually talked to who does pole dancing. So it was like, I got to know more about it. That's so cool. So did you start pole dancing in Texas?

Endy: No, I started when I got here. I wasn't even able to tie the pole or be around the pole. Actually, I am lying. I did take a pole dance in class. My friend did a pole dance classes in her garage. She had two different poles. Me and my other friend would pay her, I think like 20 bucks an hour to be in her garage and just spin around a couple of times. So that was my first time I did pole and I was okay at it. We didn't really do any tricks. We just kind of did floor, dancing and stuff. That was cute. But I was like, eehh, I wanna get up there. I want to flip and stuff. I really focused on the dancing part of pole. I'm just like, I want to do some crazy gymnastic stuff up there. That's my goal.

Jessica: Yeah, so cool.

Endy: Yeah, so I had gotten a couple times, but I didn't really get really, really into it until I moved here.

How is living in Texas compared to Portland? 

Jessica: Okay. So speaking of Texas to Portland, was it a huge culture change when you moved over to the West Coast or are they more similar than maybe some people over here would think?

Endy: No, they're very, very different. I mean, I grew up in the South, but I grew up in Houston, so it's like, country meets city, but it's still you get to certain points of Houston. You're like, "Oh, yeah, I am in Texas." And then you'll get to other point you're like, "Oh, yeah, this is kind of cool." So, I mean, living here compared to there is definitely a lot smaller than I'm used to because I'm just used to being in the city, I'm used to being around so many more people, especially now and then, cultural wise, I think it's very different. I feel like people here are a little bit more passive-aggressive than I used to and I'm just used to people being really straightforward, how they feeling, and just knowing right off the bat, that's how I am too. I believe in clear communication. I'm like, Yes, No, Yes. No, like that's it and here, maybe, I don't know, let's see and I'm like, no~

Jessica: Yes or no, give me a yes or no.

Endy: Exactly. So that's the difference and then also, one thing that I love about being on the West Coast and particularly about being in Oregon is how beautiful it is here and how much people appreciate nature here. That was something that Houston was definitely lacking and I always noticed I'm suffocated. I was just like, where all the trees. Like, I'm just surrounded by buildings all the time. In here, I'm like, where all the buildings? I'm just surrounded by trees. Which I like, it helps you put things in perspective and I'm happy that the cold weather is over for the most part so, for now at least, so I'm looking forward to Spring. My birthday is in Spring, so hopefully I can be outside for it, that'd be great. If I could actually-

Jessica: I know. I heard that social distancing is supposed to not be mandated so much in mid May.

Endy: May. Okay.

Jessica: Is your birthday in May?

Endy: To the beginning of June.

Jessica: Oh, so it might be fine.

Endy: All right, I can do that. I can hold off for that. All right.

Jessica: Right? I'm like okay, I could do May too. I was fearing about July and I don't know if I could stay inside until July. So far away from now.

Endy: Yeah, July would be a while. I'm not a fan of that one. I'm willing to do what it takes because it is important and just whatever it takes to blow this over and get back to normal as soon as possible. So if I had to stay in, I guess I would, but I wouldn't like it.

Jessica: Me either. I miss our customers.

Endy: Yeah. I miss just having a routine that made sense to me. I feel like I get up and I just kind of lollygag and then I still wake up so early like I don't really sleep in even though I go to sleep really late.

Jessica: Me too.

Endy: And I'm the first one to wake up like, well, what do I do with my day now and I just have to find things to fill my day. So I'm just filling it with craps and I'm just over it. Do you want to see the scarfs I am making?

Jessica: I do want to see the scarf you're making.

Jessica: Oh! I like the colors.

Endy: Right? I love the colors. It's long and rainbow, it's the longest project I've done. I'm using two different yarns I started off with this blue yarn and ran out of it and then I switched to this one. I am so in love with this yarn. I want five more rolls of it. It's my favorite.

Jessica: Yeah.

Endy: So I've been working on that since March. Hopefully by the time quarantine's over, I'll have a brand new rainbow scarf.

Jessica: Yeah, oh it's awesome. It matches your ear jewelry.

Endy: Yeah. I'm really excited to wear it. Even though by the time I get done with it, they'll probably would be Spring. That'll be way too hot for me to wear scarf but whenever it gets cold again, I'll have it.

Jessica: In front of the fan,  I wear it like okay this is fine. Right?

Endy: Exactly.

Jessica: It is somewhat gets chilly in the studio actually during summer so maybe you could wear it there.

Endy: Yeah, I would love to rock it at work and I'm so excited to finish it one day.

Jessica: So I've actually interviewed a couple people who transplanted here from other states and what brought you to the decision to move so far away from home?

What made you move to Portland?

Endy: Well, I've always wanted to leave Texas. I never wanted to stay even when I was in high school. People are like, "Oh, what are your plans?" And I'm like, "I don't know about college, but I know I want to get the hell out of here." Like what that means by, whatever means necessary and I had several different plans with other friends that kind of fell through body moving places, mostly due to fear or I'd like tell my mom about it and be like, "Hey, I'm seeing you. I'm in Arizona" and she would be like noo. And said, like you're right and poor. Let me just stay here with you and live free. Eventually, I had a really good friend. We were friends with each other for three years and he moved to Portland. He was like, I would love if you moved with me or came up here with me, we can do this together, we can have our own apartment, whatever. And I was like, yeah, sure, let's do it and of course, when I moved here, that whole friendship fell apart, so we're no longer friends, but I'm still here. But yeah, 

Photo by Just Jessica June LLC

Jessica: Time for a change. If you think back to when you were a six, did you ever think that you would be working in a piercing studio, pole dancing and living in Oregon?

Endy: When I was six, what did I want to do when I was six? I think I want it to be a Vet or the female Steve Irwin. I think go on to the animals world or traveling the world so no, I did not think I was [inaudible 15:53] I supposed to be in the jungle or something like, taking photos of butterflies or something. I was really, really, really into animals. I still am but when I was younger, that was my passion. I had all the little blue books with like different anatomies of animals and stuff and I was so into that. So now I let myself down. Sorry, little Endy.

Jessica: Are you happy with where you've ended up?

Are you happy with where you've ended up?

Endy: Oh, yeah, of course. Yeah, I'm super happy and grateful every single day. I wake up and I look around and I'm like, things aren't ideal right now and I don't really know what the future holds anymore. I don't think anyone really does, but I am still very happy for the journey that I've been on and I'm really, really happy where I am at out right now, especially right now in my life. This is probably the best time for me that I've had in a really long time as far as the environment I'm in and then like, my own space wise and having the freedom to actually do whatever I want to do. That was something that I felt like was really lacking for me back home, just because I lived with my mom for most of my adult life until I moved out here and then being having family and stuff around and just being somewhat different was always kind of difficult when you have people that are in such proximity to you that can judge you harshly. So growing up, and then also moving away kind of made me be like, I'm just gonna do whatever I want, and not really worried about what everyone else thinks because I'm in control of my own life and as long as I like myself and what I'm doing, who cares what other people think about it.

Jessica: That's awesome. I mean, I didn't make such a dramatic move, but I definitely had very similar experiences. I grew up homeschooled in the middle of the woods, where the closest town is a half an hour away and the closest town with a mall is an hour away and then moving here to the city---actually working in the city was just a completely 180 from where I was in my little bubble. It's a very growing experience. Would you recommend it to anyone who's thinking, I guess what advice would you give to anyone who's kind of thinking about going out on their own or making their own person?

Endy: I think it's easy to get an idea of what life will be like in your head and kind of strive for that and things happen in real life and you're like, well, that's not the way I think through it, but if you just kind of roll with the punches anyway and you're like, you know? what I'm just gonna go through this. I'm just gonna go through whatever doors are open and available to me. You never know which what side you're gonna end up on. So I say yeah, stay optimistic no matter what.

Jessica: My dog is actually quiet right now, but he was barking at some neighbor's dog earlier. Like, here's one wine and he's like, Hello. I am not guard dog and I want you or maybe 10 pounds. You are not a guard dog of any sort.

Endy: Yeah okay. Exactly. My dog is pretty small too. My cat's huge now and I was like, Hello, do I find a cat the size of a small dog or a small dog the size of a big cat? I don't know anymore.

Jessica: My cat. Yeah, my cat is now...I put him on a diet and since I put him on a diet, I realized I've had to scoop the cat litter a lot less and the food lasts a lot longer. I bought an emergency bag of cat food before this all hit because it's like oh no, I only have cat food for another week. I just finished that other bag yesterday and it's been like three weeks since I bought the new bag and I'm like, I am really overfeeding that cat.

Endy: Yeah it's hard to know how to feed them like Alicia's got a loan on an automatic feeder and actually recorded a video of him trying to put his paw up the little bit down and give more food and he was like, hitting it and stuff. Oh, so funny. I was like, you don't need the extra food, you are already so big.

Jessica: So I guess before we wrap up this interview, I just had one more question.

Endy: What?

Jessica: One more question. So, we have a lot of customers who are sitting at home and they are curious about getting pierced? And I'm just wondering, have you thought about any piercings that you would like to get when this is all over or are you just like, okay?

Endy’s thought about piercings she would like to get when the pandemic is over 

Endy: A part of me is also just like, okay, but I still want my other nostril done. Though I'm still thinking about it, I still definitely want it, but I'm also kind of like, I don't know when this will be over and I don't know if I could afford that investment right now with everything else going on, but we'll see. There are plenty of piercings I was still thinking about getting. I wanted to possibly get my bellybutton repierced, or cheaper or whatever and my navel and I think that's it. I think I'm gonna chill out on the piercings for a little bit just because I don't want to get overwhelmed because it's so easy just to be like, I want this. I want that. I want this, but yeah, I think just those two.

Jessica: I hear you, I've been rephotographing all of our products and it's helps curb it a little bit, but when I was getting a bunch of emails about different piercing questions, I was like, Oh, I just want to do it. I just really like really want to get pierced straight out. It is definitely a hard, maybe it just comes from being stagnant and your routine completely changing.

Endy: Yeah, I can predict by the time we reopen. We are probably going to be very very busy for the first two or three weeks.

Jessica: Yeah.

Endy: Yeah. I get all the questions on my Facebook and now I see the questions every day people seem like they really, really, really want that experience for themselves and I say why not get a quarantine helix?