Hayla Faye grew up as a gymnast, so it should be no surprise the thrill of competition — plus a shared DNA of skills — wound up with Faye walking into a gentlemen’s club for an audition.
“To be honest, I was terrified of gentlemen’s clubs before I became a dancer,” recalls Faye. “I had never had so much stage fright in my life! I was the most self-conscious and shy person I knew and was about to get naked on a stage in front of a bunch of people I didn’t know … but as we walked into the club, I realized how normalized nudity was to the people that were there. No judgment was shown to anyone that walked on stage, regardless of what they looked like or how they danced. The strip club to me became like a safe haven where I could be who I wanted to be, without anyone showing judgment!”
ED Magazine spoke with Faye, courtesy of Bob Chiappardi and StripJointsMusic.com, about her memories at Stripper Olympics, how gymnastics prepped her for her pole and aerial tricks, and what she’s looking forward to at her first EDI contest. And don’t miss Faye’s personalized Spotify playlist courtesy of Bob Chiappardi and StripJointsMusic.com!
ED: When did you first start featuring? What inspired you to pursue a career as a feature?
FAYE: I have been dancing for about four years and first began featuring about three years ago in 2019 after winning Showgirl of the Year. My inspiration to become a feature all started with Nightmoves photographers Drew and Lenny. I had first met them at the club I currently worked at and they told me I should start thinking bigger, saying I had a really good shot at being successful with the amount of talent I had. As much as I wanted to take the leap I was determined to keep my skill set in the club due to not wanting to share my identity.
I went on working for the club I was at for about a year until my manager recommended I do a competition in Louisiana called Stripper Olympics at Michael’s Men’s Club. Having been a gymnast my entire life and living for the thrill of competitions, I decided to make the trip and see what it was all about. Looking back, it’s pretty comical how little knowledge I had about what was expected and the requirements that were a part of the competition. I had only two days before the actual competition to make a costume and come up with a theme, yet to my surprise I still ended up placing second to Annie Lane!
This competition was where I fell in love with the art of being a feature entertainer! I had never seen anything like it, and was blown away by how many girls had incredible skills and showmanship, with a true love of being onstage just as I did! I was then asked to come perform at Nightmoves, where I had the opportunity to meet and interact with some of the most well-known features from around the country and was left in complete awe! It was an art form I had never seen before and I was determined to reach that level of skill and bring my own unique energy to my shows around the world!
ED: What club or clubs were your first as a dancer? What brought you into the club for the first time to try dancing?
FAYE: My first club was Deja Vu Showgirls in Tampa. The first time I had ever been in a club was to audition. I had a friend who wanted to start dancing and didn’t want to go in by herself, so I told her we could give it a try together. As I watched other girls do their stage sets, I noticed there was so much more to dancing than what I had originally perceived. I learned pole dancing is an art form, a skill to me that resembled gymnastics, which was something I had done my entire life growing up. My muscle memory from gymnastics allowed me to learn very quickly different skills on the pole just from watching the other dancers.
ED: Is this your first EDI coming up this year? If so, what are you looking forward to about competing this year?
FAYE: This year will be my first EDI, and I am really looking forward to seeing all the talent this competition will bring! There are so many talented competitors and I’m ready to see what everyone will have to bring out this year.
ED: Who are some of your favorite feature entertainers? What type of feature shows inspire you or get you motivated to try something new?
FAYE: Oh, there are too many! But the ones that inspire me the most are Katie Sutra, Natasha Nova, Shar Zayn, and Janine Jerico. These phenomenal feature entertainers bring so much energy, creativity and talent to their stage performances. They all inspired me in so many ways to perfect my own show and performances with their incredible costumes, props, talent and the overall energy they brought to the stage.
What truly inspires and motivates me is seeing other people perform. Every entertainer, even girls who don’t feature, bring something special and unique to the stage. Even with the talent I have, there is always something new to be learned and different ways to bring new energy to the stage that will ultimately take my performances to new heights. I absolutely love learning new skills and am always hungry to add new talents to my performances!
The first time I had ever been in a club was to audition. I had a friend who wanted to start dancing and didn’t want to go in by herself, so I told her we could give it a try together. As I watched other girls do their stage sets, I noticed there was so much more to dancing than what I had originally perceived. I learned pole dancing is an art form, a skill to me that resembled gymnastics, which was something I had done my entire life growing up. My muscle memory from gymnastics allowed me to learn very quickly different skills on the pole just from watching the other dancers. — Hayla Faye
ED: For anyone who hasn’t seen you perform before, how would you describe your “personality” as a feature entertainer? What do you want to be known for?
FAYE: I would say my personality when I perform is high energy, sexy, and powerful. I’m most known for my pole dancing and gymnastics ability onstage. I’ve learned how to incorporate my 16 years of gymnastics experience to an extremely powerful but sexy stage performance.
ED: We do these articles in conjunction with StripJointsMusic.com; they market music directly to strip club DJs. So I have to ask, what are your favorite bands/artists, songs, or style of music to dance to? What gets you in the right mood on stage?
FAYE: I mainly will dance to dubstep and trap music. I like to dance to high-energy music with heavy drops because it gets me and the crowd excited when I feature.
ED: Off stage, what are your favorite bands/artists to listen to? If you could see anyone in concert, who would it be?
FAYE: My favorite artists are Excision, Troyboi, Subtronics, and OG Nixon and if there was anyone I would see in concert it would be Excision. I have seen him in concert about 15 times and seeing him play never gets old.
Don’t miss Faye’s personalized Spotify playlist courtesy of Bob Chiappardi and StripJointsMusic.com!
