No longer immune to new tech, the poles clubs have long heralded as an entertainer’s favorite tool can now do so much more, thanks to PoleFX.
(Note: This article appeared in our January 2020 issue’s Special Focus on Future Technology. All of the articles in this Special Focus will be posted to ExoticDancer.com.)
In a time of rapidly evolving technology, where soon you’ll be able to order groceries from your laundry washer while wearing a virtual reality headset, it’s nice to grasp onto the firm feeling of simplicity.
For gentlemen’s club owners, it came no simpler than the brass or steel poles at the center of the stage. No frills, just a vertical pole for entertainers to do their tricks.
Well, even the pole has succumbed to technology. But, while club owners may build a sweat at the thought of, “How did they manage to complicate a pole?” they can breathe easy—and well—at the thought that, like most technology, it’s here to make life easier. ED Magazine spoke with Spencer Hochberg of PoleFX to find out just how far poles have come for your club.
ED: For a club owner/operator who may not be familiar with your company and its products, how would you briefly summarize PoleFX?
HOCHBERG: PoleFX innovates and modernizes pole dancing by adding new elements of lighting, ambiance, and even advertisement to the performance. Our products incorporate LED displays into structural elements like dance poles or handrails.
LED lighting in clubs and various venues is becoming more ubiquitous, but most common LED fixtures allow for single solid color selection or very simple effects. We have crafted a variety of patterns for our products out of the box that are much more interesting and entertaining for the audience. This means you’re not just setting the vibe in the club by setting what color the pole is, but you can pick or stream content that matches the beats per minute (BPM) and energy appropriate for the occasion.
Bringing the concepts and equipment used in lighting design to this new application allows for more versatility in your venue’s look and feel, ranging from setting the mood with a push of a button to choreographing a full show that works with the music and moves of the performance. PoleFX LED poles are the ultimate ambiance creator and most impactful lighting element for a stage.
Bringing the concepts and equipment used in lighting design to this new application allows for more versatility in your venue’s look and feel, ranging from setting the mood with a push of a button to choreographing a full show that works with the music and moves of the performance. — Spencer Hochberg
ED: You’ve talked about LED poles functioning as a billboard for the club, so can you elaborate on what kind of possibilities exist as far as fonts and presentation for your poles?
HOCHBERG: At the moment, our companion app for the LED poles allows for custom text at a user-settable position, in a standard font. Some of the more customized installations feature text in different colors and a few animations for the text. And of course, we’re always working on new features and improvements to the user experience.
The text display feature is very popular among our customers, with poles being used to display the venue name, any specials going on, performers’ names, or even incorporating the custom text into their VIP package and showing the patrons’ messages.
ED: Is remote controllability the future of poles and LEDs?
HOCHBERG: Certainly, allowing patrons to purchase the ability to affect the lighting would be a great way to monetize the versatility. A club of the future could let the patrons fine-tune and customize their experience. From changing the atmosphere in their immediate vicinity to setting the vibe of the whole venue, a variety of options open up with enough tech integration.
Various forms of interactivity can be implemented, for example, picking patterns of the pole on stage, sending some form of electronic credits to their favorite performer for some special effects on the LED pole, or using the pole to display votes for a competition. The technology to do all this already exists, it’s just a matter of imagining and implementing it.
ED: How do PoleFX’s products help bring gentlemen’s club owners into the future of their club’s operations?
HOCHBERG: Out of the box, our products provide a way to incorporate elements of a show that traditionally have been prohibitively expensive and difficult, requiring specialized skills and equipment to even begin to use. This makes creating high-end experiences more accessible for our customers.
Audiences today have more options for out-of-home entertainment than ever before. Traditional clubs have to compete for attention not just within the industry but also with new types of venues that provide different styles of entertainment.
We think the perfect way to stand out is to create innovative experiences for the patrons. An interesting and creative show can separate a club from the competition and appeal to a much wider range of audiences, especially with the potential for interactive elements as discussed above. An LED pole, or several, certainly provides a novel experience for patrons and bring exotic dance routines to a new level.
For more information, visit polefx.com.
