Dead Boy Productions

 

11/26/06
Dan-Zig

Dead Boy Productions with Go Go Amy

 

Go-go Amy is a pinup/burlesque model and Suicide Girl that took to the D.I.Y ethic of the underground music scene.  Tired of modeling for free t-shirts, she felt she had to take control of her own career and started her own business to sell her own merchandise and model on her own terms. Dead Boy was happy to be able to ask Amy some questions about her company because she is a great person and you should help her out and to give other aspiring pin up models an idea on how things work.

Can you tell us a little bit about yourself?  
 
My name’s go-go Amy. I’m 28. I live in Seattle right now. I'm a Pin Up model, burlesque and go-go dancer and now a business owner. I’m a pretty laid back girl I just want to have fun and make some money at the same time.  
 
How did you get started in modeling and who have you modeled for?  
 
I grew up in New York City and used to dance at all the rock and roll parties there and I started modeling for club flyers and magazines. My first paid modeling job was for a financial loan company and I had a quarter page spread in “Real Estate Weekly,” Very glamorous! But you’ve got to start somewhere I guess. I’ve moved on to model for West Coast Choppers, The Coquette Faux Furriers, Lucky Loo Loo Jewelry, Varla Magazine, Purple Paper, Exotic Underground Magazine and a bunch of other stuff. Oh yeah, and I was in a Red Hot Chili Peppers video too.  
 
What was the name of the video, so I can go on YouTube and watch it.  
 
I was in the Zephyr song video here's the link to it on YouTube  
 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q1rOCSiYFaE  
 
and here's a link to the behind the scenes where they talk about how they auditioned hundreds of people and I came in at the last minute and saved the day. They also call me a burlesque dancer, which I find funny because I shot that video 3 years before I officially started dong burlesque. I watch it when I need a little ego stroke...  
 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cn2Io0sgoA0 
 
You also do burlesque dancing? How did you get into that?  
 
I’ve been doing burlesque even before I knew that I was doing burlesque. I used to go-go dance and be a part of drag shows and fashion shows in NYC and then later in LA when I lived there. I always had the need to get on stage in fabulous costumes and take them off and then one day someone told me I was doing burlesque. I had no idea I was just happy to be getting paid at the end of the night. Now that burlesque has an active scene I say that I’m a burlesque dancer. Before that I was just a cute girl trying to pay her rent doing exactly the same thing.  
 
Ok now that we know a little bit about you, tell us about your clothing company that you started?

Well, actually it’s a merchandise company. I do more than just clothing I have t-shirts, wallets, postcards, greeting cards, lighters, magnets and a lot of other stuff in the works.  
 
I got started because I love doing burlesque and modeling but it costs a lot to make all my fancy costumes and the shows and photo shoots I do don’t pay that well. I got tired of losing money or at best, breaking even, so I thought back to when I was younger and I used to help my friends bands with their merch. I remembered that most bands I knew then, and now, make the majority of their money off merchandise sales so I thought…. why can’t I have merch? I do a show. I should have merch too! So I got some postcards printed and went down into my basement and screen-printed some shirts and well the rest is history.  
 
Why did you want to start your own company?  
 
I never really wanted to start my own company I just wanted to make money doing what I love and when I couldn’t find anyone who was willing to pay me enough I decided to just do it myself. You see, I grew up in NYC and then lived in LA and there was a lot of work for me in the nightclub and alternative modeling scene, but here in Seattle, clubs don’t pay as much and models barely ever get paid so I had to figure out a way to still do what I loved to do and pay my rent so that’s really how and why I started this company.  
 
How is that working for you?  
 
It’s going good. I’ve basically invented my own business so there’s not really a model for me to follow I just make it up as it I go along but people have been really supportive and seem generally interested in what I’m doing and what I have to say.  
 
Is there anyone else that helps you with your company?  
 
My Husband is very supportive of me but the people who help me the most are the cool kids who buy the stuff!......... That was a total Miss America answer wasn’t it? Seriously, the company’s all me from building the website to screen-printing the t-shirts. If I had more money I’d pay other people to do all this stuff but for now it’s all me.  
 
Do you have your own store or is it just through the Internet?  
 
I have a website (shameless plug www.gogoamy.com) and I sell stuff at my burlesque shows and any other event I can get my hands on like Viva Las Vegas and the Mondo atomic weekends in Vegas. Next summer I’m going to do the car show circuit and any trade show I can get my hands on. Since most of my products all feature pictures of me they move faster when I’m actually standing next to them so I’ll be doing a lot of traveling in the next year trying to get my stuff out there.  
 
Have you tried to get into any clothing stores in Seattle or around the west coast? Or even the east cost for that matter?  
 
I have my stuff in a store on Capitol Hill called Tandem, which is part of the R.E. Load baggage store. I just got done with all my business licensing so I’m working on getting into more stores now that I can legally wholesale. I just printed up a set of 6 Holiday cards. I’m hoping to get my foot in the door with those this holiday season.  
(another shameless plug: anyone who is interested in wholesale can get in touch with me at gogoamy@gmail.com)  
 
Well I really do thank you for taking the time to do this interview with us, is there anything else you would like to add?  
 
It’s cool that companies like yours are really helping me promote my stuff so I should really be thanking you!