The “educational” component of the Annual ED EXPO has always been one of the convention’s focal points, as the seminars and panel sessions are positioned to help club owners and their staff run their venues successfully, safely and profitably. In recent years, we’ve also added an educational component for entertainers, including feature entertainers and “house” entertainers alike.
While our seminars are meant to educate and inform, we also strive to have some that “entertain” as well. Crafted in part as a response to our post-EXPO 2023 survey, the following lineup of EXPO 2024 seminars will touch on several key points of club operations and also boasts not one but two Keynote Addresses! You can view the entire EXPO 2024 agenda right here, including the evening parties and special events!
Also, be sure to register for EXPO now and save, using our upgraded online badge ordering at theEDexpo.com! The early registration rate of $299 per person is only available until March 31! And you’ll save an additional 10% if you register three or more at the same time. After March 31, the rate goes up to $319 (from April 1 through May 31).
Monday’s EXPO seminars
The Legends of Dallas: 30-year veterans talk Big D history
August 26, 11 am-Noon
There was nothing quite like the heyday of Dallas Metroplex adult nightclubs. As the rough-and-tumble go-go joints of the 1970s gave way to the more well-run clubs of the ‘80s — everything from small, blue-collar venues to multi-million-dollar gentlemen’s clubs — Dallas and its surrounding cities experienced a strip club renaissance. In fact, ED Magazine once dubbed Dallas/Ft. Worth the number-one club market in the US. At EXPO 2024, a select group of 30-year veterans of the Dallas club market —including Scott Burch of Burch Management and Dawn Rizos of The Lodge — will take a look back at what made Big D such a hotbed for adult clubs, and discuss how their club market has evolved over the past three decades.
The Legal Panel: Are they still “independent contractors”?
August 26, Noon-1 pm
Sure, we sound like the proverbial “broken record” when we announce yet another legal panel focusing on employment law. But the truth is, “employee-vs.-independent contractor” is still the most popular legal topic for many club owners and operators across the US. And with new rules governing employees recently handed down via the Department of Labor, including its “six-factor test” determining who is — or is not — an “independent contractor,” now is as critical of a time as ever to revisit this topic with our panel of legal experts. This session is sponsored by Pole Position.
Entertainers-Only Breakout seminar: Empowering entertainers to sell more dances
August 26, Noon-1 pm
This motivational seminar is designed for entertainers to excel in their performances and boost their dance sales. This seminar will explore effective strategies to ignite motivation, enhance attitudes, and drive success by creating a positive and supportive environment. Selling more dances is the goal for everyone in the club, and our speakers will explain how a team mindset where entertainers uplift and motivate each other is the way to achieve that goal!
Monday’s Keynote Address: Hospitality expert Michael Tipps of Maverick Theory
August 26, 1-2 pm
When Michael Tipps, Founder and CEO of the consulting company, Maverick Theory, and Monday’s Keynote Speaker, is brought on to assist a business, he first focuses on fine-tuning the mindset of the employer and their employees to attune them to that of the guest. It’s a psychological, subversive and submersive experience that has become Tipps’ top priority.
He began in the industry, as a teenager, tackling every front-of-house job available in Miami, before heading to NYC at only 19-years-old. Based upon Tipps’ experience and expertise, he made appearances on Spike TV’s “Bar Rescue” as a master mixologist and bar expert, and also traveled across the country with renowned TV celebrity, John Taffer, on the “Nightclub & Bar University Rescue Tour.” Today, his developed technique has been applied to businesses across all sectors in guest services with New York Times review-worthy successes. Now, Tipps is bringing his insight to an area in the industry where he sees special and almost untapped potential: the adult nightclubs sector.
He calls his method of consideration, “Maverick mindset coaching,” and its culmination, as the name suggests, is applying universal tactics to an individual establishment to build something original.
“Why do club owners think ‘strip club,’ and make it look like one?” asks Tipps, who assures me he actually loves strip clubs. He just thinks that, historically, they’ve been creatively restrained by their title.
“I understand the need for stage music, audio, lighting, that makes sense, but why are so many clubs using the same model?” he continues. “One of the questions I’ve always gotten from adult nightclubs is, ‘How do I make it look better?’ Well, stop copying everybody else. You want to break the norm, so you’ve got to take risks.”
From names of clubs to eating and layout concepts, Tipps has tons of ideas for elevating the adult nightclub industry, some of which he has already applied to existing clubs which have hired him for consulting. If you’re interested in learning any more about Maverick Theory’s methods and ideas in guest services, don’t miss Michael Tipps’ Keynote speech at the 2024 ED EXPO in Dallas.
For more information on Michael Tipps, see the rest of our exclusive interview with him right here!
Tuesday’s EXPO seminars
Why it’s more important than ever to hire female club managers
August 27, 10:30-11:30 am
The adult nightclub industry could not survive without women. You might think we mean the entertainers — and of course, that’s true — but we’re also talking about the women who are running clubs across the US today. This seminar will feature some of the top female club operators and will discuss the advantages that female GMs may have over their male counterparts, whether or not former entertainers can be successful managers, and how to best integrate a female manager into your club’s operations.
Next-level customer service means delivering the “wow factor”
August 27, 11:30 am-12:30 pm
Sure, some of your guests need nothing more than “beer and boobs.” But what about the bachelor or bachelorette parties that want to feel like they’re VIPs? How about the 20-somethings who just ordered bottle service for the first time, and they want to look like big shots? Or the couple that’s celebrating a special night out and don’t just want a bottle of champagne, but the entire presentation that goes along with it? If your club isn’t providing a high level of customer service or the “wow factor” that these guests are looking for — and will pay more for — this is a seminar you won’t want to miss!
Entertainers-Only Breakout seminar: Your work/life balance and your mental health
August 27, 11:30 am-12:30 pm
Creating and maintaining a balance between your “work” life and your private life is critical for an entertainer’s mental health. Our mental health experts will discuss the ways that entertainers can ensure that they’re not bringing their “work” home with them, while also maintaining a positive frame of mind while in the club.
Tuesday’s Keynote Address: Renowned TV host, author & Texas legend Joe Bob Briggs:
August 27, 12:30-1 pm
Joe Bob Briggs may be best known for his career as a TV host that stretches back several decades for TNT, The Movie Channel and more recently, AMC/Shudder, where his “The Last Drive-In” streaming show has earned a loyal legion of followers.
But there’s much more to this Texas legend than simply his life on the boob tube. In fact, Joe Bob Briggs (real name John Bloom) is a true connoisseur of the Lone Star State’s go-go joints and burlesque bars, stretching all the way back to the 1970s. In fact, Briggs wrote about the Dallas clubs in publications such as the Dallas Observer and D Magazine, as part of his “lifetime crusade against Puritanism,” as he so eloquently puts it.
“I became friends with Morganna the Kissing Bandit, whose home city was Columbus, Ohio, but was arrested in Dallas for assaulting a man with her boobs,” says Briggs. “You can imagine the articles that resulted. She had nuzzled a man’s head between her breasts in the middle of a dance routine and I guess there was a cop present. Of course the incident resulted in her returning to the city many times. Every time I saw her I would say, “Careful where you point those things, you’re gonna put an eye out!” She had a great sense of humor.
“These clubs are constantly fighting the establishment, trying to stay in business as moral crusaders attack them with ever more ridiculous ordinances, and what it comes down to is the crusaders just don’t like boobs!” Briggs adds.
At EXPO 2024, this Texas native is going to bring his infectious charm and energy to address an industry he has long admired, written about and still celebrates to this day.
“I’ll bring some energy and pep to a bunch of night people!” Briggs exclaims. “I’m a night person myself so I intend to wake everyone up with a proud-and-loud celebration of the all-American strip-club tradition and its importance for the causes of free speech and free expression and all the other rights with ‘free’ in the name. On many nights, in many parts of the country, the strip club is the best party in town, and the people who make that possible get kicked in the butt all the time, so maybe once in a while they should get some pats on the back, too.”
For more information on Joe Bob Briggs, see our exclusive interview with him right here!
Wednesday’s EXPO seminars
Find your friends, know your enemies: How the extremist theocracy plans to shut you down
Presented by ACE National
August 28, 11 am-Noon
Without any hyperbole or exaggeration, there is an extremist movement in this country toward a theocracy, where justices and politicians are using the bible to justify new legislation aimed against adult businesses. It’s true — the Family Policy Council has targeted YOUR industry and they have a three-part strategy that involves passing legislation against anything deemed “adult.” The new age-restriction bans passed in Texas, Florida and elsewhere are just the first step in this plan. So, what can YOU do to prevent this extremist theocracy from passing harmful legislation against the industry? ACE Executive Director Angelina Spencer and her panel of experts will explain why this is no idle threat, and will offer specific ways in which owners and operators can get involved on a local level to network and build relationships that will help ensure that these powerful religious zealots don’t have their way.
Are you prepared? Civilian response to an active shooter
Presented by ACE & COAST
August 28, Noon-1 pm
In 2023 there were more than 600 active shooter events in the US — you read that correctly, 600. This, of course, extends far outside of our industry into public spaces of all kinds and sizes. The question is, what would you do if you found yourself confronted by an active shooter situation? Would you know what you could do, or should do? In conjunction with Texas State University and the Advanced Law Enforcement Rapid Response Training Center (ALERRT), Micheal Ocello (of RCI and ACE/COAST) will present a training course in life-saving for literally every EXPO attendee (note: this is not specifically a “club security” course, this is a survival course). This seminar will outline the steps for a civilian response to an active shooter event (CRASE), and afterward, attendees will receive a certificate of completion from Texas State University.
Breakout seminar:
The win-win formula: Fostering collaboration among managers, DJs and entertainers
August 28, 11 am-Noon
Fostering collaboration and teamwork among strip club managers, DJs and entertainers can create an environment that maximizes profitability and delivers an exceptional customer experience. This seminar will discuss strategies for open communication, collaborative planning, and a focus on elevating the customer experience, and explain how these strategies can create a synergistic and successful environment where everyone thrives, and revenue increases.
EXPO Host Hotel: The Hyatt Regency Downtown Dallas
Book your room today and save!
Located in the heart of downtown next to the iconic Dallas landmark, Reunion Tower, the Hyatt Regency Dallas is a gateway to the best of the city. Live, work and unwind in ultimate comfort at their inviting, modern hotel within walking distance of tourist attractions like Dealey Plaza and the Historic West End.
Book your room today! Rooms at the Hyatt begin at just $139 per night during EXPO (beginning on Saturday, August 24), including suite options, and can be booked at this link (www.hyatt.com/en-US/group-booking/DFWRD/G-EDPU) or by referencing the “Gentlemen’s Club EXPO” at (214) 651-1234.
