Today we’d like to introduce you to Marlo Marquise.
Hi Marlo, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
My story starts in New York in entertainment. In 2008 I started modeling. At first, I did a lot of Bettie page aesthetic photoshoots and workshops. I was always really in love with old movies and old Hollywood as a kid. I almost never watched anything but nick at night with the Munsters and the Addams family. Through modeling, I was approached by a nightlife promoter about doing a burlesque performance. I was a club kid in NYC when burlesque started to get popular, and I looked the part. I thought it might be fun even though I was painfully shy. So he told me, “well you have two weeks to create a name and an act”. So that’s exactly what I did. Marlo Marquise was born and after one show, I just kept getting hired weekly. The first year of performance, I did classic burlesque, and then I was looking for a way to be more unique. I loved circus and sideshow which at the time were very separate from the burlesque scene. I thought to myself how come more women aren’t in sideshow? And why isn’t there a more glamorous representation of it being done? And finally it dawned on me why don’t I combine burlesque striptease with sideshow skills? So I found mentors for each skill and started with fire eating from a belly dancer. From there, I went on to a mentor in glass walking from a magician in LA, and then the ladder of swords was taught to me by one of the only female members of GWAR after she retired her horror burlesque troupe. I became the first female performer out of New York to completely blend the two types of performance together. At the time, I think I was one of three women in the entire world who did that. The rest is history. Since then, I’ve traveled the world doing what I do and toured the past ten years with tattoo conventions like a modern sideshow. That’s how I got into tattooing. I was already in that community, I had a bachelor’s degree in fine arts and someone suggested I take an apprenticeship. I reached out to a female tattooer who was also taught by a female tattooer. And she mentored me. I love coming from a lineage of women in the industry it’s very rare.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
If you’re doing anything right or have any success, I don’t think it comes with a smooth road without struggle. I chose two industries to be a part of that are very sexist. Sideshow used to be so masculine. I was called every name under the sun by men in sideshow when I came on the scene. I powered through regardless. Tattooing is similar. It’s so hard to prove yourself as a female tattooer. Especially with my background of modeling and performing, I was heavily judged by other artists. But all of that is a really good experience because in entertainment and in tattooing, you need to have really thick skin. Aside from a multitude of industry struggles, When I started performing my family didn’t speak to me for almost an entire year. It wasn’t the path they wanted me to go down. Now they are super supportive and understand you can make a real career from it. It’s really hard for friends and family with “normal” jobs to understand being a self-employed artist of any kind. Finances are always a struggle, and there’s no handbook on how to do any of it.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
In performance, I specialize in sideshow burlesque and hook suspension. I’m known for my act suspension burlesque where I do an entire classic burlesque striptease in the air hanging from hooks in my back. It’s been featured in magazines, documentaries, movies, international tv series and toured with major music groups. I’m currently the only performer in the entire world who does that exact routine since 2012. In tattooing, I’m known for fine line, botanicals and geometry. I’m proud of how far I’ve come in a matter of 4/5 years of tattooing. I’ve tattooed around the world and my work has been published. I look forward to what both careers bring for the next few years!
Have you learned any interesting or important lessons due to the Covid-19 Crisis?
I think what I’ve learned through the Covid crisis is I’m learning to be okay with slowing down. Before Covid, I traveled almost weekly for work. I was never in one place more than a few days. It has made me reevaluate what truly brings me happiness and what I’ve held on to that doesn’t serve me anymore that I need to let go. It also taught me to be more in touch with the people I love because you never know what tomorrow will bring.
Contact Info:
- Email: marlomarquisetattoo@gmail.com
- Website: Www.marlomarquise.com
- Instagram: @marlomarquise
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/user/DarlingMarlo
- Other: @marlomarquisetattoo
Image Credits
First photo with collar by J Isobel De Lisle
