Meet Madeline Gullett

Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Madeline Gullett. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Madeline, so great to be with you and I think a lot of folks are going to benefit from hearing your story and lessons and wisdom. Imposter Syndrome is something that we know how words to describe, but it’s something that has held people back forever and so we’re really interested to hear about your story and how you overcame imposter syndrome.

How do I overcome imposter syndrome? I didn’t! It’s a work in progress. I am definitely feeling the imposter syndrome creeping into my thoughts every day. I constantly have to remind myself that I am qualified, I am talented, and that I deserve to be here as much as anyone else. Being prescribed Zoloft for my anxiety also plays a part in making the imposter syndrome a little bit quieter.

While organizing the first edition of MADHOUSE I felt some pushback from a very small amount of people when it came to how I promote and run the event. It was very frustrating feeling that I wasn’t qualified to be producing an event on my own from both internal and external sources. When the first edition of MADHOUSE was successful (and sold out!) it was so satisfying and at least temporarily cured my imposter syndrome.

Going into future MADHOUSE events, the intrusive thoughts are still creeping in, but I remind myself I’ve done this before and I can do it again even bigger and better.

Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?

MADHOUSE is my current obsession and main focus at the moment. MADHOUSE is a seasonal collaboration of dancers, live music, food, and clothing all from local artists and vendors. Most of the dancers are pole dancers, but you may find other dance styles at the future editions.

I have been wanting to perform more myself for a long time and started to brainstorm ideas on how to make this happen. Luckily, I have a lot of really talented friends and I realized there was nothing stopping me from producing my own show. While having a chance to perform and express myself is a bonus for me, my goal is to use MADHOUSE to uplift other artists, performers, and vendors. Especially living in NYC, finding performance opportunities can be difficult and producing your own shows is time consuming and expensive. Realizing I could create a platform for other artists to share what they have to offer to a larger audience and express themselves without boundaries or rules became very inspiring to me. I hope that others find MADHOUSE as uplifting as I do, and that everyone has a great time! At the end of the day, it’s pole dancing and live music, it’s a good time!

What I am extra excited about currently is that a drag queen, Malai (@malai), will be hosting the next MADHOUSE! This is something I wanted from the start because I’m a huge fan of drag and wanted to support local drag.

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?

The first quality that was the most impactful in my journey to creating MADHOUSE is absolutely a sense of community. MADHOUSE would not be a success without my community. I’m very fortunate that one of my best friends is a talented graphic designer and drew the MADHOUSE logo. I’m also very lucky that between my friends, my partner and his friends, and the ridiculously talented community I’ve met through pole dancing, I am able to get such a talented group of artists and people together. Without a sense of community, MADHOUSE would be nonexistent.

A quality I believe I have that benefitted me is my stubbornness. Being stubborn is not usually a positive quality, but in this case, I think it was. I believe in staying humble and taking others advice, but when planning MADHOUSE, I did everything the way I wanted to. I was stubborn and I ignored people who questioned if I was qualified. I booked the space myself, and planned all the details myself, and I knew MADHOUSE would be, and will continue to be, successful even when there were doubts in my abilities.

And then a third quality I believe I have is an open mind. I have been dancing my whole life and had a much different plan in regards to where my dance career was going to take me. I never thought I would be a pole dancer, or produce my own events for that matter. I’m so grateful I started pole dancing and followed the journey it took me on. Pole dancing has introduced me to so many beautifully talented people and has ignited inspiration and creativity in me I didn’t see before. If I hadn’t had an open mind, I would’ve continued towards a dead end and not noticed the other path that was inviting and waiting to welcome me in.

I feel like I am so early in my journey, that I’m still seeking advice myself.

Okay, so before we go we always love to ask if you are looking for folks to partner or collaborate with?

Absolutely! While I do have a large community of talented people around me, I’m always open to new people to collaborate with. Pole dancers and aerialists, designers, bars, drag queens, djs, bands, food vendors, and even tarot card readers are all welcome to reach out to me. While pole dancing is the main event at MADHOUSE, I’m open to any ideas anyone has to offer.

If you’re not sure if you want to be a part of MADHOUSE, come check it out first. Our next performance is on November 1st in Bushwick.

Find us on Instagram @madhousebadhouse

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @madhousebadhouse