Welcome to my new mini-blog series all about pinup pageants. I’ve been tinkering with this mini series for over a year and am excited to share it with you over the next few months. In this series, I will be breaking down everything you need to know to plan out, prepare for, rehearse and be amazing at your next pinup pageant. Of course, a lot of this will be up to you and how much work you put in so get ready to work hard, get crafty and sparkle on stage. This series has come out of my own love of being on stage, participating and an accumulation of everything I have learnt whilst taking part in pinup pageants. I hope this series helps you; I wish you luck! I’d like to first point out that following everything I say will not guarantee you a win on stage; winning the crown should never be your main goal and there are so many factors that can come into play during a pageant. I have been doing pageants for a few years now and have many local, national and international titles under my belt. Each pageant is different and there are never any guarantees but it’s the love of performing, sharing and inspiring that keeps me going. I hope you find that same love along the way during your own pageant journey.

Today’s topic is one of the first things you may have to do before you even enter a pageant; writing a pinup bio. When you apply to a pinup pageant, more often than not you are asked to send through an application which includes photos and a short bio (there will be a separate post on this but today we are just breaking down the bio itself). You may not know what to write in such a section; what actual is it? what do you include? Do you stay serious or have a bit of fun? Don’t worry, we will all work it out together.

What is a pinup bio?
Pinup bio’s are a condensed biography which tells the audience (or judges) a little bit about you. It’s as if you had your own “about me” section at the beginning of your performance and it’s a great way to connect with you audience and let them learn about you. Imagine it as a sort of personal advertisement of who you are and what you do which enticed the audience to want to learn more about you and of course, see you perform on stage. Pinup bio’s are not your life story and also not a chance to simply brag about how great you are. They are short, sharp and enticing not a novel series.

Why have a pinup bio?
If you are a pinup, burlesque artist or performer in general, having a pinup bio is very useful. When applying for performances, pageants, print media or shows, a bio will most likely be requested as it gives organisers a chance to know who you are. As a pinup, or any performer, a bio is something that will always come in handy; you can tweak it as you grow and it makes life simple when it is requested on a whim.

Writing your Bio:
–What is your word limit? Start by finding out what your word limit is, generally its between 100 and 150 words depending on the event it’s needed for. From here, you can really start to plan what you think is important and necessary. You really don’t have time to blab on about your life so keep it simple, get to the point and think about what is necessary to say not what you want to say.

–What is important to share? If you only have 100 words, what information do you want to share?
Things you can think about including are: what type of pinup/performer are you? (Classic, cupcake, comedy, high glamour etc). What are some of your best achievements? (don’t brag or drag on about everything but maybe highlight a highlight). What’s something fun and quirky about you? Present this information in a unique way; think outside the box.

Tip: put your most interesting and exciting information about yourself first in the bio to draw in the audience and help them connect with you.

–What to avoid: this is not your life story, it doesn’t matter you age, where you were born, what you had for breakfast and what your relationship is like with your mother. Think of this as your own personal advert; draw the audience in with something interesting and sharp so they will hopefully stay for the rest of the show.

Tip: don’t bother writing about how much you love pinup or burlesque etc. If you’re on stage performing, it’s pretty obvious that you love what you’re doing. Share something else with the audience.

When writing your bio, do so in the third person. This means, writing about yourself as if you were a character with no “I” statements. The third person connects you to the audience without your bio feeling like a lecture; it may also help you write about yourself and not feel vain about it.

Tip: avoid false titles. It might seem fun and easy to write you are “the queen of glamour pinup” or “the best pinup in the state” but if you haven’t actually been awarded such a title, maybe avoid such statements.

Show your personality: a bio is a chance to condense your personality and have it shared. If you are a comedy pinup, write in a funny way. If you are sultry and sexy on stage, be the same in your bio. If we covered up your pinup name, would we still guess that this is your bio?

Tips: don’t forget to include your pinup name. Yes, I’ve read bios that don’t include the pinups name and it breaks you from who they are.

Highlight your signatures: if you have something super unique about yourself that is considered iconic or a signature, feel free to mention it. This could be a specific performance you do, a unique hair colour or tattoo or perhaps a signature clothing style.

Stay on brand; link your bio and writing to your unique pinup branding. If you are a sweet pinup, don’t get all angry and shady in your bio. Your pinup bio can be an exaggeration of who you are and you are free to make yourself larger than life but also don’t lie in your bio. It’s fine to share a ridiculous story in your bio as long as it fits and helps build your character. Also, stay away from cliche information and sentences like “Miss Pinup wishes she was born in a different era” as they are a bit dry and generic. Instead say “you live and breathe pinup but embrace your modern day rights, job and tattoos”.

Tips: if you are looking to read the bio’s of other pinups and performers, look at their websites and on old Facebook posts. Some pageants have their own Facebook and often they keep pinup bio’s in their feed but you might need to scroll to find them.

Do not copy someone else’s bio. It’s easy to read or hear someone else’s bio and think it’s so funny you want yours to be the same. But most often than not, you will just unravel yourself to be unoriginal. A bio is a chance to reflect who you are and it’s ok to change it as you go. I know my original bio’s are a lot different than what they are now and I still tweak them every now and then.

If you’re like me and finding all this information a bit overwhelming, perhaps try mind mapping your bio on some paper. Write your name in the centre and then dot point all around things your pinup ego does, thinks, says and wants. See if you can flesh out certain points and then piece it all together.
It might be helpful to also take a step back once you finish a draft. Leave the bio for a few days and then read it out loud to yourself. If you like how it sounds outlaid and you think it is a great representation of who you are, then read it out to a friend and observe their reaction.

This post is part of a Pinup Pageant Guide mini-series. Feel free to find more posts from this series here:

-Writing a Pinup Bio
-Sending in Pinup Pageant Applications
–How to Plan a Routine
-Planning your Pageant Outfits
-Planning your Pageant Hair and Makeup
-Using Props on Stage 
-Posing on Stage
-What to do on Stage – COMING SOON
-What to Pack for Pinup Pageant Day – COMING SOON
-Pageant Etiquette – COMING SOON

Note: This is not a sponsored post. All opinions and thoughts expressed are solely my own and not influenced in any way.