Albuquerque’s Marlo Marquise—also known as “The Risk in Risqué”—is not your everyday businesswoman and creative performance artist. She suspends from hooks, swallows fire, walks on knives and is a full-time tattoo artist—all the while calling all of the shots. She’ll take your nightmares and turn them into eye captivating glamorous performances, leaving you enthralled.
When did you involve yourself with the Burlesque/Sideshow community?
I was 23 in 2008, a friend in the New York nightlife scene, who promoted a lot of big events, asked if I wanted to try a burlesque act. Since I was a club kid in the scene and “looked the part”—I agreed. I was a painfully shy person, but had always looked up to old Hollywood starlets and icons. I had one week to create a stage name, act and costume. The rest is kind of history. I just kept getting hired, and was the first performer of my kind to come out of NYC.
What other art forms are you currently experimenting with?
I also walk and lay on machete blades, pierce myself with long skewers, do single tail whip tricks, human blockhead, human absinthe cocktail and knife throwing. I have a few things I’m constantly working on but haven’t fully developed yet.
Out of all your life threatening acts, what would be your most daring act?
Fire eating is by far the most dangerous. Fire has literally hospitalized me, almost killed me and has left me with a few permanent health conditions. I take supplements to break down the chemicals in my body from the fuel and have an inhaler. I don’t do a lot of prep for it since I’ve been performing it for so long, but definitely have a loose routine for it.
Have you ever had any accidents while performing?
The worst accident I had was when I still was breathing fire in my shows; it was a fluke accident. The oil I used trickled down my throat and down the wrong tube and into my left lung. This caused paraffin induced pneumonia. It was life threatening and I spent a while in the hospital with doctors unsure of death or surgery. They didn’t know how to treat it because it was a chemical oil in my lung. I was paralyzed on that side of my body, unable to walk or speak. One day I just made a huge turn around and left with a permanent lung condition and inhaler for the rest of my life. I still eat fire. The show must go on.
What is your favorite performance when it comes to expressing yourself?
Suspension burlesque. I really love taking something people view as ugly or “too much” and turning it into something beautiful and digestible to an audience that wouldn’t normally watch. I enjoy changing people’s minds about something I’m very passionate about.
Did you ever have any role models in this field that heavily influenced you?
I’m extremely inspired and influenced by self made business women and musicians with their stage presence. When I was a kid I had dreams of being a rock star, but as an adult I found my own way of living out that dream. When I first started performing I remember a fellow performer told me I needed to makeup a persona for the stage and separate who I was from that character. I thought it was the worst advice I ever heard. You should be 100% yourself on stage times 10. The only way I’ve gotten where I am today is by making sacrifices, doing good business and being unapologetically myself in every way possible.
Do you feel your performances motivate women in positive ways?
I will always say that I’m no role model just because of the nature of my performances, but I absolutely think what I do and how I do it, is extremely motivational for women in a positive way. I get messages from women of all ages shapes and sizes telling me they look up to me and how fearless I am in what I do. I’m strangely unique, I’m not your typical definition of mainstream beautiful, I’m self-made and fierce in business. Those are positive attributes women absolutely should be proud of and work toward.
What has your lifestyle of burlesque/sideshow taught you about yourself?
I can do anything if I put my mind to it. I’m an extremely driven individual who won’t let anything or anyone stand in their way of goals and achievements. It has also taught me incredible patience and perseverance. Most of all, this lifestyle and career choice has taught me to appreciate everything in life the good and the bad; gratefulness for what I have and for the ability to gain what I don’t have.
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Photos: Courtesy of Marlo Marquise
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Marlo Marquise will be at Star City Tattoo Expo March 22-24th at the El Paso Convention Center. Go check her out!
