Missy Suicide

Interview by Ken Payne
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Who are the Suicide Girls? Ask many Myspace users. After all, they seem to be “friends” with half the Myspace population. Oh, and if you haven’t familiarized yourself with founder Missy Suicide and her legion of Suicide Girls from surfing online, there’s a good chance you may have seen one or both of their documentaries that have recently aired on Showtime - Suicide Girls: The First Tour, or Suicide Girls: The Italian Villa. Who knows? Maybe you caught the “Girls” when their traveling punk rock burlesque show hit town (they are currently touring with Guns ‘N Roses). One way or another, I’m guessing that you know exactly who the Suicide Girls are considering they now have exposure in every single continent on this planet.

Missy Suicide began this phenomenon just over five years ago when she seemingly took the Betty Page pin-up era and mixed it with the aesthetic of a punk lifestyle. Odd combo? Not really, because it obviously works. In fact, it’s existed for years; Missy just brought the ideal to the forefront by not just noticing the beauty in these girls, but exposing them in a well-executed promotion called Suicide Girls.

Now, five years later, Missy finds herself miles away from a small start up company, but is rather on the verge of a one-of-a-kind empire. Missy, though sick with a cold and in the midst of an 80-hour work week, found the time to talk in depth with me about her creation and her passion – Suicide Girls.


Buzz S&E – The Suicide Girls performed here in Chicago at the Double Door. How did you like the place?

Missy Suicide – It’s always an amazing time there. We’ve been to the Double Door a bunch of times before. They really know how to treat us right there. Chicago’s always one of the best.

Buzz – I’ve actually first run across Suicide Girls about a year ago on myspace. Has myspace been a useful tool for you?

Missy – Yeah, myspace has been pretty amazing. It’s been an amazing source for spreading the word. In addition to all our other efforts, myspace has been very instrumental in introducing a whole new audience to Suicide Girls.

Buzz – What were you trying to convey when you founded Suicide Girls?

Missy – I wanted to be able to show more than just the images of the girls. I wanted to give a glimpse as to what their lives are really like, what their thoughts and feelings are. There’s something so much more for them to share. Not only do they have images, pin-up photos up, it was always very important for them to keep journals and interact with the community, and we’ve created a community around the girls’ images. Now we’ve got interviews with everybody from Woody Allen to The Shins…Maggie Gyllenhaal. We’ve got a newswire that reports updates at least a few times an hour on what’s going on in the world.

Buzz – I’ve noticed that. Suicidegirls.com is also a great source of information on top of the featured girls.

Missy – Yeah, we’ve got a lot of really great news available – everything from Brittany Spears divorce (laughs) to everything that was going on in the elections, including all the election results that make up for the community that we’re serving.

Buzz – Suicide Girls really blew up. Did you have any idea whatsoever, how fast this was going to grow?

Missy – Not really (laughs). When I first started it five years ago, I really had no idea just how big and popular it would get. If I had had any idea…I don’t know. I think it’s evolved so organically – the site – our futures have come about based on the passions. A lot of it has been motivated by the community’s interest.

Buzz – You’ve kind of got that Betty Page influence, but it’s twisted with that wholesome fifties image, then shaken with a little punk…

Missy – Who knew the demure would hold such an appeal? I definitely come from the community that I document. Music’s always been a very big influence in my life.

Buzz – What do you look for in a new Suicide Girl?

Missy – I think what we look for is someone who is comfortable and confident with their bodies and themselves, and interested in expressing something and is interested in sharing something about themselves to the world.

Buzz – Apparently, you have quite a huge Suicide Girls army now.

Missy – Yeah, we’ve got a lot of fans.

Buzz – As far as going back to how fast it grew, do you feel overwhelmed sometimes?

Missy – Yeah, but because I’m in the middle of everything so much, it’s rare that I take a step back and think, “Wow, how do I keep all the plates spinning, continue working and continue evolving and growing.” But when you’re in the middle of it you just keep things going. You keep your head down and keep working. Sometimes I think that’s the best way to go about it. We’ve also worked hard to make sure that the people we’ve brought in are as passionate as we are.

Buzz – When you first started was it just you and a skeleton staff?

Missy – It was just myself and my business partner. It just started out just the two of us.

Buzz – Was it hard to find Suicide Girls at first?

Missy – A lot of the girls were friends, which definitely made things easier. Then they told friend, and they told friends…and suddenly we were getting applications from all around the world. Now we have Suicide Girls in every continent, including Antarctica.

Buzz – A big part of Suicide Girls is the traveling burlesque show. Was that in your original plans?

Missy – I think it just sort of evolved. It was another way for the girls to express themselves. The same way that the images are on the site are sort of an updated version of classic pin-ups, the live show is an updated version of classic burlesque. It was a natural evolution.

Buzz – Were you already business minded before you founded Suicide Girls?

Missy – I’ve worked in the Internet before for some bigger sites. But five years ago, when I first started, it was after the whole .Com bubble burst and everybody was like, “You can’t make money on the web!” Then everything has come back about, so…It was just a project that kept us passionate about the web because at that time everything was just boring corporate, freelance work. There wasn’t really any exciting stuff happening on the web. When I first started my career it was when the web held so much hope and everybody was so invested in it.

Buzz – How did the whole punk influence seep into Suicide Girls?

Missy – I think it’s the sub-culture that I gravitate towards and where I come from. So the type of girls that are represented – I think they’re the most beautiful girls in the world – girls that have tattoos and piercings and people who aren’t afraid to be themselves and share a bit of what’s going on in the inside. The aesthetic has always appealed to me. But mainstream media, you never find a girl with piercings of tattoos - certainly not being celebrated as being beautiful. So I wanted to give them a place where they could feel at home, a place where they can be appreciated for being who they are.

Buzz – At this point do you have bands submitting material to be used in some way by Suicide Girls?

Missy – Yeah, we have a radio show on Indie 103.1. Like Steve Jones has a show from the Sex Pistols on that network…Henry Rollins has a show, Dave Navarro has a show…

Buzz – If a band wanted to get their music played on your radio station, what would they have to do?

Missy – They can send their music to Indie to our attention and they’ll put it in our box and we’ll listen to it.

Buzz - And are you just swamped with girls wanting to be Suicide Girls these days?

Missy - We get a thousand applications a week.

Buzz – How do you even begin to sort through them?

Missy – We have an amazing team of coordinators that help. It’s so crazy because up until even a year and a half ago, I was doing all the applications by myself.

Buzz – Do you still get the final say so on who makes it?

Missy – Yeah, I still review everybody – every applicant. I still get the final say.

Buzz – How have your road shows been received throughout the nation?

Missy – It’s been pretty overwhelming. We just played in Austin and every year the crowd gets bigger and bigger. We did two nights at the Double Door this time – last year we only did one. Both nights were PACKED. We keep getting better and better venues - doing more nights and treating people to a really fun evening.

Buzz – Do you travel, too?

Missy – I travel to some of the shows, but I have to get back and actually do office work. I’ll fly out for like four dates, travel with the girls and then fly back, then do work in the office, then fly back out and meet them.

Buzz – When you do that you kind of oversee the show?

Missy – Yeah, oversee the show, check out the crowd. It’s fun to be out on the road. I really enjoy it.

Buzz – Was there ever a point in time where you were performing with the show?

Missy – No…I’ve got two left feet (laughs).

Buzz – The show seems to bring to the surface unusual talents…

Missy – Yeah, the girls do stuff with hula-hoops, there’s different types of dancers…

Buzz – It just goes to show that you don’t have to a Broadway chorus line to put on an entertaining show.

Missy – Yeah, they just use their own unique talents.

Buzz – Have you any mishaps that stand out since the show began touring?

Missy – We’ve had a few. I think there was one last year where a girl ran onto the stage and took a liking to one of our girls and security had to take her off. But we generally work with a staff at each show to make sure that we can keep everybody safe and taken care of.

Buzz – Suicide Girls has really taken off with your shows, your radio show, your web site, your Shotime documentaries, and even a line of clothing. Have your parents, or family, been supportive throughout its’ growth?

Missy – My family’s been really supportive. My grandmother was the hardest to win over initially. She was like, “I don’t know what people will think of those tattoos…” and whatever. But for her 75th birthday last year, we went out and got matching tattoos. Now she like, “Well, you know, I’ve kind of warmed up to your tattoos – they’re kind of pretty – there’s some beautiful ones – and I know what I would get if I would get one, but I would never…” And I as like, “You’re 75 – who do you have to impress at this point?” I told her she should just do what she wants to do. So she and I went out and got matching tattoos. Then she was like, “You know, if I was younger, maybe I’d be one of those Suicide Girls.” That was the most embracing thing that she could have said.

Buzz – What kind of tattoos did you get?

Missy – Butterflies. She’s always loved butterflies, so it was her choice.

Buzz – Is there anything you would have done differently, or are you just completely overjoyed at where you are today?

Missy – Well, there’s always lessons you learn along the way, “If I only knew how to do this five years ago, it would have made things so much easier.” There’re always little things, but I think overall I’m pretty happy with the way things have come out.

Buzz – You have so many things go on. Sounds like you must be busy all the time. Has Suicide Girls monopolized all of your time?

Missy – Yeah, everybody’s like, “How much do you work?” Most days are 9am-9pm – that’s just during the week – then there’re the weekends. Saturdays are also 9am-9pm and Sundays, usually I’ll take a half of day and work from 12pm-6pm, then do the radio show from midnight until 2am. Sunday’s my easy day (laughs).

Buzz – You’ve definitely gained celebrity. Are you recognized a lot just walking down the street?

Missy – That happened way more when I was living in Portland, but now, in L.A., when George Clooney is walking next to you, I’m suddenly not such a big cheese.

Buzz – Your site offers a little something for everyone.

Missy – One thing about the community on the site, it’s kind of like myspace for grownups. There’s groups where anyone can talk about anything from obscure Japanese pop music to sports to politics to arts & crafts to photography – anything you can possibly imagine – there’s probably a group for. It’s great to connect with people around the world who share your interests. You can meet people that you would have never met. I’ve got friends in Italy now, Japan and all around the world.

Buzz – Oh, it’s election day. Are you very political?

Missy – I think our big stance is for everybody to vote and get out there and have their opinions heard. It’s important to take part in the political process. You don’t have room to bitch if you don’t participate. Whatever political platform makes you passionate, you should pursue. I probably have leanings towards a more liberal, left-minded…but I’m all for a healthy debate.