P.A.N.D.A has a new boss and he has a “healthy disregard for nay-sayers” – according to Mike Galum, owner of the Crazy Horse Too in Las Vegas. Dane Hansen takes over as President of the Profesional Adult Nightclub Deejay Association, or PANDA, a 500 member group of Gentlemen’s Club Emcees and Djs. And that’s just scratching the surface according to the new President, “There are at least 3000 adult nightclubs in the U.S with at least 3 Djs per club, that puts the Dj count to around 9000 in strip clubs across the Country. My job is to get as many of them on board as possible,” said Dane. The 23 year veteran of the adult nightclub industry takes over for Mike Desuno, aka Dj Platypus, who resigned last month to focus more on his podcast network, planetplatypus.com. “Plat just didn’t have the time it’s going to take to get PANDA where it needs to be,” said Dane. PANDA is already seeing the effects of it’s new boss. A new website is up and running – pandamembers.org – featuring Dj video intros, music charts, new job postings, benefits for it’s members including discounts on music and equipment, a PANDA radio show, and more. And that’s just the beginning. Dane’s goal is to bridge the gap between Dj’s and owners by setting guidelines for all PANDAS including a mission statement, rules of conduct, training, and sharing knowledge from long time pros to newbies in the business. “I want every club in the Country to have PANDA approved DJs in their booths. It can only benefit the industry as a whole,” said Dane. He’s even created a Dj Consulting company to help owners who want to improve their emcees, “I will fly out personally to help train their Djs!,” he said. To understand Dane’s passion for this project you have to look at his past. He was in the Marine Corp in Beaufort, S.C when he picked up a part time job at a club in Hilton Head, S.C in 1990. He was hooked from day one. “I loved everything about this business and just wanted to learn all that I could to be a better emcee,” said Dane. His career has taken him all over Country with stops in South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, and eventually ending up in Las Vegas to open the multi-million dollar meca “Treasures” in 2003. In his 10 years at “Treasures” Dane says he saw a change in the landscape of communication between owners and djs – “There was none,” said Dane. So for years his dream was to find a way to organize all the djs in the Country and show the owners that emcees in this business can be professional, can help your club generate revenue, and can be a vital source of knowledge to help each club be as successful as possible. Events for 2014 include a PANDA Convention with dj panels, equipment distributors, and training seminars. Plus the PANDA President has announced it’s partnership once again with ED Publications for the 2014 ED Owners Expo. PANDAS will be hosting events throughout the week for the biggest industry convention of the year. Dane feels great about the progress so far but thinks this is just the beginning, “We have a LONG way to go but I feel like we’ve accomplished so much in just a month, I’m excited about where we’ll be in a year from now!,” he said. Owners can feel free to contact Dane at dane@pandamembers.org or visit him at his new dj residency at “Crazy Horse Too” in Las Vegas
