Some of you may know by now that I do pole fitness. If you didn't know that then you may be shocked right now with one of two thoughts going through your head. You must be thinking A. Oh really? I didn't know you did that! Or B. WHAT?! You're a stripper?? To clarify that question, no. I am not a stripper. I do not strip or dance around a pole in lingerie. I don't work at a strip club. I do this for fun and for fitness. Let me go into some detail about the history of pole dancing, BEFORE it was in strip clubs. (not that anything is wrong with strippers or strip clubs, I am not condemning anyone or their occupation, everyone has a right to do what they want and like no matter what, I just want to clarify my differing situation before assumptions are made)
Pole dancing originated from Chinese Pole, which was a circus act dating back to the 12th century and Indian Pole performances known as " Pole Mallakhamb" 800 years ago. These forms of dance and athleticism evolved over the years until traveling circuses started dancing around the poles of circus tents in the 1920s. Pole dancing did not start out as anything sexual or stripper-esque until later in the 1960s, Since then it has been viewed from a sexualized standpoint almost exclusively, when there are other forms of pole dancing including fitness and art.
Resources: Wiki
History of Pole
Pole History and Info
Recently though, within the last few years, there has been an increased interest in pole dancing forms other than stripping and people all over the world are working to explain that and change the views and better explain where pole dancing originated from. I hope that any of you reading this that are against this type of sport or dance will see it in a different light. I know how surprised and happy I was to learn that it started in the circus! Ever since I can remember I have always loved carnivals and the circus. Since my dad grew up working on a traveling carnival, it comes as no surprise why I love it so much!
Pole fitness is a lot of fun and such a great work out. People aren't kidding when they tell you that! It will make you sore and realize you had muscles in places you would never think you could have muscles haha! You will learn how to use your body in ways you never thought possible. It's almost like dancing, yoga, strength, and cardio all in one centered around a fun form of exercise rather than something that seems more like work than fun. If you're like me, spinning around and being silly not caring if you mess up or look funny, then you will love it!
You will get a LOT of bumps and bruises. You will mess up, that's unavoidable when you start out. It takes a ton of time and practice and patience and pain. There is still so much that I have to learn and that's the best part! I love learning new things and if a hobby doesn't offer much to learn I'll get bored and move onto the next thing. Pole dancing and fitness isn't one of those things, it keeps you wanting to learn more and the feeling of accomplishment you get when nailing a new move is such a wonderful feeling! If you're a girl, you will also have the satisfaction of being stronger than any guys you know that don't pole! ;) (haha just kidding.... or am I?) Watch the video below to see men trying pole moves for the first time, it's guaranteed to make you laugh!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=isa1rt_hQIw
I have always been the type of person who was just a little different than the others around me. Because of that, I was made fun of and bullied all throughout school and even later when I became homeschooled and sometimes even still do this day! BUT my parents always told me to never be afraid to be myself. They taught me that true friends would like me for who I am, and I didn't want people to like me for someone I pretended to be to avoid getting made fun of. That being said, I was the type of kid to think outside the box and to often break the rules haha! I loved climbing trees and furniture and just about anything I could get my hands and feet on!
I have always been the type of person who was just a little different than the others around me. Because of that, I was made fun of and bullied all throughout school and even later when I became homeschooled and sometimes even still do this day! BUT my parents always told me to never be afraid to be myself. They taught me that true friends would like me for who I am, and I didn't want people to like me for someone I pretended to be to avoid getting made fun of. That being said, I was the type of kid to think outside the box and to often break the rules haha! I loved climbing trees and furniture and just about anything I could get my hands and feet on!
I think all of that climbing and running and playing and dancing I did growing up has really played a huge part of my life today. I've been swing dancing for three years now and I absolutely love it. But I wanted to do something else, something I could do when I was home alone without a dance partner. One day about 2 years ago at a swing dance party at my friends house I noticed there was a pole on their back porch. Not a pole dancing pole, just a support built onto the house, but of course I saw the pole and wanted to spin on it. So I did.
Then everyone was on the pole playing and climbing and spinning. A few jokes were made about it and we laughed, but who knew I would seriously start doing pole fitness full time? I started looking into it but didn't really find much, there weren't any classes in Greenville at that time. So I got my fiance and my dad to help me build my own pole in my tiny messy little room with the intentions of starting up pole fitness. Life got in the way and I did it on and off without classes, up until about two months ago when I really started. I have learned and improved so much in those two months and it's made me so happy!
This year a school opened in Greenville teaching pole fitness called The Pole Academy. My friend Ally, knowing how much I loved pole, invited me to their intro class. I took the class and it was so much fun, everyone was so sweet and encouraging! Even though I knew all of the beginner moves already, they encouraged me to continue and push harder. They taught me the correct ways to grip the pole, to climb, and to land safely; I took home what they taught me to better myself. They inspired me to get rid of almost all of the furniture in my room to replace it with more functional storage space so that I had room to pole, do yoga, work out and dance without always bumping into things. Although it's still not ideal, I make it work and continue to push myself to learn more and stay motivated.
So if you're thinking about giving pole fitness a try, don't be afraid of what others may think. There are so many more positives to outweigh the negatives of some ignorant people! Work your hardest and show off those skills and muscles and ignore the negative people that try and stand in your way! :)
Matthew Pautz Photography
