Faces of Long Island celebrates the uniqueness of everyday Long Islanders. In their own words, they tell us about their life experiences, challenges and triumphs. Newsday launched this social media journey into the human experience to shine a light on the diverse people of this wonderful place we call home.

‘There are so many reasons I love pole and all other aerial sports. The first reason is for the confidence it helped me achieve.’

Levittown

“I am a registered dietician currently working in corporate wellness after spending a number of years working in clinical with geriatrics as my main focus.

“In 2013, I moved home to Long Island from Orlando. I had just gone through a tough breakup, so I was looking for something new to distract me. I saw a Groupon for pole-dancing lessons, and it seemed like it could be a lot of fun. I bought the Groupon as a joke, really. I convinced a friend to join me, assuming it would be easy and we would have a few laughs.

“The joke was on me, though. It was so much harder than I expected. Still, I was immediately hooked and loved the confidence boost I experienced. I began competing in fall 2015 and have been performing and competing since.

“I took classes twice a week for a year before I got into competing. My instructor told us the studio was going to have a showcase and asked if anyone wanted to perform. I jumped at the chance and absolutely loved getting up there and performing. I did my first competition in October 2015 and haven’t stopped since.

There is something that is also so empowering about learning how to balance and how to maneuver your body safely while up in the air.

“In 2016, I won the gold medal at the Atlantic Pole Championships in Washington, D.C., in the Level 2 dramatic category. In 2017, I won the bronze medal at the Southeast Pole Championships in Orlando, Florida, in the Level 3 Championship category.

“Most recently, I won the bronze medal in the Pisces Virtual Competition through Pole Sport Organization in February 2021 in the Level 3 Dramatic Category. I have plans to compete later this year as well.

“There are so many reasons I love pole and all other aerial sports. The first reason is for the confidence it helped me achieve. I also genuinely love the challenge of learning new tricks and the feeling I have when I nail a move or achieve a trick I’ve been working on for a while.

“There is something that is also so empowering about learning how to balance and how to maneuver your body safely while up in the air. I also love the strength it gives me. You really learn how to trust yourself. You really learn how to balance your body and just so much about yourself, because it’s just you up there.”

Interviewed by KJ Bannan

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