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.

‘As a young woman entrepreneur, it was difficult to prove myself because many people doubted me.’

Jessica Reisert, Sayville

“I have no background in dancing, but I’ve always been into fitness. When I was a freshman in college, I went to see a pole dancing showcase and fell in love with this art form. The following day, I bought a pole and installed it in my parents’ kitchen so I could practice working out. While I was pursuing my undergraduate degree, I started teaching pole dancing out of my college apartment and fell in love with instructing.

Aerial fitness helps with improving your posture, muscle coordination and decreasing the risk of injuries.

“Post COVID, I had gained experience managing a studio that I worked in, so I decided to open my own. As a young woman entrepreneur, it was difficult to prove myself because many people doubted me. Finding a location was challenging since this was a startup company, and I was only 24 and had never done this before. I persisted and found a space in Patchogue that was spacious with high ceilings and support beams. It took me months to get all of the permits and do the renovations. I am now the owner of The Cheeky Peach Aerial Fitness Studio, which is a studio focused on pole, aerial and floor classes. My significant other actually helped come up with the name, inspired by the cute peach emoji.

“We opened our Patchogue location in August of 2022 and a second location in Ronkonkoma in September of 2023. If people are uneducated about how fitness-based our programs are, there could be a stigma associated with pole dancing, but we don’t let that affect us, and we are very focused on body positivity, community and diversity while still honoring where pole fitness originates from. Our guests can expect increased flexibility, heart health, strength building, confidence, mobility and overall empowerment. Aerial fitness helps with improving your posture, muscle coordination and decreasing the risk of injuries. We want our students to shine regardless of their age, shape or size.”

Interviewed by Meagan J. Meehan

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