My Pole journey
It’s dawned on me that I haven’t written anything to do with my pole journey, so here it comes a ramble <3
My stage name is Eva Wilde, my birth name is ieva. My first encounter with pole dancing was in 2016 during a 22-hour layover in Houston, Texas. My Airbnb host was this beautiful woman who had many hats, some of which were pole instructor and stripper. She had a pole at her place, and after spending some time together, she revealed to me she was a pole dancer and that she had a pole at the house. She asked if I wanted to see it, and with absolutely no hesitation, I said yes. This one incredible encounter opened a whole new world to me. I was in awe of how strong this woman was and how confidently she moved. For the first time, a sport stuck in my mind.
Growing up, I was not a sporty kid. I was the chubby ginger girl, with big glasses and learning to speak English. I hated running and couldn’t stand ball sports because I would get hit in the face frequently.
The one sport I did like was trampolining. I loved being in the air creating shapes with my body (in hindsight, this checks out). But this only ever lasted 4 weeks a year.
Fast forward to me coming back from my travels and starting Uni, I delayed getting into pole because I was afraid I wasn’t good enough. At that point, I also hated my body and didn’t really fancy being half-naked in front of others.
2nd year came around and I realized that the studio was around the corner from where I lived. I talked myself into going to a taster class. I almost didn’t go on the day. But was I glad that I did? Fuck yeah! From that moment on, I was hooked. It hurt, it was hard, I came out of each class with new bruises and my arms felt like jelly, but my spirit was so high that if you punched me in the face, I’d still be smiling.
For the first time, I felt like I could do things with my body. And for the first time, I was in an all-female space which felt supportive. I felt like I belonged.
Ezme was my first pole idol. She trained in the same studio where I would see the awesome positions she contorted herself into. I wanted that, I wanted to look seamless, and I wanted to be as good as her. With time, I got to know Ezme, and we became pretty good friends. Getting to know someone that I looked up to, made me feel like maybe I could be good at this. She was just a human like myself, we both felt anxiety and shared how our movement can be better in different ways.
I started with doing a pole class a week, but after a shitty breakup with my ex at the end of 2019, I dived all in. I did my first pole showcase, I tried to take more classes, got myself a home pole, and even entered into my first competition in the intermediate category. I was fueled by the pain of it all, I worked harder to become a better pole dancer, all the while finishing my last year of uni.
Pictures from my first comp!^^
I won my first comp in 2020, a few weeks before lockdown hit. I submitted my dissertation the day before the lockdown began. After submitting my last essays for uni, I realized that I had all this time on my hands combined with the pain of my break up, I decided to dust off my barely used home pole and get right on it to make myself feel better.
I watched insta videos to learn new tricks and sequences. With time, I started putting tricks together. I mostly freestyled. Thinking back to it now, during this period I found comfort in low flow freestyle, and has since been a favorite of mine. I believe that it was the weird lockdown time that started developing my style of moving. Pole was a solace from all the wierdness happening in the world, and a way to heal my broken heart from my last relationship. I fell in love with pole and couldn't get enough. The more I did it, the more picky I would get.
“the toe wasn’t pointed - fix that”
“leg had a microbend - fix that”
“why am I moving so fast? - slow down”
These were the things that ran through my brain every time I watched the video back. I became hyper-aware of what I did and what I wanted. Although I don’t believe this is the healthiest way of improving movement, it worked for me, and made me more aware of what I was doing.
I eventually had to move back to London. I found the closest studio to me, where I started to learn choreographies in hard style. It was TOUGH! Coordination was a myth and memory was a struggle. But I loved it. It was something new. Something sexy. Those heels?! yes please!
Oh forgot to mention that my first pair of 8inch Pleasers was bought on my ex’s debit card when I found out he cheated <3
I continued playing with spin pole, low flow and heels, both at home and studio. At that time, I was stretching all the time, and even started online contortion classes where I gained a deeper level to flexibility. I ended up getting a stretch qualification because I thought stretch was lacking in the studio. I think this was the first inkling I got that I was interested in teaching. I noticed that stretch classes were bordering the line of being unsafe and unproductive for most students. I got my certification and asked the studio owner if I could start teaching. She said yes, and that was the start of a whole new chapter in my life: coaching.
Read the next blog to find out more about my journey as a pole coach.
All in all, pole became my love, my joy, my escape, and my solace. To this day I love moving when I feel good or when I feel like shite. It is my go-to for most feelings. Although now almost 7 years in, I am developing and learning more sustainable ways of moving. Realizing that my body can and WILL break when I don’t take care of it. Cross-training has become an essential part of maintaining balance in my body and a way to give back to it. Rest is another, it has been a hard lesson to learn that rest is part of training. Knowing that at least 1 day a week I shouldn’t do pole, that every 6-8 weeks I need a week a break. I’m navigating the ways to treat my body better so it can do better by me.
