Student Spotlight: Katie

As mentioned previously two posts ago, we're starting a new series on our blog to celebrate the holidays and the New Year. We're thankful for all of our students and truly enjoy having them as part of our community. You'll get to know them a bit more personally and learn some fun things from our students as well! We've asked them a few questions and love what we've received so far.

​First up, we're going to meet Katie!

​When did you start pole dancing?
My first ever pole dance class was in California back in August 2014. My husband was newly enlisted into the military and I was kind of down in the dumps with him gone. A friend of mine suggested to try pole and I was hooked! Took a lot of breaks in between since but I'm glad I stuck to it!

Favorite part about pole dancing?
The safe space you get to express yourself, the chance grow your confidence, being able meet other super supportive people, and pushing your body into doing things you never thought possible! It is exciting when you find yourself developing new strength and flexibility to play more! It's like opening doors to a whole other dimension!

When did you first come to Pole Fitness Seattle (this can go hand in hand with first question if you started at PFS)?
I first came to PFS April of this year. And I am so glad to have found this studio. It makes the commute from Tacoma worth it every time.

Favorite class(es) to take at the studio?
This is a hard one since I think I've taken almost every single class we offer and they're all great! But floorwork will always be my favorite! Lyra and CS 2 comes close second, and more recently inversions 202!

Favorite songs to dance to?
Anything that makes me move, but I tend to like either slow, sensual/dark songs, or anything with tempo changes. Right now the song that I've been itching to dance to is Under Your Skin by Aesthetic Perfection (Deadbeat remix)

What are your pole necessities?
Heels, leggings or leg warmers for floorwork, a can of rockstar and my giant pink water bottle :D

Favorite pole move?
Has to be either extended butterfly or my recent accomplishment, ayesha!

Nemesis move?
Gr, so many, but the ones I really want to nail and perfect at the moment is circus climbing and shoulder mounting for sure.

What do you enjoy outside of pole? (Yoga, reading, work, hiking, etc.)
I love relaxing outside in nature. But I also love working as an ER nurse. And I love hanging out and bugging my husband. It's a balance :)

Whether you’re a local or new in town, what is your favorite part about Seattle?
It's hard to say because I haven't really explored Seattle yet! But if I have to choose from what I have experienced, it'll probably be the views of the Sound! Or PFS!

Favorite food? Favorite place to eat in Seattle? Etc.
I just love food in general lol. But current craving is for acai bowls :) I hate pickles though.

Biggest accomplishment for yourself this year at the PFS studio.
My biggest accomplishment this year at PFS is my increase in upper body strength and flexibility, which together helped me reach milestones such as ayeshas, handsprings, and aerial inverts just to name a few. I feel drastically stronger since day one and it's exciting!

How have you grown as a student this past year?
I've grown in so many ways this year. I've gotten stronger, more flexible, but more importantly, I'm starting to love my own body more. Being around so many positive people at the studio helps me stay positive myself. I feel that I was able to grow physically as a student because I'm also growing mentally as well. I'm learning that pole is a journey, not a race, and so instead of beating myself down for the things I haven't achieved yet, I'm learning to just enjoy the journey. I've learned to be more forgiving to myself. And I strongly believe that this change in my mindset has aided me in growing stronger physically because I'm not telling myself "I can't do it", instead I'm saying "well, let's try", and I'm gaining strength by trying until I achieve.

Favorite thing about the PFS studio?
You all of course! Everyone from my classmates to the instructors! I'm always having fun in class and love the fact that we are such a strong group of smart sexy people. The classes are amazing, but to me, what really makes it is the community. I look forward to going to class each time because I get to see everyone and have fun. When work gets me down, I always look to PFS for an outlet for releasing stress, an escape from all the crap. We are lucky to have such a positive space for us to be in and I'm so grateful to have met everyone at PFS!

Feel free to share anything else that you want to!
I just want to say, as someone who came from another pole home, it is so important to me to let you all know just how lucky I feel to have found PFS. Moving away from my pole home was stressful and hard for me. My pole home was where I first tried pole dancing, where I had learned my foundations, and where I first developed my skills as a pole dancer. The community at my pole home are like family to me and it was difficult (and tearful) to leave them. When I searched for new pole studios here in Washington, I was nervous that I wasn't going to find that sense of love and community again. I remember being on the phone with my old instructors, talking about how scared I was that I wasn't going to find anything like them. Then I stumbled into PFS and though I was nervous at first, looking back I'm so glad I did. I don't quite remember how I found PFS (considering I live far), but after I tried a class, I had a gut reaction that I should stay. I can't explain just how grateful I am to have found and stayed at PFS because that same feeling of community and support I felt at my old pole studio, I feel it here. To me it shows just how important it is to have a strong community supporting you. A community can make or break your progress (and we're all about making because we are awesome people). You can have the best instruction in the world, but in my opinion, if you don't have a strong group of people to share your progress with, then what's the point? To see everyone cheer each other on, help each other even outside the studio, and continue to boost each other up - it means a lot more to the individual than you can imagine. We're just, amazing.

I'm going to end my rant because I can go on forever, but all I want to say is, thank you PFS for being my second pole family. I'm proud to call PFS my pole home <3.

Thank you so much for sharing with us Katie! We love having you here at the studio and are happy you have found a pole home with us.  

Stay tuned for the next Student Spotlight coming soon!