BEXIITA
Studio owner, head instructor, founder and owner of Revved Up Pole
Bexiita has been teaching pole dance fitness for 5 and a half years, and has a background in dance and gymnastics. Bex was placed 2nd in the professional category of the Kent Pole Championships 2014, and was again a finalist in 2015 in the professional category. She is fully trained and qualified, with a level 2 ETM and X Pole XPert qualification, the only fully recognised Pole qualification in the world. Bex is also part of the PDC Syllabus Steering Committee. To find out more about the PDC go to www.poledancecommunity.com
Bex has trained with Jenyne Butterfly, Felix Cane, Zoraya Judd, Cleo the Hurricane, Jess Leanne Norris, Michelle Shimmy, Bendy Kate, Sarah Scott, Natasha Wang, Lisette Krol, Maddie Sparkle, Pantera Blacksmith, Marlo Fisken, Michelle Stanek, Suzie Q and Toby J, Kristy Sellars, Josiah BadAzz Grant, Phoenix Kazree, Deb Roach, Anne Marie Davies, Charlotte Robertson, Karen Chaundy, Tiff Finney, Lorna Thomas, Charlee Shae Wagner, Amy Guion, Leigh-Ann Riley, and Jamilla Deville. Bex is also a contributor and writer for United Pole Artists, a web-based news source for pole dancers across the globe, and runs Revved Up Designs, a pole dance clothing line.
What was your backgroud before you started pole?
I was a gymnast from the age of eight until I was about 14. There is so much I learned as a gymnast that I use on the pole, but in particular it helped me with my flexibility. From the age of 18 I worked as a dancer in the West End for about 5 years whilst holding down a regular 9-5 job as a newspaper reporter. I moved into working in PR before settling down and having a family. I never dreamed in a million years I would ever work as a fitness instructor!
What made you want to start pole fitness classes?
I remember seeing a report on TV about pole dancing when I was about 19 and thinking – this looks amazing! This was back in the early 90s and pole fitness classes just did not exist then. I spent the next 15 years thinking it’d be an amazing thing to try but it’ll never happen, until 1 day a friend said: ” you’ll never guess where I’m going tonight…”
What do you remember about your first lesson?
I remember that I wasn’t very good! I remember being nervous but really excited, and I remember that I absolutely loved it – it was so much fun and totally different from anything I’d ever done before! I couldn’t wait until the next week to do it again! After three months I offered to assist in classes for free so I could improve my technique and get more practice. I found that not only did I love pole, but I loved instructing too. I took the plunge and did the training to become a qualified instructor, and I taught my first ever pole class less than a year after I attended my own first class.
What is it you like best about pole?
I love EVERYTHING about pole! I love that it is something different. I love that it is ever changing and evolving and you are always improving so it never gets boring. I love how impressive it looks, even when it doesn’t feel it. I love how it challenges what you think your body can do and surprises you with what you can. I love most of all the people I meet and teach, and I am so thankful for the amazing things that pole has brought into my life.
What do you like best about being a pole fitness instructor?
I love how it brings out the confidence in women who might have been nervous about coming along to a class, and seeing students flourish and grow. I love seeing the support and encouragement the students give to each other and friendships developing. I absolutely love seeing students achieve things they never thought they could, and feeling like a proud pole mama! To be honest there is nothing I don’t like about teaching
What move(s) did you struggle with, and how did you overcome this?
I really struggled with the superman. I just couldn’t crack it and I even used to dream about it! Now it’s one of my favourite moves! I also really struggled to conquer the handspring, but three times World Champion Felix Cane told me it took her 18 months to learn to handspring, so that’s fine by me 😉 Now, like the superman, I love handsprings and I love teaching them.
Handspring 😀
CARYS ELIZABETH
Instructor, Revved Up Pole Ashford
Nurse by day, pole dancer by night, Carys has been poling for 5.5 years and has enjoyed teaching pole and aerial hoop for 2 of those years. Carys enjoys exploring and taking knowledge from well known instructors, and has trained intensively with Terri Walsh, Lisette Krol, Daniel Rosen and many others. She also attended Pole Camp in Gran Canaria, which she describes as the highlight of her pole career.
Carys has competed twice at Kent Pole Championships – once in the advanced category, and most recently in the professional category, where she placed third.
What made you want to start pole fitness classes?
I wanted to lose weight, but I felt like any exercise classes I started was boring and wasn’t for me. When I started pole I felt like I was having fun with the girls rather than exercising for fitness!
What do you remember about your first lesson?
My first lesson I remember feeling so refreshed at how much fun it was. Although my arms ached for days afterwards!
What move(s) did you struggle with, and how did you overcome this? And do you have a favourite pole move?
The move I struggled with was superman. I practiced that every single lesson for months until I got it! The move I still struggle with is Janeiro. My favourite pole move has to be a body flag … who doesn’t love a body flag…
Carys’s janeiro
What do you like best about pole, and being a pole fitness instructor?
The best thing about pole is how you feel when you look at something and think it’s impossible, and you finally achieve it. When teaching pole, I love the look on the students faces when they have achieved something, and they feel and look incredible! I’ve also loved seeing when they’ve felt confident enough to do a photoshoot and feel amazing from it.
COPYRIGHT BEXIITA ACKLAND, REVVED UP POLE 2013
Revved Up Pole Ashford, Studio 5, Richmond Meech Drive, Little Burton, Ashford, TN24 ,9RX
Call 07748 908 851 Or text “POLE” to 07748 908 851