'I am a pole dancer - here is why I love my job'

• Published date: 23 June 2022

Pop culture tends to define pole dancing as something wholly sexual

While this isn't the all-encompassing element that makes this art/fitness activity what it is, it's a part of it that Arlene does not shy away from. In fact, it is the very thing that drew her to pole dancing.

Speaking to Dublin Live, Arlene revealed that she first started pole dancing during the recession in the 2000s which eventually lead her to turning it into a full-time job.

She explained: "I started pole dancing sixteen years ago. I studied Graphic Design at DIT back in the day. I finished that right when the recession was kicking off. There were just no jobs at all.

"I had been doing pole for a couple of years as a hobby. I thought, I can't just stay on the dole forever, so I decided to started teaching classes."

Pole dancing was a trend that gained popularity during the Celtic Tiger as many celebs were seen doing it. Back then, as Arlene explains, it was rather "cheesy" and focused a lot on weight loss.

She said: "These things come and go. It went underground a year or two after that. Since around 2011, it's been growing steadily with people who aren't into it for the fad element.

"They're doing it because they want to have fun and find a sense of community. It's more than just a fitness thing."

Pole dancing is a unique hobby that incorporates art and fitness. Arlene explains that because it's so physical, you get quite strong as a result.

The initial draw to pole dancing for Arlene was the desire to gain the sort of confidence and prowess shown by pole dancers in pop culture, something she says she didn't feel like she had.

Little did she know, pole dancing acted as a tool to unlock a side of herself that was always there.

She revealed: "I knew straight away that I wanted to...