Those of you that know me know these days I like to keep a relatively 'behind the scenes' profile. Most of these pictures won't be known to many people, so this will be interesting!

Here’s the first picture. Circa 2005. AKA the picture that got me fired!

I had launched X-POLE Australia in my own time while working for a large pharmaceutical company in Sydney. 

I was one of the youngest product managers at the time, and my employer was horrified when one of my reps brought a copy of RALPH magazine featuring me to their attention. RALPH magazine at the time was Australia's #1 selling men's magazine. 

I was suspended immediately, marched off the premises without the opportunity to say goodbye to my colleagues or clear my desk. From that day, X-POLE became my full-time project, living off credit cards and my savings until late November 2005 when we got our first consignment of stock.

At that point, there were only two X-POLE offices and technically only two full-time employees: Clive Coote heading up the UK and the entire world, and me looking after Australia—there were no other offices. I flew to the UK to meet Clive, came back to Australia, and hit the ground running. It's been an incredible journey that I never planned.

My team at our first "trade show" SEXPO 2006. Jamilla Deville, Luxe L'Toile (AKA Cat Ryan), and the gorgeous Ling. 

How did I discover pole?

It's funny how opportunities present themselves. Back in 2004, I was at the hairdresser and came across an article on ‘pole for fitness’ talking about Bobbi’s in Sydney city. I had just moved back to Australia after working in international marketing and had, by chance, moved back to work in our Sydney office in North Ryde. 

A few weeks later, I started classes at Bobbi’s with a few friends. Back in those days, the studio was based in the old Castlereagh St location, which other polers will remember for its pink decor, wonky elevator and broken floorboards. Regardless, it was one of the best teaching studios in Australia at the time.

During my time at Bobbi’s, I met many people that are still active in the industry now - people like Jamilla Deville, Suzie Q, Bailey Hart, Luxe LeToille, Chilli Rox, Sassy, Candice Leigh, Amber Ray. 

Many of these early connections are still part of my life today, both personally and professionally. 

Many early Sydney pole studios started from Bobbi’s or from the breakup of Australia's largest pole studio chain: Pole Stars.

Miss Suzie Q pictured in the Bobbi's Castlereagh St Studio on our first 50mm Chrome X-POLE

Little know, but UK brand "Pole Stars" was Australia’s first national pole school; focused on promoting pole fitness.

They did a significant amount of PR and helped drive the distinction between ‘sexy pole’ and ‘pole for fun & fitness’ in national media. 

As I became more obsessed with my pole training (these were pre-YouTube days), I searched for DVDs, personal trainers, or any way to train outside of class. 

At that time, I was driving 45 minutes to the city to attend three classes a week. It quickly became clear that girls needed to be able to train on poles at home to progress and become stronger. I couldn't train at home - I was renting. There were no fully removable, safe poles for people that lived in rental apartments! 

Studio practice time on Sundays was subject to a charge and no guarantees of your own pole to train on. 

It became apparent that there was a massive gap in the market for portable, fully removable poles that were height adjustable and safe for what we joking termed ‘upside-down’ (inverted) moves.

In 2004, after extensive online searching - I approached Clive Coote, owner of X-POLE, a new ‘concept’ pole due for release in the UK market. 

After sending marketing and business plans, in 2005 Clive appointed my new business ‘Dance4me Pty Ltd’ as the exclusive agent and distributor for the Australian market. 

I left the world of pharmaceutical marketing behind and jumped in feet first with a bank account balance of $2k and a credit card with $10k available credit. 

In my mind, I could always go back to a corporate job if I needed to, but I knew there was a future in the pole world, and I wanted to be a part of it.

In the early days "pole jams' would take place at various studios around Sydney. This one pictured above, was pre-social media & usually a very informal way of catching up with studio owners, regular polers & friends in the industry. This one at Pole Dance Academy in around 2010.  

The balancing act!

Running X-POLE Australia and being a mum has always been a fine balance. I was a year in, when my younger brother passed away, and about 18 months later I became a single mum. Balancing a baby, with no local family support & running the business with no staff - it was challenging! 

Most people assumed we were a big multinational brand in Australia. Nope, it was just me—doing my best to support my pole friends, dreaming of growing a "pole community" free from politics, and pushing hard for an industry run by smart, empowered women (not by men using women for profit).

My daughter grew up at pole events - usually spending time playing backstage while I helped the rigging teams with pole install & set up, then often waiting with me somewhere in the theatre while we supervised the pack-down. 

These were the days before rigging teams know how to properly rig for pole. We would spend the day at the venue, assisting the rigging teams in making sure the set up was supported & safe. Most of them had never thought of pole in theatres, and so they weren't aware of the dynamic force put on poles & how to properly tension the stage set. 

My daughter and I travelled together, and whilst it was a hard slog, it was what it was, and there was no other way that we could have made it work.

Over time, she almost became our mini-mascot at events, fitness tradeshows, Pole Cruise (carrying her from one end of the ship at 5am to the other asleep to set up the poles for the day), and she grew up around our ambassador team, many of whom have babies now themselves. 

Events & fundraising:

In the early days, we ran small events, usually for charity as I'm a massive fan of paying it forward. 

The most memorable was a fundraiser for the National Breast Cancer Foundation in 2006, raising over $12,000. 

In the year before my daughter was born, my brother passed away unexpectedly from Epilepsy. 

His last visit was this X-POLE Titanium launch, our fundraiser for the NBCF. He was my biggest supporter and cheer-person, even with all the hardships he experienced in his world. in the weeks before this event, he'd had another seizure, breaking his nose for the tenth time, but it didn't stop him showing up to support me. 

My biggest supporter & champion. 

So, that was the catalyst for another fundraiser; this time in memory of my brother Daniel (pictured here with me at the NBCF fundraiser) and through the generosity of many, we raised a similar amount of money, but this time for the Sydney Children’s Hospital Neurology department. 

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From SEXPO Australia to sponsoring the Australian Pole Dance Championships, we've now been involved in thousands of events, trade shows and performance showcases. 

I launched the worlds first Pole Expo back in 2009, as part of the APDC (Australian Pole Dance Championships) team and we ran a Trade Show alongside the APDC competition. As part of this, and for the first time, we explored through workshops, providing professional development for pole studio owners. Australian Pole Dance Expo ran until the closure of the event in around 2012. 

Managing multiple businesses and single motherhood eventually took its toll, and I had to step back from running large events.

My focus shifted to building a more admin based customer service team, after sales service, and providing more stability (and sadly less travel) for my young one.

Over the years, X-POLE has continued to support many community initiatives, raising funds for flood affected studios, individuals, fire victims, and also World Vision. 

We've also been involved in events like the Pole Camps, Pole Art, Pole Theatre, Pole Icon, Pole Unity, Hardcore, inhouse studio events, the new iteration of Aus Pole Expo, East Coast Pole Cruise, and the Arnold Schwarzenegger Classic and so many more... 

We've supported the growth of studios and competitions across the country for nearly two decades, with literally thousands of events run on X-POLE equipment.

I’ve grown my business from a tiny one-person operation to a company employing a team of passionate women. Despite the challenges, there is nowhere I’d rather be. 

I am passionate about my team, my people, and what we can collectively achieve in this space.

Clive Coote: 2014 Founder of X-POLE Global - visiting from the UK to provide product training to our Brand Ambassadors. 

Slowly, I’ve grown an incredible team, and together we have established X-POLE Australia as the number one pole brand in the country. 

So many side track projects, for example, the amount of work I’ve done in the background fighting counterfeit pole sellers in court and with Australian Customs Border Force, training them on how to spot unsafe & copy cat poles... There are no safety standards for poles in Australia. 

If we hadn't been raising awareness all these years about avoiding unsafe poles, the market would be flooded, we would have had people with severe injuries, and the insurance for anything "pole related" would be impossible to get. It's absolutely critical that people continue to spread the the word about unsafe poles. If you have no idea what I'm talking about on this point, please check out our blogs on how to spot an unsafe pole :)

Training 50 BORDER FORCE (customs) officers on how to spot counterfeit & fake pole sets. Lots of interest!

I have always had a focus on reinvesting effort and money into growing the Australian Pole industry - mainly by doing what I can; supporting competitions, events, workshops, and people - I do this largely behind the scenes because I don’t love the spotlight - yet I am proud of the work that’s gone in.

Today, I have a small team actively working to grow the business. I feel super appreciative of my team and all their efforts. 

Thank you to our supporters, our brand ambassadors past and present, my kids who have always had to share me with work, our studios, stockists, resellers, and most importantly to Clive Coote, who took a gamble on a girl in her 20s with massive goals. Can you imagine if Clive had said no - and we had no X-POLE in Australia?  No safe portable poles, no outdoor poling on stages, no safe and adjustable equipment for your home or studio. Only floor to ceiling permanently fixed poles. It would be a completely different industry. 

There is a lot of junky unsafe "equipment" out there. For 19 years, we've been here to support the Australian pole community with safe, portable and adjustable poles, making training at home and in studios easier, enabling events, showcases and finally competitions. 

We’re grateful to be part of your journey.

To those who continue to support us and our brand, we truly appreciate you and the dreams you help us back. I am committed to growing this little pole world of ours, setting the benchmark for others to follow.

✨By sharing our story, we hope to inspire and connect - whether you're training at home or in a studio, X-POLE is here to support you every step of the way.✨