Pole Perfil: Lindsay Lithe

Opening our Table "Pole Profile" today we present a very special person to me, Lindsay Lithe. I met this great woman to a little less than a year and I was already delighted! Both by their way of being and by their dance.

I had the opportunity to chat with her and bring you a little bit of her world with the dance pole! Now you can also enjoy a bit of it all!

Take the opportunity to follow her on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LindsayLithe

1- How long you practice pole dancing? What do you enjoy about sport?

I took my first pole class February of 2013.

There are hundreds of things that I enjoy about pole. The friends have been amazing, some of the greatest and most supportive people I have ever met in my life. I love pole because of what it allows me to do. I never would have thought I would be capable of the things I can do now. The sense of achievement it brings me on a daily basis is uplifting. Knowing that I work hard to do the things I do is amazingly rewarding. I love the ability to have fun, do crazy things, keep pushing myself, and I know I can only keep getting better and learning more. It's amazing.

2 - How did you meet the Pole Dance and what motivated you to continue to evolve in the sport? What else motivates you to continue to evolve?

I decided to take a pole class when I was in college and I wanted to try something new. I have always been an athlete, or at least I was before college. I was in at least 7 different organized sports. Then I began to focus on school and I wanted something new to distract me from doing the same thing everyday. What motivated me was that every time I took a class I learned something new. Seeing what I was capable of was like opening a door I didn't even know I had. I wanted to learn simply every single thing I could about pole. I am motivated by a lot of my idols, seeing them grow and improve. I am also motivated by all of the pole dancers out there. Seeing people train, grow, stretch, work hard constantly, is really inspiring to keep doing the same for myself!

3 - How long have you teach? What pleases you in teaching people?

I started teaching 7 months after I took my very first pole class, so in August of 2013. I am simply in love with teaching. It is a honor to be a part of the growth and happiness that people experience from taking a class. Seeing them smile and be proud of something they achieved on their own from pushing themselves and challenging themselves, just makes me so happy. I want everyone to be the best pole dancer they can be and I love to help them get there!

4 - What are the championships you've done and how did it feel on your first championship? How do you handle the tension before the championship?

So far I have been in 4 National competitions. 1- The Arnold Sports Festival Pole Championship Series Amateur division of 2015. 2- The Pole Championship Series first ever Pole Theatre USA 2015. 3 - The 2nd Annual Aerialympics. 4 - The Pole Championship Series Ink N' Iron Queen Mary Pole Dance Championships. I intend to be in at least two more PCS competitions this year as well.

My first competition was definitely a challenge. One month before the competition I seriously injured both of my shoulders to where I wouldn't do anything pole-related for three weeks. After slowly getting back into my training I only had about a week and a half to train my competition routine but it didn't go poorly at all. I was pretty proud of how everything went. There were one or two slight mess ups but the routine was overall solid and I am proud of it.

Handling the stress before a competition can be difficult. It pushes me to train harder but it also keeps me awake at night. I just remember that I have a million more competitions ahead and I will do the best and cleanest routine I can with the time I have.

5 - Now that you are every day more known in the world of dance pole. How is to you the return of people who appreciate you? Came new fans? There was a situation in which you surprised to see that really is getting every day more known?

I am so surprised and grateful for the support I have found in the pole community. I just hit 20,000 followers on Instagram and I still cannot believe it. Everyday people are sending me love and support and I do my best to respond to all of them and make sure they know how much I appreciate them. I do my best to offer tips for those who ask and I hope to someday be able to travel the world so I can teach everyone who has supported me and give more back.

6 - How is your training routine? What is your biggest challenge and your greatest difficulty in Pole dance? What is your greatest ease and which part do you think you protrudes?

I train almost everyday. I do my best to take rest days and take care of myself. I eat very well, drink a lot of water, take a lot of epsom baths and pay for massage and other body-work related treatments. I try not to overtrain anything but I do challenge myself. I always make sure to warm up really well with cardio and a long stretching routine in order to prevent injury and stay strong and flexible.

I would say my biggest challenge in pole dancing is slowing down. I have been making videos for Instagram too long. Hahaha, so I have a tendency to pop in and out of tricks too quickly when I need to extend fully through all the moments and hold poses longer. Floorwork has also always been more challenging for me since I like being on the pole and doing tricks the most. Floorwork requires a lot more creativity I believe so it doesn't come easy for me.

I think the things that come the easiest for me are any trick that doesn't require the most insane flexibility. I am working on both my strength and flexibility every day, but definitely most tricks I can figure out how to do right away. I try to not let fear rule me or take away what I can do.

7 - You have some inspiration for your way of dancing or prefer to have your own style?

I have never taken a dance class my entire life. Dancing in pole has always been difficult for me. I usually try and take inspiration from my favorites like Sarah Scott, Olga Koda, Hanka Vanselaar, Anna-Maija. I am still looking for my style. I find it changes depending on the song but a lot of my movement you can see comes from my idols - without realizing it I found I do a lot of small hand flicks like Sarah Scott, for instance.

8 - And when he's not training, what you like to do in your free time?

When I am not training I am usually working. I train anytime I can. If I'm not at work I am taking an epsom bath and watching pole videos online. I take care of my Instagram a lot so I can make sure I am giving thanks for my supporters. I also Skype my love as often as possible since he doesn't live here with me in the States yet. I also have two kitties I try and give as much love and attention to as possible.

9 - What future projects in the world of Pole?

As for my future of pole, like I said, I hope to participate in at least two more National competitions this year. Someday I would like to compete across the world. I am in the process of being sponsored by two separate pole companies but nothing has been finalized yet. I hope to keep training hard and competing and meeting as many pole dancers around the world as possible. I also hope to expand my Skype classes online and start teaching more across the country.

10 - You return to Brazil to teach workshops? What you most like in Brazil?

I would be honored to teach workshops in Brazil. I find that teachers from different countries bring a lot of new ideas without even meaning to - it's just they have learned a different style and set of things than another country. I hope to travel the world and teach workshops all over. I just want to meet every pole dancer out there! :)

What I love about Brazil - aside from all the amazing and beautiful and kind people I met - I love the feeling of Brazil. I love the weather, I love the sidewalks that differ every few steps. I love how everything is wide open, that the stores don't all have walls and instead you can step right inside from the sidewalk. I would love to see more of Brazil and see the beach as well, but I was limited in my last visit so I didn't get to.