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| Up Front.. |
Pole Divas
Fitness fully clothed
Exercising in high heels and bare thighs—the better to grip the pole as you shimmy up it for inversions—is the latest fitness craze.
 Katherine Price unveiled a new franchise for the fitness world. |
This is not Jane Fonda feeling the burn, it’s pole dancing—yes, like strippers do—and the trend is hitting fitness clubs and home parties from Australia to China to franchising.
Katherine Price stumbled upon the exercise regiment when she was looking for a fun way to get fit after the birth of her second child. “It made me feel sexy, strong and confident,” the 36-year-old said. “And, it burns a lot of calories (300 to 400 an hour).”
After developing a full-body workout for herself, she discovered no one offered classes in the Portland, Ore., area. She filled the void, teaching classes and providing the “exer-tainment” at girls-night-out events, such as bachelorette parties.
When Price couldn’t keep up with the demand, she started franchising the program at the end of 2005. She currently has three franchisees, with an additional three who have just signed on.
Tricia Hatfield Graves added pole dancing to her already established Pilates center in Olympia, Wash. She refers to it as “Pole-Lates,” and charges $150 for a six-week series of classes, and $30 each with a minimum of eight women for “Pole Parties.” No stripping is involved and women have a choice of whether they want to perform a routine for the other students at the end of the session.
Hatfield Graves said she researched several franchise options, but found Pole Divas “interfaced most effectively with my own philosophies: empowering women, supporting women being comfortable in their bodies, self acceptance and keeping life fun.”
While participants can skimp on the clothes, the poles are not cheap. They range in price from $200 for a permanently mounted one to around $350 for a friction mounted pole that is “fully removable, so you don’t have to leave it up if company is coming,” Price says. The top-of-the-line model sells for $450, breaks down into segments and has a carrying case (an added bonus so nosey neighbors don’t spy your party planner carrying a stripper’s pole into your house).
The franchise fee is $3,995 for a two-year agreement, with a $2,000 two-year renewal fee. There’s no royalty. “Katherine recommends I donate a percentage of all Pole Dancing proceeds to a cause benefiting women and children. I respect and admire this,” says Hatfield Graves, who donates to The Alliance for a New Humanity and The Tianshi Foundation.
Price is in the process of streamlining the offering for more fitness studio add-ons and developing an apparel and equipment line, such as “crash pads” that fit under the poles.
“We’re looking at launching it in a more robust manner,” she says.
