What if the thing you try just for fun ends up changing the direction of your life?

In Episode 64 of Fit, Fierce & Fearless, Zen talks with longtime pole instructor, coach, writer, and creator RiRi Valora about how a curious hobby became a passion, a profession, and ultimately a mission.

RiRi didn’t grow up as a dancer or athlete. She started pole dancing as an adult with no dance or fitness background, unable to even touch her toes. At first, she simply wanted to feel sexy, move with more confidence, and become more comfortable in her own skin.

More than ten years later, pole is at the center of her life.

RiRi shares how the practice helped her build strength, flexibility, body confidence, and a powerful sense of community—and how those experiences eventually led her to become a teacher and mentor to students around the world.

Zen and RiRi talk about:

• Starting something new without already being “good” at it
• Becoming more comfortable in your body and your sensuality
• The power of supportive women and community
• Challenging the belief that you’re too old, too weak, or too inflexible to begin
• Why progress comes from repetition rather than chasing the next impressive trick
• Teaching students safely while still encouraging them to discover what they’re capable of
• How social media can distort our expectations of progress
• Why movement can bring up questions about confidence, vulnerability, body image, and identity
• RiRi’s guided pole dance journal and her desire to help people reflect on what they’re discovering both on and off the pole
• How something that begins as curiosity can slowly reveal a much bigger purpose

As RiRi explains, pole became far more than a physical practice. It became a way to explore herself, connect with other people, teach, create, write, and give back.

Sometimes you don’t know where a new interest is taking you when you begin. You just know you want to try.

Fit, Fierce & Fearless is presented by GenX Pole Arts and made for women over 40 reclaiming their bodies, their stories, and their damn time. We have real conversations about midlife reinvention and movement as the path back to you.

Learn more about RiRi Valora, her online classes, blog, and guided journal at

www.ririvalora.com

Riri currently teaches all levels at Inner Me Studios @innermestudios

You can follow Riri on Instagram @ririvalora

What happens when the life you built around everyone else finally leaves room for you?

In Episode 63 of Fit, Fierce & Fearless, Zen sits down with GenX Pole Arts student Amina for an honest conversation about midlife reinvention, identity, confidence, and what can happen when a woman begins asking a deceptively simple question: Who am I outside of the roles I’ve spent years filling?

Amina shares how raising her children, navigating a 24-year relationship, questioning beliefs she had carried since childhood, and eventually giving herself permission to explore something different started a much bigger journey of self-discovery.

That journey took her through meditation, hiking, yoga, Pilates, movement—and eventually into her first pole dancing workshop for women over 40.

What she found wasn’t simply a new form of exercise.

She found community. Freedom. Confidence. A place where she could laugh at herself, move without worrying about judgment, surprise herself with what her body could do, and reconnect with a version of herself that had been waiting for attention.

Zen and Amina talk about:

• Losing your identity inside motherhood, relationships, and responsibility
• Reconsidering the expectations and beliefs you inherited
• Leaving a long-term relationship and learning to ask, “What do I want?”
• Finding your people when your existing circle no longer fits who you’re becoming
• Reconnecting with your body through movement
• Starting pole dancing as a beginner over 40
• Building strength and confidence by doing things you once thought you couldn’t do
• How confidence developed in the studio can show up at work and everywhere else in your life
• Perimenopause, hormonal changes, body changes, and the conversations women of our generation were rarely given

As Amina puts it: “Who did I deny while I was trying to be us?”

Fit, Fierce & Fearless is presented by GenX Pole Arts and made for women over 40 reclaiming their bodies, their stories, and their damn time. We have real conversations about midlife reinvention and movement as the path back to you.

In this short solo episode of Fit, Fierce, and Fearless Zen shares her memories of the ways Dolly Parton influenced her as a young girl growing up in the 1980s and how that influence carried into adulthood.

A heartfelt "thank you" to an extraordinary person, who taught us by the way she lived her life, cared for others, followed her heart, and who was unapologetically herself, always.

What happens when you leave a successful corporate career at 50 and make pole dance your full-time life?

April Miller went from corporate CFO to full-time pole instructor—and in this episode of Fit, Fierce & Fearless, we talk about what it actually takes to build an entirely new chapter in midlife.

After more than a decade of pole dancing and nearly eight years of teaching, April shares her journey from corporate leadership into the pole world, including opening her own studio, making the difficult decision to close it after a few years, and continuing her career as an instructor at Jade X Fusion Fitness.

We talk about career change after 50, women reinventing themselves in midlife, pole dancing over 40, entrepreneurship, identity, family, and what happens when something that began as a passion becomes a major part of your life.

Follow April on Instagram: @aprilspins.miller
Follow Jade X Fusion Fitness: @JadeXfusionfitness

In episode 61 of Fit, Fierce, and Fearless, we take a slightly different approach to the standard podcast format.

Guest, Christina Calph, requested a Jacuzzi Session, and thus launched a first in (what probably will not be) a brand new podcast format. Zen and Christina spend an hour together, bikini-clad, in the backyard hot tub, under the gleaming patio lights, and talk about what it's like when you come up against a brick wall and have to take a break to recalibrate your life.

Christina gets personal about past relationships, her shows The Armando and The Comedy Pole Show, her acting career, the importance of friendship, and more.

You don't want to miss this out-of-the-studio, laughter-filled episode.

You can follow Christina on Instagram @ChristinaCalph

@comedypoleshow and @the_armando_improv_show

Welcome back to episode 60 after a 3-month podcast hiatus (ignore when I say episode 53...).

In this episode, Zen sits down with former podcast guest, Kinky Legs, to talk about what happened after one short Instagram Reel went viral.

Spoiler alert - it's not what you think!

Four women. Four lived experiences. One shared truth.

Midlife doesn’t ask for permission before it changes things. Your body shifts. Your circumstances shift. Your perspective sharpens. And with that comes doubt, discomfort, and the question of how you move forward.

In this compilation episode, you’ll hear from Felicia, Joanna, Lauren, and Zen (Nancy Adzentoivich) as they share what it looks like to navigate change in real time.

• Felicia on how grief pushed her to reevaluate what matters and pursue what she had been putting off
• Joanna on adapting through injury and how persistence evolves as your body changes
• Lauren on committing fully to what brings her joy and the freedom she finds in movement and flight
• Zen on learning your body and building strength by working with it instead of against it

These are real conversations. Real women navigating midlife as it actually unfolds.

This episode is about recommitting to yourself. Not in theory, but in practice. Through movement, through challenge, and through the pursuit of a life that feels good to live.

You can follow along on Instagram...

Zen @Zen_Pole

Joanna @joannalittlewoodjohnson_pole

Felicia @feliciatheartist

Lauren @Laurenfuckinghill

If this episode resonated with you, share it with someone who needs to hear it. And if you’re curious about starting your own movement practice, download the free GenX Pole Arts Starter Kit and begin at home. https://genxpolearts.com/

In this episode of Fit Fierce and Fearless, I’m joined by Sara, an aerial chains artist and gymnastics coach from Wyoming. Sara and I actually met the way many people in our community do these days—through Instagram—thanks to a connection with a previous podcast guest, Karl.

Sara’s story is a great example of how discovering something new later in life can completely change your path. She started aerial just before turning 40 after noticing a flyer for aerial silks classes at the gymnastics gym where she coaches. She originally thought it would help her become a stronger coach for her students—but that first class turned into a passion she couldn’t step away from.

Not long after starting silks, Sara discovered aerial chains, and she knew immediately that it was the apparatus for her.

In This Episode, We Discuss:

• How Sara got started with aerial silks right before her 40th birthday

• The moment she discovered aerial chains and knew it was her style

• Why chains are both challenging and incredibly addictive

• How aerial training builds strength, even if you start with zero upper body strength

• The role her gymnastics background played in learning aerial

• Why consistency is the key to progressing in aerial arts

• How aerial has become something her whole family shares

Her goal when teaching is simple: create more chains artists, not scare people away from the apparatus.

🔗 Connect with Sara: Follow @broncosara on Instagram

Start your journey today!

• Want to try pole? Join a class at your local studio or download the free GenX Pole Arts Starter Kit⁠ to begin exploring at home.

• Visit the Linktree for links for upcoming workshops, YouTube videos, and resources to support your pole journey.

 ‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍If this episode resonated with you, please take a moment to share, subscribe, rate, and leave a review. Your support helps uplift and empower more women over 40 in the pole dance community and beyond!

In this episode, I’m joined by Doreen—also known as The Fitness Mistress—whom I connected with through Instagram. After seeing a bit of her pole journey and learning about her background in fitness, I knew I wanted to have her on the podcast. Doreen has an incredible story and brings so much honesty and wisdom to the conversation.

We talk about everything from her start in fitness in her mid-40s, to preparing for a bodybuilding competition, to navigating menopause and discovering pole dancing along the way. It’s a conversation about resilience, body changes, healing, and learning to reconnect with ourselves through movement—something I know so many of us can relate to.

In This Episode, We Discuss:

• How Doreen’s fitness journey began at age 45

• Preparing for a bodybuilding competition and the unexpected impact of menopause

• The differences between bodybuilding strength and pole mobility

• Learning pole later in life and how it builds confidence

• The physical and emotional changes during perimenopause and menopause

• Why sleep and recovery are essential for strength and muscle growth

• Pelvic floor health and how it supports overall strength and wellness

• Why building muscle and bone strength is crucial as we age

• The reminder that it’s never too late to start moving and investing in your health

 When we’re carrying stress, grief, or unresolved emotions, it often shows up physically in our bodies. And when we begin to work through those things internally, the external transformation often follows.

🔗 Connect with Doreen: Follow @arisen_fitness on Instagram

Start your journey today!

• Want to try pole? Join a class at your local studio or download the free GenX Pole Arts Starter Kit⁠ to begin exploring at home.

• Visit the Linktree for links for upcoming workshops, YouTube videos, and resources to support your pole journey.

 ‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍If this episode resonated with you, please take a moment to share, subscribe, rate, and leave a review. Your support helps uplift and empower more women over 40 in the pole dance community and beyond!

In this episode, I sit down with Dahlia to explore her journey with pole dancing. We talk about how embracing this practice reshaped her body, mind, and sense of self. From releasing fear and body insecurities to building strength, confidence, and creative freedom, Dahlia shares how fully committing to pole has changed her life.

This conversation is about more than fitness—it’s about trust, resilience, and joy, and finding freedom in your body.

In This Episode, We Discuss:

• How pole can help you overcome fear and self-doubt.

• Ways to build strength, flexibility, and confidence through movement.

• How connecting with your body and with the roots of the pole dance can be empowering and freeing.

• Simple practices for recovery, warm-ups, and staying healthy as you train.

• How to trust yourself and your instincts in both fitness and life.

• Ways pole can reshape your relationship with aging and body image.

• How to channel life stress and challenges into creative movement.

• The value of incremental progress and celebrating small wins.

• How embracing your sensuality and feminine energy can be joyful and confidence-building.

• How to balance athletic discipline with playful experimentation.

Pole lets me play, experiment, and push my limits in a safe space, it builds and strengthens the trust I have in myself, and that trust in myself translates to every part of my life.

🔗 Connect with Dahlia: Follow @dahlia.poles on Instagram

Start your journey today!

• Want to try pole? Join a class at your local studio or download the free GenX Pole Arts Starter Kit⁠ to begin exploring at home.

• Visit the Linktree for links for upcoming workshops, YouTube videos, and resources to support your pole journey.

 ‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍If this episode resonated with you, please take a moment to share, subscribe, rate, and leave a review. Your support helps uplift and empower more women over 40 in the pole dance community and beyond!