In Episode 55 of Fit, Fierce and Fearless, I sat down with Tammi - someone who’s been part of my pole journey since my first competition. We competed against each other at my first Pole Sport Organization competition in LA right after COVID. It was just the two of us in our category. I was terrified. She had blue hair and a whole vibe. I thought, “Oh my God… how is this going to go?”

Turns out? She’s one of the most real, hilarious, strong, unapologetically-weird (her words!) women I know.

And this conversation? It’s one of my favorites.

In This Episode, We Discuss:

• Building upper body strength from scratch

• Why consistency matters more than talent

• Overcoming fear of heights (and shaking 20 feet in the air!)

• The mental rewiring that happens when you push through fear

• Learning to trust your body and yourself

• Doing something just for you

• The difference between competing for validation vs. self-growth

• The unexpected mental health benefits of pole

🔗 Connect with Tammi: Follow @BeALilith 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 Becca, a pole dancer who returned to the pole at 56 after a 10-year break. From performing at PoleCon in Los Angeles to rebuilding her practice in Tennessee, her journey is proof that it’s never too late to come back to what you love. 

We talk about relearning inverts, navigating hormone changes, recovering from injury, and finding community in midlife. This conversation is honest, empowering, and a reminder that strength, confidence, and joy don’t expire with age.

In This Episode, We Discuss:

• How Becca discovered pole at 35—and immediately fell in love

• Teaching in Southern California and creating the “Pole Pumas” (celebrating women 40+)

• Performing at PoleCon and receiving a standing ovation

• Moving across the country and rebuilding community through pole

• Returning after a 10-year break and rebuilding strength

• Training in your 50s: hormones, recovery, and smart supplementation

• Rehabbing a severe ankle sprain with Dr. Emily Rausch

• Why pole is athletic training, creative expression, and mental therapy all in one

• The importance of finding your tribe in midlife

This conversation is honest, inspiring, and deeply relatable for any woman who has ever wondered: “Can I still do this?”

🔗 Connect with Becca: Follow @beccaz_pole_boutique on InstagramAnd remember: You don’t need to be younger. You don’t need to be “back to where you were.” You just need to begin.

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 Karl — and if you’ve ever seen his posts, you already know he’s not someone who blends into the background. Karl is 74 years old and constantly pushing boundaries, whether that’s on chains, flying pole, Lyra, or outside in the snow wearing a dinosaur costume. He’s one of those people who makes you stop scrolling because you genuinely never know what he’s going to do next — and I mean that in the best way.

What makes Karl’s story so powerful is that he didn’t start his fitness journey until his mid-60s, and he didn’t discover aerial until just three years ago. Despite chronic pain, scoliosis, lung issues, and surviving a helicopter crash, Karl refuses to let age or limitations define how he lives. This conversation is about movement, community, curiosity, and why saying “why not?” can completely change your life — at any age.

In This Episode, We Discuss:

• Starting a fitness journey in your 60s — and discovering aerial in your 70s

• How movement helped Karl reverse pre-diabetes

• Walking into an aerial studio later in life and saying “why not?”

• Why chains are his favorite apparatus

• Training with chronic pain and why movement actually helps

• The circus and pole community as one of the least judgmental spaces either of us has experienced

• Learning choreography, problem-solving, and keeping the brain sharp

• Posting on social media not for validation, but to inspire others (and their parents and grandparents)

• Letting go of self-imposed limits and focusing on fun, not perfection

• Why “have fun and don’t die” is actually a pretty great goal

Karl is living proof that it’s never too late to try something new. This episode is a reminder that community, curiosity, and movement don’t have an expiration date.

🔗 Connect with Karl: Follow @fitness_journey_ofnot2old on InstagramThis episode is about permission—permission to take up space, to be seen, to be messy and magical, and to live your one wild life fully.

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 of Fit, Fierce, and Fearless, we sit down with Jill, a remarkable woman whose journey with pole dance and movement is a story of courage, patience, and joy. From discovering pole later in life to embracing spin and static pole, Jill shares how she’s cultivated strength, flexibility, and self-awareness—all while balancing family, career, and life’s inevitable aches and shifts.

Jill opens her heart about the lessons she’s learned through teaching, training, and nurturing students of all ages. She reflects on the power of consistency, the value of showing up, and the joy of celebrating progress without pressure. With a gentle perspective on aging, recovery, and self-care, Jill shows us how to keep moving—physically and emotionally—so that we can continue to live fully and vibrantly at any age.

In This Episode, We Discuss:

• Finding your pace and embracing the journey, rather than rushing toward the next skill.

• How movement, mindfulness, and creative practice can sustain the body, even in the presence of arthritis or other challenges.

• The balance between teaching, performing, and caring for yourself.

• The joy of being a role model, both to your children and your students.

• The beauty of staying curious, consistent, and compassionate with yourself through midlife and beyond.

• How play, movement, and connection keep us youthful, energized, and alive.

Whether you’re new to pole, revisiting a passion, or simply seeking inspiration to honor your body and your life at any age, Jill’s story offers a calming, uplifting reminder: strength, grace, and joy are always within reach.

🔗 Connect with Jill: Follow @never.too.old.for.pole and @inesscircus on InstagramThis episode is about permission—permission to take up space, to be seen, to be messy and magical, and to live your one wild life fully.

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!

**CORRECTION: Joanna returned to pole at age 39, not age 49 as she states at the beginning of the episode. **

In this episode of Fit, Fierce & Fearless, I’m joined by the truly extraordinary Joanna Littlewood-Johnson, a multi-time world champion pole artist, studio owner, Pilates instructor, competition founder, and all-around force of nature joining us from Australia.

Joanna is 56 (yes, you read that right), and her story is a powerful reminder that strength, artistry, and reinvention do not have an expiration date. From her early days as a lifelong dancer to returning to pole in midlife, competing on the world stage, recovering from a ruptured Achilles, and continuing to evolve through menopause — this conversation is packed with insight, honesty, and inspiration.

We talk about what it really means to move, train, recover, and take up space as women over 50 — both on the pole and off.

In This Episode, We Discuss:

• ​Joanna’s journey from lifelong dancer to world champion pole artist
• ​Returning to pole at 49 and stepping into competition soon after
• ​Training, recovery, and longevity in your 50s
• ​Menopause, HRT, bone density, and supplements for performance
• ​Rupturing an Achilles tendon and returning to the stage 11 months later
• ​Artistry, musicality, and storytelling in pole competition
• ​Performing on Australia’s Got Talent and normalizing pole
• ​Creating inclusive competitions and educating smarter pole teachers

You don’t need to be strong to start pole — you get strong by doing it. There’s no rush, no deadline, and no single way to show up. Pole is movement, expression, strength, artistry, and rebellion — and it’s for you. The lessons we learn about ourselves in the pole studio show up in all areas of our lives, and the community makes us braver, bolder, and more supported than ever before.

🔗 Connect with Joanna everywhere she is with her Linktree links: https://linktr.ee/JoannaLittlewoodJohnson

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!

I honestly can’t believe we’re here. Fifty episodes of Fit, Fierce & Fearless, and this milestone episode felt like the perfect moment to bring on a guest who truly embodies everything this podcast stands for.

Today I’m joined by Chivon (also known as Firestorm) — dancer, instructor, performer, business owner, and all-around magical force of nature. If you’ve ever wondered what it looks like to fully step into your power after 40, this conversation is it.

In This Episode, We Discuss:

• How pole dance becomes a gateway to self-trust, freedom, and reinvention

• Letting go of other people’s expectations (and the masks we wear) as we age

• The magic of movement, presence, and storytelling through dance

• Injury, recovery, and why rest can make you stronger than before

• Why women-centered spaces feel threatening—and why they’re essential

• Creating intentional, heart-centered studios and classrooms

• Sensuality, creativity, and feminine energy as forms of self-care and resistance

• Aging boldly, unapologetically, and on your own terms

• What it means to live fully—ass out, heart open, fear turned way down

Chivon shares her 10-year pole journey, how she merged movement with ritual and spirituality, and how her signature classes—like Goddess and Bedtime Stories—give women permission to explore character, sensuality, and expression without rules or judgment.

🔗 Connect with Chivon (Firestorm): Follow @firrestorrm on Instagram

This episode is about permission—permission to take up space, to be seen, to be messy and magical, and to live your one wild life fully.

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!

Welcome to Season 2 of Fit, Fierce, and Fearless — and I honestly can’t believe I’m saying this — this episode marks one full year of the podcast.

To kick things off, I had to bring you someone truly special. My guest today is Lauren Hill, and if you’ve seen her on Instagram or in real life, you already know she brings a fearless, rebellious, deeply creative energy that fits this podcast perfectly.

Lauren is a pole and aerial artist, a visual artist, and a self-taught mover who lives for anything that involves being in the air. In this episode, we talk about her lifelong obsession with flight, how pole and aerial became a natural extension of that, and why she’s now starting flight school at 40 — yes, actually flying planes.

This conversation is about so much more than pole. It’s about control, joy, creativity, embodiment, and what happens when you stop trying to fit into traditional systems and start trusting your own way of moving, creating, and living.

In This Episode, We Discuss:

• Celebrating one year of the Fit, Fierce, and Fearless podcast

• Starting flight school at 40 and the connection between flying and pole

• How aerial movement becomes a moving meditation

• How a family plane crash shaped fear, control, and mastery

• Being self-taught and breaking away from traditional dance systems

• Turning movement into art through pole, aerial, and painting

• Why beginners are already beautiful at any age

• The power of community, collaboration, and connection

This conversation is a reminder that art, movement, and connection are acts of resistance — especially in a world that often encourages isolation. Pole and aerial arts aren’t just fitness; they’re tools for self-expression, empowerment, healing, and community.

Lauren’s story is proof that creativity doesn’t expire — it evolves.

🔗 Connect with Lauren: Follow @laurenfuckinghill 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!

Welcome to Fit, Fierce, and Fearless Season 2!

In this first episode of Season 2, we revisit the five most-streamed episodes of Season 1.

Episode 1 - The GenX Pole Arts Origin Story

Episode 3 - A Conversation with Deeana Garcia

Episode 6 - A Conversation with Firebird

Episode 27 - A Special Episode with Shana Pereira

Episode 47 - A Conversation with Firebird

These five inspirational episodes are the perfect overview of what this podcast is all about. You will feel inspired.

Welcome to the final episode of Fit, Fierce, and Fearless for 2025—and the season finale of our very first year.

For this special episode, I’m joined once again by Firebird, who is not only a three-time guest on the podcast, but also the guest from our most-streamed episode of the year. Bringing her back felt like the perfect way to close out this season and reflect on growth, creativity, resilience, and the power of pole dance as we move into 2026.

We talk honestly about how much can change in a year—physically, emotionally, and creatively—and how pole dance continues to be a grounding, healing, and empowering force for women over 40.

In This Episode, We Discuss:

• Reflecting on the success of Season One and what consistency can create

• Firebird’s evolution as a dancer and teacher

• Letting go of “tricks” and industry expectations in favor of embodied, joyful movement

• The role of pole dance in emotional processing, healing, and self-expression

• The importance of community, in-person connection, and shared energy

• Looking ahead to 2026, including retreats, travel, and what’s next

This conversation is a reminder that growth doesn’t always come from pushing harder—it often comes from listening more deeply to your body, your emotions, and your intuition. Pole dance gives us permission to move slowly, sensually, powerfully, and honestly—exactly as we are, at any age.

🔗 Connect with Firebird: Follow @firebirdpole on Instagram

💖 Thank You!

I am so grateful to Firebird, to every guest who joined me this year, and to all of you who listened, shared, reviewed, and supported the podcast. This show would not exist without this incredible community.

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 of Fit, Fierce, and Fearless, I had the absolute honor of sitting down with someone I’ve admired for years—Makeda, the incredible woman behind Flying Over 50.

I’ve been following Makeda since the very beginning of my own pole journey, and having her on the podcast felt full-circle. She is living proof that movement, confidence, sensuality, and strength do not expire with age. At 64, she is still dancing, still inspiring, and still redefining what’s possible for women over 50.

This conversation was honest, empowering, funny, and deeply relatable. We talked about aging, pole, body changes, mindset shifts, and the freedom that comes from letting go of who we think we’re supposed to be.

In This Episode, We Discuss:

• How Makeda found pole dance later in life—and why it changed everything

• The origin story behind Flying Over 50 and the importance of representation

• Breaking societal myths about aging, femininity, and movement

• Navigating body changes, menopause, and self-acceptance with compassion

• The shift from aerial tricks to low flow—and honoring different seasons of movement

• Why the pole community is so uniquely supportive, especially online

• The power of movement as healing, focus, and self-connection

• Creating safe, accessible spaces for older women to move—at home and online

• Makeda’s evolution into The Makeda Method, offering private online sessions, deep stretch yoga, and breathwork

This conversation is a reminder that it’s never too late to start something new, reclaim your body, or redefine what strength and beauty look like. Whether you’re a seasoned pole dancer, new to movement, or simply curious, this episode will leave you feeling inspired, validated, and empowered.

🔗 Connect with Makeda:

• Follow @FlyingOver50 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!