Carolin: Strength, Confidence and the Rise of Pole Fitness
From Stereotype to Sport
Photographs by Brendan Bishop
Pole fitness has travelled a remarkable distance. The deeper ancestry is sometimes linked to older pole-based disciplines such as mallakhamb in India and circus-style Chinese pole, but writers and researchers on pole history also stress that modern pole dance, as most people now recognise it, is inseparable from North American exotic dance and strip-club performance traditions. In other words, both things are true: pole has older athletic echoes, but the modern form owes a genuine debt to dancers who developed it in nightlife spaces.
But what many people still lazily reduce to stereotype is now taught in studios, practised at home, showcased in competitions and discussed increasingly in terms of athleticism, technique and body confidence. The International Pole and Aerial Sports Federation describes Pole Sports as a flagship discipline based heavily on athleticism and technical merit, which says a great deal about how far the form has moved into the mainstream.
Celebrities and well-known models have taken up the sport, including Kate Hudson, who learned to use the pole for the movie Bride Wars and used her skills for her character in Mona Lisa and the Blood Moon (2022), and has installed poles at home; Jennifer Lopez; and Spanish model and influencer Jessica Goicoechea, who regularly posts photos and videos of her pole workouts on her Instagram page @goicoechea
Organised pole trips and retreats, both in the UK and abroad, have become popular, with some of them offering group workouts outdoors in exotic locations in the Mediterranean and the tropics.
Our Shoot with Carolin
That wider shift forms the backdrop to our shoot for issue two of Riviera Ready Magazine with Carolin, known on Instagram as @caroolliin_ who specialises in modelling swimwear and lingerie for brands including Sultry Siren. The photographs in the next issue of the magazine perfectly capture her physique, beauty and elegance, but what gives them weight is the discipline beneath the surface.
Carolin uses pole fitness in order to maintain her impeccable figure in top condition for her modelling work. In front of the camera, she brings elegance, control and a striking physical presence. Off camera, what comes through just as clearly is discipline. She describes herself as fun to be around and easy to talk to, but also serious at times, something she links to having done sport for most of her life. Having moved from Poland to England when she was very young, she feels she adapted quickly and grew into a blend of both cultures, mixing what she calls an English and Polish mindset.
How Pole Became Part of Her Life
That sporting instinct mattered long before pole entered the picture. She loved PE at school, enjoys the gym and has played badminton with friends, so movement was already part of her life. Even so, pole was something she approached with a degree of hesitation. She had been curious about it for a while, but admits she was initially afraid to try it. Once she finally did, the first lesson brought the same revelation that many beginners discover almost immediately: it looks far easier than it really is.
That challenge is precisely part of the attraction. Modern pole fitness asks for strength, flexibility, coordination and nerve, but it also asks for patience. Carolin says she loved it from the beginning, yet it became even more enjoyable once she had built up the beginner moves and started to feel stronger and more flexible. Wanting faster progress, she installed a pole at home, knowing that more regular practice would bring better results. She also sometimes teaches one-to-one sessions, which adds another layer to her connection with it.
Strength, Conditioning and Diet
Physically, she is in no doubt about what pole demands. In her view, it uses all the muscles in the body at once and leaves you beautifully toned. For her, arm strength was the biggest area of improvement. Some people, she notes, might struggle most with core strength, but she felt comparatively strong there from the outset; her arms had more catching up to do. Alongside pole, she also goes to the gym and does strength and conditioning classes, building a routine that supports what she does on the pole rather than treating it as a separate world.
Her approach to food is equally practical. She talks about cutting down on sugar, eating better and more healthily overall, and increasing protein and meat intake. It is not dressed up as some punishing regime. Instead, it reads as the sort of sensible discipline that tends to sit behind visible results.
Confidence and Transformation
The biggest transformation, though, seems to be confidence. Carolin says pole has had a massive impact on how she feels about herself and her appearance. That matters because, for all the old misconceptions still hanging around the subject, one of the strongest contemporary arguments for pole fitness is not simply that it is demanding, but that it can be psychologically empowering too. A 2023 pilot randomised controlled trial found that an eight-week pole programme improved participants’ mental wellbeing, while also improving body appreciation and several aspects of sexual self-concept.
The Wider History of Pole
None of this means the history should be sanitised. Pole’s modern development is tied to dancers and club culture, and that lineage should not be erased. At the same time, the fitness and sport side of pole has grown into a substantial field in its own right. In Britain, one early milestone was Miss Pole Dance UK, founded by Kay Penney in 2005 and described by its organisers as the first official pole competition in the country and one of the first in the world. Internationally, the sport side was pushed further by organisations such as the IPSF, while prominent pioneers including Fawnia Mondey helped popularise teaching and instructional material from the 1990s onwards.
That broader context helps explain why pole now reaches so many different women for so many different reasons. Some come for strength, some for flexibility, some for artistry, some for confidence, and some for all of the above. It has also developed a travel culture of its own, with organised pole camps and retreats now running in places such as Ibiza, Malta and Bali, blending workshops, community and holiday atmosphere.
Follow Carolin and Subscribe
For Carolin, though, the story works best when kept simple. Pole fitness challenged her, strengthened her, toned her body and boosted her confidence.
In the magazine, a beautiful set of editorial images captures exactly that balance: the physique, the poise and the femininity, yes, but also the hard work that made them possible.
Follow Carolin on Instagram: @caroolliin_
Subscribe for free now and be notified when issue two of Riviera Ready Magazine is released, featuring the full editorial image set and a Sultry Siren swimwear editorial with Carolin.
Further Reading: Organised Pole Camps
UK-based
Northern Pole & Aerial Camp 2026, Newcastle — £199 for the lessons-only package, running 16–18 October 2026. The organiser describes it as a full weekend of pole and aerial workshops.
London Instructor Training Camp, Ecole de Pole — £290 to £880, depending on course length/package, running 1–5 August 2026. This is more training camp than spa retreat, but it is a UK pole-travel option with structured tuition.
The Great British Pole Retreat, Wiltshire — the public page clearly lists dates (7–8 November 2026) and a £150 non-refundable deposit, but I could not see the full public package price in the surfaced page text. So I’d mention it, but not invent a total.
Abroad
Ibiza Pole Camp — for the Ibiza Sensual Weekend Camp 2026, the organiser currently lists €699 shared-room packages, €879 single-room packages, €1,359 luxury single-room packages, and a €259 class pass with no room. Using the HMRC May 2026 rate, that is roughly £608, £764, £1,181 and £225 respectively. The site also notes that tourist tax is included, while the beach photoshoot is extra.
Pole Camp Malta — this one is worth including, but with a caveat: the organiser’s booking page currently shows €1,950 twin, €2,350 solo and €1,250 workshops-only, while the packages page shows slightly higher figures of €2,010, €2,410 and €1,310. That suggests either an update lag or different package/payment variants. In sterling, the lower booking-page figures are roughly £1,695, £2,042 and £1,086, with a €400 deposit of about £348.
Bali Experience 2026, The B Movement — currently listed at a £250 deposit, with a shared room at £2,500 on the promotional offer page (normally £2,800) and a private room at £3,350, marked sold out on the surfaced page. The retreat runs 1–11 May 2026 and includes ten nights’ accommodation, workshops, a photoshoot, yoga, surf, excursions and other activities.
Budapest Pole & Aerial Retreat 2026, Pole Passion Fitness — currently listed at £695 for returning guests, £725 for first-time guests with shared accommodation, £995 for a Premier VIP package, and £459 for lessons only.