How to Get Started on Your Pole Dancing Journey: Tips for Beginners in Love with Pole

You've tried your first few pole classes. You love it. You've signed up for a membership. You're not sure how you lived without it. 

But you see all these polers in class and on Instagram with these amazing clothes, heels, grips and accessories, but where do you get them from?  

As someone who has spent far too much money on pole, let me give you the lowdown. 

Online pole stores

There are a couple of one-stop-shops for pole. These are a great place to start when looking for clothes, heels, grips and other bits. The main one I use is PoleJunkie, it is a Scottish company and stocks all the big brands and is great quality items.

Second hand 

There are a few second hand pole and aerial selling groups on Facebook that you can check out. Also a lot of people will sell second hand pole gear on sites like Vinted and eBay. But also swimwear works a treat too for some cute outfits.

Grips

There are a few different types of grip for pole and they do different things, so it's important to know the difference. There are two main groups of grips – drying ones and sticky ones. Some work all over the body and some work just on hands or everywhere except hands. Generally you have to do a bit of trial and error to find ones that work for you depending on the season. 

At our studio we stock 3 different types of grip, Envirogrip, Sticky Molly Liquid Chalk and Sticky Molly Resin. Ask your instructor to explain them when you are in class.

There are also a variety of grippy leggings, jump suits and play suits, if you prefer to cover up or need to for religious or medical reasons. 

Heels

I generally tend to recommend that people new to heels start off with 7 inch boots – either Pleasers or Hella Heels. I find Pleasers are more comfortable for wider feet. 6 inch platforms don't really have a big enough box to glide on and 8s can be a bit daunting. Boots will also offer a bit more ankle support whilst you're building up your confidence and ankle strength, but sandals allow for more mobility depending on the style you want to dance.

Clothes

There are no rules on where you get your pole clothes from. If you are looking on pole clothing sites, although more expensive, is tested for pole. The gusset on pole clothes is often wider and elasticated so that nothing comes out when you're doing tricks, and tops offer more support, especially for bigger boobs. 

You can definitely find swimwear or even underwear that does the trick though saving you money or visit sites like vinted and get some second hand pole wear.

Generally for pole tricks classes I tend to wear clothes that will support me and avoid slippage, and for choreo classes I can wear smaller sets as I'm not going upside down etc. 

As well as the pole stores there are loads of small businesses that you can buy made to order pole wear. Especially if you're plus size and/or a man! (A lot of pole brands have a long way to go in terms of inclusivity.) A lot of them are actually cheaper than the bigger brands, and it's more likely to fit, you may just have to wait a bit longer for delivery.

Kneepads

Kneepads are really key for choreo classes. Again you have different options here, you can get ones on Amazon for around £15. There may come a time when you'll be going up the pole, for example learning pole flips, in this case you'll need grippy kneepads. You can get these on pole store sites. If you are joining in our kips class, or hardcore heels we recommend really thick knee pads to really protect you. If you have medical knee issues and really need to protect them, there are more expensive options available that may help. 

That's it for now. If you have any questions ask us in class.