"This is a flag," says Louis Sue, as he power lifts himself upwards, rendering himself perpendicular to the ground.

It's one of many power tricks that Sue, 28, has mastered over years of swinging himself around the pole — an art form that is, in his words, fun as it "makes you feel like you're flying".

Talk about pole dancing, and images of scantily-clad women moving in a sensual, hypnotic fashion come to mind, but Sue is the antithesis to that one-dimensional narrative.

Dressed down in black-framed spectacles, a black shirt, and berms, the full-time pole dance instructor represents a growing community of pole enthusiasts, whose passion for the dance stem from its empowering mix of strength and artistry.

Sue, who is also co-founder of pole dancing studio PXD, said:

“I want people to know that I'm a guy doing pole dancing and there's nothing wrong with it.

I don't think I'm the only one excited about pole dancing.”

"People have really opened up more now," he added.

The number of males in each of Sue's pole-dancing class today is double, and even triple that from his time — when he would inevitably be the only male student in as many as four to five classes.

According to Sue, who has been pole dancing since 2015, the sport has evolved from something out of the ordinary to something “mainstream" over the years.

Choosing pole over breakdancing 

Sue first became interested in pole dancing during his army days.

"It was between this or breakdancing, but that was scary.

While I did dance in secondary school, I didn't want something 'dance dance' as I felt like I wasn't good at it. Pole dance was something fun; it felt like a good mix as it was neither 100 per cent dance nor 100 per cent fitness."

He was also inspired by dancers "of all shapes and sizes" from various Got Talent shows.

It was amazing, said Sue. Seeing them invert themselves effortlessly gave him the push he needed to start taking pole classes once a week on weekends.

That it might be an unconventional hobby did not cross his mind, and speaking candidly, Sue admitted that this was likely a blessing in disguise.

“I was simply excited and was just like 'Let’s go!'

Honestly, if I had thought more about it, I might have backed away.”

Friends and family were also supportive, with Sue's dad being the first to buy him a S$500 pole for practice at home:

“My dad was like ‘Aiya buy for you lah since you [are] so enthusiastic’. This was after a few weeks in, and I remember being so excited. It was expensive!”

Winning his first competition

In some ways, perhaps his journey into pole dancing was meant to be, for after just a year of pole burns and honing “strength tricks", Sue entered his first pole dancing competition — the Singapore Pole Challenge 2016 — and won.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BE1QcG2Qd9e

Other practitioners that we spoke to suggested that this is super uncommon, though Sue explained honestly that it's hard to tell, given that there are few competitions in Singapore to compare against.

He’d taken part simply because he wanted to get exposure and make a name for himself.

Emerging as overall champion was the cherry on top, placing him on the map in the industry, and proving that a guy from Singapore could compete in pole dancing and win it too.

It didn’t, however, immediately translate to more wins in subsequent competitions.

While practising harder moves for his next competition — this time an international one in Las Vegas — he ended up pulling his shoulder. The injury prevented him from doing any pole dancing for three weeks.

Part of his haste was due to self-imposed pressure to be the best, Sue admitted.

However, he just wasn't ready. Recovering days before the competition, he went on to compete anyway, but it was a humbling reminder that he still had a long way to go.

Dropping out of university to pursue pole

In 2016, about a year into pole dancing, Sue found himself having to choose between entering the Singapore Institute of Management and pole. He eventually decided to drop out of university completely to pursue the latter.

"I told myself that if I won overall, I would not go into university, and dive straight into it [pole dancing]."

Of course his parents were not happy with his decision initially:

"My parents, who had initially not said anything about my hobby, were concerned. I think in Singapore, we still feel like you need to go to university and study."

They ended up relenting, giving him one year to "go out and play" and prove himself, after much insistence on his end that it was something he really wanted to do.

"I went all in, and trained and trained. People will tell you to go to university because it's the safer path, so if you want to do something different, you need to be prepared to prove it."

That mentality paid off, as Sue has since earned top place in over half of the 10 competitions he’s taken part in over four years, including clinching the honour of "winner" in the 2019 Taiwan Pole Sport Championships and 2019 Exotic Generation Asia.

He reminisces:

"In that one year, I took part in quite a few competitions, from Las Vegas to Dubai and more. And I think in that one year, they [my parents] could sense that I really liked it [pole dancing] and meant it when I said I wanted to pursue the sport. So after that, they were supportive already."

Learning to be an instructor from his girlfriend

Yet, something was missing.

A self-professed “hyper person who thinks everyone should try pole”, Sue says that he wanted to share the knowledge that he’d gained through his competitions with more people.

He met his now-girlfriend Dionne, during one of his pole practice sessions, at his previous studio.

Already a pole dance instructor, she connected with him over their shared passion for the sport, and in 2019, the pair set up their own studio (PXD), so that they could share that passion with others.

Used to relying on strength to power through tricks, Louis says teaching was a struggle for several months — simple tricks that he thought were comprised of only three steps could actually be broken down further to 10 or more.

Being good at the sport turned out to be very different to being a good instructor, a point that Dionne can’t help but point out during our chat, “Please lah you forget only, last time you kept screaming and screaming in pain lor!”.

To which Louis responds, “I have improved a lot [in teaching] since then heh, and a lot of it is thanks to Dionne for guiding me!”

Misconceptions around pole dance

To date, there are far fewer misconceptions around pole dancing than before.

There is a growing awareness that there are different aspects or genres to explore when it comes to the sport.

One such genre is Exotic Dance, in which dancers don high heels and embrace their sensuality, blending elements of other disciplines (ballet and hip hop for example) into their performance and story.

Not afraid to push the envelope, Sue who recently diversified into the genre, explains that each genre has their own beauty: "In Exotic Dance, I get to integrate my dynamic power tricks with high heels."

Sue credits the sport's recent popularity to more people picking it up, and seeing it as a form of fitness.

He points out that its prevalence on social media, where dancers post regular updates of their progress, also helps significantly in breaking down common misconceptions, for example, in showing that pole dancers wear very little fabric for good pole grip, not simply to sex it up.

For those who wish to start pole dancing but worry about being self-conscious, Sue says that strength and fitness are things that can be “picked up along the way”.

One does not have to be ripped or of a certain body type to start pole dancing, he adds.

“There’s something for everyone in pole. Just start, and let the instructor show you what the sport is about. If you try it and don’t like it, it’s okay."

An increasing number of people are embracing this sport and in many ways, it's a lot better now:

"With that openness, I feel that the guys who join nowadays are already open enough, and not shy about telling others they do pole. Girlfriends even bring their boyfriends to learn together!"

If you would like to try out pole dancing, you can visit PXD Pole Studio at their two outlets or at their office:

• PXD Pole Studio – The Playground @ 140 Robinson Rd, #08-03, Singapore 068907
• PXD Pole Studio – The Academy @ 137 Cecil Street, Hengda Building, Singapore 069537 (New location; from the start of April 2021)
• PXD Private Studio-cum-Office — No. 883 North Bridge Road #04-04, Singapore 198785

Opening hours are from 7pm to 10pm daily.

Stories of Us is a series about ordinary people in Singapore and the unique ways they’re living their lives. Be it breaking away from conventions, pursuing an atypical passion, or the struggles they are facing, these stories remind us both of our individual uniqueness and our collective humanity.

Top images by Jinghui Lean and courtesy of Louis Sue