We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Heather Damon. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Heather below.

Heather, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. We’d love to hear the backstory behind a risk you’ve taken – whether big or small, walk us through what it was like and how it ultimately turned out.

I took such a huge risk opening this business. I left the comfort of being under another business and not having to deal with the stress that comes with running your own. I’m so happy I took that leap, what came of it is irreplaceable.

Heather, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I’ve been a mechanic for the better part of a decade. Pole dance came into my life unexpectedly, I was coaxed into attending a class with some friends. I had zero background in dance or fitness, I would have considered myself to be pretty uncoordinated all around. After that class I was hooked. About a year into my own pole journey, I pursued some instructor trainings to become a teacher as there was little to no option in our state at the time. I approached existing dance and yoga studios in hope that I could introduce pole to Southern Maine and forge a community. After about a year and a half of working under a studio, I left and chose to open my own space where I could really focus on the things I wanted to offer to the community, in a space I could cultivate and make into my own. 2 years later and I’m standing tall in a bigger and beautiful space, sharing it with a friend (Owner of Curbside Queens, Gigi Gabor). I could honestly not believe how much it’s grown. Some of the things that set me and my studio apart is the level of knowledge, preparation for my students, training, ability to variate for all skillsets and bodies, attitude, attention to detail, and dedication to my craft, my space, and my students. Nothing is more important to me and my instructors than safety and providing the absolute best for all of our students. We want you to shine, we want you to progress, we want all to feel safe and supported, and we want you to have longevity in this. We also view the sex work and stripper community as a pivotal peice to our craft, and we try to bridge the gap between that community and the hobbyist community. We are very focused on making sure it is known that this is a safe and supportive space for those in that industry, as there are many spaces who’s ignorance and whorephobia around the industry makes it unwelcome place for them to learn safe pole practices if they wish. I am truly proud of all the hard work myself and my team have put into making this space what our community needs, being able to prove to students that they can and will succeed every time they walk through that door is something truly unique and indescribable.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

Before I started teaching, I had reached out for some advice from other people in the world of pole as to how I’d go about it. I was told by many that I would NEVER make it in southern Maine. That’d I’d never be a successful studio owner. I internalized that to some degree, and as I worked under another business, I saw what I valued in my teaching being masked over. I questioned my vision, my education, my ability to teach and guide others. Taking the leap of opening my business was the most difficult thing I’ve ever done. It took time, money, and shutting down the self doubt and ego. I had to believe people would follow me to my new space. I had to believe I could achieve what I wanted to in the face of doubt, and it did not happen instantly, but it did happen. There were so many times I wanted to quit. I wanted to give up. The vision and my goal propelled me forward in that dark and scary moment and I’m so happy to see where it went 2 years later. If I had listened to those people I would have never had the community I have now.

Any resources you can share with us that might be helpful to other creatives?

I wish I had more resources about safety, proper maintenence excercises, cross training, things of thst nature. I did not really start my pole journey with proper guidance and it led to a lot of bad habits I had to undo. Unfortunately pole is difficult, demanding on the body, and requires lots of cross training and rehab-type excercises to maintain a healthy body. I did not get nay of this information until much later into my journey. As someone who has traumatic shoulder injuries myself that are permanent, I have made it such a huge point in my teaching practice to teach these things during my classes. I let my students use me as a resource 24/7 so they can maintain that longevity and healthy body. I dedicate my time explaining and demonstrating and speaking about it and the importance of taking care of yourself first. In a world of comparison, we push ourselves to unreasonable limits and pay for it later. The most difficult thing about my job at the studio is critiquing students, and making them take steps backwards. Not everyone has a good relationship with failure, and generally most people have a hard time being critiqued. You really have to put your ego aside in pole if you want to gain that fundamental skillset and advance. As an instructor that can be difficult to navigate, but necessary if you want your students to grow and be injury free.

Contact Info:

• Website: Steelinmotion.us
• Instagram: Steelinmotion207
• Facebook: Steel in Motion

Image Credits
Sarah Violette Mia Shaumburg