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Teaching is my real passion - interview with Sarah Scott
Cheerful, sexy and passionate about pole dancing, especially low flow. Interview with Sarah Scott.
What was your motivation to start pole dancing?
I was looking for a new challenge and when my friend asked me to go to a pole class with her I became hooked! It was just the right balance of dance and fitness
How did you feel after your first pole class?
I felt inspired! I think I went home and spent the rest of the evening on YouTube trying to absorb as much pole dance as I could. I’d never seen something that grabbed my attention so fully.
Who were your biggest pole idols then and now? Why?
I watched Alethea, Karol Helms, Tara Karina (she had a ton of videos in her garage) Felix, Pantera, Jenyne, Zoraya, and dynamic strippers like Spyda and Magic – I think at one point I’d watched every pole video there was on YouTube! Their ability on the pole, how they moved was unlike anything I’d seen. I loved the power and grace of it. Nowadays it would be impossible to watch all the pole videos...but the explosion in content has been incredible for the industry. I am inspired daily through Instagram and love how you don’t have to be a competition winner or a famous pole dancer to inspire others. My list of idols is ever growing – but some stand outs will always be Yvonne Smink for her innovation, Marlo for making everything look divine, Doris Arnold for making me want to melt when she dances.
When thinking about a new choreo, how do you build them up?
This can change depending on the routine – but a lot of the time I hear a song and I build the routine around that. I listen to the song repeatedly and start to imagine what I want to convey (speed, theme, colour, costume etc.) I then like to block the song into sections and start to freestyle/place combos into those sections to see what will work. I choreograph a lot when I’m travelling, for example when driving or in planes – I find it helps!
What was your biggest achievement during your pole carreer?
Becoming a Master Trainer for XPERT Pole and Aerial Fitness – My passion is teaching and this was and still is a huge honour for me.
What is your biggest challenge on pole nowadays?
I train alone most of the time and have had no instructor along the way. This can mean that progress can be slower when you’re training new tricks as I don’t have a spotter. The tricks are only getting crazier so I keep to what I know I can do safely and accept that that’s how my training will go. I love the low flow and dance elements of pole though so I don’t feel like I’m missing out too much!
How can you handle success / fail?
Failure doesn’t feel good at the time, but I think as long as you can try and think about the bigger picture it can help you see that failure is a necessary and inevitable part of success. It’s all part of the journey, as cheesy as that sounds! A fear of failure can sometimes be more debilitating that the failure itself – that can actually be quite motivating – I didn’t get through to a competition one year and then managed to win it the next! Success should of course be celebrated, but also when necessary, shared – there is usually a team of people behind any success, no matter how small and remembering the people that helped and supported you to get there is important.
How come that you came up with your own brand?
It developed quite naturally over time but I was encouraged and supported hugely by Stacey Snedden who has always advocated for building a brand that you can be proud of and that you can build a business round to give longevity in this industry. You don’t do this job for the money, but building a business to help keep you in the industry has always been a big drive for me. My friend designed me a logo and I started printing t-shirts myself. This grew into hiring my first staff member Vanessa, who still works with me and my Fiancé Adam secured our first factory to start production on our clothing line. I’ve wanted to do online programs for a long time so when we launched Off The Pole it made sense to merge the clothing in with it. I’m excited for everything we have planned!
You have lots of Instagram followers. How do you handle comments / feedbacks on social media?
Sometimes well, sometimes not so well! It’s hard to find a balance to be honest as I don’t want my head in my phone the whole time, but also love being engaged with people who have taken the time to comment or tag you in posts. I try to do my best but will take breaks from time to time when the phone goes off! I do like to use Instagram to connect with people and 9/10 its positive. I don’t engage with spam or trolls but I’ve been lucky not to have too much negativity – you have to keep a realistic view on internet comments, a lot of the time people are trying to get a rise out of you or get attention. I also keep an eye on my male to female ratio of followers and keep my content as a good mix of what I like to post and what I feel people will enjoy
What is your motivation that keeps you training and improving?
I love training! I love sharing this passion with others through teaching and 10 years in that hasn’t faded, I will continue to do it for as long as that it the case! I did run a studio for 2 ½ years but felt I couldn’t give my all to teaching whilst in that position. A lot of people who want to turn pole into a career end up losing their love for it as it such hard work and they end up with no time for their own pole play! I work hard on trying to balance my own training, teaching, businesses and external hobbies that keep things fresh.
In my own training I’m a bit of a perfectionist and will happily train the same thing repeatedly until I feel like I can understand it fully. To teach a trick you need to know the mechanics, why it works/doesn’t work, different level options, variations, preparation techniques, different entries and exits, and I’ve always found that this detailed approach has not only helped my teaching but then my own practice.
What are you the most proud of in terms of pole dancing?
I’m most proud of receiving messages or videos from people saying they’ve been inspired to start pole or to try a trick or combo. Just the ability to share and an enjoy pole with so many people makes me so grateful I get to do this as a job.
Photo credit: The Image Cella
Author: VE