Pocono News Section

I-Team: Pole Dancing In The Poconos

I-Team: Pole Dancing In The Poconos - Sunday, November 9, 2008 at 11:57PM EST

Reported by: Jeff Chirico
Sunday, Nov 9, 2008 @ 11:57pm EST
(If you watch, a warning: Some of the images in this story may not be suitable for young children)

STROUDSBURG, MONROE COUNTY- Are you bored with the same old exercise routine? A new fitness craze has average women pole dancing in the Poconos.

The I-Team's Jeff Chirico reports the classes are improving bodies --and love lives.

Exotic dancing once only gripped men's fascination. But now women are intrigued by it too. Searching for sexier bodies, they strut their stuff in strip aerobics classes in the basement of Ris-K Lingerie in Stroudsburg.

Dolores Benford, owner of Sensual Fitness Classes, says “We set it up like a night club and we try to make exercise fun."

Clothes stay on but inhibitions are gone. Thrusting, grinding, seducing the men in their minds. Instructor Kellie Sanchez says, “I'm like come on, work it for your man! You're going home tonight to do it. And they're like, okay. And they start going."

In a red light room, teachers, bankers, health care workers by day step into stilettos and swing themselves by night. Here taboos are tossed. “For some its their fantasy. They've had a fantasy of always trying to get on that pole like a dancer," she says.

A fantasy that Debra Schwartz of Effort says is sculpting her body and stimulating her boyfriend. Schwartz says, “Eventually I'm going to get a pole, put it in the house and work out everyday. And probably do a little show sometimes."

Getting older made Lucille Monti less confident. "And this is how you get it back. Feel good and sexual about yourself," she says.

Maria Boki says, "Every husband wants their wife to be a little sexy in the bedroom and this is something they can learn behind closed doors."

Gentleman's clubs are now cashing in on this latest fitness craze. Club G-10 in Wilkes-Barre opens its floors to women on Sundays. Boki, Entertainment Coordinator of Club G-10, says "They'll start off with some basic pole tricks like pulling yourself up on the pole which is extremely difficult."

Dancer Paige swears by the health benefits. “When I first started dancing two years ago, I weighed 160 pounds. I weigh 108 now," she says.

It's results these women are striving for, with moves that are no longer naughty.

We're told the sensual fitness classes are the most popular exercise programs Ris-K offers. The kick boxing and self defense classes are virtually empty now.