A widowed Colorado Springs grandma waited until after retirement when she was a septuagenarian to fulfill one of her lifelong dreams — becoming a pole dancer.
Starr Stauffer Wise, 75, realized her fantasy in February 2021, when she began taking classes after reading a local article about Diane Martin, who started pole dancing in her 50s and started teaching her moves to others.
“When I read that piece, I was beyond excited,” the retiree told The Sun. “It jogged my memory about an old dream of mine — pole dancing, which had been on my bucket list for years but somehow got pushed to the back burner.”
Although she initially questioned if she’d even be able to do the high-intensity sport with her medical history – which include rheumatoid arthritis in her wrists and hands, a deformity in her right hand, and osteoporosis – she went for it anyway.
She messaged Pole Revolution – Martin’s company – and asked if there was any age restriction.
When she was told there wasn’t any, she signed up for an introduction class.
“I had no clue if I could pull it off at my age and with my medical history, but I not only managed but got totally hooked,” she told the British outlet. “I couldn’t get enough, so I signed up for a whole package of classes.”
Wise not only has “fun” doing three classes a week, but she said it helped with her anxiety, as well as transformed her physically.
The grandmother, who is 36 years sober, said pole dancing helps her “concentrate” so those “bad things going on in your brain must be gone.”
“You have to concentrate, or you may lose your grip, let go of the wrong leg or hand, and crash to the floor,” she said. “I just did that the other day and landed on my head quite hard. Luckily, I didn’t have a concussion.”
In addition to pole dancing, Wise also does Zumba, EGym, and Silver Sneakers classes weekly.
One downside of completing one of her lifelong goals was watching some of her friends and family turn their back on her, but luckily her step-granddaughters – as she does not have biological children of her own – support her wholeheartedly.
“The one who lives in California came to both of my performances in LA. She has two daughters, my step-great-granddaughters, and they think it’s great what their Nana does,” she told The Sun.
Her high school classmates are even impressed with the 75-year-old’s strength and agility as some of them can “barely get out of a chair,” she said.
She also deletes any “nasty” comments she sees and “blocks” them because she can’t be bothered by “ignorant trolls.”
She also competes and has shows in East Hollywood and Beverly Hills, and even performed at the Comedy Pole Show in Los Angeles.
Despite the haters, Wise said she has had the “most wonderful experience” and has made several new friends doing it.
“What a dream! What a life!” she told the British outlet.
