For most of the people, retirement is the time when they start to give themselves more time and indulge in a bit of self-pampering. Many people go for membership at different clubs and also get a free pass to watch television endlessly. And, why not do so as you have made many sacrifices all your life. However, there is one lady who is breaking all stereotypes and doing what many would never want to do it. 67-year-old Greta Pontarelli from San Diego is doing a daring act by devoting her leisure time to pole dancing.
Greta, who was already a gymnast during teenage years, was struggling with bone density problem eight years ago. She started searching for a solution online and came across pole dancing as perfect remedy for her ailment. She found pole dancing as perfect exercise. As she was gymnast herself, Greta immediately thought that pole dancing would be the perfect sport for herself. After few weeks, Greta signed herself for a free session at her local studio.
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"It was difficult. I know I have that gymnastic background, but I hadn’t done it in years, and it’s not like riding a bike, where you can just pick up where you left off. I think the teacher assumed I wouldn’t be back, but there was something about it that had me hooked," recalled Greta. Then, Greta started preparing for it by building her strength and going to several classes. “I’d celebrate those little victories to help motivate me,” she explains.
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Without wasting any time, she got ready to take part in her first competition. Her first appearance was in Los Angeles and what performance it was. The then-62-year-old Greta invested all her energies to stand out from her fellow competitors. Most of her competitors were 18-year-olds. “People kept coming over to me like I was some sort of anomaly, and I realized there was nobody else in my age group doing this,” she remembers.
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Greta was never unfazed with the fact she is competing in a sport where the average age of participation was dismally lower than her. Greta enthusiastically participated in the North American Dance Championships where she stood second by a one-and-a-half-thousandth of a point. She got a lot of encouragement after stupendous performance. The inspiring victory motivated her to travel the world to compete. She secured five world champion titles in the process.
“I can’t do everything I used to – at my age, you lose muscle memory fast – but I mainly do strength moves. That’s my signature. I can do deadlifts, the splits, a flagpole, where you hold your body out at a 90-degree angle from the pole, and a cartwheel that lands in the splits. When I perform, though, it’s more about the artistry and the story-telling. I leave a piece of my heart behind on that stage,” she explains.
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Now, Greta trains every day to achieve that envious abs. Given the fact that she is a true sportswoman and a competitor, she is not stopping after achieving five world titles. She is in pursuit of many more such titles. At the moment, she is quite content about making a contribution towards breaking the common belief that older people are not meant for pole dance.
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“People do make a fuss of me because looking at me makes younger dancers realize that they have longevity, and can be competing for years to come. I, too, get inspired by people older than me doing yoga or running marathons. Now, in the pole-community, that glass ceiling has been broken. It’s no longer just the younger people winning championships. The limits of what people can achieve are being pushed all the time," she said proudly.
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Greta is certainly an inspiration for not only older people but for young generations as well. She is showing the way to millions across the globe. She shows people that they should never stop believing in themselves at any stage of their lives. No matter how old you are, you should be young at heart to do things that you like. And, Greta was successful in proving that age is just a number. We wish Greta all the best in all of her future endeavors!
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