I'm honoured to feature Jacky Mulder on the Pole Play Corner for December 2014.
I must admit the reply to my general questionnaire
was so full of passion that this week I hope I do this entry justice.
Jacky is 40 year of age and has an interesting
story this week. She attempted pole for the first time in 2010, thanks to a
friend that enrolled her into a 6 week course. This was attended at The Pole
Room Lahaina, Hawaii, USA
She went
through the general spins, sexy moves and pole sits etc. For their last class
they were going to learn a layback (leanback) assisted. Jacky was nervous for this final class as she
is scared of heights.
Jacky had a lot happening in her life around this time
she had to go for a mammogram, ultra sound and biopsy. Jacky found out the day before her last pole
class that she had breast cancer. She was determined to attend her activities
as planned that weekend including her last pole class on Valentine’s Day.
Pushing fear aside Jacky volunteered to be the
first to try the move that scared her so much, “my thought was what can be
worse than having cancer.”
Taking a necessary break from pole for
surgeries and chemo treatment, left Jacky off pole till the 2nd of
May 2013.
It has been a struggle for Jacky getting her
ROM back, losing the weight gained due to the steroids and treatments. She
slowly got back into it by teaching Zumba again and running with her boy. Of
the 30lbs she gained she managed to shake off an impressive 25lbs in total,
this included a nutritionist who’s visit reconnected her with her love for
pole. The main studio on the Island is an hour away and out of her price range
but fortunately the nutritionist put her into contact with someone closer to
home.
Her private lesson getting her back on pole made her realize that she was
a lot weaker on her left side so she decided to buy a pull up bar to practice
hanging on it.
In 2013 she attended Maui Pole Fitness in Haike, Hawaii, USA.
(No longer exists)
Jacky now likes to train at home. “Not counting the short 6 weeks in 2010 I have been a
student for 1 year and 8 months.”
“I have done some demo's at
events.”
“As a young
girl I did years of gymnastics. In my teens I did some classical ballet (I was
never very good) and some jazz. Then at the age of 18, I started ballroom dancing
and did it for 5 years. In 2009 I discovered Zumba and by the end of the year I
got licensed and started teaching.
After my surgery I did some therapeutic
yoga, but didn't really get serious about yoga till I joined Instagram at the
beginning of 2014.”
Her pole inspiration and
motivation comes from Instagram. She doesn’t aspire to be like any famous pole
dancer. The awesome part about Instagram for her is that everyone is on their
own level and they put their own personal touches on their moves. “ I learn something
from every level on there.”
“Pole dancing is such a personal journey and
that shows on Instagram. I love my Instagram pole ohana, they are so supportive with positive feedback
and advice when you struggle with a move.”
Her favourite
move right now that she can do is split grip Ayesha. “I love challenging myself
in how long I can stay in it and making shapes with my legs.”
Her go to
move is a superman. This move took her forever to learn but now she ends up doing
it so many times in a practice. Jacky would love to learn the Janeiro and be
more solid in her iron X by the end of the year. If she performs she would use
the Ayesha, Superman and Teddy in her sequence. “I love to play around with my
Teddy.”
As if this
story wasn’t interesting enough, Jacky moved in 2007 from the Netherlands to Hawaii
with her then 6 year old son to marry a man she met online. She had seen him in
RL by then many times. Sadly the relationship didn't work out, she still lives
with her son in Hawaii and she has met a wonderful man. She believes if she was
still in the Netherlands, she might still have been a shy girl and probably
would have never tried pole, or even become a Zumba instructor. She certainly would
never have stood in front of a crowd.
Jacky, I would like to say thank you for sharing your story with the corner this month, I really hope that this inspires more people to stay motivated and to never give up. It's amazing how a healthy mind can can promote such dedication.
Best of luck with you journey in pole, yoga and Zumba.
Follow Jacky’s
adventure in Pole, Yoga and Zumba:
Instagram
name : sassybeertje
