You know what they say, right?
The family that pole dances together stays together.
This is what Jake Night and Lindsey Teall, residents of of St. Louis, believe, at least.
The couple has made headlines for the rather unusual workout routine it is teaching its kids.
What possible reason would a mother and a father have for raising a family full of stripping pole dancers?
It all goes back to how they met and it goes from there…
Their Past Served as Their Prologue
Jake and Lindsey met when both were working as exotic dancers. They have a love and a passion for this near-naked activity.
A Family of Five
The couple has decided to pass along this pastime to its kids: Aiden, 11, Lindsey’s son from her first marriage; and their two daughters, Alaura, 5, and 3-year-old Rosalyn.
Their Pole Position?
The parents have installment a stripper pole in their living room. We’d love to see how guests react to that, right?!?
Let’s Play, Kids!
Jake considers pole dancing a sport and told The Daily Mail: “We have dealt with a lot of negative comments, I can’t even count, thousands upon thousands upon thousands. We’ve heard some pretty horrific things, they were going to hunt us down and kill us and take our children. The naysayers, the haters and everybody like that just makes us, as parents, more protective of them.”
But Aren’t the Kids Just Strippers Now?
No, insists Lindsey: “”This is a legitimate sport. A lot of people, you just can’t change their opinion. We’re living our most authentic life, sometimes people don’t like that; they want you to be like everybody else… Pole dance is taking a new route, it’s evolving into a sport, into an art.”
A Sport?!?
There is such a thing out there as this: THE INTERNATIONAL POLE CONVENTION, also commonly known as PoleCon. Per its official website, this competition “celebrates the diversity of the pole dance/pole fitness community. Come to learn, share and grow with men and women of all shapes, sizes, ages, ethnicities and fitness levels then stay for the community. #poleconisforeveryone.”
And Lindsey is Good at It!
Just take a look at the title she won in 2011. She can’t let such talent go to waste!
Must They Do This Together? Isn’t It Weird?
No, Lindsey says emphatically: “The reason we decided to perform as a family is because we love dancing together. I was pole dancing when I was pregnant with both of the girls and I think that when they were born they felt that they were already a part of that art.”
More from Jake:
“It’s very dance-heavy and it’s also very gymnastics-heavy… I think that the benefit for kids in pole dance is that it builds discipline, but it also builds interest in more than one art form at a time.”
This Girl is 5
Look at the photo above. Should it be cause for distress? Or has society grown too conservative and cautious?
Aiden is 11
This is what he says about dancing on a pole: “I pole dance almost all the time, basically whenever I get home, sometimes I jump on the pole do a few tricks, jump off, do my normal thing. I actually do want to compete in pole dancing when I’m older, so that way it can be a family tradition to compete.”
What Does the Future Hold?
A lot more swinging and a lot hanging on upside down by one’s legs, Lindsey hopes: “Where we see our kids in the future with pole dance, I just want them to enjoy the art. They’re going to do whatever they decide to become, with passion.”
Are These Folks for Real?!?
Watch the video above to find out, as Jake and Lindsey talk in depth about their love of the pole and their love of raising kids who love the pole.