All of us have hobbies, be it painting, singing, even eating or sleeping, but when your hobby is somewhat out of the norm in today’s society, one may receive backlash.
Samuel Sant is a recent graduate in Software Development and is currently working full-time as a Junior Stack Developer. Even though he works in the computing industry, his passions deviate completely from your cliché ‘computer geek’. Sam is a 22-year-old pole dancer AND figure skater, seeking to defy the stigma that festers in our society.
Sam started pole dancing and ice skating around the same time. He was always up for the challenge and sought to pursue these paths despite the challenges that came his way. He was always up for experimentation and “the curiosity to try something new” pushed him to try all kinds of genres, ranging from hip-hop to salsa. Sam was introduced to pole dancing back in 2018 after his friend suggested trying out a lesson. And with that, he walked into the world of pole dancing and quickly turned it into one of his passions. Even though his friend stopped at the very beginning, he kept going. “I started doing advanced moves at an earlier stage,” Sam said, “my instructor was always so encouraging so I was motivated to continue.” With each lesson and with each bruise, his strength and technique started building up and he did not just improve physically but also mentally. Like every other sport, pole dancing served as an escape from the daily hassle for Sam.
It comes as no surprise that the most common question pole dancers receive is the typical; “Are you a stripper?” Pole fitness goes beyond what we typically think of when we say pole dancing. Pole fitness is a combination of acrobatics and gymnastics whereas the term ‘pole-dancing’ is usually associated with nightclubs and has sexual undertones. Due to the stigma that revolves around pole dancing, not everyone tends to be supportive of his passion as they get the wrong idea. “My friends were always so supportive; however, my parents were a bit skeptical about it,” Sam said. However, after showing them countless videos and photos of him practicing such beautiful art, they were fascinated by what he is capable of doing. In fact, Sam now owns his own pole in his room that his parents helped him to set up.
Last year Sam had the opportunity to perform for the very first time in front of an audience. He stated that this is by far the best experience he had as a pole dancer. It was a Halloween themed show that takes place annually. The performers had to pick a good song choice and come up with their own choreography, making it as sinister as possible. Sam put his own little twist to it and decided to go with “I Will Always Love You” by Whitney Houston but in a minor key, making it darker and suitable for Halloween. This song choice was very sentimental to Sam as it helped him reflect on certain events that were happening currently in his life and wanted to tell his story through dance; “at the time, this song resonated with my emotions very much.” Using a song that the audience was already familiar with made it easier for them to understand the message he was putting across. Being his first time performing, nervousness started kicking in but as soon as he got on stage, “(he) just went with it and started having fun”. Sam describes the production process as a “stressful but fun period” because aside from facing his fear of performing, he also made new friends and learnt a lot on how to perform on the pole.
Societal norms stilted Sam’s pole passions, however with regards to ice skating it was the blatant reality of island life that came in his way. Ice skating was always a sport that Sam adored, but due to the limitations in Malta, he never really considered it to become one of his passions. It started off by just going to the tiny ice rink that was situated at BayStreet to an actual ice rink in the Lee Valley Ice Centre in Essex. His cousin was his main source of inspiration. After leaving Malta to pursue her dream of becoming a successful singer in London, she encouraged Sam to take the leap and chase his own dreams.
The journey to London was quite a bumpy ride, metaphorically speaking that is. Ice-skating is a sport that is taken very seriously abroad, arguably to the same degree that local football is treated. Sam started messaging all kinds of coaches for prices and lessons until he found the perfect one, Vicky, whom he describes her as a “literal angel”. After weeks of planning and working three jobs to pay for expenses the ice rink closed up for refurbishment. Sam had to reschedule everything in a matter of weeks. His coach was of big help to him. They never even met, but she was helpful from the very start. She helped him find another apartment close to another ice-rink and made sure that his stay was a pleasant one. After a lot of research and planning, Sam was off to London for a 3-month ice-skating experience in Essex.
Even though Sam received a very warm welcome from his coach, London was not very welcoming to him. Countless casualties started to arise on the first day of arrival and the worst one of them all; a shredded credit card; “I started regretting everything on the first day.” Luckily, Vicky was always so helpful and offered great hospitality throughout the entire journey. Bit by bit, he started finding his feet and his crowd. He met Vicky’s sisters and other skaters who he discovered were as passionate as he was.
Sam also had the opportunity to coach other students. “I was still a level 1 ice-skater but my coach gave me the opportunity to help her teach her students”. Every Tuesday was ‘Tuesdays with Vicky’s’ where they used to have an early morning patch. A patch is where professionals can practice with coaches without having the public present on the rink. With every ‘patch’ their relationship deepened from one between coach and student to a genuine friendship. In fact, Sam was also the witness for Vicky’s wedding a year later.
The public is definitely not educated enough on the idea of both of these sports, especially when it comes to pole-dancing; “We are sexualised a lot when we say we pole dance and it differs whether you are a male or a female doing it.” Females are generally associated with strippers and males receive homophobic statements. Aside from the stigma that comes with Sam’s passions, there are a lot of limitations when it comes to pursuing any of these two passions here in Malta.
Opening and running a pole fitness studio is a possibility in Malta, however, it is not something that interests Sam. He yearns to pursue a career in ice-skating but he knows it is near impossible to do so. It requires a lot of money, a lot of training, and most of all, not living in Malta. For now, Sam has to fall back on his programming skills and keep his desk job. He’ll have to shelf his ice-skating career for the time being but he would love to go back to London to practice it again. “If there was a possibility of a career, I would definitely take an ice rink over an office.”
