What began as a way to meet people after moving to Lismore has grown into a national sporting achievement for pole performer Natalie Wilesmith, who placed third at the National Finals of the Australian Pole Championships on Friday 12 December.

Natalie’s journey into pole started shortly after she relocated to the Northern Rivers. Having danced for much of her life, she was looking for something creative and social when she discovered burlesque classes at Roxy Rose Burlesque.

“I’d danced for a lot of my life, but when I moved to Lismore I didn’t really know anyone,” Natalie said. “Starting classes was how I made my friends. I honestly didn’t really have any until then.”

Those early classes eventually introduced Natalie to pole dancing in 2017. At the time, she had no long-term ambitions beyond personal enjoyment. That changed after watching a fellow student compete at the Queensland Pole Championships.

Natalie competing at the NSW State Championships (Image Supplied)

“I was pretty amazed by the people on stage,” she said. “So I set a goal just to qualify. When you start, you’re an amateur, and my only goal was to get on stage and perform a routine. That’s where my goals ended.”

They didn’t stay there for long. Natalie exceeded her own expectations by placing second at her first competition, which earned her a spot at the Australian Championships as an amateur. After stepping away from competition for several years, she returned in 2024 at the highest level of the sport - professional.

This year’s New South Wales Championships became a turning point. Rather than chasing medals, Natalie focused on creativity and enjoyment.

“I just wanted to do something really fun and different to anything anyone else does,” she said. “I did a ’90s hip hop mix, and somehow I won it, which was a massive surprise.”

That win secured her a place at the national finals, where 13 professional competitors from across Australia took to the stage. First-place winners from each state qualify automatically, with additional wildcard entries selected after judges review performances nationwide.

“I went into the Australian finals just wanting to enjoy it,” Natalie said. “So coming third was another massive surprise.”

Natalie’s performance style leans towards static pole, favouring speed, power and dynamic movement over flexibility-based routines.

“I like fast, showy tricks,” she said. “Lots of flips, moving quickly through combinations. Spin pole is great if you’re really flexy, but I’m not massively flexy, so static suits me.”

Behind the scenes, preparing a three-and-a-half-minute routine takes months of commitment. Natalie starts by selecting individual tricks, then building combinations, choosing music and slowly stitching everything together.

“I break the routine into chunks,” she said. “It can take a month or more before I can even do half the routine in one go. It’s only three and a half minutes, but it’s really tiring.”

Beyond competition, Natalie is passionate about pole as an accessible sport that welcomes people of all backgrounds.

“There really is something for everybody,” she said. “All ages, all fitness levels. You can focus more on choreography, stay closer to the ground, or work towards harder tricks. A lot of people don’t even realise how fun a way it is to get fit.”

With Lismore home to just one pole studio, Natalie hopes her national result shines a light on the growing local community and encourages others to give it a go.