Hardcore Pole 2025 with Miss Dani, Kym Chia & Unnie

Get ready to go hardcore! In this episode, Elizabeth and Felix sit down with Dani, Kym, and Unnie to give you the ultimate sneak peek into the upcoming Hardcore Pole Competition — where raw strength, fierce artistry, and boundary-pushing performances take centre stage.

Transcript

SPEAKER_00: 0:00

Welcome back to Pole Obsession. I'm Felix, and I'm here with my fabulous co-host, Elizabeth. On today's episode, it's going to be full of lots of tasty treats for you guys. So anybody who has any inkling of curiosity about pole competitions, what it takes to go from studios to stage, what happens behind the scenes, and all the fun stuff on stage, we have with us Miss Dani, who is the owner and advanced instructor at Studio Pole. She has been for the past 12 years. She is also the coach of our other two guests that we have coming up. She is the owner and founder of Hardcore Pole Dancing Championships co-owner with Sister Megan B of Black Apparel and upcoming, hardcore up and coming in Melbourne. She's judged pole comps all around Australia and is an extremely experienced both competitor, coach and pole dancer. So we're really excited to have her here today. We also have the incredible Uni here with us today. She is the winner of Miss Pole Dance Australia 2024. Miss Pole Dance New South Wales 2024 first runner-up, the hardcore semi-professional 2024 winner, exotic generation 2024 winner in floor work, and exotic generation 2022 floor work winner. So she has an amazing accolades in a very short amount of time. So we're super excited to hear what she has to say. We also have with us the incredible Kim Chia. Kim has a passion for learning new skills that pushes her physically and mentally. After 12 years of competitive gymnastics, she was looking for a new challenge and started pole dancing at Studio Pole in 2012. Her love of the sport has evolved since then and for the first time became a winner in 2014 at the New South Wales Olympics. pole championships as an amateur. Since then, she's been exploring different styles, placing in several different competitions, including South Wales Pole Championships 2018 Professional First Place, Miss Pole Dance Australia New South Wales 2022 First Place, and Miss Pole Dance Australia 2022 First Place. Kin's journey has been one of constant evolution and learning, and she continues to step out of her comfort zone to bring something new to this stage with intent to inspire others. We'll start Up with Dani. Can you give us a sneak peek, because Hardcore's coming up next weekend, a little bit about the talent that's hitting the stage in Hardcore next weekend? Yes. So hardcore has very, very amazing talent. I feel like every year it just gets stronger and stronger and better and better. So I feel like this year, the semi pros in particular, I feel like are definitely the ones to watch. I just feel like they're at the stage where they're pretty much ready for professional almost as well. So I think they'll be amazing. And then I'm really excited to see the amateurs because we have some brand new ones that are taking the stage. And again, the talent every year just gets higher and higher and higher. So if you want to kind of see the best of the best, then definitely worth coming to watch Hardcore this year. Have you got any standouts? Oh, there's too many to name. Too many to name. And sometimes like their audition video versus what they bring to the stage can be two different things. So I guess it makes it really exciting because I don't actually know what people are going to bring to the stage. So I feel like everybody is a standout. Yeah. And I think that's exactly right. You don't know what they're going to do on the night. So their audition video might be like, oh, should we put this girl in? Is she quite ready for it? And then on the night they can win. You just don't know. A hundred percent. It's really, it's anyone's game. And at the end of the day, it all comes down to how you deliver on the night. Basically. I think there's so much to be said as well about a live performance versus a video performance. You know, there's so much more that you get when you see someone live and so much more they can give you when they're performing in front of you versus a video. So it's such a different experience. Even if you know what moves they can do, how they perform is so unique and different and you don't get that across the video. You can't. It's not the same. 100% agree with that. Yes. How many have you got competing next weekend? I think we're down to 39. So I had 40 finalists, which is kind of normal to have about 40. And then we've had one person who unfortunately had to pull out. So at the moment, we're at 39. That's a lot. Yeah. Their routines. How long are the routines? So the amateurs go from two and a half to maximum three minutes and then the semi-pros can go three minutes to maximum three and a half. So they get a bit of a buffer. That is a big, big comp. How do you keep that interesting? Because that would be, what, four hours? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, about that, about that. I guess one thing that I like about hardcore is there are so many different styles that come to the stage. So when we're going through and doing the running order to kind of keep it more interesting, we try to make sure that we put different styles next

SPEAKER_01: 5:36

to

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different styles. So it's not like three, you know, slower songs back to back. Do you know what I mean? Like we really try and break it up. So I think that helps it become more interesting for everybody as well. Yeah. And somebody who's maybe never been to a hardcore or seen any videos from hardcore, what makes hardcore different from other pole competitions and why should we be excited about it? I mean... To be fair, every comp you should be excited about. Oh, bless your soul, yes. These people are on stage and, you know, it's just so amazing to see the creativity that comes from all these performers. And I think with hardcore, like if I go back to the roots of hardcore, I started hardcore because there wasn't a lot of amateur comps. So hardcore was only amateur when I first started it 11 years ago. And I started it then because... there was only really pub comps that were kind of around for that type of level. And I judged and binged so many pole comps where the setup wasn't really great or the poles would fall down and all that sort of thing. So I wanted to create a platform where these amateurs had somewhere to grow on a big stage. The poles were all rigged. We had a big audience. We had the stalls. We had like the whole big, big comp vibe. So I guess that's what I wanted to create. And then over the years, it just grew. The talent grew. The amount of competitors applying just kept growing. So I then brought in a semi-pro division because I felt like it needed the gap because there wasn't, again, and still isn't really much now specifically for semi-pros either. And I felt like the amateurs maybe still needed another level to go to after semi, sorry, after amateur, still needed another level to go to before they hit, professional type of thing so and probably lastly I feel like hardcore it's a very overall sort of comp like we want the great tricks we want the great pole but we also want the dance we also want the show we want the performance so the criteria is fairly um fairly even in terms of dance versus pole so yeah that's why I don't know I created hardcore and I guess it's unique I love that Would you, we love the tales of the wild, wild west pole dancing era when everything was a bit crazy. Do you have any stories to share about the sort of types of pole competition that inspired you to make things better for the amateurs? The things that were happening that you were like, well, these girls need something better and I'm going to give it to them. Yes. So I had been lucky enough to judge. Actually, I think it started off with taking Kim actually to some of the pub comps. And, you know, it was all great and stuff, but the setup was always the dome pole that was like suctioned to the top. And normally it was a security guard there just kind of putting it up and kind of, you know, watching it. And, yeah, there was two comps in particular that I, one that I was judging and one that I was watching where the pole fell down while I competitors were on it and it was just really scary to see and you know just really just disheartening for the competitors as well um just definitely not safe either so it was kind of like oh shit I feel like something we need to change this and you know like I get it running comps are hard they're expensive so a lot of people probably were like I don't want to put money and time into all this. But at the end of the day, you have to look at the safety and the comps just weren't really safe at the pubs. You know, the setup just wasn't ideal, I guess. So I guess, yeah, that's kind of where it started from.

SPEAKER_01: 9:25

But I think as well, sorry, in terms of like that security as well, it's like physical security was one thing. But you know how you mentioned before that the security guard was kind of there too. There was no real crowd control as well. So I think even just for some of the competitors, they might have found that quite intimidating because you had no idea who was in the crowd. So whereas with these ticketed events, you can control that a bit more. So that's also a huge thing too. Yes, 100%. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00: 9:51

And just gives it an air of professionalism as well, you know, like going to a pub versus going to a venue. You know, it elevates it a lot more. I've never been to a pub comp. Can you believe it? Like I've been polling for 17 years and I've never been to a pub comp. I want to know what these pub comps were. Let's go. Let's enter one now. Can you imagine me thinking that's all it's not? No one wants these 52-year-olds. I do. We'll take a poll on Instagram. We'll take a poll, Elle, on Instagram. Who wants to see Elle on a bit of popcorn? Because I think there will be a lot of us. Can you imagine? They'd come just for the laugh. They would. And I, yeah, I wouldn't be getting out there. But I need to know about these pub calls. Tell me, what do you mean they weren't ticketed, they didn't have pub calls? I mean, yeah, I kind of think that was what, well, that was kind of what was happening in Sydney. It must have been Sydney, right? Yeah, I'm referring to Sydney because, yeah, I'm referring to Sydney, not Melbourne. So... yeah, like some of our students, like for example, Kim wanted to compete and there wasn't really much like for her to do. So there was a few, um, Some of them were up Central Coast. The worst one was probably up in Newcastle where the pole fell down, hit the judges' table, smashed the table, and then the dome was actually like a bit damaged. And I was there with Gemma from G-Force and we were both just like, holy shit, like, yeah, it was pretty scary. And, again, there was a competitor on the pole. Luckily they weren't injured. Both these times no one was injured. But it was just like there needs to be a huge change here. We can't be running events like this. So, yeah, they kind of all sort of stopped. It's just a matter of time, though, with things like that, isn't it, where if you just keep on going without a standard or a duty of care, then somebody will get hurt or worse. So, yeah, good on you for stepping in and giving us options. Thank you. Yeah. And was it mainly like really amateurs, Dani, that were going into that or was it like people more advanced as well? The pub comps? Yeah. I mean, they were supposedly amateurs, but like it's where Kim started, but I'm pretty sure she ripped out a rainbow here and there on a pub stage. So it was like she was amateur because she hadn't really competed before, but her trick level was definitely not amateur. Yeah. No, you know, I'll tell you one funny thing about it. I'll give you Kim's story that Kim doesn't even know this story. I've never told her. I'm

SPEAKER_01: 12:49

excited.

SPEAKER_00: 12:51

So in 2018 when you won the New South Wales Pole Championships, I had a past competitor that had competed. She was an OG that competed alongside, I guess, Felix in Miss Pole Games. one million years ago. And she came up to me and she said, after you'd competed and you'd won New South Wales, and she came up to me and she goes, who is that? And I said, you don't know who she is. And she's like, no, none of us knew who she was. And I said, let me tell you one thing. One day everybody in Australia is going to know who that is. I was like, you were that good in 2018. It was only a matter of time before you were winning a massive title, which you did. So, yeah, very exciting. So that's my little Kim story. Thanks, Elle. You were never amateur, Kim. You were never really amateur. So, yeah, no, that's it. But, like, I think that there was a big gap. Obviously there was the Australian Pole Championships and there was Miss Pole Dance, but Miss Pole Dance never had an amateur title. division back then. They do now the MX, but we always did. But let me just say, guys, our rigging was solid from the start. Every rig was good. I think I had a ton of weights. We had, you know, engineered. But you're right, Dani, there mustn't have been too many back then. No, it wasn't because it was at the time where I was competing in APC and stuff. So unless you were doing professional, there was nothing really before that except for maybe some studio sort of in-house stuff, which mainly people kind of stay at their own studio. Yeah, and then those few random pub comps, which didn't last long. too long, I guess, probably for the better. So yeah, that's when I brought hardcore. And then since then, obviously lots of other new comps have popped up and developed, which is really great for the industry. I'd love to know about hardcore, like 2.0. So that's your Melbourne one. Tell us about that. Yeah, so hardcore up and coming is like literally kind of going back to where hardcore kind of started in terms of When I've been running, we'll just call it big hardcore in Sydney. When I run big hardcore in Sydney, I get a lot of applications from Victoria. So, of course, me and my sister were talking and she's like, let's do one in Melbourne. Although in previous years, I'd had heaps of Melbourne competitors say, can you do one in Melbourne? And I was like, no, no, no. One's enough. One's enough. Megan and I got talking. She convinced me. to, we should do it in Melbourne. So I was like, okay, here we go. Um, and yeah, it was basically opening another platform for these brand new amateurs again, and we wanted to make it a little bit different. And that's why we included the dance section because The last few years, I mean, Exogen has been booming around the world and I feel like a lot of students have taken interest into the dance side of pole. So we kind of were like, oh, let's open up like a dance division. So, again, it's like a platform before you kind of hit the big league and the big professional scene. So that's why we decided to do, yeah, Hardcore Up and Coming, which is for the fresh people. fresh faced new amateurs and the dance divisions. That's kind of how that developed. And it was quite successful last year. So we're going for round two this year. So we'll see how we go. Is dance division is just just dancing, no tricks? Yeah, so like we incorporate tricks but mainly base work and like lower thirds. So like you don't need to get up and do big combos and stuff. I mean you can but you're not really going to get scored on it because it's not part of the criteria. It's more just you can dance barefoot, heels, like whatever you like and just introducing, yeah, like some base work, lower third type stuff. So, yeah. Love it. For those who don't know what lower third is. The bottom third of the pole. So if you cut the pole into three sections, top, middle, bottom, it's the bottom one. I don't know. Some people might not know. Well, that's right. And is that amateur and semi-pro that get to do that as well as the regular criteria? So there's two different divisions? Yes. I didn't know. different divisions yes so they're different divisions and they have slightly different um eligibility criteria so the amateur division is obviously for brand new amateurs so if you've done hardcore in sydney you can't do up and coming

SPEAKER_01: 17:46

but

SPEAKER_00: 17:47

with dance division we have different eligibility depending on what they've done because we haven't really counted pole comp so much in that criteria like because it's very different dance it's very different yeah poll so like they're separate they have separate criterias yes and they're judged separately so who can end off the top of my head criteria basically anyone like for the dance division anyone who hasn't done exogen in any of the professional divisions can pretty much enter and then with the amateur division anyone who hasn't um competed at any national sort of level competitions and then there's a couple of other comps we've pretty much listed all the comps you can and can't have competed in or placed in to make it really really clear because now there's so many comps it's hard to kind of follow oh if i've done this can i do this if i've done that so yeah like out i have to look at the criteria it's like damn And Kim and Uni, have you competed in hardcore? And if you have, how is your experience doing that?

SPEAKER_01: 19:02

Uni, do you want to go first?

UNKNOWN: 19:07

Go first. Okay, no worries.

SPEAKER_01: 19:09

So, oh gosh, when did I first compete, Dani? This was like, so I did my first pub comp, right? And that was the one we were talking about before, which was in Newcastle. And that was more just... for the first, I guess, experience for me to be on stage and perform because I'd never done anything like that before. And then I think a couple of months later I did Hardcore when it was first running or maybe the second year. I can't actually remember from the top of my head. And then I think in that it was like my first experience on this big stage and it was awesome. Like not only was it run really professionally, really smooth in terms of the whole night, it was also just I think the environment backstage, everyone was really friendly and it felt like a really nice community. And I think that's one thing that I love about hardcore. It's still the same way now as well. And to be fair in quite a lot of comps these days too, it's everyone's just kind of like there to do their own thing. Everyone's really sort of like welcoming and friendly and everyone's always willing to help is something I've noticed too, which is really lovely. So yeah, my couple of experiences, I only did hardcore twice and then Danny was like, no, not allowed back. You're a professional now. I was like, please, Jenny, can't you create a pro division? She wrote. No. No, she wrote. And all my experiences were amazing. Even helping backstage I really enjoyed too.

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So did you win, Kim, hardcore? Is that why you weren't?

SPEAKER_01: 20:33

No. So what happened was I came third, I think, in the first year. And then when I did semi-pro, after competing, I think I did New South Wales Pole Championships not long after that. And then that was as amateur. And because I won that, I couldn't go back into amateur. So then in semi-pro, I think I came, I didn't, maybe semi-pro. I can't remember. I should know this.

SPEAKER_00: 20:55

I should know

SPEAKER_01: 20:55

this. Because you placed? Is that why? I placed. But then I also got into Miss Pole Dance Australia for the first time. So then that bumped me right up into pro. And I think, yeah,

SPEAKER_00: 21:06

quickly. That's what happens when you're good. Do you think that like having that hardcore stage experience prepared you for things that were to come later, like having the opportunity to compete at an amateur level, but on a big stage in a professional environment, prepared you for those comps that you then went on to do later.

SPEAKER_01: 21:33

100%. You know what, honestly, reflecting back on it, if I had have just gone straight into New South Wales Pole Championships without that experience, I think I would have been quite like, I think because the competition, the title is so big as well. In my head, it probably would have like made me a little bit more nervous than how I felt. So it was a good way to kind of like dip my toes in a little bit and go like, this is kind of what to expect. And then I'm really glad I did. Then I came to New South Wales Pole Championships, even bigger theatre, even bigger crowd because it had high capacity. And I was like, well, like this is intense and scary, but I'm really glad that I had a bit of that exposure up front.

SPEAKER_00: 22:10

And you said that you hadn't performed before. Is that so you don't you had no experience performing before pole dancing?

SPEAKER_01: 22:19

Nothing. I had no dance background. So dance is all like brand new to me. Even just winning like an award in dance for Icon blew my mind. Like last year, I was like, I'm a dancer now, apparently. um but yeah so none none of that like on stage experience actually first time was uh with pole all my background is in gymnastics so there is still some sort of like you know crossover there um but nothing actually on stage and performing to like a large group of people

SPEAKER_00: 22:50

wow amazing you're just a natural darn it thanks felix i figured she'd just been training her whole life Have you done hardcore, Uni? I have. I've competed in hardcore for two years, so last year and 2023. Yeah, she's the only one that's won both titles. That's back, right? Oh, sorry, no, incorrect. Second person that's won both titles. Who was the other one? Tiffany Grace, apparently. We should know, really, shouldn't we? I mean, yeah, I should know all this, but I don't know 11 years. I don't know what I'm doing yesterday. You're pregnant, aren't you, Dani? Yeah. Yeah, well, how do you remember anything? Can we just tell the whole world? Not a secret. I'm 20 weeks. Oh, congratulations. I am so out of the woods. Maybe I should know, but I didn't. I'm so happy for you. Yeah. It's like the best and worst thing you'll ever do. Okay. Do you think that, so hang on, hang on, hang on, hang on. Okay. I've already prefaced that I'm out of the loop. You did, you did hardcore amateur in 2022, three. Yeah. Then you did hardcore semi-pro. In 2024. And then you did Miss Pole Dance Australia. Yes, in 2024. So you went amateur 2023, semi-pro 2024, winner, winner, and then winner pro comp 2024. So, yeah, New South Wales first run up and then Miss Pole Dance Australia, yeah, winner. Winner, yeah.

UNKNOWN: 24:52

Mm-hmm.

SPEAKER_00: 24:52

That was fast. Two minutes. Yeah, that was fast. Have you got any dance performance background? I have a very strong ballet, contemporary, jazz and commercial dance background because I started dancing and competing like around seven years old. Yeah. So that really helped me. understand how to prepare for a comp, how to choreograph and all that jazz. And how long, when did you start pole dancing? July, 2020. So then three years, then you started just wiping the floor with everyone. You were like, I'm just going to get quite good at this. Again, I'm pretty good. And then I'm just going to wipe the floor with everyone. You guys both actually got really, really good, really, really quickly. I mean, dance really helped me, like all the training that I've done because I was a two-time dancer at Bread Street and I've just been dancing like before school, after school. So all that that I did helped me a lot, like a lot when I started to compete. Yeah. Yeah, it is important, I think, to say that, like, you haven't just been training for three years. You've been training. And same with Kim. Like, you have the gymnastic background that translates very well. And while they are different things, and I'm not saying that you guys are only good at pole dancing because you have that training behind you, it helps so much to understand the body once you've had that rigorous technical training to, like, transfer over to the pole. Do you think there is any benefit in people who are polling first, maybe without that background, the dance background, the jazz background? Do you think there's any benefit to them maybe cross training with either dance or gymnastics when they start later? Or do you think that advantage can only be had if you have it like when you're a child?

SPEAKER_01: 27:01

I feel like I always believe in cross training just because I think it helps create balance and it also avoids injuries. So whether that's like training with like Pilates, gym, any sort of movement that's a bit different, I think it's always really good. But I do see a lot of benefit in terms of like any other sort of I guess, style that helps you build body awareness because that's so hard. My gosh, I think that is one thing that's really hard to learn is kind of when you're upside down, what am I actually doing here because you get so disorientated. So, yeah, I mean, personally for me I see a huge advantage to doing that. Yeah. I would agree on that

SPEAKER_00: 27:36

one

SPEAKER_01: 27:36

too.

SPEAKER_00: 27:38

Always cross train. Always. I agree too. I agree with myself. What would you like to say to Australia about hardcore and about coming? I know there's no live stream this year. Tell us a little bit about why you've chosen no live stream. I reckon I probably know. Tell us about that and why they should come and watch. Okay. And before we start... where they can get tickets, where the event is, and your time and date and everything, so detail specifics so that we can say it and then type it and then maybe link it as well. Elle, can you do that? I don't know. Yeah, mate, sure. If you can't, you need to figure it out, right? I don't know how to do it. Oh, Elle, I don't know what you're doing. So Hardcore is next Saturday night, which is on the 17th of May. It's in New South Wales, Sydney. So it's at the Hornsby RSL Club. Tickets are on sale directly through the Hornsby RSL Club. So you can just jump online and buy your tickets. It's all general admin tickets. So there's all tables that you can sit on. And basically, it's not just a poll comp. It's a night where where you can... watch amazing talent from around Australia in both semi-pro and amateur divisions. We also have food and drinks because you're on tables, so you can buy food, you can buy drinks, and of course, you can do some pole shopping. So it's a big night out. It's great to get a couple of your friends together, family, studios to get groups together and come and support the industry. So yeah, that's pretty much what Hardcore is all about. So if you want to come. You've still got a week to buy tickets. And the reason why we don't do live stream and we never, ever have ever done live stream, and I never will, is because you just don't get the same effect watching live stream. Like it's just, it just doesn't translate the same. Like you've got to be there. You've got to feel it. You've got to see it. You've got to have that vibe. So that's why we never do live stream. I know it's hard because we have a lot of people obviously from interstate. So their friends and family, you know, sometimes always can't fly down to see them. But we do some social media snippets and things like that. But yeah, I just find with videos, live stream, especially you just don't get the same. the same feel and the same effects. That's why we never do it, unfortunately. Especially with like a one-off event, you know, it's not like... It's not like this thing is running for six weeks and you're doing the same show over and over again. Like this is the one time you're going to see it. It's like a once in a lifetime opportunity to go and see this event. Like go see it with your eyeballs. I can't say enough about going and seeing things live. Everybody who is in the vicinity, go out and get your tickets because there's so much inspiration and energy that you can't feel when you don't see these performers live and they do such an amazing, incredible, beautiful job. So I hope everybody on that stage has a fabulous time. I I wish all the best for your event and I hope it's super wonderful. I just want to add into the competitors themselves, they absolutely thrive off the cheering and the atmosphere as well. So it's like the more people we have cheering for them, the better they're going to feel and the more they can just blow everybody away. So, yeah, I really want that for the competitors too because, yeah, they feed off that energy. And they deserve it as well. They put so much work into it, you know. So if you're going, make two times the noise of a normal person and if you're not going, go and make two times the noise of a normal person. Yeah, and I'd just like to say something to the Pulse studios that have a student or an instructor in there, it is such a big thing for you to go and support them and to watch them and cheer for them. They will perform differently when they have people in the audience that's their special people. I know everyone's going to cheer for them, but when a pole studio goes and supports them, it's really great for the studio as well because they get to go with a group of people outside of a class, socialise, and then go and watch something that they all love and support somebody from their studio. So if you do have a student or an instructor in there, it's such a great thing to go as a studio together and go and watch them and cheer them on. It's just so much fun. I have been to a hardcore when I've had my girls in it one year. And the really good thing, I think, about a hardcore that I noticed running 1,000 comps myself that's very different is that The venue that it's in, you get to go and you can go and, you know, eat dinner and there's all like little restaurants and all little places that you can go before and afterwards and have a drink and catch up with people. So you've got that and then when you're in there, it's just a really nice sort of different atmosphere because there's big round tables and you get to talk to people around your table rather than sitting in a theatre. So it is quite different in that way and it's just such a nice, fun night. So go and watch them. Thank you. Go and watch. Everybody go and watch. Thank you, guys.