From sick to sensational: How Peita became a poledancer
When I met pole-dancing personal trainer Peita Campbell, I knew this was a girl who dares to be extraordinary.
Her fuscia hair, bright eye shadow and bubbly demeanor exudes fun and sass, not something always associated with the gym.
“Hey Queen!” says Peita.
Looking around, I couldn’t see any royalty on bench press or bicep curls. She was indeed talking to me.
The only time I had ever been called “Queen” was by my five-year-old daughter while playing Frozen.
I got to know Peita well during our work outs.
We chatted in between “sissy squats” (definitely not for sissies as I found out, due to the gravity-defying nature of the exercise, which involves you holding a weight in your arms while leaning backwards into a squat, legs pinned into place by a block and shin rests).
Underneath the motivational talk, I discovered a person genuinely driven to help others to achieve not good, but great health.
It’s hard to believe that this sparky Alice Springs born fitness coach once suffered from a long list of health conditions, including Hashimoto’s, anxiety, depression and asthma.
“I couldn’t lift my own body weight for two years,” says Peita.
These days, she’s spinning around a pole, performing super-human aerial and acrobatic tricks and helping others to achieve their pole dancing dreams.
“I watched a video of the world’s best pole dancer, Anastasia Sokolova. In that moment, I just got goose bumps. I must have watched it a thousand times, and I knew that day, I wanted to be a pole dancer.”
Like all good things, mastering pole dancing took years of hard work and determination.
It involved a gradual progression of strength and cardio training and took two years to desensitize from motion sickness. There were blood blisters, bruises and many fears to be faced.
Peita now trains twelve times a week to maintain the strength and fitness required for pole work.
“Pole dancing is just so mesmerising, beautiful and athletic,” she tells Her Territory.
A clean diet, self-love and shifting to a healthier work environment were important factors in Peita’s recovery.
“In short, I feel that my healing has been a miracle and one that I am ever grateful for. I’ll always take the best care of my body and never take wellness for granted.”
“The fundamentals are self-love and accepting yourself where you’re at, loving your body and being patient with your progress. Then when you are ready, you can push to that next level with fitness and movement.”
Top Tips for unleashing your inner goddess or adonis:
1. Create an internal and external environment based on love and
nourishment.
2. Eat good healthy organic food when possible.
3. Find a wellness practitioner you trust and works well with you.
4. Have a vision of where you want to go with your health journey and work
towards that.
5. Be comfortable in your own skin.
6. Never give up on your dreams.
7. Wear the bling. Always wear the bling.
Peita has used pole dancing as a way of healing and strengthening her body