How I Move Kelechi Okafor
Actor, influencer and mother is making it her mission to reclaim pole dancing as an empowering form of fitness
People still see pole dancing as something dirty that needs to be sanitised.
It is why the sex workers who were doing this as an art form, are often shamed and pushed into the shadows. There have been times when I have been on a pole, doing a spin with my son strapped to me, and somebody will message or comment under the video and say that it is sad to see that I am exposing him to so many things too early. But if I were in a playground, and I did the exact same thing, people would hail me as a fit mummy. We try so hard to ignore our sensuality or the eroticism that comes from the power within movement. It is important for young children to see their mums training; it is why I take my son with me to my studio on an ad-hoc basis.
I have had people tell me that I look like a man or that I am too muscular.
You just have to shrug it off. That is people’s insecurity talking. After pregnancy I had to get comfortable with my back and feet getting bigger, stretch marks and the loose skin around my stomach. Essentially there was no going back. It is also about our genetics. But setting micro fitness goals, that have nothing to do with weight, has helped me rebuild my strength.
When I opened Kelechnekoff Studio in August 2016 in Clapton, east London, and brought the twerk and pole-fitness classes I used to teach at a studio in central London, I wanted the space to be safe.
But by August 2017, I had to move to a bigger venue in Peckham, because the demand was so high. I always like to start classes with a meditative practice, and encourage students to be present in their own bodies. The curriculum runs over a six-week cycle and is designed to first focus on the area that pole dancing requires you to move and work from – your thighs. We do not get to thinking too much about arms, pulling and pushing, for a little while. Instead there is a huge focus on integrity and authenticity, which a lot of the fitness conversations we are currently having tend to lag behind on. What happens when your body does not fit into the narrative that society finds acceptable? People exercise out of the fear of being fat.
Until the age of 16 I did not speak about my sexual abuse, but I moved a lot prior to this.
In response to my trauma, I threw myself into athletics and played football in secondary school, where I was also the head of sports in Year 11. I attended Air Cadets in Tulse Hill from the age of 14 to 16, where I ran 200metres for the region and played on the football team for my squadron. But it was not until I started therapy that I realised that, although this sparked my interest in fitness, the need to be stronger, faster, and in control of everything, was to ensure that no one else could hurt me.
In 2013, while working in a call centre, I qualified as a personal trainer focusing on women and femme-identifying people, after realising that as a black actress, it is important to think about the other skills you have while waiting for your big break.
Prior to this, after I finished at Liverpool Hope University in 2008, I lived in Atlanta for a little while and that is when I first saw black women pole dancing at Magic City. It was such a magical and beautiful experience.