WATERVILLE — It started, like most businesses, with a simple idea.

“I had gone on vacation,” said Heather MacKenzie, “took a couple classes, and thought, ‘Well, we don’t have a studio here, so I might as well start one.'”

MacKenzie and her sister, Kate Poulin, own Empower, a pole fitness studio at 99 Main St. in downtown Waterville. When you read the words “pole fitness,” it’s both exactly and nothing like what you’re probably thinking.

The poles in pole fitness are, yes, the ones that some people refer to as “stripper poles.” But MacKenzie said the women who come in and take the classes range in age from 16 to 60, and the sisters have made a point to create a gym alternative where the members feel comfortable, no matter what their fitness level is.

“We have women of every size, shape, age, anything in our classes, and they all are so supportive of each other,” MacKenzie said. “So it’s been really good feedback. Our main goal is to eventually have a women’s wellness center type, so anything that really can support women, and making them feel good about themselves and building their confidence we want it here.”

MacKenzie took classes in Las Vegas to get certified for Levels 1, 2, 3 and 4 as a pole fitness instructor. Poulin, who has a bachelor’s degree in business management from Thomas College, handles the business side. Both graduated from Winslow High School and they have access to great role models for running a business. Their mother owns Leaps N Bounds in Fairfield and their father owns MacKenzie Landscaping in Winslow.

Advertisement

Empower opened in October and the sisters say business is good so far.

“A lot of them, if they haven’t done it before, they’re really nervous,” Poulin said. “But I haven’t seen many people leave who haven’t had fun in the class.”

There aren’t many pole fitness studios in Maine and the sisters don’t know of any other in the central Maine area.

“It’s a lot harder than they think, but it’s a lot of fun,” MacKenzie said. “Most of the time they’ll buy a single class to come try it, and then they’ll leave either with a class pass — which is five classes, but it’s good for three months — or they’ll leave with an unlimited month, and they can take any classes that we offer for 30 days.

“It’s a lot of upper-body strength. Most people are stronger in their legs and not in their upper body. We work on building strength, and then we do spins, and pole work, and floor work and work on gaining upper-body strength.”

While the classes are geared towards women, MacKenzie said she has had a few men try pole fitness since the studio opened.

Advertisement

“We had a co-ed class,” she said. “We had like three guys when we first started. But we’ve only had women the past 3-4 months. If men want to come, they can call and talk to us about it, but we really wanted a place for women to come and be comfortable, so it really is mostly women.”

And perhaps inevitably, there are people who misinterpret the intent of the classes.

“The biggest thing was probably when I had the kids’ classes, but it’s definitely all sport and fitness-related,” MacKenzie said. “It’s all about gaining the muscles, gaining the strength, the flexibility. Overall, we’ve had pretty good feedback about people not taking it the wrong way.

“Most people are very excited about it. They’re excited that it’s a different kind of fitness that we offer. We don’t want to have weights here. We’re not about all that. We’re still in the works, obviously, but we want it to be like a spa, salon-feel, where they can come in, feel comfortable and not feel like there’s a lot of pressure.”

MacKenzie and Poulin said they draw from a large area. They have customers from Palermo, Palmyra, Augusta, Winthrop and even a few from the Bangor area. They’d love to expand the business at some point in the future. They have a room ready for when they find a licensed massage therapist, and they already offer side classes like yoga, belly dancing, ballet stretch and toning, and hip hop dance.

Ultimately, their vision is a little piece of Las Vegas — not the glitzy Las Vegas most people think about, but the part MacKenzie saw where people always respected each other’s efforts.

Advertisement

“People always find something to make fun of and here I just want everyone to feel comfortable,” MacKenzie said. “When I went to Vegas you would be surprised by the amount of people who pole dance — the different shapes, ages, sizes.

“You wouldn’t think that they’d be doing this. But they are. They feel comfortable in their own skin. It’s really cool.”

Matt DiFilippo — 861-9243

mdifilippo@centralmaine.com

Twitter: @Matt_DiFilippo


Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.

Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.