Community turns against pole studio

A group of pole dancing mums and professionals are fighting back after a Melbourne community branded them prostitutes, forcing their studios to close.

Pole Princess owner Anastacia Snellesk says that she is almost $100,000 out of pocket after the City of Boroondara council threw out her application to relocate classes from Kew to Hawthorn East – only after she had signed a new lease, paid the rent and completed thousands of dollars in renovations.

"I'm angry, I'm annoyed, I think it's ridiculous that someone won't find out what actually goes on before making such a terrible complaint," she told A Current Affair.

According to council records, eight complaints were made against the eight-year-old business, citing parking, noise and a "pornographic" sign. That picture is of Ms Snellesk.

"You can imagine how aghast we were to find a nine-foot colour photo of a stripper stuck to the front of our building one day," complainant Justin Morris, who runs an architecture business upstairs, said.

"We have had an onslaught of bad taste jokes from clients coming to our offices for meetings."

But Ms Snellesk's own clientele are now fighting back, angered by claims that the studio would attract "undesirables" to the commercial area frequented by young families.

"It all comes back to being uneducated. We are not strippers. I'm a mum," one class member said.

"Our students, our staff, our teachers, everyone – we're all doctors, we're nurses, we're lawyers we're all walks of people and we are just here to have fun."

Ms Snellesk is determined not to give in but says both the council and Mr Morris are not cooperating.

"I tried to negotiate with him and if he doesn't like the sign we'll take it down and whatever issues he had we will work with him and he didn't even respond," she said.

The council could not be reached for comment.

Source: A Current Affair

Author: Chloe Ross, Approving editor: Martin Zavan