The YouTube video opens on a darkened stage. Facing away from the audience, a woman clad in a bejewelled black and mesh leotard raises her arms over her head. As Bishop Briggs’s Never Tear Us Apart begins to play, she reaches out and grabs hold of a pole (unusually, suspended from the ceiling). With an unfathomable tolerance for the pain of skin grazing metal, she gracefully contorts her body, twirling around and up and down the pole as her sky-high heels slice the air – a perfect study in strength and sensuality.
As the last notes of the song fade, the dancer assumes a fierce stance next to the pole, then melts into a wilting flower – leaning forward, head bowed. The crowd roars off-camera, and she casually saunters off the stage.
The dancer is Kathy Lee – founder of pole-dancing studio The Pole Project in Woodstock, Cape Town. And she is changing the strip-club-only reputation of pole dancing in South Africa.
‘I used to be a lawyer for a big corporate firm in London,’ says the 36-year-old entrepreneur. As a child growing up in Singapore, Kathy never wanted anything more than to be a successful lawyer. ‘I’ve always been argumentative and I thought it would be cool to get paid to do that,’ she says. ‘I dreamed of studying law at one of the big universities in the UK, which is exactly what I did.’
At 16, Kathy packed up her life in Singapore to complete her A-Levels at an international college in the UK. She went on to get a bachelor’s degree at King’s College London, before earning her master’s at Oxford University. Afterwards, she joined a large corporate law firm, where she worked for five years.
This story is from the April 2020 edition of Fairlady.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the April 2020 edition of Fairlady.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
Easter with edge
Grant knows what it's like to miss out on the celebrations that anchor family life.
The MALE bias
Historically, medical studies were mainly done on male mice and on men; and then extrapolated to treat women, as if a female body were just a smaller version of a male one. Here’s why that doesn’t make sense, and how to work with your body’s natural rhythm for better health.
Wellbeing
How to sleep better, feel better and look better!
The other type of CHEATING
Lies about money can have devastating consequences in a relationship.
THE 'PEST' IN PESTICIDES
oe r Despite many highly Hs hazardous pesticides being banned in their countries of origin, 192 of them are still legally exported to South Africa
START A BUSINESS LIKE a Saffer
There's nothing quite like a South African entrepreneur. In the face of adversity, they innovate and persevere. But what fuels that determination? We chatted to some self-starters to find out.
How to take the MONOTONY OUT OF MONOGAMY
It's easy to get complacent in a long-term relationship. Before you know it, your partner is little more than your roommate. Here's how to shake things up.
SUPER TROUPER
At one point, Josie Borain was the most famous model in the world. Her face was on every magazine that mattered. And in the madness of all that attention, she never lost her sense of self. She talks to us about turning 60, being single, and starting her third act with a move to the platteland.
Little wonder
Over the years we have visited 16 Greek islands, but when we first set foot on Halki, the little-known gem just south of Rhodes, we knew we'd found the closest thing to the perfect one. And we vowed to return. Often.
HOME AFFAIRS
These three entrepreneurs are redefining the heartbeat of homes through their unique blend of creativity, sustainability and purposeful design.
