Emily Aygun totally understands that people might not know what to expect when they walk into Altius Pole Studio, named the 2026 Best Fitness Studio in the Source readers’ poll. She recalls feeling the exact same way when she attended her first pole-dancing class. It was a moment that changed her life.
A mathematics major at San Jose State University, she was going to school and working as a math tutor when a friend invited her to attend a pole class.
“I told her, ‘Absolutely not,’” Aygun recalls with a laugh. “I was never a sports person growing up. I had never worked out before, and I wasn’t a gym goer, but she convinced me after a couple of times to go with her. I remember my very first class. I drove into the parking lot, and I couldn’t find where it was located, so I started panicking and freaking out because I was so nervous about going. I ended up calling the place in tears. I remember the instructor walked out, and I saw her head peek out the door. For my first class, I just sat and watched this community of men and women of all different ages and sizes and shapes and abilities cheer each other on. It was mind-blowing to me, and I fell in love from that class forward. I loved it so much that I wanted to get more into it and wanted to understand it more, and it became my life.”
There were no certifications to be had as a pole-dancing instructor back then, so she did the next best thing she could think of and eschewed mathematics for kinesiology and became a personal trainer and corrective exercise specialist. However, her goal was always to open her own pole-dancing studio to introduce others to the workout and community she adores.
“What I feel like Altius is, and does, is provide this third space that I feel has become so important since Covid when we were all stuck in our houses,” she said. “That’s actually when we did our build-out, was during Covid when the gyms shut down. Having had to be, myself, in my house with my kids and husband, I knew I needed a third space, and I realized how important third spaces were in a world where I feel like that’s not happening as much anymore. Altius is more than just a workout. We often say that you don’t really feel like you’re even working out while you’re here, but then you wake up the next morning and you’re, like, ‘Oh, yeah, I did.’”
Aygun said all Altius instructors have undergone trauma-informed training, and they’re all ready to welcome anyone who comes through the door. Creating a safe, supportive, collaborative environment is the goal.
“Fitness can be intimidating,” she added. “I think that there’s a lot of noise out there. I know from myself that I went from the couch to pole dancing, and I saw that fostering community where we’re celebrating each other. I think the hardest part about starting any sort of fitness journey is the unknown. You don’t know what’s behind that door. Is it going to be a really hard class? Am I going to succeed? Am I going to fail? Am I going to look stupid? These are all things that I think people starting a fitness journey think about. We have a saying here that the hardest part about starting pole dancing is walking through the door.”
Runner-Up: Barre3
Altius Pole Studio
20370 Empire Ave., Unit C 3, Bend
altiuspolestudio.com
This article appears in Best of Central Oregon 2026 and the Source August 13, 2026.
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