Meet the team
Meet Carly
Pole, Aerial, Boxercise, HIIT & P.T. Instructor (The Hub Co Owner/Manager)
I’ve always had a passion for sport and fitness from a very young age. I love the buzz of learning something new, feeling fitter and stronger. As with many of us, life and family took over for a while and fitness was something that I’d squeeze in here and there until I knew I needed more. I missed the way it made me feel.
I got hooked again in 2012, when I challenged myself to do the moonwalk marathon, something I didn’t think I was capable of achieving! But I trained hard and did it. I found that buzz again so did another one the following year. After a difficult chapter in my life, I found that fitness was my escape.
I took the ethos that you cannot change some things that happen to you in life, but you can change yourself, how you feel and how you respond. This was something in my control! I began to try new ways to be fit, including pole and loved it!
In 2017 I decided I would take my passion for fitness to another level and qualified as a Level 3 Personal Trainer and Fitness instructor. I also
gained additional qualifications in Boxercise, Metabolic Resistance Training and Kettle bells. I wanted to share my passion with others, as I get so much pleasure from helping people to achieve their goals.
2020 gave us all new challenges we had to face and adapt to! But it also gave me new opportunities. I qualified as a pole/aerial instructor and began teaching these amazing classes. You cannot beat that feeling and the fulfilment you feel seeing your members achieve things they didn’t think were possible! The biggest achievement of my fitness journey came at the end of the year, when Hannah and I decided to take over the business and create The Hub! I am so excited about our new journey and sharing it with our members.
‘ You are never too old to set another goal or dream a new dream’
Meet Hannah
Pole, Heels, Aerial Hoop, Aerial Hammock and Flexibility Instructor (The Hub Co Owner/Manager)
Pole entered my life early 2013 and I fell in love with the sport straight away. I have a contemporary dance background and was always into athletic sports since a young age, so pole was a great way to get back into a creative form of fitness.
After almost 2 years of pole, I started entering pole competitions and caught the bug for it! I regularly go to workshops with my favourite and inspirational pole stars because I love the challenge of new tricks and combinations. I feel it’s important to always push yourself to new levels! After poling for 3 and a half years, I decided it was time to take my passion to the next level and qualified as an instructor with Xpert in October 2016.
2018 I completed my Aerial Hammock certification and love the variety of these classes. Each class is a mix of stretch, strength, yoga, meditation and fun! Everyone notices progress each week and it’s so warming as an instructor to see students grow.
Hoop came next followed by Heels.. what next!? I love it all. Hoping to get some students involved in performances in future to really help them push their creative potentials.
I recommend all my friends to try Pole and Aerial arts. It’s great fun, confidence boosting and fab way to get fit. “You don’t have to be great to start, but you have to start to be great! “
Meet Laura
My name is Laura Bates. I have been a fitness instructor and a pole dance instructor for about 6 years now. It all started off as a hobby and escalated from there. I just love it. I love that muscle ache and pushing myself outside of my comfort zone. I am a YES girl, so the one my friends come to when they have a mad idea. This is how I ended up climbing Ben Nevis, jumping out of a plane and abseiling down the Spinnaker Tower.
I love being an instructor. I love seeing my girls progress and I am so genuinely proud when they nail a move or reach goals! When I started dating my husband I think he was a little bit smug that he was dating a pole dancer but he very quickly realised that my calloused hands and bruised body was not as sexy as the fantasy!
I found my love for the Insanity style workouts when I had to get bikini ready for a close friends hen do in Ibiza. Once I saw the results I was hooked. I have completed Insanity, T25 and Insanity Max 30. This encouraged me to get my fitness qualifications and teach others. I am still very much on my own fitness journey as October 2019 saw the birth of my baby boy, Louis. I taught pole until I was 38 weeks pregnant and then exercise took a bit of a back seat while I navigated my new role as a mum. 2020 saw me getting back into the swing of things and I am now in the best shape of my life. I just want to be fit, healthy and someone my son can be proud of.
Meet Manling
I’m XPert trained pole instructor, team #pdatatic, lover of dynamic power pole, flip, flares and static rotations.
Before pole, I was a couch potato with no strength or flexibility background; then everything changed after I walked past Kent Uni pole society’s (KPF) stall in fresher’s fair.
Fast forward several years—despite a 3-year break—I got to high inter level, but the most revolutionary thing to happen to my pole journey was Covid (surprisingly). I had a home pole ready and jumped on the online classes wagon, exploring different styles with instructors all around the world.
In 2021, I competed in my first comp and started my XPert pole instructor qualifications. This led me to start teaching pole and flexibility in 2022. It gives me great joy to see my students grow and offer my knowledge to help them achieve their goals.
After moving to Folkestone, I’m so thrilled that I can finally have a pole studio I can call home for the first time! I’m very excited to start my new journey with The Hub!
Meet Iona
I’m so excited to be joining the team to teach aerial hoop. As a student myself for over 6 years, enjoying a combination of mostly pole and aerial hoop classes, it felt only natural taking the next steps to return to my teaching roots.
Previously I’ve coached gymnastics in the UK and abroad, and I have a particular love for taking individual moves and components and bringing them together to create some beautiful combinations. I love how versatile aerial activities allow us to be – becoming each other’s best cheerleaders, finding our “flow,” embracing and discovering our “sexy” sides, and building strength and confidence. The Hub Studio is a great team to be part of and I can’t wait to get started with this lovely lot! “- Iona
