Frestyl Fitness , located in downtown Mankato, is one such studio. It was started in January 2013 by Minnesota native Brittin Leigh, who has pole danced for fitness since 2011.

Then she got up the nerve to take a pole fitness class—even though, at 220 pounds, she doubted she could master the gravity-defying holds and inversions that other women were doing.

The backlash against pole’s rise as a fitness modality began as early as 2004, when the national gym chain Crunch, sensing a bubbling trend, added classes to its roster.