Sun Ying Zhi, a 22-year-old guy from Yibin in Sichuan province, spent six years working as a construction worker before he discovered pole dancing for himself, while watching videos online. Sun was so impressed by what he saw, that he installed a pole in his dorm and started training by himself based on online videos. Despite injuries from his unconventional approach, he preserved knowing that practice makes perfect.
After about six months Sun received his first paid job as a pole dancer. He began to get involved in the local competition scene. In 2013 his efforts paid off, when Sun was selected to become a reserve member of the Chinese national pole dancing team.
"Pole dancing is not widely accepted in China as many people regard it as vulgar and pornographic," he told local media, adding that his parents were his biggest critics. "My father demanded I stop because he thought I was causing him to lose face," Sun explained.
Events turned to the good after he won the Best Performance prize at London's international competition in 2014 — this victory even helped him to melt his parents' hearts, and they finally accepted his career choice. Sun soon raised enough money to open his own pole dancing academy in Guangzhou, hoping it will help to change attitudes among Chinese men.
On September 24, Sun Ying Zhi won the Pole Art France 2017 competition in the Elite Men Category, a top pole dancing contest held in Paris. You can check out his mesmerizing performance in the video below.
Besides a brilliant career, Sun's passion for pole dancing also brought him love: he plans to marry his girlfriend, also a pole dancer, soon.
