Fitness trainer Moses Carroll owner of FitSquad studios. Courtesy: The epiMediaGroup, LLC
*Brazilian Butt Lift (BBL) surgeries have surged in popularity worldwide for those willing to go under the knife, exposing themselves to the fatal risks of blood clots, cardiac complications, and fat embolisms. Celebrities have glamorized risky surgeries on social media. Still, many impressionable fans rarely receive painful lymphatic massages, the inability to sit normally post-op, and the extensive upkeep necessary to maintain the “new body.”
Moses Carroll, the owner of Fit Squad studios and founder of Pole Dance America, has extensive knowledge of how to get the shapely reward without the deadly risk. With the same diligence and focus it takes to gain a summer-ready body, Moses has worked tirelessly to achieve his personal training certification and created Pole Dance America, a gymnastics and performance-based program that shines a light on the talent and athleticism of pole fitness. He has worked closely with eight-time Olympian champion Lee Haney and has traveled across the country to demonstrate the sport and performance side of the pole fitness industry.
His foray into the fitness industry started when he became smitten by a salesperson that worked at the first gym he went to as an adult and became a member. Later, Carroll would become an employee working in sales, but he soon realized that many fitness trainers need to emphasize wellness as part of maintaining one’s health. He assessed that many of his family members lived with high cholesterol, diabetes, and other health problems and did not want to fall into the same trap. Carroll dedicated his entire passion to educating people on wellness and keeping them excited on the health journey that can be arduous at times.
EURweb: Can you review some essential tips on how women can have a BBL body without surgery?
Moses Carroll: The first thing I’ll say, and I’m being very serious, one, please don’t do it. Two, if you’re going to do it, come and see me to ensure the surgery goes well. You can stop smoking, avoid alcohol, eat better, [and]mentally prepare yourself for this process. You can go through all the steps. But the one thing people miss is once you have the surgery, you still have to work out and take care of yourself. You still have to go to a fitness studio, get a trainer, or take a class. You still [need]better eating habits.
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Tip one, if you’re doing it for personal gratification, go ahead and do it. If you’re doing it to get somebody to pay attention to you, it’s not necessary. But if you’re going to do it, at least see a fitness professional. They can guide you through the process. I’ve had several clients that have come in before their surgery, and we make sure that we prepare their bodies for what they’re about to go through. Once the surgery is done, and they take six or eight weeks off, depending on how extensive the work is, they still have to come back and go through the same process of maintaining proper cardiovascular and building better eating habits to take care of the body that they just created. So if you’re going to do it, do it correctly, get with a trainer so they can help you through the process, and a mental health therapist.
EURweb: What inspired you to create Pole Dance America?
Carroll: I was working at this gym in North Carolina [for six years], and I left. I got burned out and moved to North Carolina [and]got a job at this gym as a sales manager. They put me up in a hotel that was part of my hiring package, and when I came back to my room, I asked God, I need something else; this isn’t working for me. I picked up my laptop and checked my email like I always do, and someone emailed a group of us a pole dance competition. I looked at it, and then a light bulb went off in my head. I’ve never been the type of guy or person that goes to strip clubs. But I did. I enjoyed watching the pole tricks.
The next thing I knew, I quit my job and moved back to Atlanta. I called over 20 pole dance studios, from Florida to Washington, Arizona, and Maine asking questions about the curriculum, technique, industry, and how long they’ve been in business. I learned so much about competitions because there was only one when I started. I did my first competition in August of 2010 and created judging based on two different sports, gymnastics and synchronized swimming. I grew from one competition in Atlanta, Georgia, in 2010. By the time 2016 hit, I was at 22 studios in over nine states. When I sit back and watch these people perform, I don’t see [shake it like a salt shaker]or drop it like it’s hot. I see someone on parallel vertical bars. I see a theatrical performance of someone telling an actual story, and you feel the performance because you’re listening to the lyrics, and when certain beats drop [you see how]creative they can be, it’s stunning.
EURweb: How often do you have Pole Dance America?
Carroll: We used to tour around the country, and everyone that wins a preliminary competition gets together for a national championship similar to Miss America. Everyone would win a state. I outgrew that because my ultimate goal was to have it as a television show. I want people to see it like “America’s Got Talent” and what I’m doing is filming once a year. I’ve been doing that now since 2020. and have created a good concept based on my experience touring the country.
Pole Dance America is a competition created by Moses Carroll.
I look at what I did within the pole community and how everybody followed what I created because there was only one competition before mine, in 2009. Now, you have one company that does regional competitions every year. You have another company that moved [pole dancing]into the Olympic trials; it’s not a main sport; it’s on a subcommittee of the sports, so they have to go through that whole trial and error of becoming an actual Olympic qualifying sport.
So many companies have followed Pole Dance America that I realized that I created a trend [and it’s]something that people want to see. They don’t know it because they haven’t seen it yet on how we present it, and this is a big shout-out to all those other pole companies, all those other pole products, and competitions; as long as they keep pushing, we are going to have our own show. Our goal is to get it on either Fox, Netflix, or CBS so people around the country can see and this also helps those closeted polers out there. If you don’t know what closet polers are, they don’t want anybody to know they pole. So. They don’t want to get fired from their job. They don’t want people looking at them sideways. So This show will open the doors for people to hide something that makes them happy because they get to show the world how good they are because pole is hard.
EURweb: What are your goals for this year? Where do you see yourself in the next five years?
Moses Carroll seen providing instruction during one of his fitness sessions. Courtesy: The epiMediaGroup, LLC
Carroll: The building I’m in, we sit on the Atlanta BeltLine, and the one thing that’s missing in the community I serve, as far as my gym is concerned, is a wellness facility. In the community that we serve, especially in Black communities, cardiovascular disease and cardiovascular health plague our community. My overall goal within the next five years is to open up a wellness facility where people can come in and receive the eight elements of the circle of wellness: social, intellectual, financial, environmental, physical, and mental. They can get all that in one location in a community that’s been suffering for a while called the Pittsburgh community, southwest Atlanta. Part of that plan is to install an indoor ] track by putting in this indoor track and having trainers to help not only the seniors in our community but help the kids who are looking to get into something to do outside of boxing, playing football, and basketball. We want to introduce field sports; you can get a scholarship for going to javelin for throwing the shot put; there are so many elements in the track and field industry, and we want to be able to provide opportunities and train our kids to know there’s a viable option for you outside of what the standard has always been.
The track and field industry has always been a part of my lifestyle. I tried to run track once before and realized that I’m not that fast, but I can provide a facility for people who want to run. They want to learn the basics of running and take their skills to a higher level. So to answer your question, in five years, I want to be sitting over here in my building, 110,000 square feet, with an indoor track right on the Atlanta BeltLine. We are instrumental in economic development in our community, and when I moved here seven years ago, I needed to focus on how I could serve.
EURweb: Can you talk about any of your upcoming events or projects?
Carroll: Our next project, we’re doing an end and a kickoff again; it’s called Fit 23; it’s our wellness program. We offer free wellness classes every Saturday between 8 am and 1 pm to help people get on the right track. It’s a 23-week program; every Saturday, they come in, take a fitness class, then do a wellness seminar, where they can learn about finances and their environment. We have that closing on January 28, but it’s also our next kickoff for our new clients who want to take advantage of the program. Then we’re filming our first episode of Pole Dance America, it’s April 28, and our cast is interesting, even the judges. It will be very entertaining for people because they’re not going to know what to expect. But when they see it, they’re going to be mesmerized. Outside of that, I train every Saturday at 8 am, so if you’re in Atlanta and you’re looking for something to do, or you want to try something different as far as working out is concerned, as far as the environment, you know, come by and check me out.
Moses Carroll wants to have a reality show featuring the athleticism of pole dancing.
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