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ABOUT

Goals & Mission:
American Pole Fitness Association (APFA) is an association established to give mass appeal & awareness by promoting the art and sport of pole fitness in the US and abroad. The first of its kind to offer FREE services and open its doors to the public. APFA is working towards achieving broad demographic & national recognition for pole fitness as a main stream sport, focusing attentions on the physical skills, gravity-defying technical abilities, poise, grace and elegance of performers of both genders. Pole fitness as a sport is gradually reaching new heights globally and APFA’s main goal is to make sure the US isn’t left out of the phenomenal new innovative ways of staying fit.

APFA present the American Pole Fitness Championships™ featuring male and female competitors. The event is an annual championship which features the nation’s best pole fitness performers demonstrating their mesmerizing jaw dropping skills, physical strength and sheer stamina through choreographed routines created by the performers themselves. The first annual championships was held on October 23, 2010 at the prominent Grand Ballroom Theater, Manhattan Center right in the heart of New York City live. APFA offers FREE services and encourages the promotion of the sport through the education it provides with the help of its eager and willing members. You are welcome to be members here and any other association you may desire to join. To compete we ask that you apply for FREE membership so we are aware from whom the submissions are coming from at least. APFA is not personally or directly affiliated with any pole fitness studios, therefore it embraces all studios equally and is unbiased in any matter in regards to promoting and educating the public about the services they offer.

What’s The Catch?
APFA does NOT take any fees for its services. The whole idea of its existence is to help promote the sport. We do not impose anything on anyone, neither do we ask that we become part of your events if you choose not to. No matter how tough you might think your ideas or inquiries are, you just never know if it’s possible unless you ask. Let APFA assist you, together we can help make this a mainstream and worldwide sport available for any age, class, type, or gender. Help us in our mission to take pole fitness beyond its current level and have a voice in growing it. We feel the sport is ready to be on a whole new level outside of the pole community by letting more people be aware of it. We aim to promote the established and/or discover new talents and make it more of a household name. Together we can educate the world about pole fitness and change misconceptions about it.

Additional Services Offered:
For those seeking services in party planning, lessons, or anything related to pole fitness, send in your inquires using the “Contact Us” link above and we would be more than happy to direct you to the right companies who will help you. If you are a studio owner please send us your information to add to our database and share with anyone who inquires for lessons in your area. For those launching a new pole fitness studio and you are a member of APFA, let us know and we would be more than happy to make it known to all of our members.

About the Founder
At the helm of the APFA, is the Founder and President, Tinu who has a passion for the sport. Herself an avid pole fitness practitioner and advocate since January 2009, but has made a name for herself in fashion, music and soon to be an author of a book that resulted from her hit music video. Her knowledge of the sport’s lack of proper mainstream marketing inspired her unique concept for this association and events to follow. She intends to bring her combination of artistic talent and business acumen to the sport. Tinu holds a degree in Finance and Marketing from NYU, Stern School of Business but also pursued an international modeling career during which time she strutted the runways for some of the top fashion houses while also landing high profile international advertising campaigns.

Tinu discovered pole fitness while working on a music video and has since been active in pole fitness dating back to January of 2009. She says, “I have always been slim all my life, but it’s a whole new matter when you stay firm and toned. I got that doing pole.” Despite having garnered a lot of press for her music, not once did she mention anything about her involvement in pole fitness to the press. Each time she managed to bring it up amongst friends, she was shocked by their negative reactions because they were ill informed about the sport as there were no proper platforms to market pole fitness as it should be. She wasn’t impressed by some in the industry claiming to want to take it “mainstream” but never really opening up to let others in. She felt a lot of people without the “big names” were intimated to approach some of the few organizations/events around. Frustrated by the results she acquired from her year long research she had conducted using some pole enthusiast like herself, she decided to be the one to “stick her neck out” by making the bold move, creating an association where all are welcome and “free to roam” so to speak. Her main mission is to help promote the industry to a wider audience in a positive light and has started by investing some of her hard earned money acquired from her music, accessory designs, and a few angel investors who believed in her mission and proceeded to launch the association that would benefit everyone home and abroad.

The founder has no direct personal or affiliation with any pole fitness studios or pole fitness performer in any country, hence freely and willingly able to market the sport equally for all involved in the sport. Furthermore, she does not participate in judging competitors in any of APFA’s championships. She leaves that task to the independent advisory board committee which consist of pole fitness instructors and expert in the sport. The carefully appointed judges, all highly skilled and well versed in the sport.

A global traveler, Tinu is multilingual and fluent in several languages. Her love of culture, aesthetics and fashion, she created the beautifully handcrafted and bejeweled Tinu Shoebag® worn at the Academy Awards and successfully sold by numerous high-end boutiques worldwide. Tinu’s own sense of style have been noted by Essence and Vogue Magazine while Bill Cunningham regularly features her in the social pages of the New York Times. Her debut album “Rhythm of Love” was an instant success in 2003, debuting on the Billboard R&B charts and capturing the hearts of a broad and loyal fan base worldwide. Her latest album Addicted spurned the highly successful hit song  Shoeholics (Youtube hits over 1 million in a few months) launched in the fall of 2009, is still receiving worldwide airplay including MTV, LOGO, FUSE. For more on Tinu, please visit Tinuonline.com