COLTS NECK, NJ — Studio owner Taylor Franklin said she had been practicing pole dancing for about five years before opening her luxury pole dancing and aerial fitness studio in May 2024.
Now a certified flexibility coach and business owner, Franklin said she found pole dancing to be an “alternative form of fitness” after getting tired of weightlifting.
Moving from studio to studio, Franklin created his dream studio space in his head. Eventually, she decided to make her dream a reality, and on May 8, 2024, Bada Bling Fitness (named after the Bada Bing Club of “The Sopranos” fame) was born.
“Spontaneously, I felt it was time to incorporate everything I love and create the space of my dreams,” Franklin said. “So instead of training in other people’s spaces, I traveled all over the place, going to different pole studios and creating the shape of my dream pole and aerial studio.”
Bada Bling Fitness’ studio offers the best training in pole, floor, chair, and aerial dance. Franklin said no experience is necessary and that she wants the studio to be a place where anyone interested is welcome.
Bada Bling officially opened in May, but Franklin said there are still many challenges the studio must overcome before the grand opening.
“Pole dancing obviously has a meaning,” Franklin said. “People confuse us with a strip club opening in a plaza, and I’m confused too. Where’s a strip club opening in a shopping mall?”
Franklin said she wasn’t offended by residents confusing Bada Bling with a strip club, but said the confusion led to hostility from people in the community and online. Franklin said that as plans for the studio were being developed, a photo of her in a split position was brought to a City Hall meeting and criticized publicly.
“It (the photo) was brought to City Hall and I was told how inappropriate it was and that it didn’t look good for the town or for me,” Franklin said. “But this was a very flexible move that I’ve been trying to get for three years, and I’m very proud of it.”
While misconceptions about Bada Bling persist online, Franklin said she is trying to use the confusion to “counteract the negativity with kindness.”
“Whenever I see people confused, I try to take the opportunity to say, ‘Hey, thank you for noticing we’re open.’ I try to clear up some misunderstandings. I’d like to,” Franklin said. “And I’m going to say to them, ‘This is who I am.’ This is what we do, this is what we offer. Our mission is to dance for fun, to promote fitness. To dance for you and to dance for you.”
But even amid all the negativity directed at the studio, Franklin said she has seen community bonds and friendships emerge from misunderstandings.
In one post, she asked if anyone was offended by the way the girls at Bada Bling Fitness were dressed, and women rallied in the comments section to push back, Franklin said.
“It was kind of nice to see so many women in the community say, ‘Don’t you like what you see? Maybe you shouldn’t go to the beach,'” Franklin said. said. “Or, ‘If you don’t like watching women train, just close your eyes.'”
For Franklin, female empowerment is the cornerstone of Bada Bling Fitness. Franklin, a millennial woman who did not attend college, said she aims to empower others through her studio and wants to encourage people to follow their dreams.
“The best advice I can give people is, ‘The only thing stopping you is you,'” Franklin said. “You can really do anything you want to do. That’s the biggest thing I’ve found through pole dancing and being a part of this amazing community.”
“This is a space for everyone,” Franklin continued. “Especially the women in the community. I want to see people come together.”
For more information about Bada Bling Fitness, please visit their website.
Bada Bling Fitness is located at 340 Route 34 in Colts Neck.
