A disabled pole dancer captured the internet’s heart after a video of her dazzling spins in a wheelchair went viral. Nina Alexandridou, a PhD candidate from Athens, Greece, and a dedicated CrossFit athlete has garnered over 8 million views on TikTok with her stunning aerial acrobatics video.
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Viral images of her gracefully seated and assisted swirls around the pole have captivated social media.
“The strength to lift the WHEELCHAIR????? She is incredible,” one TikTok user declared in the comments to the viral post. “People have zero idea how much strength that woman has in every single area,” a second supporter agreed.
The footage inspired a third viewer.
“I never thought I’d see someone else with a cane doing this, thank you for inspiring me to keep trying to find places that accept me💕😭,” they wrote.
For Alexandridou, pole dancing using her wheelchair is empowering.
“When I do pole dancing, I feel beautiful,” the 28-year-old recently told the NY Post. “I feel free to make mistakes and challenge my body with extreme movements and poses.”
Alexandridou didn’t detail the extent of her impairment to the outlet. However, her condition seems to be a lifelong one. “I have been disabled for as long as I can remember,” she explained.
However, that hasn’t stopped her from becoming an impressive athlete. Alexandridou leverages her skills as a pole dancer and CrossFitter to dismantle barriers of exclusion in the sports world. Her social media is chock full of footage of her pushing herself to the limits physically.
The Wheelchair User Began Her Pole Dancing Journey Just 10 Months Ago
Approximately 10 months ago, Alexandridou started taking a turn on the pole.
“At first, it was quite difficult and I thought I wouldn’t be able to make it,” she revealed. “But I was determined.”
At House of Pole, under the guidance of instructors Dikaia and Christina Papadimitriou, Alexandridou is treated as an equal alongside her able-bodied and disabled classmates.
“I had quite a few limitations in the exercises because many of them require functional use of the legs,” Alexandridou admitted. “But my teachers constantly looked for modifications or different poses for me to succeed. I kept improving each time.”
Alexandridou is Also a CrossFit Competitor
However, her baseline of doing CrossFit for the past eight years surely helped.
“CrossFit is the reason I wake up in the morning,” Alexandridou said. “I managed to become the first disabled CrossFitter from Greece to compete in a European CrossFit competition.”
Alexandridou is currently preparing to compete in the 2024 Wodeclona Games, touted as the most inclusive international CrossFit competition in Europe.
Despite her athletic accomplishments (or perhaps because of them), Alexandridou routinely faces scrutiny.
“The most common negative comment I receive is that I’m pretending to be disabled or that my impairment isn’t that significant,” she revealed.
“I don’t blame them for thinking this way because they don’t understand what disability is,” she explained.
In her videos, Alexandridou is also seen walking with the help of a cane. However, she still frequently uses a wheelchair.
“What happens to my body is my impairment, and it’s not something alien that needs to be explained— it’s part of human diversity.”
“The fact that I can walk doesn’t mean I can’t use a wheelchair,” she pointed out. “The wheelchair doesn’t confine me. It’s a tool of dignity. It’s my emancipation.”