Pole Dance Championship 2012, New York City, United States

Pole dancing as an exercise is very similar to Mallakhamb, an Indian men's sport with no erotic component, but there is no evidence of a link.
A growing number of men are incorporating pole dancing into their fitness programmes. In Australia, the UK and the US, dance studios are beginning to offer classes just for men. And in China, 2007's National Pole Dancing competition was won by a man. Dance instructor Zhang Peng, 23, beat a host of women dancers to the top prize.