Meet the male pole dancer who is revolutionising the dance in Manchester

Damian Kutryb is making moves across Manchester – quite literally.

His Mancunian adventure began back in 2014 – Damian made the difficult decision to swap his native Poland for Manchester after living in near-constant fear of homophobic attacks; a country where homosexuality is still not accepted and has been called ‘the worst country in the EU for LGBT rights’ as recently as 2020.

Upon arrival here in Manchester, Damian was initially met with an abundance of difficulties and culture shocks; language barriers being one of them. 

@damiankutryb / Instagram

However, with Manchester’s open and welcoming LGBTQ+ community, Damian soon felt right at home and, in 2014, he made the bold decision to open his very own dance studio, GFFDamian Dance Studio.

Oh, didn’t we mention? Damian just so happens to be a skilled pole dancer – skills, in fact, that have won him a number of awards and plaudits over the years, including UK Pole Dancing Champion 2017, International Pole Idol Winner 2016 and the Runner-Up title for Mr. Pole Fitness. 

Beginning as a small pole fitness studio, GFF has since grown into a full fledged dance studio and, now located on Corporation Street near Victoria Station, it hires award-winning instructors who have been able to expand the classes to incorporate different styles of pole fitness and dance. 

Finest Media

And fast-forwarding to today, Damien has earned himself quite the reputation among Manchester’s pole dancing community – today, he welcomes people from all walks of life, regardless of their gender, their identity or their sexuality.

Speaking to Manchester’s Finest about the motive behind his dance mission, Damian said: “When I first started in pole fitness and dancing I felt very excluded, not only because my English wasn’t very good but also because I was a man. 

“So I wanted to create a safe place for people, anybody, and it doesn’t matter how you look or who you are, you can still have fun and do amazing things with your body.”

Manchester’s Finest

Yet despite the stigma continuing to surround pole, the dance form is steadily growing in popularity. Damian explained:“Pole has become much more popular over the last few years, especially with kids too – so people are changing their opinions on it and I’m positive it’ll be an Olympic sport soon enough.”

And, when asked how he deals with the criticisms, he has one go-to response: “People ask me if I just teach people how to be strippers and I say no – I teach people how to be motherf*****g ninjas!”

For more information on Damian’s dance studio and how to get involved, visit the official website here.

GFFDamian Dance Studio, Parkers Hotel, 109-113 Corporation St, Manchester M4 4DX 
07570 244398