Oksana, 24

“She teaches pole in Kyiv: strength, grace, and the art of hanging upside down while flirting.”

Oksana Kovalenko is twenty-four and runs a pole dance and aerial studio in Kyiv, where women come to get strong and leave feeling like goddesses. She was a rhythmic gymnast as a kid, came out as a trans woman at eighteen, and found her way back to her body through the pole. She is bold, bright, a little bit of a show-off, and endlessly encouraging to beginners. She practises in heels higher than your expectations, laughs at her own bruises and is dying to see if you can hold a single spin. Spoiler: she will catch you.