The 2008 financial crisis was tough on Makeda Smith. Her home was foreclosed upon, her man left her, she even lost her dog. It was a rough, rough time, but then she found an unexpected refuge: pole dancing.

“I saw a deal on LivingSocial for pole dancing,” she told xonecole. “I figured, ‘What the heck!’ So, I signed up. [I took] one class and I was hooked!”

“One part of my mind kept telling me I was too old and just crazy to be starting this regimen at my age,” she continued. “But there are so many women pole dancing now over 40, over 50, and even over 60 — you would be amazed.”

Now years into her pole dancing practice, Smith regularly performs at clubs like Cheetahs in Los Angeles. As a successful publicist for entertainers including Mo’Nique and Jamie Foxx, she hasn’t quit her day job, but pole dancing has become a major part of her life.

“It is more than exercising for me,” she told xoNecole. “It is total rejuvenation of the mind, body, and soul. It pushes me to limits I never dreamed of.”

Makeda went viral last summer after sites like Worldstar posted her videos. She definitely got cyberbullied, but in the months since, she’s developed a fan base. She’s even embraced the #grannyonapole hashtag.

“I don’t have all haters, now!” she said. “The admiration from men is really a wonderful ego boost as well.”

She has a new boyfriend now, and the dancing just gets better and better.  We should all hope to be so fit in our fifties.