 "Photo: Larissa Mueller")
 "Photo: Larissa Mueller")
As she gracefully slides down the pole, Lynn Krug, better known as Miss Natasha to the class, flashs a bashful grin and says, "The great thing about pole tricks is that as long as you smile and point your toes, you look good." As she continues on with other moves that seemingly defy gravity, the class watches in awe, smiling and waiting their turns to try out their newly acquired pole dancing skills.
Behind the lacy curtains of North Austin's fetish boutique Forbidden Fruit, Krug's class has attracted women of all ages. If not for the gleaming silver pole in the middle of the room, this could be mistaken as a yoga class: mats are scattered across the floor and women are dressed in athletic clothes.
"We went to Rain on [Fourth Street] a couple of weekends ago and tried to dance on the stripper pole," said a customer from the class. "We discovered we were really bad at it, and these boys showed us up, so we decided to take some classes and go back."
Like the women who are taking her pole dancing class, Krug was self-conscious when she first started as well. As the girls nervously took turns chalking their hands and trying new moves out, she stood there watching them, offering words of encouragement and providing examples as she deftly maneuvered her way around the shiny, brass pole.
"You're going to be so sore after this lesson. My name is Miss Natasha. Remember that when you're cursing me tomorrow."
Krug, 32, actually does work at a gentleman's club, The Yellow Rose. Working amid flashing strobe lights and walking on slippery Plexiglass from 11 p.m. to 2 a.m. isn't easy, but Krug uses the job to pay her student expenses, such as rent and textbooks. In fact, when you see Krug on the 40 Acres, she looks just like any other student - with a big rainproof jacket, black Patagonia fleece and Nike Shox - working on her double major in anthropology and psychology.
But at work, her petite frame, which is elevated to 6 feet, 1 inch when she wears 7-inch heels, is complemented by her short bob, dyed an intense blue-black hue. On her best night, she made $700, but on average, she makes about $200 a night. Customers range from students and professors to the working class to affluent crowds that hang out in the V.I.P. section. The Yellow Rose also gets its share of celebrity customers. The UT football team came in, along with Vince Young, who Krug said was very nice and polite. Tinseltown celebs from Texas, such as Matthew McConaughey and the Wilson brothers, also allegedly frequent the bar.
In addition to pole dancing, being a full-time student, observing singing rats for her labs and attending neuroscience symposiums, Krug also works hard to dispel myths and rumors about pole dancers. She recently spoke with a panel at the University about her job and is trying to make a dancer resource book for Yellow Rose employees to help them deal with their issues.
"We're normal, everyday people," she said. "It's just a job. There are a lot of girls there working to support their entire families. There's a lot more going on than what people think. We aren't doing drugs or alcohol or other things that people say strippers do."
Krug has personally dealt with people who base her profession on stereotypes. One day when she was riding her Vespa on her way home from work, she was hit by a drunk driver and hospitalized with a broken hand. The nurse treated her well until she found out where Krug worked, she said.
"She called me a whore and said that these kind of things don't happen to nice girls," Krug said. "I claim to be a modern burlesque dancer, because there is a negative connotation that goes with the word 'stripper.'"
Krug's upper body strength provides her with an immense advantage for pole dancing, but she didn't acquire her athleticism through dance classes alone. In 1995, she enlisted for a six-year term with the military and became the first female to go through special forces training. Though she was on the front lines as part of the military police completing difficult operations, Krug wasn't happy. She finished her tour with the military and decided to finish her undergraduate degree, which she had started in 1992.
Krug continued her dedication to physical fitness after the military with pole dancing and often works out in the comfort of her own home.
"[Pole dancing] is eight hours of aerobics, and I'm in so much pain the next day from doing squats all night," she said.
Hoisting herself five feet up on the $600 dollar portable pole in her house, Krug swung through the air with the tip of her foot pointing at pictures of male nudes hanging on each wall.
"I like them because you don't see enough male nudes, and these are just regular-looking dudes," she said as she slid down the pole.
Her audience of portraiture watched, fully exposed with aloof expressions on their faces. These men would drop their jaws if they knew they were staring at Austin's self-proclaimed best pole dancer.
Wearing tennis shoes, black cotton shorts and a spaghetti strap shirt, Krug sits down and takes a break when she works up a sweat. At night, she gets down to a g-string and dances a three-song set for about 12 to 18 minutes, looking sultry, but all the while going through a mental list of errands that she needs to do.
"I'm thinking about cat litter, what I need to do for homework and hoping that I won't fall," she said.
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