Owner

Stephanie Glandon is the founder of Sunshine Aerial Fitness and has been a fitness instructor since 2011.  She started “Pole Dancing” on a whim in 2013 after seeing a pole performance at an Expo, and knew she had to learn. Stephanie decided to start teaching Pole Fitness in 2016, and her passion for aerials quickly turned into becoming a competitive Pole Sport Athlete. After competing in the amateur division in various Canadian competitions, she decided to compete professionally in 2019 and won double gold medals for Pole Art and Pole Sport at the Canadian Pole Sport and Art Federation (CPSAF) National Championships, which landed her a spot on Team Canada. Stephanie then competed at POSA World Championships in December 2019 in Finland, finishing top 10 in the Women’s Masters 40+ division (beating out the USA! HOO-RAH!). Stephanie holds many fitness and aerial certifications including CPSAF Platinum certified coach.

Instructor

Ever since she was a kid, Gail has loved watching Cirque du Soleil and then pretending she could do a few circus moves. After finding pole in 2018, and then aerial hoop (aka lyra) a couple of years later, the fantasy finally feels a bit more real! Gail has loved building her strength, flexibility, and camaraderie with the aerial community, and can't wait to share that love with folks of all different shapes, sizes, and movement backgrounds.

Meanwhile, Gail's day job as a Principal Instructional Engineer at Splunk combines her background in computer science and love of learning.

Instructor

Sammie’s pole journey started in 2018 when she took a class to try something new and became obsessed. She loves the beauty pole creates and the strength it takes. It became an expression of self love and helped her to feel more confident in her skin. Now she can’t wait to teach and see that blossom in her students. She is excited to encourage you to learn more about your self, show how strong you are and most importantly to have fun. Her strongest belief is that pole is for everyone!

Instructor 

Lindsay has been a pole instructor for almost nine years and a proud mom of four teenagers! She taught at a studio in Cornwall Ontario where she learned a lot about the aerial arts. Lindsay is a vey athletic woman who loves to learn. One class of pole fitness and she had to learn it all! Lindsay is an avid outdoors person, who owns a hobby farm with lots of animals including horses that she has trained and ridden all of her life. She loves to compete and has done so with horse riding, throughout North America in obstacle course racing and now in Pole Fitness.

She knows what it takes to succeed; determination, passion and an open mind to always learn.

As an instructor she thrives on seeing the success of her students. Watching their confidence and strength grow with each class is empowering not only for themselves, but also the ones around them. She will always be the driving force behind a student to help them achieve their dreams.

Instructor 

Having trained in ballet for many years prior to moving to Ottawa, Kristen started training in pole in 2014 after attending a free introductory session and discovering she was the least coordinated person in the room!  Challenging herself to sign up for an 8-week beginner class, she moved quickly through the levels, discovering a natural athleticism and flexibility that she never knew she had, as well as a love for pushing herself to the limit to learn new skills.  She has been in love with aerial hoop since her first introduction to it in 2018, and is excited for the opportunity to share her passion and unique way of visualizing movements and skills with her students.  

Kristen also trains in doubles pole, winning gold in Doubles at the 2019 CPSAF National Pole Art Championships, her competition debut, and landing her a spot on Team Canada.  She loves the energy that comes with training and performing as a pair, and is looking forward to having an opportunity to introduce others to doubles in the future.

Kristen loves to be active, whether it is running, downhill skiing, hiking, or dancing, and spends her days working as an engineer/architect specializing in historic buildings and taking care of her daughter, who often joins her at the studio, being a budding aerialist herself.  Having spent many hours teaching a fidgety five-year-old tricks and watching her excitement as she learns and shows off her new skills, Kristen is excited to help others progress along their pole/aerials journey and find the same joy and confidence in their new abilities.

Instructor

Becky Vandenberg is a former professional figure skater who toured the world with Disney On Ice for 12 years before settling back home in the Ottawa area.  She has always had a passion for fitness and has been coaching individuals of all ages, backgrounds and abilities for over 20 years including National and Paralympic athletes.  She specializes in custom programming, corrective exercise, strength and mobility.  

Becky is a Fitness Instructor Specialist and Personal Trainer with Can Fit Pro, as well as a certified Exercise Therapist with the Exercise Therapy Association and a Fascial Stretch Therapist with the Stretch to Win Institute.  She is also a licensed ZUMBA™ and STRONG Nation™ instructor.

In her spare time Becky loves doing anything outside:  gardening, snowboarding, cross country skiing and playing with her dog.  She is always keen to learn new skills and loves helping people achieve their fitness goals.

Instructor 

Amanda has received extensive dance training in a variety of styles including Ballet, Pointe, Contemporary, Lyrical, Jazz, Tap, Acro, and Hip Hop. She competed nationally in all styles and also qualified for “Best Dancer” at The Dance Awards convention in Las Vegas and Orlando. After her competing years, she continued to develop her artistry at École de Danse Contemporaine de Montréal (EDCM). 

With the temporary closure of schools and dance studios, she wanted to learn something new and get herself active again - so around 2021 she decided to install a dance pole at home.

She began by experimenting different ways to transfer her dance skills to the pole, and immediately fell in love with the process. She’s been dedicated to training and exploring ever since the day she started.

As an instructor, Amanda’s goal is to create a comfortable and judgment-free space for students  to experiment, explore and refine their own style.

Instructor and Studio Manager

Julia started her aerial journey in the summer of 2022. She was ecstatic to find a place where she could grow not only her strength, but her self confidence and friendships as well. Julia loves learning about what the human body can do and loves to show others what they are capable of. 

When she’s not upside down, Julia loves reading, writing, driving, and playing with her dog Basil. 

Hammock Yoga Instructor

Brad began practicing yoga in 2011, shortly after sustaining a head and neck injury that left him with a mild brain injury and impaired sense of balance. Through consistent practice, he not only rebuilt strength and balance but also experienced fewer issues with headaches and concentration.

In 2019, he decided to pursue a yoga teacher certification to share the benefits of yoga with others. It was during this time that Brad discovered aerial yoga for the first time and immediately fell in love with it. After completing the training to become a yoga teacher, Brad obtained the certification to teach aerial hammock yoga. Since then he has continued to expand his knowledge and practice, always looking for new hammock tricks and techniques to explore. His teaching philosophy encourages students to find the balance between challenge and relaxation.

When he is not hanging upside down or flying through the air, Brad enjoys going for walks, lifting weights, playing video games with friends, or spending time with his dog, Sprocket.

Instructor

Meghan began her movement journey as a teenager training in aerial acrobatics, including silks, lyra, and trapeze. After stepping away to travel for several years, she found her way back to the studio in 2023, when she began pole dance and floorwork, and later added fly pole. Since then, Meghan has competed in pole competitions such as Chromageddon and Skripped Down, earning first- and second-place medals.

Meghan believes it’s important to move and dance without feeling pressure to be “good” at it, and values curiosity, play, and showing up as you are. As a coach, she aims to create a supportive space where students can explore movement, build confidence, and reconnect with their bodies at their own pace. Outside of the studio, Meghan enjoys rock climbing and working on puzzles with her cat.

Instructor

Emily first joined Sunshine Aerial Fitness as a budding aerialist in July 2022 back in Stephanie’s living room studio and has been hooked ever since. Having grown up doing musical theatre and drama, she had been long looking for a way to get back on stage and play with performance art in adulthood.  She steps into her newest role as ‘instructor’ having been certified in fitness anatomy, and completed her Pole Beginner 1 Certification. Emily is excited to share her passion for movement and self-expression with students, and help students come to the same realization she did after her first (few) pole classes - we’re stronger than we think we are.

Admin

Jennifer is Stephanie's baby sister. She didn't write a bio, so Stephanie took it upon herself to write one!

Jennifer, aka "Jenny pooh", loves to eat raw chicken and her biggest goal in life is to climb Mount Everest with her favorite stuffed animal, Monchhichi, in hand.

Jennifer has been a HUGE help to the Sunshine Team with all things Administrative.  She is the hidden hero who gets all the classes in the schedule, registers and invoices students, and points out all of Stephanie's mistakes! 

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