When I met Karina Murniece in Bali during a pole camp, I knew immediately she was different.
Not because she was loud.
Not because she was trying to impress anyone.
Actually… the opposite.
She had this very blunt, fearless energy about her. Like someone who had already burned down an old version of herself and survived it.
And honestly? I think that’s why I liked her so much.
For 18 years, Karina Murniece built a career behind the camera.
What started as taking photos of her daughter slowly turned into weddings, events, boudoir photography, and eventually becoming one of the most sought-after boudoir photographers in Ireland.
Women flew from different countries just to work with her.
From the outside, it looked like she had built the dream life:
- a successful business
- three children
- a beautiful custom-built house
- stability
But internally, something felt wrong.
At one point she looked around her life and thought:
“Oh my god… did I build myself a prison?”
That sentence hit me hard.
Because I think many women secretly understand that feeling.
Sometimes the life we worked so hard to create no longer fits the person we’re becoming.
Karina told me she’s naturally pretty fearless.
Her philosophy is simple:
“If it doesn’t kill me, the answer is usually yes.”
So instead of staying stuck in depression, she moved her entire family to Bali.
Not because she had some perfect plan.
But because something inside her knew she needed change.
And honestly? Pole dancers understand this energy deeply.
We understand reinvention.
We understand becoming someone new.
The Unlearning
Bali wasn’t just a new location for Karina.
It became a place where she could completely unlearn who she thought she had to be.
Instead of creating polished, “perfect” images, she started photographing real life.
Trash on the beach.
Messy moments.
Bodies without performance.
Emotion without posing.
For the first time in years, she stopped trying to create photos people would approve of.
And somewhere in that process, she realized something important:
She didn’t want to just be a photographer anymore.
She wanted to be an artist.
Welcome to the Cringe Club
Then came the project that changed everything.
“Cringe Club.”
A name that makes people laugh at first — until they realize how deeply personal it actually is.
Growing up in Latvia in a strict post-Soviet environment, Karina learned early that standing out was dangerous.
Even smiling too much could feel “cringe.”
Being loud? Cringe.
Being emotional? Cringe.
Being different? Cringe.
Especially as women.
For years, she carried those invisible rules inside her body.
And hearing her say that honestly reminded me of parts of my own life too.
I grew up with a very strict mother, and for a long time I also learned to shrink parts of myself to feel accepted.
In many ways, that’s actually part of how Pole Mom Design was born.
Not just as a business.
But almost as a way to become the supportive “mom” energy I needed for myself.
A reminder that women deserve softness, freedom, creativity, play, and self-expression — even when the world tells them they’re “too much.”
Then Karina said something I’ll never forget:
“Over the cringe mountain is freedom.”
And suddenly everything clicked.
Because maybe the things we call cringe…
are actually just the parts of ourselves waiting to be fully seen.
What If Cringe Is Actually Freedom?
For the Cringe Club series, Karina gathered women together with no pressure to be beautiful, sexy, polished, or desirable.
There were snacks. Drinks. Music. Chaos. Play.
Women showed up in strange outfits, strange makeup, strange energy.
And instead of trying to look perfect…
They looked honest.
The photos are shocking. Funny. Uncomfortable. Beautiful.
Because they feel REAL.
And maybe that’s the point.
Maybe freedom begins the moment we stop trying to look “acceptable.”
Pole Dancers Understand This Too
Maybe that’s why the pole community connects so deeply to projects like this.
Pole dancing already asks women to move through shame, visibility, sensuality, awkwardness, confidence, and self-expression.
At some point, every dancer has had to climb their own cringe mountain.
To wear the outfit.
To film the video.
To post the dance.
To take up space anyway.
And on the other side of that discomfort…
is freedom.
The Pole Mom X Cringe Club Challenge
To celebrate Karina’s work, Pole Mom Design is launching the Cringe Club Challenge.
We want YOU to post the photo, video, outfit, dance, makeup look, weird art, silly expression, or moment that once felt “too cringe” to share.
Then tell us WHY.
What used to make you hide?
What part of yourself are you learning to accept?
What does freedom look like for you now?