Since posting their pole-dancing videos online, the duo has been hit with a barrage of nasty comments, from digs at Sam’s sexuality to sneers at their ‘weird’ and taboo antics.

But Misha and Sam, who chose to withhold their last name for privacy, aren’t phased by the flak. 

“A lot of people think pole is just for women. It’s strange for them to see a guy do it, especially with his [female] partner,” said Sam, an engineer, who first suggested he and Misha give pole dancing a whirl in March. “I just don’t feed into the negativity.“

“There are times I have to hold all of Misha’s weight while we’re doing a move, or she may have to position herself in a certain way to accommodate me,” he added. “It’s like a metaphor for marriage.”

In New York City, Amanda Kenberg’s boyfriend, George Forchuk, shrugs off the shade hurled his way, too.

For the muscle-bound lovebirds, who are students at Pole Superwoman in Manhattan, the pulse-pumping workout has kept their hearts beating for one another since they first locked eyes nearly three years ago.

“George and I met at a pole dancing event so he wasn’t a stranger to it already,” said Kenberg, 32, an esthetician and waxer in Jersey City. “Pole dancing together is very rewarding. We get to see each other learn and fail, we record each other doing something we feel our best at — it’s really fun to see someone you love learning about themselves in real time too.”

As fitness enthusiasts, she and Forchuk, 35, a photographer, had each trained in martial arts and weightlifting.

But pole dancing side by side has strengthened both their bodies and their bond. Forchuk said his partner’s support and open-mindedness keep him going in the face of hate.

“Having to distinguish the art from those who believe pole dancing is just stripping gets really annoying,” he told The Post. “But I love making fun of dudes who are just not comfortable with themselves or their own relationships.”

“Their insecurity isn’t alpha or cute,” Forchuk asserted before scolding his anti-pole trolls. “Learn to enjoy and support your partner in everything they do.”

Sharing common ground can keep couples in pole position. According to Pew Research, more than 60% of married adults cite “shared interests,” along with satisfying sex, as key to a successful marriage.

Gotham-based sex and relationship therapist Cyndi Darnell told The Post that a strong connection is the “glue” that holds relationships together, praising physical activities like pole dancing for fostering “attunement” between partners.

“When engaging in a physical activity with another person, a co-regulation of nervous systems and heartbeats can occur, creating a sense of connection and communication that transcends words and conscious thought. That’s attunement,” said the expert and author of “Sex When You Don’t Feel Like It.”

“Through couples activities that require very close physical connection, you and your partner become one being during the exercise,” she continued. 

Travis, a macho military man who pole dances alongside his wife, Laura, several times a week, agrees. The nontraditional twosome, from New Jersey, laud the sport as the cherry-on-top to their sweet 22-year union. 

“As a couple, we’ve always been very into physical touch, so pole dancing can add to that in a way,” Travis, 43, an IT specialist and Army veteran, told The Post. “But it’s really helped us rely on one another, supporting each other in areas — both on or off the poles — where the other is in need.”

Travis encouraged Laura, 40, a nurse, to pursue the pole as a self-esteem booster in 2022, pointing her to Pole To Pole Fitness, with studios across NYC and NJ. 

As many women often experience, changes to Laura’s physique left her feeling less than hot. But after pole reignited the bombshell’s confidence, she lassoed Travis into the risqué revelry, sparking his fire for the ankle hangs and pirouettes, too. 

“It built my confidence. I started to get more comfortable and fell in love with the community, learning tricks and doing exercises that feel more like fun,” said Laura, who treats pole sessions with her not-so-shy guy “like a date night.” 

Although admittedly “uncomfortable” at first, Travis, one in a handful of guys at the studio, credits pole with increasing his mobility, flexibility and agility, as well as his ability to remain in-sync with his significant other.

“We do dance lifts, mounts and dismounts on the same pole. I can pick her up and place her on the apparatus or take her off of one pole and gracefully walk her over to another apparatus,” said the ex-serviceman.

And he isn’t deterred by pole dancing critics — not even when the heckles come from his friends in the armed forces. 

“They absolutely give me grief. But then at the same time, they’re also like, ‘Wow. It’s impressive that at 43 you’re still doing the splits and moving, doing things that we could never do,’” he laughed. “I’ve even booked private lessons for my Army and Marines buddies. Afterwards they love it just as much as I do.”

But the love of pole isn’t limited to the lover boys on US soil. 

Domenico, a lifelong soccer player from Naples, Italy, told The Post that stealing a kiss from girlfriend Lauryn, 31, as they’re upside down in an inverted pike position on the pole is better than kicking the winning goal. 

“I’d never really considered pole dancing as a sport because I assumed it was mostly practiced by women and that the benefits, such as flexibility, were mainly for them,” said the professional tattoo artist. “But now, I would absolutely recommend pole dance to men.”

Footage of their flirty, fiery moves has sent tongues wagging online.