Influencer’s Pole Dancing Workout Sets Off Sprinkler, Floods Multiple Units

A home workout video was supposed to show off a new skill. Instead, it ended with fire trucks outside of a Houston apartment complex.

ABC13 reported on Tuesday, July 14, that digital content creator Asha Gilbert was filming herself while following a pole-dancing tutorial in her west Houston living room on July 6 when the pole slipped loose from the ceiling and struck a fire sprinkler.

Within seconds, water shot through the unit and seeped into a neighbor’s apartment below.

Gilbert had only put the pole up three days earlier after a colleague offered to give it to her. She and a friend installed it using tension between the ceiling and floor rather than anchoring it, a decision she said felt reasonable at the time, according to the outlet. “It wasn’t even a thought that it could possibly hit the sprinkler,” Gilbert said, as per the outlet.

The flooding ruined much of her furniture and forced her to relocate to another unit in the building. As per TMZ, Gilbert explained her downstairs neighbor took the damage in stride, and she later said, “I went into shock and was completely stunned,” with her main worry being her dog, who made it outside safely as firefighters arrived.

Gilbert’s video has since drawn more than 700,000 views on Instagram, and she leaned into the attention by joining a trending “Netflix doc” format online. She also addressed the episode in another video on Instagram.

She wrote, “Closing this chapter and focusing on what comes next,” though she turned off comments on that update.

The reaction online split between amusement and support. One commenter defended Gilbert, writing, “This is still a real person, who happens to be a good friend of mine, and is dealing with the effects of a simple mistake IN REAL TIME. Don’t miss the PSA message and real reason she shared in the beginning … so others would know what not to do. Please keep it cute – Thanks 🙏🏾 😊.”

Another supportive comment read: “Well, to be fair, she placed the pole where she had space to perform. The thing that went wrong is it wasn’t firm enough! So sorry for all that mess! Hope you get it fixed soon! 😩.”

Another quipped, “Went from strip tease to Titanic real quick,” adding, “hope the dog ok.” Despite the mishap, Gilbert said she hopes people stop viewing pole dancing as purely provocative, noting the strength and core work the sport requires.