The Peculiar Truth about Maine’s Zumba Scandal

• Kennebunk is a quaint American town nestled in the state of Maine with fewer than 11,000 residents. It’s located near President George H. W. Bush’s summer retreat and it’s home to Tom’s of Maine toothpaste. The word pastoral comes to mind.

• The town’s wholesome reputation changed in 2012. It was all because of a dance instructor.

• Her name was Alexis Wright. The short, attractive 30-year-old mother owned the local Pura Vida Zumba dance studio.

• Zumba combines Latin dancing with a fast-paced cardiovascular workout. No expertise is needed.

• In 2012, many of Wright’s dance students were shocked when she was arrested for prostitution.

• She wasn’t some stereotypical uneducated drug addict. Born and raised near Kennebunk, Wright had recently graduated from college, recently married, and was studying for medical school.

• 2010: An anonymous blog appeared entitled Alexiswrightzumbateacherpornstar. The comments section contained entries about the dance instructor’s wild sex videos with “married old men.”

• Teenagers who worked at the pizzeria next door to her studio saw older men come and go from the place. Wright wasn’t smart about hiding her operation, which she operated out of her studio.

• Aside from prostitution, she was also charged with invasion of privacy. She made videos of her sexual exploits - over 150 of them - and the many, many men who slept with her didn’t know they’d been recorded.

• Mark Strong Sr. was a private investigator and insurance agent. Like Wright, he was married and a parent. He coached Little League baseball. The businessman bankrolled Wright’s dance studio.

• They were also having an affair. They posted their own graphic porn videos on the internet.

• But while Wright was diminutive, shapely, and in peak physical condition, Strong was 57, white-haired, and out of shape. Many of Wright’s clients also had middle-aged dad bods.

• Strong’s involvement with her ran deeper, though. He acted as a kind of guardian. While she had sex with her clients, Strong watched every encounter live over Skype from his home 100 miles away.

• Then Strong acquired her clients’ addresses and phone numbers. Wright kept all of that information on a computer spreadsheet, which the police found subsequent to her arrest.

• That spreadsheet became known around Kennebunk as The List. It contained up to 175 names.

• Did Wright and Strong intend to commit extortion? There was no evidence that they even attempted that. But the prostitution charges were clear. She pled guilty.

• Gradually, the police publicly revealed names from The List. But because of the volume, they only released up to 60 names per week, usually on Fridays. Many were blue collar workers. Some were prominent businessmen and included a local television personality.

• It shook the community and destroyed marriages and families.

• In 2013, Alexis Wright served only six months of a ten month term and received fines. Strong got only 20 days in jail. But their personal lives, as well as many of the people in their sleepy community, were ruined.

• Kennebunk has put its sordid past behind. People have moved on. And currently the town has no Zumba studios.

  ALSO

• In 2023, the Lifetime Network released a movie based on Alexis Wright’s secret life called “Let’s Get Physical.”