By Nicole Rogers

It’s been a little more than a year since Pilates-Pro.com reported on a Pilates collective forming in the San Francisco Bay Area in August 2008, but in that short span, something seems to have taken hold. Other regional collectives have surfaced across the country, and the Bay Area group—which quickly ballooned to the state level—is now taking its program national. These collectives were inspired by a desire to build Pilates community spirit or a local Pilates network, and some, on a more pragmatic level, organized for a shared business advantage. For all, the rewards of sharing information, comparing notes and pooling resources are only beginning. There is, after all, strength in numbers.

We were able to catch up with a few of these groups to bring you this update on grassroots-style Pilates organizing. Read on to find out what the various Pilates collectives are up to now. 

Support for the Business of Pilates
The Bay Area Pilates Collective, now known as the United Pilates Collective, was one of the first to materialize. It started in 2008 when Tracey Sylvester and Nancy Myers, owners of EHS Pilates in San Francisco, thought to hold a mixer for Pilates studios in the Bay Area. “We invited trainers and studio owners within a 25 mile radius to chat about business, and it was immediately obvious that there was a need in the community for this kind of support network,” Sylvester says. She and Myers, as business owners, saw a need for studio owners and independent contractors to share information, such as where to find a lawyer who understood the Pilates business or where to get good liability insurance.

By Lauren Charlip

Not only is Pilates for Pink a way to raise money for a great cause, but it has given two Los Angeles studio owners—with studios mere blocks away from each other—a reason to come together and put a new spin on the program.      

Maria Leone and Shari Berkowitz both own studios with teacher-training programs, a rare occurence in any neighborhood. Leone owns Bodyline, a PhysicalMind Institute certification studio, and Berkowitz owns The Vertical Workshop, and directs Power Pilates’ West Coast teacher-training program. Together they’re putting on programming for Pilates teachers that will raise money for the Breast Cancer Research Foundation through Pilates for Pink this Sunday, October 18.

Each will be teaching a professionals-only mat class at Bodyline (which will also sponsor its own Pilates for Pink class for clients). Leone, ruminating on how she’d make her third year as a Pilates for Pink host different, came up with the idea of having a guest teacher.

By Michelle Fama

“You live in Los Angeles…but your Pilates studio is in New York?”

People always ask this question when they find out what I do. More often than not, it’s followed immediately by another: “How does that work?” The trick is to organize the studio so well that it practically runs itself.

I moved to Los Angeles for the first time in 2006. My business partner, Kim Villanueva, and I had operated Core Pilates NYC in New York City for three years with much success and decided to launch a second location on the West Coast. I was itching to trade in subways for surfboards, so I packed my life into 15 boxes and bought a one-way ticket. The studio launch required both of us to be in Los Angeles for months at a time, which left the nurture of our three-year-old “baby” on the opposite coast to our admin staff and instructors.

By Devra Swiger

There isn’t much good news these days. Between the high unemployment rate, the dismal housing market and crooked Wall Street investors, some Pilates businesses are facing new challenges. Yet despite the weakened economy, there are still people willing to spend money on Pilates training, but keep in mind the rules have changed. Now more than ever, a client has to really feel that he or she is benefiting from each and every session. This means that client–instructor relationships have to be strong, positive and mutually beneficial.

What makes for a successful instructor–client relationship? How can you make a difference in the life of a client? What can you do to keep the client loyal to both you and the Pilates method? How do we as instructor keep our clients during these bad economic times? Read on…

By Nicole Rogers

Serendipity has played a role at every turn for Debbie Orlando and Ronda Arndorfer. Both women live in Wisconsin, but met through contacts at The Pilates Center in Boulder. Orlando is a graduate of the Masters Program there and is currently a certified teacher for the Masters Program. Arndorfer is currently enrolled in the Masters Program. While training in Boulder, people kept saying to Arndorfer, “You live in Wisconsin and you don’t know Debbie Orlando? You have to meet her!” They met shortly thereafter, and that was the beginning of Pilates on The Lake, a studio that is fast becoming a Midwestern magnet for Pilates teachers in training, as well as a serious but friendly place for locals to get fit—all in a peaceful, lakeside setting.

By Nicole Rogers

Joseph Pilates hoped to reach every possible age and demographic with his method. In this spirit, there has been an increase in Pilates outreach for children in recent years, but lately, we’ve noticed a number of Pilates studios designing Pilates classes for teens specifically.

We interviewed several Pilates for teens teachers to get their insight and advice into developing teen Pilates programs. Most cited personal experience as their reason for starting a teen class – a serious back injury as a young gymnast, a struggle with anorexia in high school, and from everyone, the simple understanding of how difficult the teen years can be in general. These experiences have led to classes that run the spectrum. The classes may or may not be strictly Pilates, but all are places for teens (often girls) to express themselves and explore movement in a safe environment.

By Nicole Rogers

YouTube is probably best known for viral videos, but it can be useful as a grass-roots marketing tool for all kinds of businesses; from large corporations trying to micro-market and create buzz, to small Pilates studios posting video to broaden their audience. Online video allows you to connect to local clientele, as well as to potential viewers around the world. Pilates studios that wouldn’t have dreamed of making a video a decade ago can make use of this technology to post video for minimal cost. YouTube is certainly not the only way to use online video to promote you business, but it is user-friendly and free.

Here are some of the videos by Pilates instructors interviewed for this article. Click the link below the video player to read more.

In February, we launched our first “Pilates on Call” segment with Siri Dharma Galliano and asked for your suggestions for future expert Pilates hosts. Thanks to an enthusiastic nomination, this month we’re bringing you Matt and Carrie McCulloch, owners of the new Kinected studio in New York. This dynamic husband–wife duo will be here over the next few weeks to answer your questions about opening and running a Pilates studio in these challenging economic times.

Matt and Carrie share a commitment to bridging the gaps between movement and medicine, which led them to create the FAMI Workshop, an anatomy program for fitness professionals. The pair always envisioned opening a studio together, and in 2008, they came across a studio owner who wanted to sell her space (thanks to an ad on Pilates-Pro.com). After doing some research, they decided to take the plunge. Since then, they’ve renovated and transformed the studio according to their vision and are happy and thriving in their new digs, despite an unforeseen recession.

So if you’re wondering about buying or starting studio, the research you need to do beforehand, renovating, how to staff up, how to handle a transition with existing employee and clients, working with family members or anything else, leave your questions in the comments section below or email editor@pilates-pro.com. Matt and Carrie will get to them as quickly as possible, but might need a day or two to respond.

About Matt and Carrie
Matt McCulloch, a Pilates and GYROTONIC instructor, has been studying Pilates for 20 years and has trained instructors for both STOTT Pilates and Pilates on Fifth. Carrie McCulloch, MD, is a physician and STOTT Pilates-trained instructor. She co-created the award-winning living anatoME™ program, which incorporates Pilates and yoga into the teaching of anatomy in medical school. This summer, she will begin her medical internship, followed by a residency in Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation at New York Presbyterian-The University Hospital of Columbia & Cornell. Matt and Carrie met and started dating through Pilates, teamed up to start the FAMI Workshop in 2006 and are co-authoring the upcoming textbook Gray’s Anatomy for Fitness Professionals with other medical professionals. They opened Kinected in 2008, where they look forward to fostering a center that serves the comprehensive health and education needs of clients and instructors.