"I think we're at that time where we can actually professionalize this industry, and we can have the standards that we want to set, and we can offer people careers."
In this episode, we are joined by Joanne Mathews, founder and CEO of Ten Health & Fitness, one of London's longest-running Dynamic Reformer Pilates brands, now growing into franchising with Tenreformer.
They explore why London's reformer studios have grown 72% in 18 months against just 50% growth in demand, and what that saturation means for studios competing on price instead of differentiation.
They also dig into what it takes to build a Pilates business with longevity: going employed-only with teachers, building an in-house academy, choosing the right locations, the realities of rising costs and shrinking profitability, and Joanne's leadership philosophy after nearly two decades running studios.
Timestamps
01:24 The car crash that led to her "happy accident" into Pilates
03:31 Launching Ten with one borrowed reformer studio
06:08 Finding a business partner and going employed-only from day one
09:06 The case for professionalising the Pilates industry
15:01 Training standards, VAT, and not being a recognised profession
24:21 Scaling from one studio to a London-wide brand
28:30 Choosing locations and franchising with Tenreformer
34:24 Rising costs, big-box gyms, and the race to the bottom on price
41:12 Is owning a Pilates studio still profitable?
44:10 What community really means at Ten
52:17 Building TenAcademy and what makes a great teacher today
1:00:49 Joanne's leadership philosophy: true support
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