In this episode, Nic is joined by Yvette McGaffin, co-founder of ReformRx and the driving force behind what is set to become the world's first digitally connected Reformer Pilates machine for the home.
Yvette's story is one of the more remarkable in the Pilates industry right now. A professional dancer turned studio owner, she built and ran her own Reformer Pilates studios in Belfast and Edinburgh before identifying a gap that had been sitting in plain sight for decades: the reformer itself had barely changed in 50 years. What followed was years of prototyping, welding in sheds, searching Herefordshire countryside for the right designer, and eventually building a piece of equipment that's now in luxury hotels, health clubs, and studios across Europe.
They explore what it actually takes to build something from scratch in the Pilates industry - the resilience, the false starts, and the moments that unlocked everything. They get into the real barriers to Reformer Pilates accessibility, from cost and intimidation to the question of who the industry thinks it's for. And they discuss where connected fitness meets Pilates, and why Yvette believes technology should make the friction fall away and leave you with just the movement.
They also go deeper into what the next five to ten years could look like for the industry - and why Yvette believes Reformer Pilates is about to stop being something people add in, and start being the foundation everything else is built on.
Timestamps
00:27 Why the reformer hadn't changed in 50 years
04:29 Yvette's journey into Pilates and professional dance
06:56 Building the Reform Method and opening studios
10:24 Who Reformer Pilates is really for
16:45 The decision to build ReformRx
19:04 Designing the reformer from scratch
23:23 What the smart spine changed
26:43 Should teachers be worried about at-home reformers?
27:49 Why mat Pilates is harder than people think
29:55 How studios are using connected reformers
32:13 ReformRx in hotels and hospitality
40:08 What building ReformRx taught Yvette
44:40 Where to find Yvette and the Ultra One Reformer
If you're enjoying the podcast, make sure you're following along so you don't miss future episodes. And feel free to share this one with someone you think would take something from it.
Connect with Nic:
Connect with Yvette
Interested in joining the July Teacher Training intake? Find all the details and book a call here.
