Beyond the Reformer

“I started to shift my focus to curiosity. And that profoundly changed the way that I connect with people and the way that I show up in my classes.”

In this episode, we are joined by Courtney Miller, Pilates educator, teacher trainer and founder of Pilates Republic, a growing group of Reformer Pilates studios in Southern California. Courtney has been teaching since 2001, is a long-standing Pilates Anytime instructor, and designed her own Rebel Reformer for her studios.

Nic and Courtney explore how Courtney went from teaching out of insecurity and perfectionism to teaching with curiosity and...

“I started to shift my focus to curiosity. And that profoundly changed the way that I connect with people and the way that I show up in my classes.”

In this episode, we are joined by Courtney Miller, Pilates educator, teacher trainer and founder of Pilates Republic, a growing group of Reformer Pilates studios in Southern California. Courtney has been teaching since 2001, is a long-standing Pilates Anytime instructor, and designed her own Rebel Reformer for her studios.

Nic and Courtney explore how Courtney went from teaching out of insecurity and perfectionism to teaching with curiosity and...

"When did being a good teacher become being endlessly accommodating?"

In this solo episode, Nic answers the one problem you asked her to help solve when she put the question out on Instagram: exhaustion. As a studio owner, teacher and educator, she shares six reasons she thinks so many Pilates teachers and studio owners are running on empty, and she's honest that she's working through this herself.

She explores why Pilates attracts people who care so deeply, the emotional and energetic labour of holding a room, and the hidden...

"I would rather be effective than sexy."

In this episode, we are joined by Lindsey Hammond, Pilates studio owner, educator, and author of Teach Pilates Like It Matters. Lindsey has been running her first studio for 18 years and now trains teachers through her own education programme, which she is also licensing to studios.

Together, Nic and Lindsey explore the gap between being qualified on paper and actually being ready to teach real clients. They unpack why teacher training covers the what of teaching but not always the how, why...

"We looked really, really busy and busy isn't the same as profitable."

In this solo episode, Nic, founder of Soul Pilates, shares the key lessons from a recent talk she gave on studio operations, and turns it into a mini workshop for Pilates studio owners.

She opens up about the moment her accountant told her she'd made no money despite a full studio, and explains why good operations and good profit are part of the same thing. She walks through her three pillars of great studio operations, clarity, consistency...

"Good exit strategy is just good business strategy."

In this episode, Nic is joined by Mitch McGinley, founder of Boutique Fitness Broker and author of The Number Nobody Talks About. Mitch has spent his career helping boutique fitness and wellness owners buy and sell their studios, closing over 70 transactions worth more than 30 million dollars, and he sold his own yoga studio before founding his brokerage.

They explore what actually makes a Pilates studio valuable, and why it's rarely the things owners assume, like a beautiful build out or steady revenue. Instead they unpack profit margin...

"Good exit strategy is just good business strategy."

In this episode, Nic is joined by Mitch McGinley, founder of Boutique Fitness Broker and author of The Number Nobody Talks About. Mitch has spent his career helping boutique fitness and wellness owners buy and sell their studios, closing over 70 transactions worth more than 30 million dollars, and he sold his own yoga studio before founding his brokerage.

They explore what actually makes a Pilates studio valuable, and why it's rarely the things owners assume, like a beautiful build out or steady revenue. Instead they unpack profit margin...

"I'm about as alpha male as it gets. I come from 30 years in special forces. It doesn't come much better than that. And I now teach Pilates and I absolutely see the benefits."

In this episode, Nic is joined by Tim Gough, co-owner and instructor at Vagabond Pilates in Dorset, and a 30-year veteran of the Royal Marines and Special Boat Service. Tim shares how his wife Millie's own Pilates journey through cancer recovery pulled him into the method during deployment, and how that eventually led him to leave the military and co-found a full-equipment Pilates studio...

"The second guessing is you're trying to be like somebody else and you can never be like somebody else. You can only be like you are."

In this episode, Nic swaps the usual guest chair for an Agony Aunt session, answering real Pilates dilemmas sent in by listeners.

She unpacks what's really behind imposter syndrome, why tactile cueing feels so nerve-wracking for so many teachers, and how to bring your full, authentic personality into the studio without oversharing, including a candid take on teaching as a neurodivergent instructor.

She also gets into the...

"You're in the service business, you're not in the teaching business."

In this episode, we are joined by Phil M Jones, bestselling author of the Exactly What to Say book series (over 1 million copies sold) and one of the world's most in-demand communication and sales experts, having delivered over 3,500 presentations across 50+ countries.

They explore why personality can't be taught but connection can, and what that means for Pilates teachers who think they're "not chatty people." Phil breaks down why the question "how are you" is a connection killer, and gives a simple alternative that opens...

"We have so much more in common than we have in differences, despite what Instagram might make you think." - Nic

This week's episode is a little different. Instead of one guest, Nic is looking back at 11 conversations from the podcast's first year - not ranked as a "best of," but chosen as the moments that made her stop, think, and question.

Across the past year, Beyond the Reformer has brought together voices from every corner of the Pilates world - different schools, different methods, different opinions on what Pilates should even be. In this...

"Just because you've got your 600 hour certificate doesn't mean you know it all. This is your beginning. This is just truly your beginning."

In this episode, Nic is joined by Anita Horry, a second-generation Pilates master teacher, founder of the Anita Horry Academy, and internationally respected educator and business mentor based in Spain. With over 20 years in the industry, Anita has trained and mentored teachers across the globe and is actively involved in raising Pilates education standards through her work with the PMA and ITAP.

Together they explore what it really takes to become an...

"Pilates isn't about that for me, you know? It's about really going deep, connecting these people."

In this episode, we are joined by Kia, a classically trained Pilates teacher based in Los Angeles who built her entire studio out of a backyard gazebo during COVID, and has kept it that way ever since. Three reformers, a Cadillac, a tower, a wonder chair, and a waitlist - entirely by choice.

They explore what it actually looks like to build a Pilates career rooted in passion rather than pressure, from how...

"Pilates won't lose its identity just because you learn different methods. It loses identity when you haphazardly memorize a set of exercises and think you can just teach this."

In this episode, Nic is joined by Ava Rodriguez, a movement specialist, international presenter, and founder of the globally accredited Mobility Fitness Academy (MFA), recorded in person while both were in London ahead of speaking at a Reformer Pilates industry conference. Ava has spent her career training movement professionals across the world and is no stranger to BTR, making her second appearance on the show.

They...

"Until you do that, you're not a brand, you're just a transactional product within their life."

In this episode, we are joined by Georgia Testa, founder of Studio 281, a fast-growing Reformer Pilates and functional fitness brand with five locations across Bedford, Milton Keynes, Ampthill, and Olney.

They explore what it really takes to build a genuine community in a Pilates studio, from why customer loyalty can never be built on a transactional relationship, to the mindset shift needed to stand out in an increasingly saturated market.

They unpack the current state of the...

"They create a business that worked for them ten years ago and they forget to move their business to work for them for the future."

In this episode, Nic is joined by Caroline Copp, a Pilates teacher turned business coach for wellness entrepreneurs. Having opened and sold two studios, Caroline now helps wellness professionals build scalable businesses through her Scaling Wellness Accelerator and weekly Scaling Wellness Podcast.

Together they explore one of the most common traps in the Pilates industry: accidentally building a demanding job instead of a business that supports your life. They get...

"We're not gonna cue muscles to cue a movement."

In this episode, Nic is joined by Shelly Power, Director of Curriculum for Polestar Pilates and one of the most respected educators in the industry. Shelly has been teaching Pilates since 1992, has led teacher trainings since 2000, and has examined and mentored Pilates teachers all over the world, including Nic herself.

They explore why great teaching has no finish line, and why the best Pilates instructors stay curious long after they're certified. Shelly breaks down why cueing individual muscles ("tighten your core," "shoulders down") often works against...

"I've been lied to my whole life. This just feels relaxing, and yet my body is starting to change."

In this episode, Nic flies solo to unpack a question she gets asked constantly on her teacher trainings: why isn't harder always better?

She explores what conditioned so many of us, especially in the fitness world, to believe that pushing more, harder, and faster is always the goal, and shares her own burnout story from the corporate world that led her to Pilates in the first place.

Nic unpacks the difference between a Pilates...

"I've been lied to my whole life. This just feels relaxing, and yet my body is starting to change."

In this episode, Nic flies solo to unpack a question she gets asked constantly on her teacher trainings: why isn't harder always better?

She explores what conditioned so many of us, especially in the fitness world, to believe that pushing more, harder, and faster is always the goal, and shares her own burnout story from the corporate world that led her to Pilates in the first place.

Nic unpacks the difference between a Pilates...

"The technique is less important than the person."

In this episode, we are joined by Alan Herdman - the man widely credited with bringing Pilates to the UK, opening the country's first Pilates studio back in the early 1970s. After training in New York under Bob Fitzgerald, Alan returned to London and has spent the last 55 years shaping how Pilates is taught, practiced, and passed on.

They explore what real teacher training looked like in the early days of Pilates, from months of apprenticeship to learning tactile cueing on real bodies, and why Alan believes...

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...

"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...

"I really worry that we will lose the essence of what Pilates actually is. How much are we going to dilute it?"

In this episode, Nic is joined by Tracy Ward - physiotherapist, Pilates teacher, and author of The Science of Pilates, published by DK. Tracy sits at the unique intersection of clinical practice and Pilates, bringing over 15 years of experience teaching, treating patients, and training new teachers through APPI.

They explore what it really takes to understand anatomy as a Pilates teacher - not to the depth of a medical degree, but in a...

"There is a lot of money-hungry people chasing trends with a lack of moral compass and ethics behind them."

The Pilates industry is growing fast - but not always in the right direction. In this episode, Nic is joined by Katie, founder of Pilates Delivered, an Amsterdam-based at-home and private Pilates service. Katie trained comprehensively with Polestar Pilates and has been teaching for over a decade across private clients, studios, and her own business.

They get straight into the hard conversation: what's actually happening with teaching standards right now, why weekend certifications are producing a...

"Real change in your body happens from grounded, consistent work. Doing the split and a handstand is entertaining, but that's not what Pilates is about."

In this episode, Nic is joined by Heather Andersen, founder of New York Pilates - one of the most recognisable reformer studio brands in the world, with nine locations across New York City and counting.

Heather built New York Pilates from a basement space in Greenwich Village in 2013, at a time when group reformer classes simply didn't exist. She shares what it actually took to scale to nine studios...

"I think self-acceptance and self-compassion... it's gonna keep changing and if you hear the loud stuff saying, I can't do that anymore - no." - Amy Havens

In this episode, Nic is joined by Amy Havens, a veteran Pilates educator, mentor, and movement teacher based in Santa Barbara with over 30 years of experience in the industry. Amy has trained across multiple lineages - including Fletcher, BASI, Kathy Grant, and Madeleine Black - and is widely respected as one of the most thoughtful voices in Pilates education today.

They explore what it really takes to become...

"I cannot be of service to other people if I cannot be of service to myself."

You left the corporate world for a reason. But somehow you're exhausted, resentful, and wondering why this passion-driven career feels just as relentless as the one you walked away from.

Nic is joined by Audrey O'Connor - former quantity surveyor, Pilates teacher, sound healer, and wellness educator who now works with global brands like Google. Back for her second appearance, Audrey digs into what burnout actually looks like for Pilates teachers - not just tiredness, but resentment, physical symptoms...

Nic is joined by Clarissa Shepherd, kids Pilates specialist, pre and postnatal educator, Club Pilates master trainer, and author of Sage Does Pilates and Babies & Barre.

Clarissa's story is anything but conventional. From working in TV news and witnessing a live on-air shooting, to packing up her car with $600 and driving to Dallas, to funding her Pilates certification while working night shifts - her path to becoming a Pilates teacher is one of grit, resilience and pure determination.

But what makes Clarissa's work truly unique is who she teaches. While the Pilates industry talks about...

"The body floats on the breath. Without the breath, we don't have a core. We don't have a centre." - Kyria Sabin

In this episode, we are joined by Kyria Sabin, director of Fletcher Pilates International and one of the most respected custodians of a first-generation Pilates lineage in the world. Kyria worked directly with Ron Fletcher - a first-generation teacher who studied with Joseph and Clara Pilates and danced with Martha Graham - and has dedicated her career to preserving and evolving his approach to the method. Her path into Pilates was never planned; she was...

Beyond the Reformer turns 1!! 🥳

In this special solo anniversary episode, Nic marks one full year of Beyond the Reformer by sharing her honest reflections on everything she has learned over the past year.

She opens up about nearly quitting the podcast, the challenge of doing too much as a studio owner and educator, and how a year of conversations with some of the most respected Pilates professionals in the world has genuinely changed her perspective.

A huge thank you to every single one of you...

Nic is joined by Juan Nieto, a physical therapist, Polestar educator, founder of the Reformer Flow Collective and co-creator of Runty.

Juan brings a completely different perspective to Pilates, movement, and coaching. Rather than focusing on perfect technique or choosing the “right” exercises, he challenges the idea that there even is a single correct way to move. Instead, he shares why expanding movement options, building awareness, and increasing variability is what truly helps people move better, reduce pain, and build resilience.

The conversation explores how Pilates can act as a fo...

In this episode, Nic is joined by Lesley Logan, a classical Pilates teacher, international presenter, fellow podcaster, and founder of Profitable Pilates and Online Pilates Classes.

They explore what it really takes to become a great Pilates teacher, from developing the ability to observe bodies and cue effectively, to navigating imposter syndrome and finding your unique voice in the industry.

They unpack the importance of having boundaries and also the current state of the Pilates industry, including gaps in teacher training, the need for mentorship, and why rushing into...

In this episode, Nic sits down with Andre Santaella, COO of Polestar Pilates and now leading Polestar UK, to explore her journey from discovering Pilates through her mum’s studio to stepping into a global leadership role.

Nic and Andre discuss what truly makes a great Pilates teacher beyond just their qualifications.

They also explore how to choose the right training provider, why mentorship is essential, and the importance of continuous education.

To finish off they chat about how we should be viewing other st...

Welcome back to Part 2 of this conversation with Rael Isacowitz, founder of Basi Pilates, where Nic and Rael go deeper into the evolution of the method, the role of equipment, and what it really takes to become a great teacher in today’s industry.

Rael shares the story behind designing Basi equipment and how it was created to reflect both form and function. He breaks down the Basi block system, explaining how structure can actually unlock creativity in teaching rather than limit it.

The conversation also explores what it me...

There are very few people in the Pilates world who have shaped the industry in the way Rael Isacowitz has.

In part 1 of this conversation, Nic sits down with the founder of Basi Pilates to explore the real foundations of the method, what it means to teach with purpose, and why the future of Pilates depends on more than just choreography.

From building one of the first curriculum-based teacher training programmes in the late 80s to creating a global community of educators, Rael shares the story behind Basi and...

Are you feeling pressure to make your Pilates classes more creative but not sure where to start?

We’ve seen how much you’ve been loving the solo episodes, so Nic is back today to discuss how to be more creative in your classes without losing structure or purpose.

With so much inspiration coming from social media, it’s easy to feel like you need to constantly reinvent your teaching. But Nic challenges this idea and brings it back to what really matters, which is strong foundations, clear intention, and te...

Most Pilates studios are sitting on far more revenue potential than they realise.

With the right pricing, membership strategy and business model, a single studio can grow into a multi-million-pound business without needing more space or more classes.

In this episode, Nic sits down with Pilates business expert Lise Kuecker, founder of Studio Grow, to discuss what actually drives profitable Pilates studios.

Lise works with hundreds of boutique fitness studios around the world and shares the real numbers behind successful studios.

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Too often Pilates teachers feel pressure to diagnose, label or overcomplicate movement.

In reality, the most powerful thing we can do is help people move with confidence.

In this episode, Nic speaks with clinician, Pilates educator and biomechanics specialist Sarah Jane Walls about the role of clinical reasoning in Pilates and why simplicity is often the most effective approach.

SJ shares her journey from competitive runner to Pilates teacher and clinic owner, explaining how Pilates quite literally changed her life after a serious injury...

Nic sits down with Amy Jordan, founder of Pilates Addiction and creator of the WundaFormer, to explore what it really takes to build a Pilates empire without losing your purpose.

From leaving a career in entertainment marketing to opening her first studio with every penny she had, Amy shares the courage, creativity and conviction behind her journey.

They discuss equipment innovation, studio ownership, scaling through franchising, leadership boundaries, inclusive culture and the mindset required to grow sustainably.

Amy opens up about developing new Pilates...

Sitting all day is quietly reshaping our bodies and our confidence, and this episode explains exactly how to change that.

In this conversation, Kerrie-Anne Bradley shares the story behind the Move at Your Desk Method and why she believes small, consistent movement breaks can transform not just your posture, but your mindset too.

Kerrie-Anne reveals how Pilates principles can be applied in the real world, even while sitting at your desk. She and Nic explore the link between stress and posture, why “shoulders back and down” might be doing more...