The Pilates Effect

Heroes Behind the Revolution

Stacey Redfield, Sarah Holmes

• Publisher: Red Lightning Books
• Year: 2021
• eBook ISBN: 9781684350872
• Topic: Biological Sciences
• Subtopic: Business History
• Index: Biological Sciences

The true story behind this fitness phenomenon and its long, controversy-plagued road to popular success.
While millions today find the Pilates system helps to strengthen the core, improve posture, and recover from or prevent injuries and pain, Pilates has been clouded in controversy since the beginning. Its origin story is one of greed, ego, celebrities, and lies, with heated legal controversy that threatened the industry.
In The Pilates Effect, Stacey Redfield and Sarah Holmes reveal the hidden history of Pilates. From humble beginnings, Joseph Pilates founded the groundbreaking regimen in New York City and worked closely with his partner Clara to rehabilitate and renew dancers who had been injured or were aging. Although Joseph's core strengthening regimen was touted as "fifty years ahead of [its] time," finance and health issues plagued Joe and Clara's business. A small and devoted group of followers, including Carola Trier, would fight to spread the practice that they felt gave them a second chance at life and rehabilitated their bodies and souls.
A fascinating and inspiring story of fitness in America, The Pilates Effect showcases the people and events that formed an iconic industry, and reveal how it offers positive change for everyday people regardless of gender, ethnicity, or background.

CHAPTER 1

939 Eighth Avenue

Joe never received the acceptance of his method or his importance as a leader in the fitness in the US that he deserved—from the medical community or the powers that be. His German accent and his demeanor were not helpful as marketing tools. He was simply himself unsophisticated in what we know [today] is necessary [to succeed] in business.

—Mary Bowen

OPEN FOR BUSINESS

It took a special type of person willing to subject himself or herself to Joseph Pilates’s rigid set of beliefs. The man credited with pioneering an original exercise movement and who proclaimed himself to be a “genius” was known for his cantankerous arrogance. He was cranky and impatient, and his egotistical behavior—which could be quelled with a short nap and a shot of schnapps—lacked the temperament of a teacher of a healing practice. Far from the perfect role model, Joseph’s personal demons haunted him daily. Undeniably, he managed to heal bodies that doctors could not, yet his insurmountable ego overshadowed much of his work. He was rude; he often drank excessively; and his hands wandered inappropriately with his female clients. However, that didn’t deter people from coming to the studio.

MERCY SIDBURY

Sarah Holmes: In your opinion, why is Pilates beneficial?

Mercy Sidbury, Pilates instructor: The historic context of when the [Pilates] method was created corresponded to a time of increased industrialization and specialization in peoples’ work environment. Repetitive and limiting motions required in factory jobs in addition to less-than-stimulating work environments could be seen to drain workers’ energy and lessen enthusiasm for the other parts of their lives. Pilates wrote of this in the introduction to Return to Life: “We must devote … rationally to the uniform development of our bodies as a whole—keeping all our organs as nearly as possible in their naturally normal condition so that we may not only be in a better position to earn our daily bread but also so that we may have sufficient vitality in reserve at night for the enjoyment of compensating pleasure and relaxation.” He called it “pleasurable living.” This support for a positive attitude towards life in general is as much a part of the mind/body experience as developing the mental concentration and physical control demanded in each particular exercise. Enhancing the whole person and their whole life is the goal in Mr. Pilates’s work. Keeping this in mind as an instructor can help to keep the work relevant to each individual in and outside the studio.

Where Joseph was deficient, Clara, his “business” partner, excelled. If his belligerent nature reduced a client to tears, Clara was there to soothe a bruised psyche. Anna Clara Zeuner arrived in America on the same vessel as Joseph Pilates in 1926. While stories suggest the two fell in love on the transatlantic voyage, theirs may have been a relationship of convenience. Although they were openly affectionate partners in America, the couple was never legally married. Clara became Joseph’s administrative secretary and assistant director of the studio, handling most of the studio correspondence and finances. Yet sadly, Clara remains something of a ghost in Pilates’s past. Not much is known about her seemingly successful fulfillment of the American dream. In many ways she surpassed Joseph. Having the patience that he lacked, Clara is often described as the true teacher of Pilates.

The flagship location of the Pilates studio was 939 Eighth Avenue, in the “artsy” Van Dyke Studio building. In the late 1920s it was far from an elite New York City address or an opportune time to open a business. The studio garnered the attention of Wall Street, but any passing interest evaporated when the stock market crippled prospects of developing a broader clientele. But Joseph Pilates survived the Depression by shamelessly drawing attention to himself. Onlookers often saw him running through the streets of New York in the middle of winter wearing nothing more than his gym shorts and slippers. It was a flagrant stunt, but it managed to attract clients willing to pay Joseph Pilates the then-hefty fee of five dollars per session. Pilates’s method catered to a unique niche: dancers, singers, the injured, and anyone who wanted the “no sweat” workout that invariably gave one beautiful posture. Even though Joseph accommodated celebrities and the New York elite, in the studio, client arrogance and superstar egos were strictly prohibited. Inside the “Pilates Studio of Contrology,” its original name, clients adhered to an unspoken code of conduct.

The Pilates studio was not a place to parade new skills—clients understood they were there to work. While the rules actually prohibited looking at others, no one really cared with whom they were exercising. Each client climbed the same rickety steps to the second floor (mainly because the elevator never worked—and even when it did, few were willing to risk their lives to get into it).

No one arrived in workout clothes. Instead, after changing in a humble dressing room, everyone wore the same outfit: black leotards for the women and black gym shorts for the men. The studio provided towels and white workout slippers. While the studio hours varied, clients could come anytime during open hours to condition their body. With the exception of a client’s first few sessions, there were no appointments or class schedules.

The ill-kept studio housed various “apparatuses” with frighteningly awkward names like the “Reformer,” the “Cadillac,” the “Guillotine,” the “Wunda Chair,” and the “Ladder Barrel,” each purposed for different positions and movements. The Reformer, for instance, was a bedlike exercise machine on which clients began their specific program. Supine exercises such as “Footwork Series” (leg work), “Reach and Pull” (arm work), or “Short Spine Massage” (a lower back stretch) marked some of the beginning movements for first-time clients. While many of these exercises could be replicated on other pieces of studio equipment, clients tended to compartmentalize exercises to the equipment on which they learned. The Reformer, then a claw-footed machine with “footbars,” straps, and pulleys, used spring tension to create resistance. Such exercises bore a striking resemblance to “yoga” movements but were commandeered by the movement philosophies of German physical culture.

When clients came to the studio, they were expected to know their exercise routine as well as to follow studio protocols. Self-sufficiency and personal responsibility were high on Joseph’s list of expectations. Personal workouts tended to last forty-five minutes to an hour, and when clients were done, Joseph required them to shower. The shower wasn’t optional; in fact, it was considered part of their exercise discipline. Borrowing from German hygienic standards, Pilates dictated the “proper” cleaning technique for clients. This entailed the use of a stiff bristle brush and cold water to thoroughly scrub the skin. Once appropriately cleaned, patrons paid Clara their session fee, which she carefully tucked into the pocket of her dress. As a testament to a different era, many times clients simply left money on the desk, and if a client didn’t have the money, he or she simply paid next time.

From the 1930s until the 1960s, the relatively invisible Pilates studio operated one of the best exercise programs in the city. Katharine Hepburn, Veronica Lake, Vivien Leigh, and Sir Laurence Olivier are all listed as studio alumni. Yet, outside of such elite circles, for over thirty years few people knew of Joseph Pilates or his method. One group who did learn of Pilates and benefited from his instruction in the mid-twentieth century were ballet dancers, who found their way to the studio through a serendipitous series of events. Maria Earle, Pilates teacher and student of Kathy Grant, states in her master’s thesis, “‘Sing My Song,’” that when Pilates “arrived in America … the building he and [Clara] moved into housed several dance studios and rehearsal spaces. Word of Pilates and his exercise system quickly spread through the dance community. George Balanchine, the famous ballet choreographer, rehearsed his company, the New York City Ballet, in the building; he also studied with Pilates.” Their neighbors included artists, actors, dancers, musicians, and sculptors. The “Hell’s Kitchen” area was in close proximity to the Theater District, the eventual home of the School of American Ballet and the elite New York Athletic Club. Between 1926 and 1933, Joseph Pilates’s studio and the nascent School of American Ballet were housed in the same building.

However, in 1933, the School of American Ballet moved and until February 1956 was located at 637 Madison Avenue, on the northeast corner of 59th Street. Less than a mile apart, the new site of Balanchine’s school and Joseph Pilates’s studio were connected by a brisk fifteen-minute walk. The convenient location of the studio facilitated the spread of Pilates’s exercise system through the ballet community. The influx of dancers dramatically impacted his work and eventually altered its commercial direction. Joseph Pilates idealized male athletes but claimed that his program was intended for everyone, and he indeed worked with the paying customer in front of him.

Pilates saw the popularity of his work grow over time, especially among dancers, who if injured were told to “go see Joe.” Taking advantage of this talented windfall, Joseph and Clara fostered future teachers and nurtured physically gifted students. While many voluntarily assisted in the studio (in exchange for lessons), only two students were officially considered “staff” at 939 Eighth Avenue: John Winters and Hannah Sakmirda. A mere handful of others served, in some employable capacity, at the studio, most notably Carola Trier, Eve Gentry, Romana Kryzanowska, and Kathy Grant, all as apprentices. As he grew less agile and more easily agitated, Joseph began to consider a successor. In his mind, a man—not his female apprentices—would take over the studio.

THE “BEDNASIUM”

Pilates’s 1930 invention was meant to support correct alignment of the spine during sleep. However, his attempt to revolutionize bed manufacturing failed to produce interest. Although his original design didn’t allow for intimacy of married couples, he eventually modified his idea, transforming the bed into a “Bednasium” complete with springs and bars for exercising. The bed would transition from the “V” shape, allowing for proper sleep, to a flat surface for exercising.

When the legendary physical culturist passed away on October 9, 1967, at the age of eighty-four, he left behind a studio deeply in debt, despite the hundreds of people who could testify to the merits of his method. Without an “heir” to take his place, the remaining handful of paying clients provided only a meager income for the studio, leaving Clara with no viable means of financial support.

FINDING AN HEIR—OR HEIRESS

The only two assisting in the studio at the time of Joseph’s death were Hannah and John, and neither relished taking on the day-to-day responsibility of running a business. Saddened by Joseph’s passing, a small group of dedicated clients concerned for Clara’s well-being took charge of the studio. Even though Clara surpassed Joseph as a teacher and administrator, the group recognized that she did not possess the charisma to attract new business.

Still, the studio managed to stay open for a few more years. Because Joseph demanded that his clients learn their workouts, those still attending classes knew the order of their exercises, leaning on each other for help. However, clients realized someone was needed to help maintain the facility: unlock the doors, clean the studio, and oil the machines. Business had waned since Joseph’s death, and the studio’s closure looked inevitable. But the clients had other plans.

Among those clients was a young attorney, John Steel. While Joseph was alive, John, through his diligent practice at the studio, befriended Joseph and Clara. After Joseph passed away, John offered to manage the studio’s finances; he, more than the others, knew money was scarce. Sadly, by this time Joseph’s studio was run-down: aging machines needed repair; the building, badly damaged by a fire, needed infrastructural development; the neighborhood, populated with prostitutes, had deteriorated. The studio faced eviction, apparently to make room for a new resident dance company. Steel felt a sense of urgency to secure enough money to cover the studio’s immediate needs and rent for Clara’s adjacent apartment.

It was time to either find a “new Joe” to oversee the studio or close the business. Out of his depth, John asked Clara for potential buyers interested in becoming an “heir” to the work. By 1970, there were only about a dozen Pilates studios in the world. The majority were located in New York City, with a handful of others throughout the country. The few teachers qualified to manage the studio, thus sustaining Joseph’s legacy, weren’t interested. Most realized that teaching Pilates wasn’t a lucrative career choice, at least not in the 1970s.

If there was any hope of sustaining the failing business, the remaining clients needed to band together and create a revitalization strategy. As a first step, attorney Steel decided to take the necessary measures to incorporate the Pilates studio, thereby making it a legitimate business, something unrealized under Joseph and Clara. Fifty years earlier, when the studio opened its doors in the mid-1920s, a business required little formal documentation; Joseph and Clara scarcely even paid taxes. Steel thus formed the “939 Studio,” a limited liability company, and gathered roughly twenty investors, in the process raising about $10,000. This investment provided enough liquidity to find a more suitable space, replace the old equipment, and provide a salary for a managing teacher—if they could find one.

But John’s search for a new owner revealed the paucity of viable teachers. As the increasingly desperate search for a successor continued, Clara recalled a former assistant, Romana Kryzanowska. Romana had worked with Joseph as a teenager and, according to Clara, taught ballet in New York City. Wasting no time, Steel contacted Romana and, perhaps somewhat hastily, proposed studio ownership. Yet this position provided neither the glamour nor the prestige that intrigued Romana, who promptly disregarded the attorney’s offer. Undeterred, Steel regrouped and met with Romana a second time, which proved to be more productive. Steel’s generous offer included a new location, complete control of the studio, and a 30 percent share of total earnings. The budding entrepreneur agreed to the deal, but with one change: she wanted 50 percent. In 1971, with Romana as the newly appointed heiress to the Pilates method, the studio moved from 939 Eighth Avenue to 29 West Fifty-Sixth Street.

The move was a comforting resolution for Clara. For the next six years, she lived quietly in the little apartment she had shared with Joseph and was cared for by her longtime clients and friends until her death in 1977. Clara’s passing marked a dramatic shift in the Pilates community. While the people in the forthcoming chapters cultivated the exercise practice, it initially remained relatively unknown outside of New York City.

Romana’s undertaking became more challenging. While the newer studio provided adequate space, the machines needed replacing. Yet the craftsmanship required to manufacture the machines perplexed Romana. Although the apparatuses appeared fairly basic in design, finding someone to build the machines was not easy. Those teachers who left New York did so with Reformers, hand-built by Joseph, along with copies of the original designs. Romana soon learned of a craftsman, Donald Gratz, who worked in metal fabrication in Long Island City. Quickly persuaded, Gratz started building machines for Romana.

One of those who left New York, Ron Fletcher, established a studio in Hollywood, California. In search of new machines as well, Fletcher met Ken Endelman, a carpenter in the business of making custom waterbeds in Los Angeles. At first, Endelman misunderstood the request; he hadn’t yet heard of a “Reformer.” After a brief explanation and a relatively longer negotiation, Endelman agreed to the project. As the Pilates method started to spread throughout California, demand for equipment subsequently increased. The timing was ideal. As waterbeds lost their popularity, Endelman segued into the business of hand-crafting Pilates equipment. Meanwhile, in New York, Romana, lacking the necessary business savvy to move the studio forward, struggled to develop the studio into the thriving business she originally hoped for.

CLEAR POTENTIAL

The lure of studio ownership appealed to a few enterprising Pilates enthusiasts in the mid-1980s. Lari Stanton, then president of the Aris-Isotoner company, was one of Romana’s regular clients. He saw the potential to franchise and in 1984 purchased the company’s assets. Part of the negotiations included Romana as the primary teacher and studio manager; Aris-Isotoner also acquired all of Joseph’s research papers. Stanton restructured the business, procuring trademarks and service marks for the words “Pilates,” “Pilates Studio,” and “Pilates Studios” and for equipment such as the “Magic Circle.” As enthusiastic as Stanton was about his new venture, the rest of the United States remained infatuated with aerobics. By 1986, Aris-Isotoner sold the Pilates studio to Healite Inc., a company owned by Wee-Tai Hom, another of Romana’s students, for a mere $15,000.

Like others before him, Wee-Tai Hom recognized the financial potential of Pilates. In 1987 Wee-Tai relocated the Pilates studio, along with Joseph’s belongings, from 29 West Fifty-Sixth Street to 160 East Fifty-Sixth Street. Romana, with no available option, moved with Wee-Tai. In some sense, this moved solidified Romana as the embodied “carrier” of Joseph Pilates’s work. By this time the studio had developed a strong bond with the dance community. Romana’s talented son and his equally talented wife—both superstars in George ...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Copyright
• Contents
• Foreword
• Acknowledgments
• Introduction: What Is the Pilates Effect?
• 1 939 Eighth Avenue
• 2 Eve Gentry: Pilates for the Injured and Otherwise
• 3 Romana Kryzanowska: Joy and Power in Movement
• 4 Carola Trier: From Ballerina to Businesswoman
• 5 Kathleen Stanford Grant: Finding Strength and Identity Through Physical Practice
• 6 Ron Fletcher: Pilates Goes Hollywood
• 7 Cease and Desist
• Conclusion: Current State of Affairs: Learning About People Through Movement
• Bibliography
• Illustrations