All my best ideas exist on paper. Pages and pages of notes and doodles. Notebooks filled with dreams, schemes, and bullet points galore. Some of these doodles become reality. Others exist in a suspended universe: fully imagined and planned-out and chewed over. But never quite making it off the page.
Joe’s Gym was one of those ideas. A walking, talking doodle with (almost) a mind of its own.
I had the philosophy. And the buzzwords. I could talk the hind legs off dog, cat or donkey about why I value self-practise not just for myself, but for anyone who does Pilates. I’m all for autonomy; I’m a fan of self-efficacy. I’ve hung on every word of Caged Lion – John Steel’s book about his years as Joe’s friend and client. But most of all I wanted students to feel what I feel when I take myself through a Reformer workout without anyone holding my hand or whispering sweet ‘scoop more’ nothings in my ear.
And I wanted them to have access to practice multiple times a week without breaking the bank. Y’know like a gym. Hell, I even had a Joe’s Gym logo – a sweet retro design with full artwork ready to rock and roll. So what stopped the lights going at Joe’s Gym before now?
Time – or lack of it. It’s a biggie. Like so many in the Pilates industry, I run a studio (all the jobs from CEO to cleaner) and have a family (also from CEO to cleaner). When you spend your days running a schedule based on taught classes, it’s hard to find time to rip up the schedule that pays the bills.
Culture. Pilates clients expect to be taught. Some even expect a foot massage (I don’t oblige). They worry they’ll get it ‘wrong’. We worry they won’t be ‘safe’. It’s a big shift. How do you change perceptions that – if we’re honest – contribute to the very value of the Pilates dollar.
These are the things that kept my doodles on the page.
To be fair, it wasn’t entirely relegated to the drawing board.
I had one dedicated beta-tester taking what we dubbed the ‘Joe’s Gym Solo’ pathway for over a year. At that stage, I had one question. What happens when a normal person (ie a non-teacher) tries to work out independently?
We mined a ton of data from this. Luckily Lorna, the beta-tester, already had a home practice. She had the drive and the confidence that she could manage her body. She had autonomy running through her veins and couldn’t wait to get cracking. So much so I wondered if I had doodled my way out of a job. If Lorna could workout solo, why would she need lessons with me?
I needn’t have worried. Lorna is the most accomplished student I ever had. But even with years of classes and home practice under her belt, she needed a ton of input. Here is what worked for Lorna at Joe’s Gym Solo:
- A 360˚ subscription to review exercises in-session
- Customisable exercise lists with a visual key developed in-house
- A bespoke Wunda Chair sequence designed at her request
- Regular 1:1 lessons to zoom in or workshop things that came up in her practice
By February 2020 (no prizes for guessing the story arc here), I had three more beta-testers lined up for Joe’s Gym Solo. They would slot into hours when the studio is open but not all the apparatus is in use. We had the capacity, and now the formula. I’d targeted those students who take charge of their workout and who I reckoned would do MORE Pilates if the price was right.
Then, the lights went out. The C-word hit (and I don’t mean Contrology) and – like Pilates Pals worldwide – we were closed.
Joe’s Gym was back to the drawing board.
Fast-forward to October 2020. In Scotland we were open. No group classes. But 1:1 and ‘individual exercise’ was allowed.
We were open, but not. No Reformer, Tower or Mat classes – our most popular and profitable products.
But wait a red-hot minute! Joe’s Gym IS independent exercise. We pivoted so hard we made craters. I called my designer and begged her to fast-track the exercise lists and symbols (neat little icons for footbar and headpiece position) we were working on. I found a 24-hour printer and rush-printed said lists.
The invites went out: “Come at your usual class time and take part in a brand new (but also very old) concept, Joe’s Gym.” The idea was in the ether. We’d trailed it in the Hub community. Our beta had been spotted across the open-plan studio, by group class members halfway through Front Splits.
Would they show up? Would they know what to do? Would they stare at me blankly and beg for cues? I mean, it’s a good day in group class when everyone remembers what comes after Footwork.
They came in numbers. Some actually thought we were simply framing classes as Joe’s Gym to bypass regulations (as if!). But, they came.
I told the story of Joe’s original gym (any excuse). I gave out individual sheets. I walked through the 360° exercise library. I suggested they stick with Reformer and see what comes up (in other words keep it simple). I told them: ‘You know more than you think’.
Then I stood back and became a floorwalker. What I saw astonished me.
Some people DID know more than they thought – we had taught them how to fish. Others knew a lot LESS than they thought – we were catching the fish, cooking it and serving it with their favourite sauce.
Everyone embraced it. Some paired up. They all asked for tunes (I gave in). As a floorwalker, it felt easy to spot across the room. It seemed to me they took MORE care of their bodies precisely because I wasn’t there to cue their next move. I worked 1:1 with those less assured. I gave meatier stuff to those who get held back by less skilled classmates. There was a buzz of shared energy and cooperation: a veritable hive.
When surveyed, all except one said they would like to see Joe’s Gym as a permanent fixture and would book it ALONGSIDE their usual classes.
Bingo. Result.
After this not-so-grand launch, Joe’s Gym kept our spirits up and the wolf from the door till December 2020.
Filled with vaccine-shaped hope, we were ready to hit the ground running in 2021. But Santa brought us another lockdown. Merry Covid to you.
As I write doors are shut till March at the earliest. When we finally reopen Joe’s Gym will be one of the ways people can do Pilates with us. It is a profound shift in culture and beliefs. It’s a step closer to the collaborative, peer-to-peer petri dish of practise and learning that fills my notebooks.
It’s my silver lining.
