Brooke Siler Interview Part 2

ABOUT BROOKE SILER

Brooke Siler began her Pilates career in 1994 under the tutelage of Master Instructor Romana Kryzanowska. After receiving her national authentic Pilates certification in 1996 Brooke Siler began training famous friends on floor mats in their homes. Clients immediately were taken by the positive results of Pilates and by year’s end Brooke had begun the business of training from her home.

Many more famous clients were quick to refer their friends to Brooke, and before long word of mouth had spread to the press about this extraordinary fitness method being embraced by models and celebrities. It was a matter of months before Brooke’s business grew too large to continue in her living room. So, in 1997, she created and opened re:AB, which grew to become one of New York City’s most successful studio for authentic Pilates.

Introduction

Hi, my name is Tavis Bohlinger and I’m the new European Correspondent for Gratz Pilates. Inthe coming months, I will be conducting interviews with some of the biggest names in ClassicalPilates in the UK and Europe.

Brooke Siler

In this first interview, I had the rare opportunity to sit down with Brooke Siler (before the quarantine!). She is one of the most renowned second-generation teachers to come out of Dragos in NYC. Brooke is full of vitality and insider information on the history of Pilates. That knowledge, and her candid personality, made for a stimulating conversation that we’ll be publishing in a few segments, of which this is the first.

Interview

Please leave comments below, and let us know what other teachers you want interviewed and questions you want asked!

PART 2 - BROOKE SILER INTERVIEW

Welcome to Part 2 of our exclusive interview with Brooke Siler. In this second part of the interview, Brooke reveals the motivation behind her move from a hugely successful New York studio to a hidden location on England’s south coast, and her love for Gratz equipment.

TAVIS

So why did you move all the way to London from New York, when you were literally at the height of your career?

BROOKE

My original intention in moving here was to be with my family, with my boys. I have been in the Pilates business since I was 26 years old, half my life.I actually never wanted to really be a business owner, I just never wanted to work for anybody else. What I really wanted was to teach. The business side of things was getting in the way of my teaching. Sure, I had built a huge studio that was social, that was physical, and where we had amazing times.But life was changing. I met my husband, we had two kids and priorities shifted. The needs of the studio seemed to pale in comparison to my family. My proverbial baby, the studio, suddenly became a burden and I didn't know how to extricate myself from it.

TAVIS

How long did you keep the studio going after the birth of your first son?

BROOKE

10 more years.

TAVIS

Wow! That’s a long time. How did you stay motivated?

BROOKE

I don't know that I was always motivated. Sometimes the studio was salvation for me, it was a place I could go and be listened to, where I had a voice, where I could exert influence. But you can’t get away from the business side of a studio. When you are a sole owner it all falls on you. I had a minimum of 15 teachers at any given time, plus five additional staff with management and front desk. That’s 20 people relying on me to make sure that this business keeps going. I was also running a training program from 2005 on, when Romana moved out of NYC. While she was in the city I never wanted to do that, because obviously she's the one I would send people to.

"I finally got to a point where I realized that I was failing myself. I was miserable, I was unhealthy. That realization was the impetus for me to change direction."

BROOKE (cont.)

So I had the training program going, and I had the clients at the studio going, I had the teachers, so that means payroll, taxes, etc. And then on top of that, I had family and kids. I didn't want to let people down. I do not like to disappoint people, so that was really a struggle for me. It was hard for me to get out of bed. And this was all at around 44 years old when hormonal changes are happening in your body; it was a perfect storm.

For my own health, sanity and happiness I needed to make a change. I finally got to a point where I realized that I was failing myself. I was miserable, I was unhealthy. That realization was the impetus for me to change direction. I love where I am right now and I mean that in every sense of the word. I love my emotional state. I love the quiet time. I like who I've met here. But I also love Pilates, and so that's why I'm doing it again; I couldn't stay away.

TAVIS

So how did you come back to Pilates?

BROOKE

I created my home studio. When I first moved here, I went through a rebellious phase where I didn’t talk about Pilates, I didn’t even want anyone to know my name. But I started letting it creep in a little bit, because at my kids’ school the teachers asked me to come and teach a Pilates class. So to your side you see this board with all of these quotes of Joe and pictures of Joe. I was going in and once a week, doing mat classes with them.

I would bring this board in so they would understand who they were emulating, who they were studying, what he had said. Teaching, however, wasn't enough for me. After doing classes for the school teachers I realized that I actually needed Pilates back in my own body, so I set up the little studio in my house. Initially, I just brought a couple of pieces into the room. I took two of everything, sort of like a little Noah's Ark. So now I have friends who come, with no money exchanged. I need to work out, and I'm more motivated to work out when I have someone to work out with.