We were lucky to catch up with Shannon Brodlieb recently and have shared our conversation below.

Shannon , looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. What’s been the best thing you’ve ever seen (or done yourself) to show a customer that you appreciate them?

I am amazed and inspired daily by my devoted Pilates clients! It’s not always easy to get to the studio, because life happens and there are a million excuses to not come in, but having them be devoted to their health and happiness inspires my daily life.

As instructors, we are constantly giving our clients feedback on how to improve their practice. It’s part of our job! But, I love just as much giving my clients feedback on how far they have come, and how wonderful they’re doing. I will always be my client’s biggest cheerleader!

It makes me the happiest being able to celebrate my clients’ small and big milestones with them. Whether that is training someone to climb a mountain, or my sweet 80-year old client develop some upper body strength, preparing a client for a total knee replacement, or having a client recover from a hysterectomy. I practice and teach Pilates for a living, so that I can help others live their life to the fullest!

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I’m Shannon (Crossman) Brodlieb, and I own Crossman Pilates. We’re a classical Pilates studio in sunny Clearwater, Florida. I grew up as a ballerina, and was implementing Pilates into my daily life. Unfortunately, I had a pretty severe burnout with ballet, and that’s when I decided to move to NYC and receive my Pilates certification. I was extremely lucky, in that I was trained and certified by Romana Kryzanowska in 2002. She was the one who received the method of Pilates once Joseph Pilates had passed. It’s an honor because it makes me a second generation Pilates instructor.

Crossman Pilates specializes in Private/Duet/Small group classes. We are different in that we have a full studio of all Gratz Pilates equipment. The equipment was made to Joseph Pilates’s exact specifications, which is critical to learning the Pilates method correctly.

We’re not a studio where you will find a huge amount of classes per day, or find us teaching with loud music and being mic’d up. I strive to create an environment where you will learn the proper technique and body alignment, all while keeping you safe. I pride myself on keeping you a priority, while allowing you to progress and grow with the method. The classical Pilates method stands as the gold standard in the fitness world, and we are committed to remaining authentic!

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

As mentioned above, I grew up as a classically trained ballerina. That was my life for so many years! I put so much time and energy into my craft, and when it came to a sudden stop, I had no idea what I was going to do. Growing up, I didn’t have your typical childhood. Every summer, starting at the age of 11, I would leave for 6 weeks to go study with prestigious ballet schools. I did that until I was 18. My dream, as is every ballerina’s, was to perform professionally for a ballet company. Due to the grueling lifestyle, and constant demands to always be thinner and skinnier, I ended up burning out and gave it up.

I remember withdrawing from Southern Methodist University (where I had attended on a ballet scholarship), and sitting on my childhood bed back at home, thinking to myself, “now what?” Luckily, I knew I had something to fall back on. That was Pilates! I had been using Pilates as a form of body conditioning for many years prior, and instead of going back to a local college or university, I moved to NYC to complete my certification. It was there that I truly fell in love with the method, and it would still allow me to be involved in some form of movement, which is where I’m the happiest!

Any advice for growing your clientele? What’s been most effective for you?

Word of mouth has been my most effective strategy, within my business, to be able to grow my clientele. I’ve been in the fitness industry since 2002, and up until this last year, I rarely put my energy and money into any form of marketing. I’ve worked extremely hard to cultivate a studio that is warm, welcoming, and educational. Making my clients happy has always been at the forefront of my mind, and happy people will always spread the word about their experience!

Contact Info:

• Website: www.crossmanpilates.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/crossmanpilates
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/crossmanpilates

Image Credits
Joyelan Photography