We recently connected with Kate Keovongkoth and have shared our conversation below.
Kate, appreciate you joining us today. Looking back at internships and apprenticeships can be interesting, because there is so much variety in people’s experiences – and often those experiences inform our own leadership style. Do you have an interesting story from that stage of your career that you can share with us?
When you get into the group fitness industry, you are expected to perform. You go through training and learn all the where, what, why, when, and how of your discipline but there really is little to no education that can be given to prepare for the negative feedback you receive. When I first started teaching Pilates as an apprentice, I knew I wanted my personality to shine and I wanted to conduct my classes in a manner that is fun and challenging. Sounds absolutely lovely, doesn’t it? After a few successful weeks of teaching, I had finally encountered the first time a client, that was part of the group class, told me that my class was absolute trash.
We were at the final 10 minutes or so of an intense cardio class. I was reading the fatigue and exhaustion in the room, so I started my cool down and led the class into stretching. This particular person decided she had not had enough so she got up, whilst the whole class was in a lunge just trying to relax, came up to me and told me that I was on a roll and completely screwed up the entire thing by wasting so much of her time stretching and that she would not be back. Trying to hold back tears as she was very loud and the whole room was watching, I gave the sweetest smile I could muster and told her that her concerns were noted. Somehow, I finished out the class and kept my cool without letting any emotions come over me. At the end of class, every single person came up to me to tell me they loved my class and that this person is known to always have a problem with every instructor and is overly critical of any class she is in.
After the shift, I cried in my car. Someone really called me trash to my face? How dare she?! After replaying the conversation over and over in my head, I had finally come to a place where I truly digested the meaning of “you will not be everyone’s cup of tea.” I did let this destroy me for a little bit and I questioned what I was doing as a Pilates instructor; even considered leaving the entire career behind.
As humans, we fixate on the negative and search for answers to rhetorical questions; and when such answers are found, seldom are we satisfied. I’ve come to hold closer in my heart those that do appreciate me and make it a point to come to my classes and share their lives with me. I can’t say it doesn’t sting any less when you get a bad review or someone tells you that you have no idea what you are doing but the looming feeling stays a little less with me each time it happens. There are still plenty of crying sessions in my car after work but there are also many sessions of joy from the love received.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
Before becoming a Pilates instructor, I was chief operations officer of a data mining company in the construction finance industry. I had practiced Pilates for many years prior to taking any interest in pursuing it as a career. I found myself in the middle of a tornado of my midlife: the collapse of my 20+ year marriage, my children leaving my home without my blessing, the loss of my beloved dog, the trajectory of my job not going as I wanted, and a breast cancer scare. You name the emotion and, in one manner or another, I felt it. To find space, I decided to go back to Pilates to practice as it always gave me an outlet. The studio I was attending was advertising their teacher training program and I just went with it. Fast forward a few months, I was completely detaching myself from everything that no longer served me and was offered an instructor position—talk about the stars aligning at the right moment!
I conduct private lessons and group classes in both classical and contemporary Pilates. In the private setting, my clients tell me their goals and I do what I can to help them meet those goals. I’ve come to realize that instructors play an important role in the lives of their clients. Clients come to you in a vulnerable state and are showing so much courage by asking for help. I always reinforce that I am their best friend, biggest supporter, and their constant companion throughout their journey; it won’t always be easy but we will get through it together. In the group setting, I see my classes as a way of building community; everyone has come together here at this moment for their own reasons but while we are all here, let’s get moving and have a good time. No matter what setting I am in, my main goal is to have my client leave feeling better than when they came in.
When I started in Pilates, I had two objectives: (1) become your favorite Pilates instructor, and (2) redefine what it is to live and to love one BODY at a time. I want Pilates to be a safe space and positive experience for anyone I come into contact with.
How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?
The main thing I think helped me build my reputation within my market is my genuine desire to want to help. I am listening to what people tell me and though I may not remember every single thing we talk about, I do make it a point to pay attention to what is being said. Coincidentally, I was in a group setting with some clients waiting to start a class and as we were talking, everyone was saying what instructors they did and did not prefer and why. I made the comment that not everyone will be your cup of tea; a lesson I elaborated on earlier. I mentioned that sometimes tones and personalities just don’t mesh and when you find your people, it will all fall into place. I also shared that I approach teaching a class with the point of view of what I would want if I were to attend a class: I want a kick butt work out, corrections, challenges, praise, and encouragement. I wouldn’t want to go through a class where the cues are impossible to understand and being dictated to me in a monotonous tone as if the instructor were reading from a script. After all, my main goal is to always be your favorite Pilates instructor and for you to want to return.
If you could go back in time, do you think you would have chosen a different profession or specialty?
If I could go back, I would definitely choose being a Pilates instructor again—maybe just a little sooner. I have always loved solving problems and finding solutions. Being an instructor, I am doing just that and having to pull from all of my own life experiences and continue researching to facilitate. I am forever learning and figuring out ways to share this knowledge with my clients to better assist them in the studio. The intrinsic rewards I get from making a difference in one person’s life is not limited to just their Pilates practice but also stems to their overall wellness. That is the best benefit of this amazing position I am in.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.apieceofkate.co
- Instagram: @apieceofkate.co
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61556250016851
- Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/ kate-keovongkoth
- Youtube: @apieceofkateco
- Other: For my playlists, find me on Spotify:https://open.spotify.com/user/jnzn0yi57p07llhku2sjmsqdk?si=5ae12faaff214861
Image Credits
Molly Kate Jones Photography