We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Natalie Averill. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Natalie below.
Natalie, appreciate you joining us today. It’s always helpful to hear about times when someone’s had to take a risk – how did they think through the decision, why did they take the risk, and what ended up happening. We’d love to hear about a risk you’ve taken.
About four years ago, right before the chaos of the Covid pandemic, I hit a point in my adult life that felt like a major life changed needed to happen. I was mostly home with my two small children acting mostly as a stay at home mom. I taught Pilates successfully over the prior ten years, but never completely committed my time to it. When I was home I realized I was beginning to lose myself and the sense of independence I once had. I took a big leap after a long conversation with my Husband. I was going to either purchase the current studio I worked at, or I was going to go out on my own. Keep in mind I had no savings and no idea if I could even get a loan. The next week I approached the owner and let her know where I stood. Surprisingly she agreed and was ready to move on herself. We used the equity of our own home and a Business loan to purchase the Business. It was a HUGE risk with two little ones at home and an unknown future, but it was just a gut feeling I kept going with. Fast forward several months and the height of the pandemic begins, we have a mandated shutdown, and no income. Again, I went with my gut and kept looking forward. Somehow the community we had grown stuck by us and we are now thriving and growing. I’m so thankful I wasn’t afraid to make a BIG choice. Now I’m doing what I love every day, building a community of movement where every body is welcome, and teaching my children to work hard among other things. I’m not afraid to make Big choices now.
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?
I began my Pilates journey in 2009 shortly after I graduated from LSU. I was an avid runner, but noticed small injuries coming into play and realized that I needed additional strength training that was mindful. Pilates was just movement that clicked for me. It made sense. I began training to teach only a few months after I began to practice and continued on until I was teaching 10-15 hrs. a week. One thing I found troubling in pilates studio, and boutique gyms in general, was that there was definitely a “scene” that went with it. I became uncomfortable if I didn’t have the right gym clothes, or if I didn’t feel thin that day, or even if I didn’t have on makeup. These are all ridiculous of course because everyone showing up with the same goal in mind, or at least we hope. When I started making plans around what my studio would look like I remembered a line from a college setting I was in. “Thrive to be inclusive over being exclusive” . So that meant the way look, what you’re wardrobe looked like, your race, your sex, etc. It all mattered. Why weren’t heavier people practicing pilates? Why weren’t more men in our area practicing? The questions went on and on. I am not a political person at all, but I truly want to expose as many people to pilates as possible simply because it’s not about doing the “in” exercise and how you look doing it. It just works and feels good. Simply put. We have grown exponentially and I am so proud of the community that we have grown. Our clientele helps us create a safe place to workout for any body.
Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?
I have had to unlearn trying to be perfect. The reality is, it’s not possible. When I was growing up I was lucky enough to coast academically and I was always pretty put together and that is what I was praised for. My parents called me type A and my siblings thought I was annoying when they praised me. When I had children and then purchased the business I finally understood that there is a learning curve and everything cannot always go as planned. That made me very uneasy at first, but now it’s always an adventure. When we try a new class or policy I’m ready for feedback and mishaps. Those are whats allows me to hone in on how to make things closer to perfect now and change has become much less scary.
If you could go back, would you choose the same profession, specialty, etc.?
I would definitely choose the same profession and also the same route. My college degree is in Studio Art so it is completely unrelated, but at that time I had no idea what I wanted out of the future and I learned and enjoyed my undergrad. The time it took me to get through my Pilates training was time well spent. I love my job and how many people can really say that?
Contact Info:
- Website: www.sculptneworleans.com
- Instagram: @sculptneworleans
- Facebook: Sculpt New Orleans
Image Credits
Beth Burris