Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Christina Flynn. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Hi Christina, thanks for joining us today. Let’s start with a story that highlights an important way in which your brand diverges from the industry standard.
We do a couple things differently that we really take pride in, versus the more corporate Pilates studios in the area. The first thing we do differently are the really personal touches when it comes to our clients. Our clients are at the forefront of our business model. When someone new is coming to our studio for the first time, for example, we send them a studio tour video to get them acquainted with the space, where to park, where to put their things when they arrive, etc. This really helps relieve the “newcomer” anxiety that comes up when visiting a new place for the first time. With any new client we aim to really get to know what’s going on in their body and what their goals are so that we can help modify for any pain and injury and also help them reach their goals through our classes. Every client who walks through our door is greeted by name and welcomed the moment they walk in (we have a 30 second rule to greet each person by name when they walk in, same thing when they leave the studio), we remember important details about each client, for example, where they just got back from vacation, their spouses names, their dog’s name. All of these things help our clients feel welcomed, cared for and part of an intimate community.
This is different than just about every other big studio in the area, and believe me, we’ve experienced it ourselves by taking classes at those studios. At those studios, you check in at the front desk, someone just points you to a Pilates reformer (machine), you do the same workout as everyone else, then shuffle out. There’s no personal touch, there’s no community. That’s not how we do things.
Second, our programming is evidence-based. A lot of studios make those claims, but our workouts are based on up to date exercise science to get our clients stronger, more flexible and more skillful with movement on the reformer and in their everyday life. We refer to national guidelines, such as the ACSM (American College of Sports Medicine) when working with clients with chronic pain, injury or diseases (such as osteoporosis, osteoarthritis, autoimmune diseases, Parkinson’s and cancer), as well as the ACOG guidelines (American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists) for working with our pregnant and postnatal clients. By the way, all our group classes are “All Levels” and all of our classes are able to be pre-natal safe the minute a pregnant mama walks in our studio, no matter what trimester they are in. I don’t know of another studio in town that can make that claim. They don’t really know how to work and program for pregnant women in a group class setting, and many studios around town don’t even allow pregnant women to take group classes past their 1st or 2nd trimester, but we do. The same can be said about our clients with osteoporosis. We’re always working on learning more so we can adjust our programming to meet our clients where they are today and keep them safe, while at the same time challenging each client at a level that makes them better and stronger at what they’re doing in the future. We do all this without leaving anyone behind.
After my initial Pilates certification with BASI, I became certified through Breathe Education, which is a worldwide leader in evidence-based Pilates programming. I continue to work with the folks at Breathe to make sure that our workout programming is up to date and the best it can be.
Christina, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
I actually started teaching Pilates back in 2013 after getting my certification through BASI, working at a local studio in Carlsbad for my apprenticeship. Shortly thereafter, I decided to start my own business, bought my first Pilates reformer, and set it up in my parent’s house to start teaching clients 1 on 1. Humble beginnings!
After a while, I wanted to start teaching group classes. I started renting space at a local Encinitas Pilates studio, and I had my own clients and did it all as my own business, which I called Flynn Pilates. That was a good fit for a while, but as my clientele grew, I simply outgrew the space and the hours that were available to me to teach. My husband, Brent, and I decided to rebrand, rent a commercial space of our own, and form an LLC so we could both be involved in the business. BOLD Pilates was born!
Having full control over the direction of the business for the first time, unencumbered by renting space at someone else’s studio, has been an amazing and empowering change. With the rebrand, we expanded from 4 reformers to 8 reformers, which allows us to serve more clients at a time while maintaining a “small group class” feel that’s missing from the big corporate studios (where having 12-14 reformers in the room is the norm). We’ve also been able to start expanding our class times to accommodate the weekend/after-work crowd (we’re expanding to early morning hours soon, and more evening classes will be coming with additional teachers! Stay tuned!). It’s a work in progress. Having our own studio space has also allowed us to host sold out events such as our combination Pilates/cooking classes with Katie’s Healing Kitchen. We can even host birthday parties, bachelorette parties etc., for those seeking a health focused celebration with Pilates and yummy health conscious treats.
As we’ve grown and found our voice as a business, what we really lean into are the personal touches that are lacking at the big chain studios. We’re so proud of the fact that when someone walks in the door for the first time, they’re greeted as if they’ve been a regular for years. We treat all our clients like family, and we can’t help it, that’s just the way we operate. This is a family business, not a corporate franchise, and we treat it as such.
Any thoughts, advice, or strategies you can share for fostering brand loyalty?
This one is near and dear to my heart since it’s a big part of who we are. We have a variety of avenues that we use to stay in contact with our clients. One of these ways is through “touch points” along the way of a client’s journey with us. When they first sign up, for example, they get two emails from us: One with a video of me telling them exactly how to book classes, then another one about 24 hours later with a video tour of the studio before their first visit. Throughout their initial series of classes, they get personal texts and emails from me and my husband/business partner, Brent, checking in on them and making sure that they’re feeling good and safe in class and giving them tips on how to deal with muscle soreness that sometimes happens when you do a workout that your body is unaccustomed to. When people transition from our intro offers to full memberships, we then have touch points along the way showing them how to get the most out of their memberships, with the occasional check ins to make sure that they’re enjoying classes. We’ve also started anonymous surveys with our clients to see where we can improve and how we can better help them. In addition, we also host VIP events for our members and package holders several times throughout the year at our home in Encinitas. This gives clients the opportunity to catch up with each other and with us. It is a real family event and we always look forward to hosting it.
Can you tell us the story behind how you met your business partner?
My cofounder/business partner is my husband! We met in 2016 the old fashioned way… on eHarmony. We were married in 2018, and live in Encinitas. For the first 8 or so years we were together, he didn’t really have anything to do with the Pilates business besides taking my classes whenever I had a spot available; it was a sole-proprietorship, and I’d organically grown my client base over the years. When we rebranded, we created BOLD Pilates as a two-member LLC. I do the teaching, class programming, teacher training, and mentoring. He’s the studio manager/IT guy/marketing guy. We each have our own strengths that we bring to the business. He’s actually an airline pilot by trade, and jokes that the Pilates studio is his full-time job while flying jets is his part-time job!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://boldpilates.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/boldpilatesstudio/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/people/Bold-Pilates/61574126643843/
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/bold-pilates-encinitas-4
Image Credits
Michael Flynn, Brent Desserich