We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Elizabeth Rodbell. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Elizabeth below.

Elizabeth, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. To kick things off, we’d love to hear about things you or your brand do that diverge from the industry standard.

I have founded and currently run two businesses one for profit: Pilates by Beth and one nonprofit: Pilates for a Purpose. Pilates by Beth has grown via word of mouth and client referrals. I am the sole instructor currently in this business. I just started running social media two months ago which in this day is sort of backwards for how businesses grow.

Pilates for a Purpose is a 501(c)(3) Nonprofit that offers pay what you can/donation based virtual pilates classes. The idea is two fold- you can work out from the comfort of your own home while simultaneously supporting a greater cause. As far as I know we are the only company like this. Each month we choose a different charity or organization to send all our proceeds too. During the month of March we raised funds for a Charity called Commit to Change, our donated funds will support room and board costs for an orphaned girl for a full year at one of the orphanages that COmmit to Change works. The funds will also cover her school tuition expenses so she can attend school with all the books and supplies etc that she’ll need, as well as receive special classes that will get her ahead – like computer science and spoken english and life skills to build her confidence, communication, creativity and critical thinking. She’ll also have access to social and emotional counseling support through one of the C2C child psychologists.

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 got into the pilates industry via the ballet world, which tends to be a normal pathway. I was a professional ballet dancer for 12 years and pilates had been a part of my life since my early days in ballet school. If you had told a 12 year old me that one day I would be teaching pilates as my career I would have laughed at you, as at the time I hated pilates. It was so hard for me as a hyper mobile bodied young person. As I continued on in my dance career my hyper mobile body began to get me injured as I lacked stability. I was introduced to a physical therapist who used pilates equipment as a part of physical therapy. This reintroduction to pilates brought me a new awareness to myself and a realization that I needed to be able to get on this pilates equipment at all times. I realized that pilates was expensive and that my dancers salary wasn’t going to cover it so I began to research how to get certified to become an instructor myself. Becoming an instructor would give me access to the pilates equipment and this is where it all began.

I now run two businesses in the pilates and fitness industry. My first business is how I make a living and it’s called Pilates by Beth, Pilates by Beth offers tailored private pilates sessions to clients in their homes, out of two different rental studios in New York City and lastly out of my own home pilates studio in Connecticut. I take the show on the road during the summer months and you can find me teaching both in home and in studio in the Hamptons. I am an extremely detail oriented pilates instructor with a keen eye for alignment who also encourages clients to move. I have the ability to offer clients what their body needs in a safe and grounded manner while simultaneously encouraging them to move beyond their normal comfort zone.

Pilates for a purpose is my baby and what I am most proud of. Pilates for a purpose is a 501(c)(3) Nonprofit. We offer weekly donation based pay what you can virtual pilates classes. All donations received from classes are donated to a predetermined charity and/or organization each month. I started Pilates for a Purpose during covid when I felt I really had no purpose. The fitness and dance world had shut their doors to all in person events and I was left with this virtual world. I began teaching mat classes on zoom and collecting proceeds from these classes to purchase lunches for hospital workers and front line workers, because what doesn’t make someone’s day brighter than a good old sandwich. I continued teaching these virtual classes even as the world began to open up as I felt they provided an option for people that didn’t really exist. A close friend pushed me to take the next steps and make this into something bigger. I took these steps, formed an LLC and applied for Nonprofit status. I was approved.

It is my firm belief that great pilates with knowledgeable, talented, creative, and intuitive instructors should be accessible to ALL people no matter their demographic. We are in a time where pilates has become incredibly popular (as it should) and with this popularity has come a sharp price increase in classes which can lead to a feeling of exclusivity and the idea that only the elite can do pilates. This should not be the case. The benefits of pilates on a person’s physical body, mind, and overall well being should be readily accessible to all and my goal is to make this a reality.

The past few months have seen quite a bit of growth for Pilates for a Purpose. We launched our very own website including a digital library of classes that rotates out monthly for those unable to attend live classes. We have added four new instructors to the class schedule with more instructors to come, and we have our first in person Pilates for a Purpose class being offered in Reno Nevada monthly. All our instructors, including myself, work for no pay. Over the past few months we have donated almost 5K to organizations such as Pink Aid, Commit to Change, and Daughters for Earth.

Our mission still remains to offer quality and inclusive donation based pilates classes with all proceeds going to charity.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

My first career was ballet, which abruptly ended with covid. I was actively still dancing professionally when the world shut down and I remember trying to take one “virtual” ballet class in my kitchen…I did the whole barre and when we got to center I was like what the heck am I doing. I shut the computer and that was the end. No retirement, no final moment on the stage, nothing, bittersweet. But covid gave me something that I would never have had had it not happened, it gave me time. Time to figure out what the next step was and what I wanted to do with my life. Up until then teaching pilates was just my side gig. I had never really considered it being my full time job.

In May of 2021 I decided I would try to go out on my own and I formed Pilates by Beth, I went out to the Hamptons that summer representing myself and I thrived. I was just about to start formally marketing myself and running a social media for my new business when my personal life was rocked. My older Brother, Tommy, suddenly passed away and everything came to a full halt. I stopped teaching all together. I stopped everything actually. Looking back on the time directly after Tommy passed I don’t even know what I was doing. I abruptly left the Hamptons and didn’t return for the remainder of the summer, without giving my clients any real word as to what was happening.

It wasn’t until I received an email from a dream client’s assistant a few weeks later letting me know that this client wanted to continue working with me that Fall in the city and was ready to begin whenever I was. This client was someone you don’t say no to, and with that one email I once again had a little bit of hope.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

Comparing myself and my business to others on social media. This has been a constant struggle for me as I literally didn’t have a social media for Pilates by Beth or Pilates for a Purpose until this past year. I ran Pilates by Beth by flying under the radar and via word of mouth but I’ll tell you when you don’t have a mass following on social media people tend to not take you as seriously, and its taken me a while to realize how untrue this actually is. I’ve learned to constantly remind myself to focus on what I am doing in the here and now and to refrain from comparing myself to others.

Contact Info:

• Website: Pilatesbybethinc.com Pilatespurpose.org
• Instagram: @pilatesbybeth_ @pilatesforapurpose_
• Facebook: Pilates by Beth & Pilates for a Purpose

Image Credits
Par La Mer Photography