Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Everlea Bryant. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Everlea, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. We’d love to go back in time and hear the story of how you came up with the name of your brand?

“P.H.D.” stands for all of my passions: Pilates, Health and Dance. The Company’s full name is Pilates, Health & Dance by Everlea. The Company was named by my late friend Stephanie Torres in 2009, shortly before her passing. She was able to see me legally establish the business and attended my first class in South FL. The business has grown from our 2009 early days into a beautiful Classical Pilates, dance, barre, wellness and personal training facility in the Ghent Square district in Norfolk, VA.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

My name is Everlea Bryant, and my business model is called Pilates, Health & Dance by Everlea. I have three areas of study and passion, and I wanted them represented in my business model from Day 1. I knew I wanted to be a business owner as a child, and would draw pictures of my unique dance studio space and present them confidently to my parents. What I’m most proud of when I reflect back is that I developed a spirit to believe in myself even without having examples presented to me that showed me it was possible.

I went to college for Dance Performance and studied at The University of Florida in Gainesville, The Alvin Ailey School’s Professional Division in New York City, and New World School for the Arts in Miami. Pilates was a required course in college for Dance majors, so I started taking classes with the other dancers. Pilates is a physical fitness training system that combines stretching and strength training at the same time. I soon developed a passion and in addition to my required classes, I took on an Independent Study with the head of the Dance Department to have 1-on-1 Instruction. I started working at a local Pilates studio as a dance teacher and started my first training program.

During this time at The University of Florida, I took my passion for the Arts and went medical! I obtained a certification in Arts and Healing from the Center for Arts and Healthcare Research Education and co-founded a movement program called “Traffic Arts and Dance Exchange” for kids and teens living with sickle cell disease, requiring rigorous medical research. “Traffic” was my first time experiencing all my passions: Pilates, Health, and Dance, all at once. After college, and moved to South Florida, made a friend that helped give my business a name.

My business is unique in that it has three equal strengths, and many ways and reasons for a client to approach us. I feel most whole with a combination of dance, Pilates and wellness modalities as a part of my lifestyle, and clients are invited to experience the same with dance, barre, medical massage therapy, hydrotherapy, Pilates and personal training all offered at our studio. We also have fresh cold-pressed juices and sea moss gel, so we are truly helping our clients mind, body, and soul at Pilates, Heath & Dance by Everlea. We also offer dance, barre, Pilates and personal training online, and currently serve clients throughout the United States and worldwide.

The clientele my staff and I currently serve is between 7-90, but I’ve trained children as young as 18 months in creative movement and adults into their late 90s. Although I am an athlete, I’ve experienced injuries, pregnancy, surgeries and life in general since establishing in 2009: I’ve lived, so I can teach and lead from experience and not just intellect. I’ve danced from a wheelchair, and I’ve danced for others while they are in a wheelchair. I’ve been the patient and the provider. I understand what certain challenges feel like, and I’m sensitive to differing needs and starting points. We all deserve to feel better. That point is something I’m proud of, and I want potential clients to know about the business, too.

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

I had to unlearn, or properly learn, the meanings of failure and success. I must admit this is still a work in progress. I’ve always been someone who likes drawing out my goals and plans, even from early childhood. Being imaginative has brought a lot of fun and success to my life, and at the same time if some part or a whole part of my vision doesn’t work out, I can feel like I have failed. The honest truth is that life isn’t black and white like that, but many of us have been brought up to believe that life is that simple and clean. The truth is life can be surprising, clumsy, and even messy. And the end product looks like Art to some, and like rubbish to others. And life has depth, layers and nuances to consider – shades of grey and colors – that a black and white world doesn’t take into consideration.

If every endeavor I engaged in was successful, I can honestly say I wouldn’t have the amazing partner I have, the gorgeous business I have, the new successes I’m enjoying, and more. Before the amazing partner was the failed marriage, before the gorgeous business were some horrible bosses (not all!), before the business travel and the international Pilates and dance opportunities were professional rejections. Those failures were necessary to lead me to my current success. So was it really failure? Or just discomfort, inconvenience, and life? Nuance and color.

Any advice for managing a team?

My biggest piece of advice is to know and enjoy the people you work with, especially if your business is a Small Business. I have teachers and administrators, and can name things about each person that I admire. They value me professionally and personally, and I value them back. People have a choice about where they work or who they work with, so having someone choose to come and work for you is an honor. I treat them the way I would want to be treated as an employee (the foundation of this example was laid by Jennifer Politte, my favorite boss from my past favorite teaching job): On top of paying competitively, they receive complementary unlimited class memberships to the studio, so they get to know their coworkers better, stay fit, and also pick up teaching tips all at the same time. Staff also gets discounted 1-on-1 training and monthly staff enrichment.

We also spend time outside of work, and this helps maintain a high morale. We do quarterly spa days to spend time together outside of work, have meals and work out together and more. Spending time outside of work allows for more peer-to-peer conversations and different perspectives. When you know your staff and see them as people, when a challenge arises at work it can usually resolved quickly.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.pilatesbyeverlea.com
• Instagram: www.Instagram.com/pilatesbyeverlea
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/everleabryantncpt
• Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/company/p-h-d-by-everlea-llc/
• Other: Other LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/everleabryant

Image Credits
All photography by KB Photography (Kris Brown, my partner) or images I’ve taken myself. All used with permission.