Originally from Wallasey, I began my career in the fitness industry teaching aerobic classes for a local health-based charity.

 

I left to backpack around  the world in 1995 and subsequently settled in Hong Kong, where for the next 19 years I worked as a gym instructor and personal trainer. I eventually established a private fitness coaching service, which allowed me to focus on areas of personal interest including exercise for ageing populations (watching Chinese seniors exercise in the parks each morning and witnessing their phenomenal movement left a deep impression on me).

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Like most teachers, my initial exposure to Pilates was via mat work and I qualified in Mat Pilates in 2005 with Polestar Pilates U.S. However, the studio where I trained was filled with equipment and it intrigued me: the exercises looked familiar but were performed in all kinds of positions: seated, kneeling, standing, even upside down! This made more sense from a functional perspective (not the upside down part!), for sports and other activities, and I could see that the apparatus allowed even those recovering from injury to exercise to maintain strength and function. After my first Reformer class I was hooked: I returned to the Polestar studio to study and certified in Comprehensive Pilates (Equipment) in 2009.

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Having returned to Wallasey in 2014 I was initially surprised that there were no other equipment Pilates studios on the Wirral. So although it was a little sooner than I'd planned I decided to go ahead and open my own studio. 

 

During this time I have also been fortunate to work for 2 years at Wirral Sports Medicine & Physiotherapy Clinic, Thornton Hough, assisting with post-rehabilitation clients on their journey to healing and restored movement.