Tianna Strateman is a Pilates lifer. A former competitive dancer, Strateman fell in love with the modality at an early age while rehabbing from an injury and has been a practitioner ever since, later becoming a certified Pilates instructor.
After earning a business degree from the University of Southern California and spending some time as an executive at another fitness and wellness company, Strateman joined Club Pilates in 2018 as the brand’s vice president of training and experience.
Over the last six years, Club Pilates has grown from around 200 to more than 1,000 studios worldwide, becoming by far the biggest brand in the Pilates space and playing a critical role in the modality’s rise to fitness prominence.
In April, Strateman was promoted to president of Club Pilates, tapped to lead the Xponential Fitness-owned brand as it eyes even more growth, especially internationally.
Strateman sat down with Athletech News to discuss the rise of Club Pilates, her early priorities as president and why she believes Pilates is poised to continue dominating the boutique fitness market.
The following conversation has been lightly edited for clarity and length.
Tianna Strateman: I was a competitive dancer when I was young, which is kind of the cliche – Pilates and dancers – that a lot of people used to think of historically. My dance teacher recommended Pilates because of its prehab and rehabilitative approach. At the time, I was doing Pilates at a physical therapy office because Pilates was generally only found in physical therapy offices or really small boutique studios. It was very different 25 years ago than it is today. I’ve been in love with the practice ever since.
I think what brought me to Club Pilates was my background of having a business degree and my previous work experience, but also being a certified Pilates instructor, which I’ve been for more than 15 years now. That unique blend was perfect for Club Pilates. I joined in January 2018.
TS: When I started we had around 200 doors open. Today, we have over 1,000 in 12 countries and counting. It’s been a really amazing experience to be a part of that ride.
While I can’t give away all our secret sauce, I would say the success of Club Pilates can be attributed to a number of factors, starting with our great franchisees. Their commitment and dedication to the brand and delivering an exceptional experience are truly pivotal to our success and growth. Second, the teams of instructors and staff at the studio level bring the experience to life every day to make Pilates accessible to “everyBODY,” as we like to say. Last would be the support provided by the Club Pilates team here at the corporate office, with the support of our parent company, Xponenential Fitness. Across the entirety of Club Pilates, the commitment we collectively have to deliver an incredible Pilates experience is something we don’t take for granted and continue to work toward every day.
TS: Timing is everything, although Pilates has been around for over 100 years since Joseph Pilates founded the practice. The growth and popularity are due to a lot of factors, but I think Club Pilates is a huge part of it since we have a presence in so many places. Our ethos and our belief is to make Pilates accessible to people who’ve never had the opportunity to try the modality for a variety of reasons, either because it was for private training and small boutique studios only, or offered every so often in a group setting in a big-box gym.
I think once people try Pilates, whatever their individual goals are, the practice can be modified and adjusted to meet them where they’re at, whether they’re an athlete, recovering from injury or surgery, or just looking to be active and focus on longevity. I’ve been a practitioner for 25 years. Pilates has taken me from being a competitive athlete to recovering from injuries to being focused on just working out and being as healthy as I can be to pregnancy, postpartum, you name it. I can see it being a part of my life forever.
ATN: Pilates has historically been much more popular among women, but men are starting to become more interested in the practice. What’s the demographic breakdown of Club Pilates members?
TS: I would say the majority of our members are still predominantly female, but we’ve seen that continue to shift over the years. We have people from all walks of life, which is part of our ethos of being an inclusive environment for people to try Pilates versus maybe the historical school where Pilates is for dancers or elite athletes only.
We’re also seeing even younger people come and try Pilates now than we had before, so the demos are continuing to adjust. But generally, I would say 35 and above is typically what we see in our studios.
TS: It’s been an honor to step into this role. I’m grateful to have this opportunity to lead this incredible brand and the amazing team here at the corporate office. Short term, my goal is to continue to support and develop our team to be the best they can be so that collectively we all can support our franchise partners, their staff and their instructors in delivering a great experience to all of our members in all of our studios. I’m always looking at how we can improve.
Our long-term mission is to continue to grow the brand into the household name around the world that we’re looking to become and to bring Pilates to more people, more communities and more markets that have never heard of Pilates or haven’t had the opportunity to try Pilates before.
TS: We stopped putting a number on it at this point, but we’re definitely not slowing down. There’s still room for growth in the U.S. – there’s such a strong demand for Club Pilates and the experience that we provide.
International expansion is definitely also a goal. We’re identifying and working with great master franchisees to bring that to life in various countries. There are some great areas in the works. I can’t speak to exactly where they are yet, but hopefully we can share more soon.
TS: I think what’s exciting is that people continue to prioritize their health and fitness and wellness, especially post-pandemic. People showing up at studios and wanting to have that in-person interaction – it’s exciting to see the communities that are built because of that. I also love that there’s a more holistic approach to fitness, health and wellness than ever before. Different companies doing a fantastic job and focusing on all the different pieces of that – nutrition, sleep, mental health, etc.
What concerns me is that there’s just so much information out there. We have more access to resources than ever, which is a good thing, but sometimes can be challenging to weave through all the information to hone in on one thing and not get overwhelmed by everything that’s out there. The little things – showing up every day and making a commitment to your fitness, your health and wellness, whatever that looks like for you – are most important to helping all of us live happier, healthier lives.
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