Career advice and insights from the success story behind STRONG Pilates
Co-Founder and Director of STRONG Pilates, Michael Ramsey, recently joined our own Founder and Director, Sarah Todd, for an episode of our highly anticipated webinar series Pilates Pillow Talk. He shared an abundance of invaluable wisdom, industry insights, advice and learnings from his own hugely successful career in the Pilates and fitness industry.
Alongside his business partner, Mark Armstrong, Michael’s career path has involved a number of significant, daring decisions, leading him to where he is today…
Where Michael began…
Michael had worked in gyms as a personal trainer since around the age of 17, going on to complete a marketing degree before moving into various roles within the marketing space.
“Nothing was really clicking for me. I'd gone through different marketing jobs, in the oil industry, the gas industry, and the boating industry… nothing was really clicking,” he told us.
Staying ahead of the curve
He found himself running a nightclub with his boss at the time (and now business partner), Mark. Mark came across F45 in its very early days, well before the brand’s explosion in popularity. Eager to start his own franchise studio, he wanted Michael by his side to contribute his experience in marketing and personal training.
Michael had always had a passion for fitness, and wasn’t loving his job at the time, so he immediately flew out to Bondi to try F45 for himself. And after doing the class, he realised F45 filled a gap in the fitness industry, and he was keen to get on board.
“It had all the elements of strength training, conditioning, but in this really cool group fitness format. There was a DJ playing, the class was packed and the vibes were high. I was like, wow, I really need to get into this,” Michael said.
Making strategic business decisions
Together, Michael and Mark negotiated the rights for two territories in Melbourne, managing to snag them for free thanks to the connections they’d formed in the media industry during their work in the nightclub.
“We brought on two AFL players, Jimmy Bartel and Dyson Heppell, and we never paid a cent for the two territories… We were able to do a contra deal for PR. And then we launched F45 Port Melbourne,” Michael said.
And a lot of hard work
It wasn’t all smooth sailing, and it took time for the duo to find their rhythm.
“Being a new brand, the first six months were a struggle. But we just worked harder and harder, and did long days and nights, and early mornings, and eventually that studio grew to be the number one studio around the world three years running!”
From there, the momentum only continued to grow.
“We invested in another studio, and another studio, and another studio, and just kept going. Then around 2019, we decided we'd had enough and sold all of our locations,” Michael shared.
Despite the fact that F45 was booming in popularity at the time, Michael and his partner made a risky but strategic decision to exit while they were ahead.
Quitting while you’re ahead
“The writing was on the wall for us, no one saw coming. But I'm a firm believer in innovation, and constantly innovating a product or a service. But we were kind of doing the same thing [at F45] for a while. Our average lifetime value was actually decreasing,” he explained.
Michael puts this decline down to the saturation of F45 studios around Australia, and the style of training F45 involved - a high-impact, high-intensity workout, leaving many members sore or injured. They were no longer retaining members for long periods after four years of operations, so the decision to exit was an easy one for the pair.
Then STRONG Pilates was born…
Michael said that after recognising F45’s high-impact training style was no longer as effective or desirable for members and potential clients, this was the beginning of the concept for STRONG Pilates.
And they had the experience and learnings behind them to help make it a success.
“Myself and Mark always thought we could, not necessarily do it better, but do it differently, more streamlined. We learned so much as franchisees, I often say it really was the best apprenticeship.”
Michael discovered Pilates, finding it solved all the problems he’d identified at F45.
After breaking his ankle in a photo shoot in Sydney, Michael was introduced to the world of clinical Pilates by a friend of his who was teaching in the space at the time. Seeking support for the trouble he was having with his ankle, Michael went through a process of rehabilitation with his friend.
“At first I was like, surely this is going to help. But not only did it fix my ankle, but also all of the little inefficiencies I had in my movement patterns and things like that. Everything was solved just after a few sessions with him, so I fell in love with Pilates,” he said.
Pilates, with a spin…
But regular Pilates wasn’t enough for Michael. He wanted a product that offered something people hadn’t seen before…
“Me being the person that I am, I felt I needed a little bit more. I needed to sweat a little bit more, I needed to lift a little bit heavier.”
He wasn’t satisfied with a regular reformer workout, and after seeing a studio in California offering something entirely different, he jumped right on a plane (again!) to try their unique machine and concept for himself.
“It was the most amazing experience. Not only was I getting all the benefits of reformer, but I also remember doing a really hard row set - the row is attached [to the reformer] - and then going into a plank under resistance. [I remember] being so gassed, my heart rate was elevated the whole time and I was just so amazed by the endorphin rush, and the intensity of the workout. But everything was still low impact. It was just like tick, tick, tick, tick, all of this makes so much sense to me physiologically as a concept,” Michael said.
Creating a point of difference
The secret ingredient in this workout concept? The Rowformer.
“We spoke to the creator of the machine and negotiated the rights. We now have [the rights] globally for the Rowformer, and we built a franchise concept around that.”
The importance of brand identity and name
They launched quickly after that, under a different brand name, but later strategically decided to change the business name to STRONG Pilates.
“We wanted to really stand out in the Pilates space, so it was a very deliberate decision to change the name to Pilates. It wasn't easy, we copped a lot in the Pilates space - people were saying, ‘Joseph Pilates will roll over in his grave! There's a rower attached to a reformer?’ But long-term it seems to have been the right decision.”
“We're Pilates, but we're rowing and we're strength training, we’re that little bit more. But I think the heart and soul of the product is still Pilates.”
Programming
STRONG Pilates programming involves the expertise of a variety of professionals with different skill sets, to ensure it’s unique, effective and special. The process is complex, but rewarding.
“We've got strength and conditioning, exercise physiologists, and everyone sort of works together to create each component. Then we have a testing team of about 20 people who test the programming in advance, and make sure everything flows well. And then it goes out to the thousands and thousands of members we have,” Michael explained.
They’ve also now added a bike option to their classes (the Bikeformer!), allowing members to choose to Ride or Row, or as Michael says, to “pick their weapon of choice.”
Brand strengths
STRONG Pilates also offers more standard Pilates classes, alongside high-intensity classes with five or six rowing sets scattered throughout the Pilates flow, or progressive overload classes involving lifting heavy dumbbells to achieve muscle adaptation and lean muscle growth. There’s so much variety in their class offering - one of the brand’s stand out strengths.
Innovation to meet client needs
“We've tried to solve the problem of how do we get people to sign up and train seven days a week? And that's why our programming is so diverse, and so great. We’re trying to be that one-stop-shop so you don't need your Pilates membership, your gym membership, your other membership.”
They also offer advanced technology to elevate their class experience, with TVs showing a different view or angle of the exercise being performed (while maintaining an instructor-led approach to teaching at all times), as well as using music and lighting coordinated to the type of movement being performed.
Creating an experience
“When you're rowing, the music will turn to, like, deep house, high energy and the lights will go down. But when you're doing Pilates, the lights are up, it might be R&B playing. We try to create that proper experience for everyone. And at the end of the workout you get your cold towel, which has been soaked in eucalyptus oil, thrown in your face. Beautiful, it's a little treat for everyone's hard work,” Michael said.
Since launching in 2019, STRONG Pilates now has over 80 studios in 11 countries, with an annual turnover of $35 million… And they have “probably another 200” studios on the way.
Planning and strategy
“The scaling and the franchise model was super intentional. If you told me five years ago we'd have 80 studios I probably would have laughed, but it's funny how the goal posts change as you progress through the journey. Now we're shooting for 300 around the world.”
“We did it by creating an incredible experience, getting really good operators involved, and just … being super transparent with our business model, the costs involved, and what we do. And that’s how we’re different.”
Being confident in their product made Michael and Mark capable of rapidly scaling and expanding their brand.
“We knew we were onto something very special when the industry really embraced it. The consumer has led the way because, if the consumer loves it then there's demand, and we've been able to scale.”
The greatest challenges STRONG Pilates has faced
“The big challenge is mainly launching into international markets. I'll give you an example: 32% of Australians have a gym membership right now, which is probably pretty decent on a global scale. In Japan, where we just launched, only 4% of the population has a gym membership. So there's a huge opportunity in Japan… but what we've had to do is really regress programming and focus on those beginner classes to ease people into it,” Michael shared.
Socioeconomic challenges have proved to be an important consideration each time STRONG launches into a new market or country, with Michael noting that even the different states within the US are all so different from each other.
Juggling work and family
Michael said the key to being able to juggle his work, while spending time with his young family, was building a strong team you can rely on.
“I've got an incredible team in Melbourne, I think we're we're approaching 20 odd
in our headcount. And we've got 600 incredible instructors globally, so it's setting up those
systems… It's something that you can't do by yourself, and you need to learn at some point to step back a little bit and bring in a management team and let people do their roles,” he said.
Building a positive business partnership
The split between Mark and Michael’s roles has been fundamental to the success of the brand, and of their partnership.
“Mark's done an incredible job at building the brand. He looks after pretty much all the franchise sales. He’s now stepped back from Australia, and he's been living in the US for the last year so he's already sold 80 + locations and he's very much client-facing,” Michael told us.
“My role is marketing performance, and then I like to annoy the movement team and academy team.”
He said the communication between himself and Mark has been crucial for their success, fostering a positive, supportive working relationship.
“Mark's great because I can bounce anything off him, whether it's a marketing campaign or the next hire. We just go back and forth, I think we'd send probably 100 WhatsApp messages a day - it's how we co-manage a business…. We’ve been doing this for over 10 years together now, since F45, so it's working and I'm very fortunate to have him.”
Leadership styles and hiring employees
Michael is open to his employees making mistakes, as long as people are committed and trying hard in their work.
“I don't mind when mistakes are made, they don't really bother me, I just like people having a crack… For me it's all about the results. We need to do everything we can to deliver an incredible product, deliver a business which is profitable to franchisees, and deliver something that members love. I just think if everyone's having a crack and we're working collaboratively, we can do it.”
Overcoming the unknown
Michael explained that while the brand’s unique offering has been crucial for their success, it’s also been a challenge too.
“It's uncharted waters - this space in the Pilates industry or the fitness industry doesn't actually exist yet, no one's really combined cardio and reformer together. So we need to be nimble, we need to try new things, and we need to be really bold in the way that we go about things.”
There’s more innovation and growth to come
Michael shared the business is in its next growth phase currently, with huge plans for 2025.
“There's also a lot of cool stuff we're working on from an innovation perspective. We've just launched a reverse spring system…and in the next 6-12 months we've got some really cool tech stuff coming in too,” he said.
The purpose behind the innovation? To increase the time STRONG members stay with the brand.
“We want customers staying longer, and all the innovation is going to help them on their fitness journey.”
Michael’s biggest career advice for anyone wanting to work in Pilates…
“One thing I hold in really high regard, whenever I speak to a potential franchisee or a potential staff member, is when they’ve gotten in there and done the work out, and they know the brand beforehand. If we can have a fluid conversation about STRONG Pilates and you've been there, done that, and experienced it, you’re passionate - that is that for me.”
And his number one tip to becoming a successful Pilates instructor?
“I think the number one attribute…is actually when instructors say the names of the clients, and know the clients and make them feel comfortable. Having that mix of technical and personable…is super important. It is something you can learn too, I think it's all teachable.”
Learn more about Michael and STRONG Pilates.
Ready to take Michael’s advice onboard and leverage his insights and motivation to pursue your own career in Pilates? Enrol in our APPI Pilates Instructor Certification today to give yourself the best chance of success in the competitive industry, and take the first step towards a career that gives you freedom, flexibility and fulfilment!
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