Q&A with Defining You Pilates and Fitness

Defining You Pilates and Fitness owner Suzy Levi teaches a class via Zoom. (Photo submitted)

Defining You Pilates and Fitness (550 Vandalia St.) quickly transitioned to a virtual studio format in March, pointed out owner Suzy Levi. The studio is offering 3-4 live group classes daily (mat pilates, yoga, barre, strength and HIIT formats), and has a Zoom library for members. Memberships and class sampler packs are available at several different rates starting at $19.99. There are also free weekly workouts on the studio’s YouTube channel.

Defining You is collaborating with an innovative fitness collective effort locally called Sweat Minnesota. This grassroots partnership of Twin Cities fitness pros and studios hosts a free line-up of all types of classes every other Saturday, and Defining You has hosted three classes on Facebook Live.

- How has COVID19 and the Stay at Home order affected your business?

Fortunately Defining You Pilates and Fitness was able to quickly transition to a Virtual studio format upon learning of Governor’s mandate on March 16.

Several days after temporarily closing our brick-and-mortar studio in Vandalia Tower we were up-and-running with virtual group classes on Zoom, for some of our Pilates Mat and Fitness Classes. Unfortunately our clients are missing out on our fabulous Pilates Reformer and Tower classes that utilize our apparatus equipment, which is all housed at the studio.

We’re grateful to so many of our loyal clients for sticking with us through this tough patch, enabling us to serve  people through fitness and ultimately working to support the greater community’s physical health and emotional wellbeing.

This pandemic brings to the forefront how important maintaining your health is, as a defense against the virus. Exercise and movement is essential to our wellbeing and we are thrilled we can provide this to our clients and our greater community.

- What do your current operations look like and when will you reopen?

• Defining You has pivoted to a Virtual studio format and we’ve been up and running on Zoom for the last 6 weeks. Every day, we offer several live virtual group classes to bring our community together to move more, protect our health, support one another and stay connected. Classes include mat Pilates, Yoga, Barre, Strength and HIIT formats.

• As an added benefit, DYF members have access to our Zoom library of virtual classes. So if they miss a favorite class, they can catch it at a later date/time. Or, if there is a class they love, they can run through it as many times as they like! We’ve heard from members that the Defining You Zoom library is a valuable offering, particularly during quarantine. We also offer pre-recorded virtual Sampler Packs of 3- or 5-classes for purchase for non-members.

• We offer private training sessions virtually for individuals who appreciate one-on-one  support from our certified Pilates teachers and functional fitness trainers.

• And, we’re publishing free weekly workouts on our You Tube channel. These range from HIIT to Pilates to our latest Big Ball workout that utilizes an extra-large exercise ball!

• Fortunately we’re also collaborating with an innovative fitness collective effort locally called Sweat Minnesota. This grassroots partnership of Twin Cities fitness pros and studios hosts a free line up of all types of classes every-other Saturday, with their next event on May 16. Defining You has hosted three Sweat Minnesota classes on Facebook Live and anyone can visit our Facebook account and enjoy these free classes as well.

• We have a plan in place to reopen as soon as Governor Walz gives us the green light and we’re working behind the scenes to make sure the studio space is ready and that our team is well prepared. Once the restrictions are lifted, our strategy is to reopen Defining You in stages; we will take it slow and be cautious being mindful and following the COVID-19 guidelines established by the Department of Health and the CDC.

- Did you secure a PPP loan or other assistance and how does that affect things for you?

As a St. Paul small business owner, I have applied for a PPP loan and a couple of other loans. I am still waiting to hear and am hopeful something will come through to help sustain the studio through the shutdown and the following 12 months as we anticipate it will take awhile to return operations to pre-COVID19.

- How many staff did you go into this with and what is the current situation? How are they managing things? 

Our operations staff of four has not been impacted, yet.

Our instructors and trainers have scaled back on teaching given we reduced our daily class schedule to three to four classes a day, compared to eight to 10 classes during pre-Coronavirus times.

Our staff is managing fairly well and we know we’re stronger together. We have ongoing check-in Zoom calls to support each other. This is a very tight network of thoughtful individuals who care very much for one another as well as our clients.

- How do you see this affecting your industry as a whole and what concerns you?

• I know many small boutique studios and micro gyms  are hurting financially today, we are all trying to figure this out together and we appreciate any and all support from our neighbors and the local community.

• Most fitness professionals and studio owners have very narrow margins to remain viable and profitable even in the good times. So, the Coronavirus era has taken a toll.

• The good news is we are a determined team of business owners, and by working together we will figure this out. Organizations like Sweat Minnesota are doing so much good to support and invigorate the local fitness industry. I’m on the Board of the Pilates Method Alliance, we are continually offering guidance, support and insights to help those in our industry. In fact, just this week I hosted a Facebook live discussion related to nurturing and maintaining client relationships during a pandemic.

• I believe there are silver linings to every trying situation. This Pandemic forced many of us to offer virtual options for our home bound clients sheltering in place. Going forward, this option will be a great value to clients who cannot make it to live classes due to work, family or other commitments. They can opt into these classes anytime, almost from anywhere. Virtual formats also provide us, as studio owners, with additional revenue streams and they add value to our studio programming. I was planning on adding this as an option at Defining You in Q4 for our fitness classes and Pilates Teacher Training Program. Now I can work on improving our product and it will be even better by the end of the year.

- How can the community support you?

• We appreciate any and all support during this time, it means so much to me and our entire Defining You community.

• Our welcoming studio is known for our supportive team of staff, clients and community members. We always emphasize that we meet clients where they’re at, at all levels. So, if there are readers who are looking to join a studio, we offer an introductory monthly membership for $69. This would include all our virtual group classes for one month. We also offer a 3- or 5- Virtual recorded class Sampler Pack for $19.99 and $29.99 respectively. With this option folks can choose the format series they’re interested in, join in the classes and also have access to those same classes in our Zoom library for up to one month.

• Please visit our website at www.DefiningYouFitness.com or email our front desk team at definingyoufitnessdesk@gmail.com or call us at 651-769-5712.

• If there are people who have tried Defining You and had a great experience, please tell your friends, neighbors and family! We also appreciate any positive reviews on Google, Yelp, Facebook, etc.

- Any other comments?

I have said often, we will get through this. And, when we do, we will be better at what we do, better at helping people live their healthiest lives, better at appreciating the gifts we have.  We will be stronger, too.