Meet Francine Marie Acevedo-McCaughan of PerfectlyPilates DBA Code of Life in Key Biscayne

Francine, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I began my Pilates training in Atlanta, Georgia, while I was a Varsity Georgia Tech Cheerleader. Originally seeking mental respite from the scholastic and physical rigors of student-athlete life, I found that Pilates not only soothed and calmed my mind but also invigorated my body, lengthening and leaning it out. After noticing the results, I was hooked.

I honed my Pilates practice by taking classes regularly in Atlanta and Augusta, Georgia, Washington DC, Los Angeles, California, and finally in Cádiz, Spain. I attended my teacher training courses in Miami, Florida, through Pilates ProWorks and Polestar Pilates. Currently, I own my own studio in Key Biscayne, where I teach Pilates group and private classes.

I also teach Pilates masterclasses in French, Spanish, and English in order to share my passion and teach others about the benefits of Pilates. To date, I have taught in Los Angeles, New York City, Chicago, Augusta, Georgia, and Paris, France. When you do what you love, the sky’s the limit!

Before becoming a Pilates and Barre teacher, I worked at a well-known talent agency in Beverly Hills, California, helping negotiate director, talent, executive producer, licensing, and production service contracts. I worked with high-profile celebrities and helped package TV shows which sold to all of the big TV and digital networks. Although I enjoyed this work, my passion for fitness because of my past as a soccer player and cheerleader tugged at my heartstrings.

While in Los Angeles, I toyed with the idea of returning to the fitness world. I was apprehensive about leaving the corporate world because, professionally, that was all that I knew. My first step back towards fitness was stunting with the Los Angeles Clippers cheerleading squad on my off-time from work. This seemed promising until an ACL injury prevented me from continuing.

While attending physical therapy for my knee, I noticed that many of the exercises I was given were Pilates exercises. I remembered that Pilates was something that I could do into my old age because it is low impact and rehab-based. The seed of becoming a Pilates Professional was planted.

Working as an Entertainment Professional was fun, but it left me unsettled and yearning for something more. I moved from LA to Cadiz, Spain, to clear my head and figure out my next step. Inspired by the clientele that I used to serve, who all seemed to be following their dreams, I decided to leave the law completely in order to pursue my passion for fitness full-time. My past experiences have not been lost on me, though, as I combine what I learned in my past career to work with celebrities from LA to Miami and NYC as a Pilates Professional.

I love appearing on TV shows to promote Pilates as a way to achieve a balance of the mind, body, and spirit. I’ve been a guest on the local CBS talk show “Live It Up with Donna Drake” in New York, as well as the local Miami TV show “Off The Wire.” I have also been recommended for my work by Miami’s premiere fitness news site, “STAY FIT 305,” and you can find me sited and interviewed as a “Pilates Expert” by the national entertainment news source “Entertainment Tonight,” or “ET.”

Growing up, I was the only one of my four sisters that didn’t get to take modeling classes. My schedule was too busy with piano lessons, sports, and dance. I thought that boat had sailed and had always felt like I’d missed out. The Universe, God, or whoever you subscribe to, always has a way of making things whole. Through my job as a Pilates teacher, I have gotten to model in Miami Swim Week for Flor de Piel Swimwear, and for companies such as Code Activewear and Live! Sportswear. Dreams do come true!

Currently, I am an Instagram ambassador for Tavi Noir grip socks and Carbon38 Activewear. Through my role as an ambassador for Tavi Noir and as a member of the Recording Academy, I did an Instagram Takeover at the Grammy Awards in New York City. That was fun!

I am a firm believer in doing what you love and loving what you do and trying everything in between until you find out what that is. I have found this life process to be analogous to Pilates itself, where every exercise takes trial and error to achieve, but persistence and determination help you to achieve your goal. I feel I have finally married my passions and strengths and encourage my clients every day to strive to do the same!

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It has definitely not been a smooth road. Lots of roadblocks and pivots, right and left, have been involved. Sometimes I pivoted right and realized halfway down that path that I should have pivoted left instead. You know what they say, “Sometimes you’ve got to take a few steps back in order to move a few steps forward.”

My struggles? Fear, self-doubt, and self-acceptance. These struggles prevented me from letting go of expectations, especially of my engrained and perceived ideal of “success,” and realigning my priorities accordingly. My definition of success back then was heavily based on what other people thought of me. Little did I know that my perception of success would send me in a toxic downward spiral during my formative years of university and post-graduate studies.

Growing up, I was given the impression that if I wasn’t a doctor, lawyer, or engineer as an adult, then I’d be homeless living on the side of the street. Eye-roll. Success for me, back then, came in the form of degrees and titles. So, instead of studying anything fitness-related, like I wanted to, I studied something more “practical,” and then went to law school.

The funny thing with basing success on “things” is that, more often than not, once you get those “things” you are still not satisfied, and more often than not, you are exhausted. You feel defeated, like you went through so much sacrifice for nothing. It’s impossible to enjoy the ride when you base success on fleeting things. If you don’t change your outlook, the journey to “success” starts all over again, and the cycle continues, making you weaker and more confused when you finally get what you thought you wanted.

I wanted to become a lawyer to advocate for people with disabilities, because my sister has Downs Syndrome. After two internships in that field, I decided that was not for me because there was too much red-tape and too little opportunity to make a difference on the ground floor. After realizing the reason I went to law school was no longer my motive, I was lost. What now?

Schooled on the importance of “never quitting” (eye roll, again) and motivated to get that “Doctorate” professional title, I stayed in law school even after I no longer felt called to be a lawyer. I had just gotten done with the most difficult year of law school, so I figured I would stick out the last two “easier” years. I asked myself: “What is the most fun type of law that I can specialize in?” I was the webmaster of the Sports and Entertainment Law Society and saw that all of the lawyers who came to speak to us in that field seemed to enjoy it, so I pursued that.

During the remainder of law school, I worked at a music label, a creative consulting firm, and a performing rights organization. After law school, I moved to Los Angeles, where I worked with many high profile celebrities who are on TV shows that we all know and love (or love to hate). I had amazing experiences in LA and have a lot of great stories from that time. It was truly fun, but in the end felt empty and unsettled. Maybe this was not my calling?

I left LA to travel through Europe for a few months and clear my head, “Eat, Pray, Love” style. I realized that the reason I hadn’t gotten where I wanted to be, which was happiness and stability in my career, was because I was always focusing on others’ definitions of success. This was my first step to finally letting go of my perceived ideal of success.

I asked myself what I really wanted, what I am good at, and what makes me the happiest. I learned, through lots of soul searching, that my job and a title do not define me and that I have worth solely because I am. I changed my definition of “success” to be “happiness,” and happiness is achieved for me when I am at peace. Pilates is one of the things that always had and still makes me happy. It gives me peace.

I decided that I could not care about what people thought anymore like I had so much in the past. I needed to listen to my heart and my body, which is what Pilates is all about– listening to your body and mind and respecting its needs. I took a chance to leave all preconceived notions of who I was meant to be based on my schooling to pursue my passion. It was scary to make such a big transition, but it was definitely worth it!

So for anyone else currently on a bumpy road, struggling with fear, self-doubt, and self-acceptance, I leave you with this quote that inspired me when I was transitioning careers. I hope it will inspire you as much as it did me. “When people ask me about how I made such a big change and how they can do the same, I often tell people to just go for it. Too many of us stay “stuck” in jobs and relationships and situations that don’t make us happy. And life’s far too short for that. Sure, taking a leap is scary. And there’s a decent chance you’ll fall on your face when you do. But I’m willing to bet that if you do fall, you’ll pick yourself up feeling stronger for making the jump and closer to making your dreams a reality as a result.” Lisa Hirsch

Please tell us more about your work. What do you do? What do you specialize in? What sets you apart from competition?
I am a Pilates teacher and studio owner, known for my fun and energetic, flowy yet athletic classes that move to the beat of the music. I inspire my clients to tend not only to their physical health through exercise and eating well but also to their mental and spiritual health. In my classes and through my Instagram @perfectlyPilates I keep clients and potential clients motivated and inspired to live a balanced and fulfilled life.

I am most proud of providing a service that helps people realize their physical and mental potential and that they are perfect just the way they are. Pilates is a mind, body, and spirit centered exercise. Once people realize this, they grow in confidence in all aspects of their lives. Pilates helped me figure out that no matter where I am in life, I am perfect how I am at that moment. If something is not working out, it might be for a certain reason, and my job is to accept that and learn from that moment or issue.

Just as I needed patience and acceptance when perfecting basic Pilates exercises, this lesson permeated into my everyday life, where I have learned that I need patience and acceptance when dealing with issues day to day. This is the lesson I am most proud to pass on to my clients. Seeing them grow in confidence and strength in class and outside of class in their jobs and personal lives is the most satisfying part of my job and the part that I am most proud of.

I think that what sets me apart is that I make it a point to learn and remember everyone’s name that walks into my class. I try to remember our recent conversations and ask them how things are going from the last time I saw them. I also try to remember their favorite exercises or group of muscles that they like to work, and any past injuries or issues they have had, and ask them if these are still concerns for them. It is the little things that really matter, I believe, and I think, especially in a big city like Miami, that this personal attention initially takes people off guard, but then is received warmly and with much appreciation.

Another thing that I think sets me apart from others is that Pilates is not just my professional industry; it is my absolute passion. I left a lucrative career to pursue my passion – it was so scary! Pilates is what I had done for 12 years before it was my profession and what I would be doing still today, 16 years later, even if it wasn’t my profession.

I truly believe in and live what I teach, and so am I able to teach it knowledgeably and with a lot of enthusiasm. I think my clients realize that, and that is what keeps them coming back to my classes and, hopefully, what inspires them to want to be better at Pilates and at every day life.

Do you feel like there are certain traits that increase the likelihood of success?
Resilience. The dictionary definition of resilience is “the capacity to recover quickly from difficulties; toughness.”

Life is not perfect and will never be. The ability to accept something that may not be going my way and move on from there finding solutions rather than dwelling on difficulties, allows me to keep the ball rolling on projects at my studio and goals in my life. The opposite would mean getting stuck, and getting stuck leads to unhappiness. Since my definition of success is happiness, I feel resilience is the quality or characteristic most important to my success/happiness.

Pricing:

• Free New Client Demo Class on Mondays at 4:30 pm
• New Client Reformer Pilates Package $35/class!

• Fun events like Mat Pilates and a Beach Clean Up with @FillAbag and Pilates & Boxing Masterclass coming up!

Contact Info:

• Address: 328 Crandon Blvd, STE 209
  Key Biscayne, FL 33149
• Website: www.code-of-life.com
• Phone: (844) 745-2835
• Email: Info@code-of-life.com
• Instagram: @PerfectlyPilates @code.of.life
• Facebook: @PerfectlyPilates