Today we’d like to introduce you to Aileen Gonzalez
Hi Aileen, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I was born and raised in Miami and growing up as an athlete, I have always had a passion for sports. I first discovered Pilates in 2016 and instantly fell in love after my first group class experience. At the time, I was working at Sony Music Latin where I started as an intern and worked my way up to Senior Manager over the course of nearly 8 years. While at Sony, in 2017, I also pursued a Masters Degree in Marketing at FIU.
Pilates was a great stress relief for me so I continued to take group classes and started taking some privates over time to help manage my stress with my demanding role. Throughout my years working in digital marketing I still felt so drawn to the Pilates method that I was always left with wanting more after my sessions.
I started my journey to become a Pilates Instructor in August of 2020 and after completing a 500-hour comprehensive training program in all apparatus (mat, reformer, chair, cadillac, ladder barrel, special populations, etc.), I passed the national exam and became a Nationally Certified Pilates Instructor (NCPT) in March of 2022. Upon completing my teacher training program, I took the risk of leaving my full-time job to follow my passion and pursue my career as a Pilates Instructor and entrepreneur.
In April of 2022 I picked up playing golf and instantly fell in love with the sport. Within eight months of playing golf I broke 100 and got my first birdie, along with many other accomplishments, all without taking any golf lessons. I believe I was able to improve so quickly at golf because of my consistent self-practice and because I was incorporating Pilates into my routine. I quickly realized how Pilates and athletics can truly blend together and this is the essence of where Pilates on the Green was created.
In June of 2022 I started putting together a business plan and in January of 2023 I launched my very own online Pilates studio. Pilates on the Green caters to athletes, like golfers and runners, to help enhance their athletic lifestyle and endurance through the power of Pilates.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
“It’s hard until it’s easy.” That’s what I kept telling myself. It was definitely a risk to leave my corporate job to become a Pilates Instructor and entrepreneur, but I have always been very intuitive and chose to listen to my gut and follow my heart.
I would say my biggest challenge was adjusting to the fact that I was completely on my own. I always had teammates and coworkers to brainstorm with and bounce ideas off of, but when you become an entrepreneur you don’t have that luxury. It was definitely challenging in the beginning figuring out how to wear so many hats but to be quite honest, I quickly started owning what I was doing and found a routine that worked for my productivity.
One of the biggest struggles I faced when building out my business was the logistics. I was creating everything from scratch with no one guiding me. I invested my savings in equipment, systems and platforms and went through trial and error of how to operate everything. Aside from putting together my marketing and social media strategy, everything else was a learning curve.
Although I had no guarantee I would even gain one club member, I remember just repeating to myself, “if you build it, they will come.”
In my first year of filming classes, I was using my living room as my studio space. I would re-arrange all of my furniture in order to setup my camera, light, mat and decor and then put everything back in place after I was done filming. The setup and breakdown process oftentimes took longer than filming the workout itself. There were many classes that I couldn’t use due to technical issues, or my dog barking in the middle of class, but I look back and view those days as necessary growing pains. With every class that I had technical issues, for example, I chose to learn and grow from those experiences rather than let them defeat me. Of course it was discouraging at times because it felt like wasted time but I chose to stay positive and keep on going because I loved it.
When looking at the big picture, everything has fallen into place quite naturally and there honestly haven’t been too many roadblocks that I have dealt with. I’m a firm believer that if something is meant to be for your life, it will end up happening one way or another.
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Pilates on the Green?
My business, Pilates on the Green, is an online mat Pilates studio created for everyday athletes.
As a golfer and soon-to-be marathon runner, I feel the immense value of how important it is to practice Pilates in order to build strength, flexibility, mobility, endurance and help your body avoid injury. There are so many benefits to practicing the Pilates method consistently and I truly think every athlete can benefit from it.
My goal is to be able to help everyday athletes like myself. I want to help my clients incorporate Pilates into their lifestyle while also being realistic with a routine that they can see themselves doing for a lifetime, not just a couple of weeks out of the year.
I am currently the one-stop-shop for Pilates on the Green. From setting up my online studio platform and organizing my classes, to being the director and producer for the filming setup, to teaching Pilates classes, to editing, marketing, client support, newsletter distribution, YouTube filming and editing and so much more.
I am most proud of having an idea and bringing it to life with so much passion. It’s one thing to dream. It’s another thing to take action towards achieving those dreams.
When doing market research before creating my platform, I realized there were really no Pilates studios who had my specific audience demographic. Although there are tons of fitness apps and online Pilates studios available, it’s where I realized I could truly set myself apart to help reach my target clientele.
Pilates on the Green is web and mobile friendly.
There are over 140 classes and 8 guided courses available on my platform for club members. I offer both monthly and annual memberships along with a 7 day free trial. I also upload one free Pilates class every month to my YouTube channel.
What are your plans for the future?
I have many dreams and goals for Pilates on the Green.
First, I am currently in the process of building my very own at home Pilates studio. This space will be dedicated to filming classes and a space where I can see clients face-to-face in the future when I expand and invest in my own Pilates equipment.
Next year, I hope to upgrade my web-based app to be fully available on the app store for iOS and Android for my club members.
Finally, I also plan to partner with golf resorts and run clubs in the future to offer in-person Pilates experiences, programs and retreats.
This truly is just the beginning!
Pricing:
- $29 monthly club membership
- $299 annual club membership (best value)
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.pilatesonthegreen.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pilatesonthegreenapp
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@pilatesonthegreen
Image Credits
Matt Roy
