With Rob's blend of sports science and Functional Neurology training and Ash's Dance and Somatic Movement Therapy training, their Pilates sessions are always multi-faceted and multi-dimensional and cover a broad range of health interests that go beyond simply stretching and strengthening our bodies.
Their combined knowledge based has facilitated many life-changing journeys for their clients, and has resulted in being recognised names across the Australian Pilates scene. Their work also extends to facilitating world-class yet affordable professional development opportunities to Pilates Practitioners across Australia and online.
Robert Carruthers and Ashleigh Berry, Pilates Practitioners
What is your business called, and how do you help your clients?
Ash and Rob created Movementality Pilates in 2016. They make a safe space for people curious about whether they could improve how they are currently moving. These people might have a few niggles, or be recovering from serious injury, chronic pain, or dis-ease, or be high-level athletes looking to get that last 1% out of their performance. Rob and Ash do this through small group sessions, where everyone works through specific exercises and plans under guidance. They’re very clear that the clients are responsible for their own success, but they are happy to provide as much insight and support as possible and the people willing to accept their help generally do very well!
What inspired you to create Movementality?
A combination of two things. Rob meeting Ash, and having her help him with his existing clients and seeing how much better they were with two different perspectives working towards the same goal; and the age-old tale of someone disheartened by previous employment engagements deciding they could do it better themselves. And now almost a decade in, it’s certainly shed some light on why certain decisions they experienced while underemployment were made, but it’s also allowed them to shape a company that puts the staff welfare first, which in turn facilitates a better environment for their clients.
Were there any pivotal moments you can think of that have led to where you are today?
While living in London, Rob moved flats after a breakup and ended up moving into a flat that Ash was already living in. At the time, she was a contemporary dancer working odd jobs to fund her dance career. During their early interactions, it became apparent to Rob that Ash had an innate understanding of human movement, though no formal education in that area. Rob had already pivoted his work focus to be more independent, and had picked up several private clients, so invited her to collaborate with him in supporting those clients. It was a roaring success, creating the foundation for what would become Movementality, their highly successful Pilates studio.
What inspires your work?
Rob has always been interested in movement for health, and efficiency in general. So when someone comes to the studio and they have specific goals that are being impeded, being able to explore those potential blocks to improve movement efficiency is very rewarding. Don’t get us wrong, it does take time and a certain willingness to challenge boundaries for that client - but when they get someone willing to go on that journey, you can make life-long changes to their health that they will thank you for forever.
We also have a second aspect of the business, focusing on community-based and affordable Pilates professional development. They collaborate with great practitioners across Australia, to host workshops in different cities, using content they chose, and deliver it in a hybrid model of in-person and live-streamed attendance. They also record these workshops for resale, with everyone getting lifetime access. We’d love to see this model grow beyond our delivery, as it is a fantastic way to build camaraderie and support for practitioners who can often feel isolated and lonely, particularly if they work in smaller towns.
Work-life balance is hard for any business owner, but especially so in your industry. What steps have you taken to look after yours?
This has been a big issue for us and the main reason why we ended up downsizing from a large, successful space with a team of 8 in Melbourne to effectively a 1-man show in Perth. Lowering our overheads means we’ve been able to offer only what we want to offer, at times we want to offer them, and still maintain some aspect of a family life. Moving to Perth also meant we had access to more frequent support from Ash’s friends and family.
What would you like to achieve for yourself and your business in the future?
Our overarching goal has always been to provide a safe space for people looking to regain confidence in their physical health. This allows for a hugely diverse range of people to work with us, with the only requirement being the willingness to give it a dedicated go. It’s a simple process that we hope to empower other practitioners to focus on, allowing for our business to steadily grow to the point we can be more flexible with our time in the business, and have more time for our family. With Rob being from New Zealand but living in Perth, there is a need to be able to travel, sometimes at short notice and not disrupt our income.
We’d also like to see our education focus shift from being solely driven by us, to something more studios can embrace and run on their own, either with or without our support. Community has always been a central part of our business, so we’d love to see more businesses embrace that for their local Pilates industry.
What are the criteria for a client to work with you?
Firstly, we require someone to be open-minded, and secondly, they need to be dedicated to the cause. Our sessions can be life-changing at times, but someone has to be willing to have their life changed! All too often we hear ‘I never thought I’d be able to do that’, but in reality, they always could, they just had closed their mind to it for whatever reason. It does take time, but we just gently and consistently nudge them along until they self-realise they can do something again.
What separates yourself from similar businesses in your industry?
We don’t necessarily do anything different from the outset, but the biggest feedback we’ve had from clients who tried similar studios in the past, is there is a willingness to listen and actually hear what a client is saying; and a level of care for that client that isn’t always present in our studios. Each aspect on its own is great - but when combined, it becomes a powerful force for change. And once someone buys into that change, we’ve got a client for life. We are also very good at deconstructing a movement to identify where there are imbalances and can facilitate a better balance of mobility and stability where required through the use of the Pilates apparatus.
If you could change one thing about your industry, what would it be and why?
This may not necessarily be apparent to outsiders looking in, but our industry has strong divisions around the different business models and types of training that all fall under the umbrella term of Pilates. As such, it’s not uncommon for businesses and practitioners to metaphorically attack or speak down to one another for various reasons, usually coming from a place of fear that their business or practice isn’t successful enough. The reality that these people are forgetting is that Joseph Pilates' vision for his work was to get people active and prevent the sedentary aspects of modern-day life from sending us to the grave early. So if we focus on getting people moving as a lifestyle choice rather than a chore and make it accessible and enjoyable, then it doesn’t matter what it looks like to the consumer. As long as they’re happy and associating that with Pilates, then we’re all winners!
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