This Mat & Chat was hosted on on Instagram Live on Saturday, November 28th, 2020. The chat followed a 25 minute mat workout.
Victoria: Like I said in the beginning, Ashley and I connected out in Montauk this summer, and it was just coincidental. She actually lives literally across the street from my fiancée which is wild! We have a lot of stuff in common anyways, aside from that, but it was just kind of funny. I sent her a sublease and she was like: “I am literally 3 digits off of your address on 78th street.” It’s just funny how things work out! So Ashley will be [in Montauk] all winter and spring, so if you’re out there and you feel like doing Pilates, this is the best spot to be for sure. I’m biased, but- you know.
So anyways, Ashley, aside from being out in Montauk all winter is teaching virtually as well. So even if you’re not in Montauk, you can work with her online. It’s kind of amazing. Prior to your relocation- I know everybody had such a crazy year this year with Covid and our lives totally changed- you were living in New York City pretty much full-time, aside from summer weekends, or whatever. What was your life like in New York City before you switched it up?
Ashley: Well, so okay, for the last ten years I managed for Equinox. I ran their east 74th Street studio and oversaw four of their clubs on the Upper East Side. So that’s what I had primarily been doing. I got certified by Power Pilates back in 2008, with Bob Liekens and Susan Moran and some other really great people. And then I moved to the Upper East Side about ten years ago to teach for Equinox- that’s actually where I met my husband, in my Pilates studio at Equinox.
Victoria: Wait, he was a client?!
Ashley: He was not my client, he was someone else’s client- I’m very professional.
Victoria: Wait that has always been my- I cannot believe that didn’t happen to me over all of these years, that I haven’t connected with a client. I know we’re not supposed to, but still. I’ve always thought: “Okay, if it’s going to be somewhere, it’s probably going to be in Pilates.” It didn’t happen for me- but that’s amazing!
Ashley: Yeah, I met my husband at Pilates!
Victoria: That’s so cool! So he does Pilates?
Ashley: He does Pilates but not with me. He is a better student of other people than of myself. Anyways, so that’s how I came to the Upper East Side, via Equinox, met my husband, and that’s why I continue to live there, because he had an apartment on 78th street, like Victoria!
Victoria: Wait, so you moved in to his apartment? Oh my God, I moved in to my fiancée’s apartment! Ah! Similar lives! It’s crazy.
Ashley: Now I have a son named Lincoln, he’s about to be two, and yeah that’s about it! I did have a small private business, now I have a full private business. Covid has been really hard and challenging, and it was really scary to make a change, but everything happens for a reason. I think that Pilates or not, there’s going to be so much awesome female entrepreneurship that comes out of Covid. I feel that there’s going to be a lot of awesome female stuff that happens- Pilates or not!
Victoria: Girl power! Yeah no, I totally agree. It’s definitely been a really challenging time. I’m fortunate that I took a leap and opened the space out in Montauk, when all signs pointed to no. I mean, who opens a studio in the middle of a pandemic? But it’s worked out. I think there is still a lot ahead of us, especially in New York. I don’t know what is going to come next, but we keep being warned. Alycea Ungaro, who runs Real Pilates in Manhattan, is very transparent with her thoughts. She’s pretty sure that things will close again. I think after Thanksgiving, we’ll have a better idea of what numbers look like after the travel that people did- myself included- and if it actually did make a difference with numbers. I think we’re all prepared for a second wave, and it’s going to be really tough.
I have a lot of Pilates friends all over the world and country. Sadly, I’ve seen them have to close down multiple times and reopen. I’ve seen Lili Viola in Toronto close. IT’s o hard, but like you said, there are a lot of really strong women behind some of these amazing businesses and I think that if you can learn to weather the storm, you will come out on the other end much stronger. Carrie Russo just said that LA is now under a 3 week stay-at-home order. It’s happening, it’s going to happen again, and we’re all just going to have to get used to it! I know it sounds awful, but for what it’s worth we are just so much more prepared this time around. We know how to transition to a completely virtual platform.
What are some of the best things that have come out of this time for you? How did you feel about leaving your corporate position and then you know, just taking this leap of faith to do your own thing? Was that something you wanted to do before Covid, and Covid was just the right time for it?
Ashley: yeah, well you know- all of the things that I know in my career, I knew them, but now I’m reapplying them because it’s myself. I guess the silver lining was that I got to spend a lot more time with my son, which as a mom you really struggle. When you’re at home you feel like you should be working, and when you’re working you feel like you should be at home. So, I got to spend some extra time with my son in Montauk in July, which is amazing. That’s one personal silver lining.
To really do a lot of self-discovery as to “Who am I?” Not the “who am I” that runs a studio, that manages other people- I had an amazing team, amazing instructors and clients that I love, but it was always about running this, not: “who am I? What’s my business?” There’s been a lot of self-reflection that has happened, and that’s been cool because I was so busy running a business all the time that I sort of lost it. Not that it’s bad, but that’s been my experience- I’ve been like: “Who am I as a teacher? Who is Ashley Patten?” So that’s been fun. Spending time with my son has been awesome too. And, teaching virtually, I’m teaching people who live all over the world! Occasionally, here, there, in my last 13 years, so that’s been cool to reconnect with old clients or people that I see randomly, or people that I’ve taught out East in the summer but normally they live in Uruguay or something. Once of my best friends dances for the Ballet Les Ballets de Monte-Carlo in Monaco, and he takes my classes. My sister lives in Scotland, she’s taking my classes, so that’s been cool.
Victoria: Yeah! That’s amazing.
Ashley: That’s been an amazing thing that’s happened, and it’s been cool. It’s a silver lining to this. I’ve gotten to take class with teachers that I had never gotten to take from, and that’s awesome! Yeah, silver linings, I know it’s hard and scary. I really fell in love with my mat work, and luckily I had a spine corrector at home, so I could at least use some kind of equipment.
Victoria: Yeah, I had a few clients, who once it became really serious in March/April, that we weren’t going to be able to go back to studios or gyms any time soon- so many of my clients hopped on to the internet and bought whatever they could from wherever they could. A million different types of magic circles, spine correctors, from Amazon, from here, from there! And I’m like: “Whatever you have- we can use it.” It’s been cool. For what it’s worth, I’m noticing now- I have multiple clients through Real Pilates, and I’m noticing now that throughout this whole pandemic, they’ve slowly started to collect Pilates apparatus and accessories and I’m like: “This is so cool.” These are super serious, amazingly dedicated people and they get it. It’s so cool for me to log on and teach someone virtually, and they have a whole Pilates studio in their house. They’ve acquired everything. One of my close friends and clients recently got a Wunda chair. She asked for it for her birthday, and her dad got it for her. The Wunda chair arrived when she was home over Thanksgiving, so we did our first session virtually and it’ s like: “This is amazing!” It’s so cool. This just really proves to me that Pilates is something that you’re really just super dedicated to now, and that you’re making the commitment to keep it a part of your life.
Ashley: And you can bring it with you, you know? A foot corrector? It takes up no space! Or you can put a magic circle in your suitcase- if we’re ever able to travel again. I think it proves that Pilates can go with you.
Victoria: Pilates can! Yes, you can take it with you. It’s been really cool also because I have a lot of clients who, like you, started off in their apartments in the city, but then maybe they went out East. Then maybe they went to Florida- they’re just unrolling their mat in these new locations and I’ll log on to teach them virtually and I’m like: “Where are you today!?” Somewhere new- but it doesn’t matter because you can take Pilates with you anywhere you go. It’s really cool.
Ashley: Definitely.
Victoria: So how long did you teach for Equinox?
Ashley: November 2008 I think? I can’t remember because at that time Power Pilates- they used to lease space from Equinox. I worked the front desk when I was in college at Equinox-
Victoria: I worked the front desk at Real Pilates!
Ashley: Yeah, so Power Pilates leased space at the Equinox where I was a front desk associate. So, that’s how I found Power Pilates. SO I started doing Pilates at Equinox, and then I started working the desk at Power Pilates at the Equinox Columbus Circle location. Literally, I sat in the studio for hours all day every day, just picking up the phone literally hand-writing scheduling appointments. You don’t even know! I worked the desk at Power Pilates so I sat at the desk for like 20 hours a week observing teachers. From there, I was like of course I’m going to become a Pilates instructor. At the time, I was a professional dancer. So I went to through the Power certification and at the time- I think I was probably at the intermediate, 300-hour test-out, I was able to get hired by Equinox. Subsequently, Equinox Columbus Circle’s Power Pilates was closing. I actually closed the studio and Equinox took it over. I started teaching at that Equinox because I knew everyone there- it was just a natural transition. And I also worked at Power Pilates 23rd street and 55th street, and was fully certified shortly after that. So, since 2008! And then we closed in March of 2020, and I resigned at the end of June. So 12 years! I mean, I worked for Equinox for 14, because I started in 2006 as a desk associate. I had an amazing tenure there.
I loved working at Power Pilates, because I got to teach next to people like Junghee [Won], Carrie Campbell, Bob, Susan, Stephanie West, Juan [Estrada]. Yeah, the 23rd street studio was a really special place. It was awesome. There were huge windows and so many reformers! I was actually in the window at one point. It was a really awesome place that we all got certified at- really cool.
Victoria: I think there’s a lot to be said for these amazing, old-school Pilates gyms that existed before were really cared as much about aesthetics. Alycea [Ungaro] was a Mat & Chat guest and she described as the studio moved from point A to B to C, but our second studio location- or was it our third? It was on Duane Street at 177 Duane for a number of years, and I started working there at the front desk. It was so funny. It was this old, lofty space with so much character- but it was also falling apart at the same time. *laughs* I just loved it- you would walk in and get this sense like: “I’m here to do some real-ass Pilates.” It just had this feeling like it was so legit. Our new studio is beautiful and humungous and amazing and fits Real Pilates’s growth much better, but I do miss that space. Clients sometimes will say: “Oh, you remember the old studio?” There was this old basement that was so creepy, and this heater-
Ashley: I remember! I took a few sessions down there.
Victoria: Yeah! There’s something to be said for all of those special, original Pilates places. They all hold a good place in our hearts.
Ashley: Yeah! So I guess, that’s just how I came to Equinox and Power Pilates. It kind of all just happened! Right place, right time. I went to Fordham University on 60th, so I was at the Columbus Circle Equinox and Power Pilates there.
Victoria: What would you say is the biggest takeaway you’ve gained from working in a corporate setting for that many years?
Ashley: The one thing that I find- and this is not a knock at Power or any certification- but I learned how to run a business at Equinox. No one becomes a Pilates instructor to make millions of dollars- I certainly didn’t. But we are a business- and we should be respected and valued and get to run our business just like Duane Reade gets to run business, or Bloomingdales, or a doctor’s office. I really learned how to run my business. I see so many things that I learned all of those years now with what I’m doing personally- like how to set boundaries, how to get your clients in. Not because I want to make millions of dollars, but the more that clients do Pilates, the better they feel. The more I do Pilates, the better I feel. That’s our end goal. People become Pilates instructors to teach others because it’s awesome.
Victoria: I think that’s so true and it’s so important. I never really understood until this summer what it would be like to run my own business, and granted, I had a lot of support from the Real Pilates staff because it is a Real Pilates, but it is my little baby. I found it, I coordinated it, and I figured it out. I do think it was a really big learning experience, and I’m grateful that it happened on a really small scale- it wasn’t like I decided to open some mega-space. It grew kind of with me and I gained more knowledge as well.
I will say, and I think you made a point about creating your own time and differentiating what’s your time versus teaching time- that’s something that I don’t know if you’re experiencing. I don’t know if you’re feeling the same way, but this is something that I’ve just started realizing, though I think it was affecting me all summer, but the transition to online was challenging, because I think people feel like you’re available all the time if you’re teaching online. I don’t know if you’ve struggled with that at all, but I certainly have. I’m trying to be available to clients, but I also feel like I need to draw the line, like you said: “No, this is me-time now.” I know it’s just one hour, and I know I can sit on my couch and teach you, but it’s still supposed to be my time. Though virtual teaching has opened up an entire world of possibilities, it’s also blurred the lines between personal time at home versus teaching time at the studio. You don’t really want to work where you live sometimes. That’s happened. I don’t know if you’ve experienced that.
Ashley: Definitely. From a client perspective, their schedule has changed. Clients that I used to see at 6am, maybe I’m seeing at a random time now, because everything is starting later. But definitely to have boundaries is one thing. Okay, I go to work 6am- 3pm. That was my schedule pre-Covid. I went in every day around 6am or 7am, and I finished every day between 3:30-5. That’s because I had a place to go. Definitely to be working from home, it’s like: “It’s only an hour…” but then if it’s at 3pm, then the whole day you’re kind of thinking about it. You know, I think that Covid makes it harder-
Victoria: So hard. I’m a yes person. It’s a big fault of mine. I will literally throw anything else under the bus as long as it means that people who ask me to do something for them are pleased. It’s been difficult for me the last 7 or 8 months. As you said, people’s schedules changed, and I’m so cognizant of that, and so aware of that- that’s why I’ve been more willing to shift if a client says: “Oh I can’t do this morning, but I can do this afternoon!” And I’m like: “Okay, yeah!” But I do think it’s starting to weigh on me. I was teaching from 7-1pm, but now someone wants to see me at 5- and it’s really hard to draw those lines. It’s hard because you want to be accessible to your clients but you also want to have a life! And I don’t have a kid, so I don’t have that excuse where I can be like: “Oh, my son is awake though!” or “ Oh, I need to put my son to bed!” I should just start making something up though *laughs*
Ashley: Yeah, the power of a white lie!
Victoria: Exactly. What you don’t know won’t hurt you!
I didn’t know that you came from a dance background, although I shouldn’t be surprised, because obviously a lot of Pilates instructors have that trajectory. So were you a ballerina?
Ashley: Yeah! So, I’m originally from Iowa. I went to ballet boarding school my junior year of high school at a place called VSA, Virginia School for the Arts. I moved to New York the summer before my senior year by myself to train on scholarship with Alvin Ailey. I went to a school called PCS- Professional Children’s School. It’s a school for actors, dancers, models, young professionals. I subletted a little room from a woman, I finished school, and trained at Ailey, and I would teach little kids in exchange for my scholarship there.
I continued on to Fordham University in the Ailey/Fordham BFA program, and about into my sophomore year I got second thoughts about whether or not I wanted a dance degree. What am I doing? I was kind of at a burn-out because I had been dancing a lot. I moved away from home my junior year. So I decided not to get my BFA- I decided to get my degree in Communications. I did continue to dance professionally. I graduated with my degree, I kept dancing- that’s actually why I started teaching Pilates, to make money between dance jobs. I was 23, my back was in spasm all the time, I didn’t make a lot of money, and I was starting to make “a lot” of money- for me, at 23- and it just felt much more consistent. For me, the paycheck-to-paycheck thing just didn’t work. I remember I took a job at Louis Vuitton and they paid me in shoes. Great! I had these $900 Louis Vuitton boots, but that doesn’t pay my rent , that doesn’t pay my groceries. So at that time, I was like: “You know what? Pilates is awesome.” I was loving it, and I just slowly stopped dancing and started teaching Pilates full-time and I’ve never looked back. To me, it’s like you’re moving, you’re engaging, you’re still performing in front of people- but my back doesn’t hurt, and it’s consistent, and it was just time for me to me to move on from dancing.
Victoria: A lot of instructors come from a dance background, and they all made that conscious decision to transition from dance to Pilates as well. At the end of the day, Pilates is with you for life. So is dance, but every body is a Pilates body. Every body is a Pilates body. So as far as the accessibility, as a career, I think it really opens things up. I have a 15-year old client, I have an 80-year old client. It’s so expansive and I think you can also grow in that career your entire life. You’re never done learning to teach or becoming a better teacher.
Ashley: Agreed. You can never stop learning. I will never say: “I know that.”
Victoria: Every single Mat & Chat, I take something away into my teaching for the next week. I always can tell who it came from, and it’s fun. I feel like I have a piece of everybody with me from my Mat & Chats moving forward. It’s a really cool learning opportunity and experience.
Ashley’s Speed Round
City or beach?
Sweet or savory?
Cat or dog?
Adventure or comfort?
Books or movies?
Nights in or nights out? Both
Summer or winter?
Tea or coffee?
Early bird or night owl?
Pizza or pasta?
Europe or Asia? Never been!
Spring or fall?
Breakfast or dinner?