Your Reformer - How Reformer Pilates Helped Heal a Mind and Body

Ramon Vela (00:02.616)
I have with me an amazing entrepreneur and founder and brand and I can't wait to get started. We're going to have a great show for you today. So let me introduce you to Emma Stallworthy, who is the founder of Your Reformer. Welcome to the show.

Emma Stallworthy (00:36.6)
Thank you so much for mind.

Ramon Vela (00:38.466)
Well, I appreciate you making time. You are in Australia right now and there's a big time difference. So it's very early morning for you. So please, please thank you for making time for us. And even though there's a time difference, so I appreciate you waking up early and doing this for our audience.

Emma Stallworthy (00:43.79)
with that.

Emma Stallworthy (00:59.97)
Yeah, of course. I'm a morning person. So and I'm very used to the time zone challenges. So yes, happy to be here.

Ramon Vela (01:02.254)
Thank

Ramon Vela (01:07.074)
Well, that's great. So thank you. All right. So why don't we get started? So my signature question is a question of gratitude. And I say that for several reasons. One big reason is that I'm a big believer in gratitude. I believe that it is something that is available to all of us. It's free and it's such a powerful force in that if you are stressed out, if you're feeling anxious, it helps you to

control your nervous system, helps you put things in context. As a matter of fact, I read an article where it said that people are, it is impossible neurologically to have gratitude and anxiety at the same time. So it's extremely powerful and it has helped me through some of my darkest moments, both on the business side as well as personal. And I can't recommend it enough. So if you're feeling any of those things, please do look into this, whether you journal, you pray, you're...

Meditate I have a meditation practice that I do and so it's just really really helpful the other reason why I do this is I really feel that it's such an easy thing for consumers to do is when they see a product they see a business online or on the shelf or wherever and they just sort of in their minds they just they don't really think about the people behind the brand they think about it's a faceless corporation and so forth and what I like to do is on this on this show I want to make sure that the

listeners know that they're real people behind these brands that we feature. People who bleed, sweat and tear over bringing their product to market and who really care about their community and their consumers and really why they're doing what they're doing. And so I want to make sure we highlight that and bring this down to our personal level. So, and humanize the brand. And one way of doing that is really just knowing what you're grateful for, what people are grateful for. And so if you, with all of that said, if you don't mind, Emma,

Can you share a moment or a memory when someone did something for you that just made you feel grateful because it meant that they will have been you, your vision, or your potential?

Emma Stallworthy (03:09.198)
I love this question and I completely agree with you in terms of how grounding gratitude can be in practicing gratitude. And I think it really helps you identify and connect to what also you're passionate about and what truly means something to you. And it's something I talk to my kids about as well. I think it's a great lesson to learn really early in terms of what you can be grateful for. to answer your question, Sam is one of our team members and she came to mind straight away and

Sam has actually worked. So I work in the business with my husband as well. Of course, I'm very grateful for him, but this particular moment is about Sam and she's worked with us for over eight years now. So she was actually with us in our previous business, which was a chain of gyms too. And she has literally been our my rock and source of strength really through a few seasons in that in that eight years. So it started, I was

Ben and I were struggling with fertility and struggling to get pregnant and ended up to take a step back in that business. And she stepped up into the ops role that I was owning at the time and allowed me that time and space to go on the journey to eventually then fall pregnant. So, you know, I have a lot of gratitude for that. When we then sold the gyms, she could have done anything in her career at that point. And we we caught up and we said,

we've got this concept that we're working on that's bubbling away. And it was your reformer. And she didn't even hesitate. She went, yes, I believe it. I believe you guys, I'm in. And she was literally, it was the three of us sort of working in the weeds, trying to build and get this to market. And at the same time, I was pregnant with our second son, So she really supported me once again and supporting Ben for me to, you

give birth to my son and go through that newborn stage and navigate having two children whilst launching a third baby being this business. you know, and then she moved to the States for six months for us while we launched there so that we didn't have to. Now she's traveling to Europe and the UK for us while she's leading that part of the growth of business. So she really is.

Emma Stallworthy (05:26.7)
you know, our right arm and but she's the quiet one as well. She's the one in the background. She won't go on camera. She doesn't love the social events. She's just such a special human in our life. And I'm very grateful for her. And I probably don't tell her enough. So I do hope she listens to this.

Ramon Vela (05:31.629)
you

Ramon Vela (05:48.558)
Oh, well, that's fantastic. What was her last name? Or can you share that? Okay. All right. Well, I'm going to tag her. I'm going to tag her when we finally release this episode. And even though she's shy, you just introduced her to, you know, 30,000 people. So.

Emma Stallworthy (05:52.888)
Samantha McCutcheon is her name.

Emma Stallworthy (06:02.627)
Yeah.

Emma Stallworthy (06:07.298)
the world.

Ramon Vela (06:10.029)
So maybe she'll get some, you know, some LinkedIn love and stuff like that. But no, I appreciate you sharing that. And it says a lot about you, but it also is just such a great example. And Cord is a question that I gave you, is someone, you know, being grateful for someone who believed in you, your vision or your potential. And that's at the heart of...

Emma Stallworthy (06:14.104)
Yeah.

Ramon Vela (06:36.453)
I think why she does what she does is that, she can, with her experiences in operation, she can have a lot of opportunities in front of her. But there's something about what you and your husband do and what you've built and what you're building that really spoke to her and said, hey, I want to be a part of this. you know, that says a lot about her. says a lot about you guys, a lot about what the vision that she sees or that she saw and what you described to her.

So I love that. I mean, it's just such a great example of gratitude. And if someone believing in you, so you're so fortunate to have people like that in your life. And I'm sure you've, I always tell people I ask if they have closed the loop. have you told that person and so forth, but I'm assuming you probably have already.

Emma Stallworthy (07:14.958)
we are.

Emma Stallworthy (07:26.422)
Yes, I mean, I do tell her all the time she doesn't like hearing it. Again, she's a very humble person and she doesn't see what we see in herself. But yes, she is pretty phenomenal.

Ramon Vela (07:30.508)
Ha

Ramon Vela (07:39.662)
yeah. Well, that's great. So thank you for sharing that. and that's actually like I was going to segue in it. This story provides a really good segue in that typically what I ask is, you know, what is it that she saw when you like describe to her in the early days? What did you describe to her in terms of the vision? And I want that. But I also, you know, know a little bit about your story, too. And so I think your story.

is very relatable to people out, know, to many people, not just women, you know, men, of course, too, in many ways. But I think your story is very relatable to a lot of people. So I don't know where you want to start because I want to know about both. So I don't know if you want to start off.

Emma Stallworthy (08:17.976)
Hmm. Hmm.

Emma Stallworthy (08:25.43)
Yeah. Well, they go hand in hand. They do in terms of the vision and the why and how it sort of came about. So you're right. My story is very relatable. So it started with the infertility journey. And it is something that unfortunately a lot of people tackle and come across. you don't really think about it until you then decide you want to start a family and you and it doesn't happen the way you expect it should happen. And

Very quickly Ben and I had to go and start the IVF journey and that's a roller coaster in itself. I'm very grateful for that journey in a sense that I had to learn a lot about myself. really takes, it really makes you assess the way you're living and I had to make changes to find more balance and

to manage stress. I'm an anxious, naturally anxious person. I've had panic attacks in my life. So, you know, I had to learn how to address that. Pilates came into it because I was recommended to change the way I was moving. I was running, was HIIT style workouts, you know, I was in the gym industry. So, you know, there was all of that type of thing that, you know, know, work the body hard. If you haven't sweat, it doesn't count, you know, all of that kind of

mentality and they said try Pilates and yoga. You need to slow down, you need to do some different movements. It's a bit more nurturing for the body and I really connected with Pilates and reform Pilates specifically because of the variety that it gave me but it gave me that balance between a low impact workout that was still felt like a workout to me. I still walked away feeling strong and empowered and satisfied in the movement.

But what I was also getting was messages to my body that essentially allowed a better balance between the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous system, which then allowed my body to go, OK, we can now be in a state of able to carry a child, essentially. very connected to Pilates from that.

Emma Stallworthy (10:41.378)
journey and I do believe that it was a big part of what allowed me to then fall pregnant fairly easily once I had made that change. And then through that, also, I became an instructor. We were introducing reformer pilates into our gyms and it was early. This was sort of nine, 10 years ago now in Australia. So we weren't sure how it was going to be adopted in gym.

Ramon Vela (10:49.325)
Mm-hmm.

Emma Stallworthy (11:08.78)
land, essentially. And so I thought, all right, I'll I need to make a change at work. This is when Sam stepped up into my role as well. And I became an instructor and I managed our first studio and I taught a lot of classes. And I loved hearing the personal stories of my clients that were coming in and how Reforma Polaris was impacting their life for the better, how it was changing something for them and that deep connection, that deep why.

And it really, I guess, fueled a love of Pilates even further. so, you know, coming out of the gyms and we were we had a year of COVID lockdown and that we weren't open very much in Melbourne. And so we hired out all of our reformers and I was running Zoom live classes and the feedback was amazing. Everyone was loving having this convenience of it at home.

even though it was stuck in our homes, just the empowerment to do it when you wanted to do it and how you want it to move. you know, combining those two, there's a clear demand for this. It's not reformer at home is not a thing. It's not accessible. There's some changes and tweaks we would want to make to the reformers if they were in a home and then combine with the true why. Well, if we were able to make it more accessible, what would that ultimately mean for people?

you were, whether they were going through fertility or whether they had they were they were an athlete and they wanted to get an upper hand on their sports performance and on their opponents or reduce the amount of injuries that they might have been coming across or someone wanted to improve their mobility. All the different reasons that individuals can benefit. This is one of the things I love about Reform Applied is it's a broad range of audience.

and a broad range of benefits that people can get from adopting it into their movement practice. And so I think it was that passion, you can hear it. I could talk about it all day that, you know, when I said, all right, we've got this concept, we've got the crux of the idea that Sam was like, yes, I love this. I can get behind this. And everyone that joins our team understands that that emotional connection, the deeper connection to the why that

Ramon Vela (13:14.125)
you

Emma Stallworthy (13:28.736)
really drives all of our decisions or underpins the decisions in the business is why people believe in the vision and what we're trying to achieve.

Ramon Vela (13:37.582)
Well, and there's so much to unpack to what you just said, and I want to go back a little bit to your story. And I think whether you're going through, you know, fertility issues or maybe you have other issues that you're going through, it feels like there's so many reasons why someone would want to. Well, we know we need movement, right? We know we need

to be healthy, be balanced, we need some sort of exercise. We need a little bit of resistance, we need movement. There's so many things that we need in order to be healthy. But there's a lot of danger, or not maybe not danger, but just potential for injuries and things like that when you have a lot of high impact stuff.

Emma Stallworthy (14:33.774)
Anyway.

Ramon Vela (14:34.273)
But there's a lot of reasons why someone may not be able to enjoy some of those harder impact stuff or do some of those impact because they have some sort of issue. Maybe it's not fertility, but it's something else. And I kind of feel like there's a lot of people in that sort of group that want the benefits, want the movement, want the exercise, but for whatever reason, you know, really

Emma Stallworthy (14:54.434)
Mm-hmm.

Ramon Vela (15:01.581)
you know, can do all the high impact stuff or feeling sort of the issues on that. I also feel like exercise like Pilates or having these movements, very deliberate movements and things like that is very similar to like almost like a yoga or to a meditative, you know, type of state. And it's a great way to control or manage the nervous system.

Emma Stallworthy (15:21.048)
Hmm. Yes.

Ramon Vela (15:31.137)
to feel more relaxed, balanced. I mean, you tell me, I'm just kind of like based on what you said in Waste No More Red.

Emma Stallworthy (15:36.652)
Yeah, I mean, all of the above, all of the above. So yes, it's the one thing I find amazing about Reforma Palliates is that it's for different seasons in your life and what's happening. So infertility being one, the benefit there for me or someone, you know, if part of the challenge is that

our cortisol levels are just always up. We're stressed at work, we're stressed at home, whatever it is, then high impact training or that kind of really hard workout is essentially just continuing that message to the body. It's not showing that there's moments of calm or moments of lower impact movement that allows for you to come out of that fight or flight response, essentially. And so that's the kind of

concept behind that. But if you you're right, someone with back pain, and I've got personal experience with that, I've had a severe disc bulge that was a postpartum injury shortly after having Bodhi and debilitating pain. And so many people suffer from back pain. And, you know, a lot of that comes down to a weak core. So strengthening your core with movement that supports your back at the same time allows you free

the freedom of that debilitating pain over time. So, and I've definitely found that through, you know, that next season of my of my life in postpartum and the back injury and coming back to Pilates and supporting me through that so that I could get back to full strength and doing the things that I love to do. And, you know, someone with a knee injury is very hard to find movement that they can do while they have a knee injury.

what we can do on reformer is we can isolate it when you're in that acute stage of the injury and we can find movements for you to do around that so that you're still feeling that you are moving and you're getting that outlet because it can be really difficult mentally if you like to move and you can't because you have an injury so we can keep you getting moving through that. But then we're there for the rehabilitation. So when you're ready to start rebuilding that strength, then we can isolate it.

Emma Stallworthy (17:55.17)
to that part and focus on the rebuild of that strength in that area. In terms of what you talked about with it being mindful, it is a connection between breath and movement. And so it is a mindful practice. is something that when you, and particularly when the reformer, when you throw in straps and you throw in, you know, a carriage that's moving and all of these different elements and props, it's really not.

Ramon Vela (18:00.256)
Mm.

Emma Stallworthy (18:22.476)
much else to think about other than being so present in that moment and where you're feeling it and what the cues are and what you should be focusing on. And so very, very much at the end of, whether it's been 30 minutes, 10 minutes, you walk away and you go, I forgot about what problem I had when I found myself on the reformer. And for me, I mean, I know

Ramon Vela (18:39.905)
Mm-hmm.

Emma Stallworthy (18:44.478)
I know the benefits of practicing meditation, but I can't find the discipline to sit down and do 10 minutes of meditation a day. But I will find the discipline to move on the reformer because I love it and I get more than just that. But I do get that mental health, I guess, support through mindfully moving. And so a lot of people resonate with that as well.

Ramon Vela (18:50.893)
Thank

Ramon Vela (19:05.933)
Hmm.

Ramon Vela (19:09.643)
Yeah, you know, I 100 % agree. And as a side note, I feel like, and this may be impacting people around fertility and other places, but I just think that our, if you look at the history of our biological history is, how we developed as humans and what our lives are now. I just don't know if we were designed for so much noise and so much inputs.

into our system. It's like, I almost feel like we're constantly, like our nervous system is constantly like, you know, buzzing because we're always having it on the go. We always have to go do this. We were bombarded with news. A lot of it is just, you know, ridiculous and depressing news. then we, you know, dealing with all sorts of other stuff that life throws at us and so forth. And the information overload and all of this other stuff. mean,

It is really, I think, beneficial for people to look at for something like, you your reformer to balance everything out. Like we need those moments where we can be present, where we can kind of empty everything out and just focus on what we're doing. We can have that moment, movement, slow, deliberate movement, know, muscle building, you know, just, you know, all of the stuff that I read about in terms of your, in terms of what

your reformer does, but I think we need those moments in our lives where, whether it's for, I don't know how long a typical session is, but even if it's like 10 minutes or 15 minutes or whatever, I think it's just, it could be life changing for a lot of people. it's kind of like, when I was, I used to drive to, I used to consult with a company on Santa Monica and I'm like two hours away. I'm in Los Angeles. Everything is like really far away. Even though it's really close, it takes forever to get everywhere.

Emma Stallworthy (20:50.094)
quiffling.

Emma Stallworthy (21:02.396)
I know, it's crazy.

Ramon Vela (21:04.556)
So it would take me two hours to do that, you to get to just this one place. The funny thing is during the pandemic when there was no free, no cars on the freeway, everything was like empty. It took me like 34, 34, 35 minutes to get there, but typically it's a two hour drive. And, and so when I stopped doing that, my body, after about a week, I just felt a difference in my body because we hold all sorts of tension. And then when you didn't have to do that, but I feel like, you know,

Emma Stallworthy (21:20.738)
Hmm.

Emma Stallworthy (21:30.328)
Mm-hmm.

Ramon Vela (21:34.741)
In that kind of example, we all are feeling so much tension, so much stuff going on in our bodies, our nervous systems, et cetera, that we need something like what you're talking about in order to just stay balanced. Do that 10, 15 minutes. And that's what I was reading about on your website, which is just so everyone knows, it's yourreformer.com, yourreformer.com, two words, your, like Y-O-U-R.

Emma Stallworthy (21:47.544)
Mm-hmm. Yep.

Ramon Vela (22:02.476)
and then reformer.com is the website. When I was reading about it and I mentioned, I said something about, you know, like one great benefit is if, you if you're busy, if you're a mom, if you're, you know, have all sorts of things going on to capture that 10 minutes or 15 minutes to just do something. Like I said, it could be life changing. It's like, like me realizing that, I don't have to drive anymore. My body doesn't feel that stress or that tense, tensing all the time.

Emma Stallworthy (22:25.71)
Yeah.

Emma Stallworthy (22:29.858)
Yeah, there's so it is life changing. I see a I see a naturopath. And I mean, I love natural metropathy and kinesiology. And I've never been busier than the last two years with where this business is going. And the juggle of two kids going to school and, you know, and friends and family, et cetera, all the life stuff that is still happening, of course. And she says to me,

Now that when I'm saying it, she said, you are the best I've ever seen you. I used to go in there and she'd like, okay, we need you on this relaxant and we need you on this and that. And she said, you are the best I've ever seen you. What are you doing? What do you put it down to? And I said, you know what, I do feel a sense of calm, which is so strange. And I put it down to the fact that because I've got the reformer at home and I've got this space that I can go to and still move and I'm prioritizing that.

But it's it changes on a daily basis. It's what's happening on that day. But because I've got it there, I can just carve out a little bit of time without thinking about what time does the class start? Can I get in? Can I get there? Can I drive? What am I doing with the kids? You know, the kids can play while I'm just, you know, doing 15 minutes on the reform or whatever it is. But because I'm carving out that time, I'm able to keep that balance exactly like you said. And

Ramon Vela (23:55.51)
Mm-hmm.

Emma Stallworthy (23:57.764)
There's another element to it, think, as well. If you use the example that you've just talked about, about being a mum and juggling, and particularly when your kids are young and that independence and freedom that you had before you became a mum kind of isn't there anymore. And there's also a layer, there's a layer of guilt upon everything. As a parent, I should say, not just a mum, a layer of guilt upon everything about.

carving out time for yourself. I could be doing this with them or, you know, I can't go and do that because I should be, you know, whatever it is, it generally evolves around the children as it should be your priority. But having a your reformer at home and the solution that we're providing is also reducing some of that guilt, but still being able to find that you time, which

It ultimately makes you a better version of yourself, which makes you a better parent and a better partner and a better friend. So I think there's a very deep, I guess, part to that solution as well.

Ramon Vela (25:08.012)
You know, I read something about that on your website around self-care and you're absolutely right. I think, unfortunately, I think the stigma impacts women more than men because regardless...

I think our society keeps saying, oh, like women are the caretakers. Women should be with the baby. You know what mean? And it puts a lot of stigma, a lot of pressure on women. And so they feel that. And unfortunately, while it shouldn't be the case, it just is. know, men feel more free to, you know, to not take care of the kids or whatever, you know. And so I think the message that I saw on your website about self-care, I think is really important because, you know, you...

You know, it's, you know, like people use that analogy all the time and I know it's, it's overused, you know, like when they, when they talk about the, the, if the plane is experiencing issues and the oxygen mass comes on, you know, the, the stewardess says that you first got to put it on yourself first because you're no good if you're trying to put on someone and you pass out. And it's, it's about, it's like self care, right? It's like, you are much better at, you know,

Emma Stallworthy (26:19.823)
Yeah.

Ramon Vela (26:26.376)
in multiple times and in multiple ways, much better if you carve out that 15 minutes for yourself to recharge and you're so much better for everyone else versus not doing that and feeling like, I can't do that or I can't do this. So I 100 % agree with you. I think that message is something that people, whether you guys are someone

people really need to remember that. Like they need to take care of themselves. That doesn't mean that you don't take care of others. It just means that you are like recharging so that you can be there for other people. The other thing I was going to mention too, and this is actually just from my own personal history when I was young, that my father was very much into like calisthenics, know, like body weight exercises. And, and I don't know. mean, as a parent, I've come to realize that

Emma Stallworthy (26:57.839)
Thank

Ramon Vela (27:26.206)
your kids will learn more about, they will listen to what you tell them about what they should do, but it's what you show them is what really impacts the kids. And I know that from my life, I know that from my kids' life, but I remember when I was a kid, I used to see my dad wake up and he had one of those like little trampolines, I don't know you call them, and he would do exercises on that, and then he would do his push-ups and, you know,

Emma Stallworthy (27:34.82)
Mm-hmm.

Emma Stallworthy (27:53.647)
Yeah.

Ramon Vela (27:55.189)
And then we would run for a couple of miles around the local park every morning. And sometimes I would go with him and I would go on my bike or I would try running with him. But it was an example that I saw on a daily basis that your body was important, your health was important, what you put in your body was important. And I don't know, I think having your equipment at home, I'm not saying that you should never go out to a studio or anything, but

I'm just saying having your equipment at home and showing your kids that exercise is just part of your everyday activity. I don't know. That's never talked about, but I kind of think that's important. That's just my...

Emma Stallworthy (28:33.025)
true. Yes, so true. Yeah. And I think that's the lens you have to have around your self-care as well is, you know, what is the example that you are setting? What are the messages that you are sending to your children if you're a parent around that, around why it's important? it's conversation that I'm actually having with my son a lot at the moment, my seven year old, who's very curious. I very sadly lost a close friend a month ago.

to cancer, but we've had a lot of conversations as you can imagine over that period of time and you know talking to him about understanding how to look after yourself and how to you know why why mum and dad exercise and why we you know think about what we're eating you know and having been well rounded there because if he if he could choose he would have chocolate and sugar all day long you know but why you know we ask the question well why can't I why shouldn't I do that?

And it's exactly that role model and trying to think about it from that lens as well does, I guess, again, solidify the decision behind carving out that time. And you're right, there's space for both going to studio, there's lots of things you get out of going to in-person.

studio classes, but then that's not necessarily available to everyone every single day or, you at the time they need it. So it's just great to have this as a background so that it doesn't get it doesn't you don't lose that opportunity because you couldn't get there that day because someone was sick or because there was a traffic and you know, was no way of getting across LA and there that you could still actually be able to do.

Ramon Vela (30:16.417)
you

Emma Stallworthy (30:22.574)
some kind of movement and do that class that you love just in your home on that day because life is always changing and ebbing and flowing. I wanted to just talk quickly to what you said about men and women and you know that that generally being more women specific in this case. But what we're seeing a lot and the feedback that we're getting from reformers in homes where there's men in those homes is that

it's giving them an opportunity to actually try it. They've had an interest, they've had a curiosity around reformer pilates, but didn't want to go to a studio because it's still very women dominated. And so I think men can get embarrassed easily and you have to a lot of confidence to be able to go in there and be the only male and go, have no idea what I'm going to look like here. you know, and also very visual. So to try to follow auditory cues around.

Ramon Vela (30:59.745)
Hmm.

Ramon Vela (31:12.396)
Mm-hmm.

Emma Stallworthy (31:15.706)
Well, I've just put my legs in stripes and it was meant to be my hands or whatever it is because they couldn't follow instructions, which, you know, I laugh all the time, Ben's that person and he's my great example to go, right, how did this translate in verbal cues? But, you know, they're now giving it a go in the privacy of their own home and able to do it in their own time and then really find, OK, I can see the benefit here for me.

Ramon Vela (31:19.756)
you

Ramon Vela (31:29.964)
Mm-hmm.

Emma Stallworthy (31:43.587)
and I'm not as stiff when I wake up in the morning now or I've got a better golf swing now. I wonder what that is. The only thing I've done is incorporate reformer pilates. And then that mental health is a pretty heavy topic, but in men in particular, and it's not something I think women are more likely to seek help.

in other ways than men at the moment. you know, being able to provide any way we can that supports some more mindful practice in their day, if that can support mental health challenges, then again, even better.

Ramon Vela (32:24.908)
Yeah, no, I that's a good great point to make to make and I think when you said that I started thinking about it. was like, yeah, I think I may be I may have some uncomfortableness going in there, although I don't know. I feel like I'm pretty open, but I will say this and I'm glad you brought that up because I really feel like now I think you're we can talk about this in a second because I want to I want to start talking about the products in a second. But I I was thinking

either that, well, your demographics or your target market, whatever, you might have several different, you know, target markets, but from my perspective, I think what you're offering is great for people who are in their midlife and above, Whether it's 45 and above, I'm in my 50s. And so, you know,

Yeah. High impact stuff is not really encouraged for, for when you reach a certain age. I mean, you can, but I'm just saying it's just, it's not encouraged because it's very hard to impact and it can be hard on your bones. It can be hard on your body, et cetera. So you, we still need to do resistance, some sort of resistance training. You still need to build muscle and movement is just so important. So I would just imagine that for, you know, many people who are in their 45, 50s, 55, et cetera.

this is a great exercise. This is something you can do at home. They can stay mobile, they can exercise, they can keep their strength up. like you said, men who may not feel comfortable going into the studio can do it at home and still get the benefits out of this because it just feels like it's just a, and let's face it, there's our population, at least here in United States, I don't know if it's in Australia,

It's an older population now. mean, our demographics. Yeah.

Emma Stallworthy (34:16.752)
Yeah, it's a global, I think that 50 % of the population in by 2032 or 2035 or something is going to be above 50. So yeah, it's, they call it the silver economy. you know, absolutely. And I don't think enough fitness brands are focused on the aging population because we do need to be there and show up.

Ramon Vela (34:27.276)
Yeah.

Ramon Vela (34:31.443)
you

Emma Stallworthy (34:44.78)
that we're all going to be there eventually. if we're lucky. So yes, how can we better improve the way we're living when we're older and the way that we're feeling and reform applied is absolutely it's got the balance between the mobility improvement as well as the strengthening resistance side of it. And you know, when you talk about bone density, reducing it can support, know, with that side of it increasing that bone density, so we're less likely to have breaks.

and issues. So yes, it's great for a broad range of demographics, which is why I love it.

Ramon Vela (35:20.588)
Yeah, I personally love yoga because I love the stretching. love the movement But I don't feel like it's enough, you know, like I feel like I want I need to add something to it like, you know, some sort of muscle or muscle building things like that So it sounds like a reformer is a is an interesting but you know potential there So, you this is great before we move on to the product. Let's talk a little bit about

Emma Stallworthy (35:27.152)
Mm-hmm.

Emma Stallworthy (35:32.706)
I found with yoga.

Yeah.

Ramon Vela (35:50.272)
the business side of it and how you grew it in terms of the awareness and how have you grown it in terms of awareness. But there was also, I wanted to find out about the challenges because you make your own, you manufacture your own. Was it in the capital intensity of building them and manufacturing them and paying for that or?

Emma Stallworthy (35:52.036)
Mm-hmm.

Ramon Vela (36:20.145)
what were some of the challenges that you faced as the business started growing?

Emma Stallworthy (36:26.0)
Great question. So the business has evolved dramatically in for just over four years. So initially, you know, some of our biggest challenges or learnings going to the business, I really think that the gym background and our chain of gyms that we had for 13 years was a great, actually believe it was our practice round, our playground for then this business that's really, you know, we've been able to lean into and

challenge ourselves more individually and personally in business. But logistics, we had no idea about logistics. You know, didn't need to worry about that when you had a gym. We didn't know really a lot about digital performance ads and scaling that when really in gyms, your target markets within sort of five, 10 kilometres. What's that?

six miles maybe around around your club. So it's lots of local area marketing where this is much more broader scale. We're global now. So how are we talking to our to our customers and how how do you make that mix of spend in advertising? You don't have unlimited budgets. So you know, you've got to be smart and it comes down to data and understanding the performance and the metrics and and what's resonating and what's not. So

Ramon Vela (37:19.199)
Mm-hmm.

Emma Stallworthy (37:47.553)
E-com was something that we had to learn. We didn't know what Black Friday sales were. was something that, you know, in gyms, there's very cyclical kind of sale periods and it's driven by, you know, New Year's resolutions and then, you know, mid-year, you know, winter, come inside from the outside, those sort of kind of trends that are happening. So this is different again. So, yeah, there was a lot of it was a very steep learning curve. And then

Ramon Vela (38:07.221)
Hehehe.

Emma Stallworthy (38:17.188)
But something Ben and I have always focused on or been very hyper aware of is the areas that we don't know and bringing in the experts so that we can close those gaps. we so we've got a great team around us and a great partners around us. And we did the same when we went, OK, you know what?

things are going well in Australia and New Zealand. We are ready for that next challenge. We see the trends with Pilates over in the States. You know, is this something that the team and us that we're up for? And so we spent a lot of time planning and then, you know, launching in the US has been huge. It still is. It's they're very different markets. They're very different people. The Pilates market is different. And so, you know,

It's constantly iterating and being open to feedback and learning. And Kaizen is one of our core values as a company, which means small improvements, the one percenters every day that add up over time. It's that above the line mindset around being open minded to learn and being accountable that really we foster in the business so that we essentially can create high performing high performance in the business. So that's

But yeah, to answer your question in regards to the challenges and, you know, investment, for example. So, yes, there's an investment in stock and a capital requirement. We were fortunate enough to have sold our business, the gyms. It wasn't a fire sale. We made money out of it and we believed in this business. So we heavily invested into this business because when your founder

Ramon Vela (39:57.323)
you

Emma Stallworthy (40:07.498)
no backing, essentially bootstraps. It's pretty tricky with the banks. There's only so much equity you've got in your home that they'll lend for and then you're on your own. But yeah, we're definitely coming up with those challenges again, as you get global and carrying more stock in different warehouses. as we're shifting, we haven't talked about B2B, but we moved into B2B after the first year in business. so B2B has its own challenges, particularly around

Ramon Vela (40:11.711)
Mm-hmm.

Emma Stallworthy (40:37.492)
capital and payment terms and all of that side of it that isn't the same from a D to C business. yeah, I think the biggest thing that works for us is that we have a thirst for knowledge, curiosity, feedback, so that we know that we are the best at everything and we're constantly iterating.

Ramon Vela (41:04.625)
And in terms of like the B2B side, are you providing your former to like Pilate studios from that perspective, or are you wholesaling it like providing it to retail outlets, know, like and stuff like that?

Emma Stallworthy (41:23.19)
No, yeah, no, we're so you have to come direct to us to purchase your reformer Pilates machines. So we sell yes, boutique studios to gyms, allied health, corporate wellness, hospitality. So there's a number of verticals that works for and that's because we provide a solution. We're not just reformer Pilates, we have digital solutions. So because we have our on demand platform,

Ramon Vela (41:31.339)
Okay.

Emma Stallworthy (41:52.933)
gyms, for example, are able to implement a reformer strategy. They know it's in demand. They know that they can attract a new member to their club that increases retention. They're all able to charge a higher yield for it. So it's a profit making zone part to their business. And we provide them the opportunity to implement it in a number of different ways that works with their business model.

there's a shortage of Pilates instructors globally. So because they can literally plug and play and have an on-demand option, we call it Kiosk Pro. So it's a reformer and a tablet on a stand where you connect your Bluetooth. Similarly, if you're at home, but you're just in the gym and you can come and do your class whenever you want, you don't need an instructor present. So that gives a lot of scope for businesses to tailor the strategy and how they want to incorporate reformer Pilates. So yeah, that's...

know, trying to be in a succinct way the B2B side of it at the moment.

Ramon Vela (42:55.913)
Yeah, no, I love that. No, no, and I can see where that makes a lot of sense in terms of how it fits in with your program. It's also a great segue to talk about more about this program. So why don't I give the people a website again. So if you want to take a look at what we've been talking about, you can go to your reformer dot com. Two words, your that's Y O U R and then the word reformer.

and the reformers are e f o r e r dot com your reformer dot com is the website we're have that link on our podcast description so in case In case you didn't catch that you can find it there, and then I'm sure you can go to Google and Google them and find them there so okay, so Let's say someone's listening to this episode Really love this conversation. We've had about

you know, your story about fertility and our discussion about movement and staying, staying balanced and using this to help you both from a physical standpoint, well as a mental standpoint and staying balanced, talking about how men are able to use this and all the really the great benefits of doing things at home as well. And including, you know, being the great example for your kids and your family. But

So let's say someone loves all of that and really appreciates it and is very interested, especially our conversation about the movement and the actual exercises. Where, so let's say someone's open and interested, but they're asking, so where do we start? How do we start? What would be your answer?

Emma Stallworthy (44:40.558)
Yeah, I mean, I think that's, we get a lot of beginners that are wanting to try to think for the reasons that I talked about in terms of feeling intimidated about going to a studio. we literally can take you so throughout on demand, we've got an app, you can Chromecast it to your TV on your laptop, you know, on your phone, and we can take you from literally an orientation of your reformer. So how do you use the springs? How do you use the straps?

naming conventions, what's a carriage, what's a platform, how does the footbar move so that you're fully, I guess, you're much more confident than coming in into a class, into actual movement. I've got a video on there around some of the key fundamentals or key cues and some of the common exercises that we do. So depending on what the person needs to feel equipped to them come to that first class, we've got it there. Then we've got beginner classes that

You know, we talk through movements slower and we go more into cues. It's more foundational exercises and then you can progress in your own time as you get more confident with the practice. I talked earlier about the broad demographics and that's something we invest heavily into on our platform. We've got nearly a thousand classes on there. We drop content every week.

And there is anything from beginner to advanced in terms of full body contemporary style reformer pilates. And then we also then partner with health professionals who are experts in their space to bring programs around women's health flow with your cycle, menopause, postpartum, prenatal. We then got working with back pain, lower, middle, improving posture and releasing the tension.

If you're a desk worker and you sit at your desk all day, or maybe you're on your phone all day, we've got programs for post knee surgery. So we really do cater for a very broad range of people because we want to be deliberate about the different seasons of life and that this can take you through all of your life stages, essentially, and have something for you in the moment that you're coming to that reformer. To bring it back to how you even get it in your home and how does that work?

Emma Stallworthy (47:00.816)
So we are an econ business. So you would jump on our website and you would either choose the reformer that you're looking to purchase or if you're in any of our valet areas, then you've also got a hiring option. So you can rent a reformer if you're unsure about whether this is going to be something that you're going to stick with. And so you've got both of those options. And then we literally ship if you're in valet within

seven to 10 days, our delivery team will come and install it in your home, get it all set up, show you how to use the app. And then if you're outside of LA, then we ship it, we dispatch it next business day. So it will be within your home very quickly, which is something I don't think everyone necessarily realizes, and it's quite a feat, particularly across the state, it's a big country. It's not flat packed. So it comes virtually put together if you need to add, you know, just

Ramon Vela (47:48.159)
Thank

Emma Stallworthy (47:57.369)
install essentially the poles and the rope and away you go. So yeah, it's a very easy, it's a much more seamless, easy way, I guess, way to incorporate the reformer studio in your home than some might think.

Ramon Vela (48:12.639)
Well, that's amazing. I really love how you described that. So let me have some questions for it, So let's say somebody's interested in this. I love the idea that you have a rental around it so that maybe they can try it out and see what they think. In addition to that, how much space do you need? Because in some cities, like let's say New York, apartments are a little smaller, things like that.

So how much space do you need to have it set up? And is there a version of the reformer that you can pack up or maybe fold? I see something about original folding. not sure if that's one of the, you so what are the differences and or like if someone just wanted to have it, you know, laid out there all the time, how much space does it take and, or how much space would you give it?

Emma Stallworthy (49:03.13)
Yeah, that's definitely the most common question and a consideration. If you are lucky enough to have a spare room or a garage, there's plenty of those stories and images from people's homes where they've done that. Some have put it in their living room because they're so dedicated to their practice. part of it is in the design and the aesthetics of what we

what we take pride in is that we want it to be pride of home. We want it to be one of your favorite pieces of furniture. So it can be, you know, this beautiful, you know, timber that works with the aesthetics in your home. So, but yes, we do have the folding that you've mentioned. So the original folding is for those space conscious scenarios where it's a shared space and, you know, you can open it up.

do your practice and then fold it, put it to the side. In saying that the home reformers, particularly the original are light enough, they have wheels, they're easily moved around if needed. So if it's just a matter of, well, I don't want to have to fold it, but I just want to be able to put it to the side of my room, you can easily do that one person. The one thing about our folding and all of our reformers is that we are known for quality. So we call it affordable luxury.

Ramon Vela (50:11.125)
Hmm.

Emma Stallworthy (50:24.132)
didn't want to, I guess, skimp on any of the experience when you're actually using it, because ultimately we want our customers using the Reformer and getting the benefits of a regular practice. So all of the features, the footbar, etc. is a commercial footbar. There's really not a lot that can go wrong in them either. very high quality.

low mechanics, essentially. you know, and the mechanics is generally what can go wrong. And, you know, then you have to get it fixed. And how do you go about doing that? So, yeah, it's, it really is the folding is great for a space conscious option. It folds in half, you take the carriage off, fold up the frame, put the carriage back on it, move it to the side. Very simple.

Ramon Vela (51:13.764)
And the valet experience that you mentioned, in what cities is that available? Is that available in major cities?

Emma Stallworthy (51:21.264)
So at the moment, we're in SoCal, we're in Dallas, and we're in Northeast. So some of the states around New York, Connecticut, New Jersey, down to just north of Philadelphia.

Ramon Vela (51:35.595)
Interesting. Yeah, I would imagine that that would be the case, but just just thought I'd ask. And the so I love the accessories that you have there as well. I was looking at some of those and then the grip socks. And I was just thinking like grip socks. That's something I would have used in yoga. They look comfy. Yeah.

Emma Stallworthy (51:56.209)
I wear my grip socks for just normal socks now. All the power is in them, they're part of my active wear sets. I don't even notice the grips on them anymore. yeah, help you kind of when you're doing standing work or, know, planks and things like that, you can slip on the upholstery. So they just help keep that, I guess, control in the movement.

Ramon Vela (52:07.849)
Yeah.

Ramon Vela (52:20.302)
And so let's say, and I'm just asking as if I was, well, and I am, but if I was just like a novice to this and brand new, if you have questions, obviously you have the app, you get the equipment. What kind of support do you have? Like if, I don't know, if I have questions, if I, you know, someone buys it, they have questions about the app or about the exercises or about, you know, the equipment and whatnot. What kind of support is there available?

Emma Stallworthy (52:29.392)
Mm-hmm.

Emma Stallworthy (52:49.296)
So we invest in what we call our online concierges. So we have a team of concierges that we are pretty much online 21 hours of the day across the regions now will be our aim to be 24 hours. And they're there for pre like questions prior to purchasing as well as customer support. So, you know, if I think about what I mentioned right at the start of our conversation, Ramona, around

the why and connecting that something that we talk about across the business with everyone, not just our online concierge, our delivery team, anyone who gets to have the, who are lucky enough to actually have interactions with our customers because yes, we can talk to the specifics around the springs and the springs are from Germany and that the timber is from Canada and you know.

how's it all put together and what's the quality and how does it all work? And that's all important. But that's not really why our customers are looking to have a reformer Pilates machine in their home. And so we want to get to the, why are you looking at incorporating reformer? is it that we're here to, what problem are we here to solve? And, you know, understanding and having that deeper connection with them, we can then support them in the solution even better.

and provide, you know, we've got a lot of experience, we've talked to a lot of customers, our own individual experiences around sharing, well, this is what worked for us. Have you thought about this? You know, this little tweak or suggestions around how they can incorporate in their home or what classes might work for them. I'm available too, I often get into conversations still, even as the founder, I've had a customer, for example, a year or so ago that emailed me and said, hey,

And I unfortunately have just had a double mastectomy because I'm going through breast cancer and I'm struggling to work out which classes to do that I still want to move. I can do lower body work. I just can't do X, Y, Z upper body. And so I sent her a couple of recommended classes and then I just videoed a raw sort of 10 minute video on my phone and said, here's some exercises that you can do as well, because that is what's important to us. Yes, it's a business, but we are trying to improve.

Emma Stallworthy (55:11.472)
the quality of all of our customers lives essentially. So we love questions, we love contact with our customers and so yeah we do invest in people to be there all the time.

Ramon Vela (55:23.886)
that's great. in terms of a community, there a place, is there a community around, you know, your reformer and is it built organically or is it built by you guys? Like, is there a place that you guys have built it or is it a little bit of both?

Emma Stallworthy (55:48.113)
Probably little bit of both. We've got, so there is a community page on our app where, you know, so anyone who's on our app is conversing with one another, asking us questions. So our Pilates team are on there to answer any of those particularly more specific questions around the machine or around the movement or a particular class. But there that, I mean, when we run challenges, we see, you know, the comments around motivation and people commenting on each other's questions.

The Instagram is a great place for our community engagement. think we've built a really engaged audience there. One, because we, I guess, try to strive to show for aspirational, you know, inspiration to our customers, but also because we like to have a bit of a laugh. You know, we're Aussies and we don't want to take ourselves too seriously. Like we're all on this journey and life's serious enough. you know, from day, you know, very early on, you know, the

the team have said, and we've got to get onto TikTok, let's do this dance. And so, you know, I'm up there dancing and I'm doing it I'm not, you know, because it is just all about a bit of fun. Then we are known for some of our fun memes. Jono, who is our brand manager, is a very funny man and he gets behind a lot of that on our socials. So they get shared and often get the most traction from engagement and.

Ramon Vela (56:51.018)
Thank

Emma Stallworthy (57:15.522)
the virality of those memes that we put on there. And a lot of it's around Pilates and coffee, to be honest. But yeah, there's a great community on our socials as well.

Ramon Vela (57:16.65)
Thank

Ramon Vela (57:20.81)
Thank

Ramon Vela (57:27.24)
that's fantastic. Well, it just felt like this is something that, that like begs the community, right? Like when people started getting together, they started doing the same type of exercises. You know, they want to join with other people who are doing that and kind of learning from each other. this has been fantastic. I want to be respectful of your time. so let's, let's, a couple of things to wrap this up. One is I want to make sure that people know the website.

and anything that you want them to know. For instance, this episode will be coming out during or right before Black Friday, Cyber Weekend, Cyber Monday, et cetera. So if there's anything that you want them to know about that and then the website and social media. And then let's close it on any sort of words that you want to leave with the audience.

Emma Stallworthy (58:18.947)
Yes, so yourreformer.com is our site. And as Ramon just said, we will have a Black Friday sale as every Econ business does. So there'll be some great offers there. Make sure you jump on the website and take a look. But as I mentioned, one of our greatest or proudest things is our socials. So please find us on Instagram in particular at yourreformer.com.

follow along in that community and see what I'm talking about with some of our humor that we sprinkle along the way. In terms of what to leave with you, think it's just what I said about just get curious about and get deeper. What are the bugbears in your life right now? What would you love to change? What would you, if you could do one thing to be a better version of yourself?

and find time for self-care, what would that be? Whether it's looking at us and maybe that's something you could consider, but something else, how can you make that more accessible to yourself in your everyday life?

Ramon Vela (59:25.406)
Yeah, think that's great advice. And like I said, I really love what I've heard today in terms of your story and why you, why you, why, and how this helped you and then why you do what you do and why it's so important for people. And like I said, I know you have other demographics and so forth, but I just feel like this is a great method and equipment.

for someone who's in the midlife who really, really needs, we need to keep active. We need to be, we need to grow muscle. We need to have a lot of movement in our life if we want that, you know, longevity. And this sounds like it's a great thing for people to look at. And it's something you can keep in their home and do exercises. But also just, you know, our...

Lives are so busy and so hectic and there's so much stuff going on. get a lot of stress out there, a lot of anxiety. know, that's, I believe the stress and anxiety is the reason for the lack of people having terrible sleep, right? People can't sleep. You know, we're not just having a sleepy problem as one of my other guests said in another episode. You know, it's not just people are not sleeping, they're exhausted.

and they just can't sleep because of all, think a lot of anxiety. This type of exercise with the movement, the deliberate movement, it's almost mindful in sense. This really helps you put some balance into your life. And more than think than some of the more traditional exercises, this really helps you bring a mindfulness to your life and in a balance, I should say. And it helps you kind of, you know, if you can carve out that 10, 15 minutes.

It doesn't matter how old you are. This is beneficial to you regardless. And especially if you're a parent and you have all sorts of stuff going on and you, and or you happen to be an entrepreneur and you have all sorts of other stuff going on. This is perfect for you too. So I think you guys meet our tagline, which is a product we're buying a brand we're supporting. So thank you for that. I really appreciated your story. I wish we had more time to delve into some areas, but I have to like pick and choose and kind of get a little bit of everything in there, but we could have gone.

Ramon Vela (01:01:41.364)
deeper into the challenges, deeper into your story, we kinda got deeper into some of the other areas, but I think we did a good job of communicating. think people appreciate it and wanna know more. if I'm anyone listening out there, I would go to yourreformer.com and I would sign up for the newsletter. So you'll probably be getting this about a week or two before Black Friday, Cyber Weekend, Cyber Monday.

Go to the website, sign up for the newsletter. I'm sure there's gonna be some discounts and deals and things like that that are gonna be coming your way. So go sign up for that and make sure that you don't miss any of those. And so again, thank you so much. I really appreciate you coming on the show.

Emma Stallworthy (01:02:22.778)
Thanks, Ramon. It's been great to chat.

Ramon Vela (01:02:25.278)
Well, everyone out there, we have just had Emma Stallworthy, who is the founder of Your Reformer. Again, we're going to have the link to yourreformer.com as well as our social media sites on our podcast description, which you can find at Apple, Spotify, and pretty much anywhere you listen to podcasts. And then beyond that, I always say, stay safe, stay sane, stay healthy. I think you can do all three of those by going and visiting yourreformer.com.

you can get healthy, can stay sane, can stay healthy, et cetera. And then beyond that, everyone, we've all been going through a lot of stuff. You know, there's a lot of stress and anxiety in this world, a lot of things changing, know, economy is changing, geopolitical wars, all sorts of other stuff. And I just kind of feel like if, you know, if we remember that everyone around us is going through something.

and we can just be a little kinder to each other, I know we can make this human experience a better one. So beyond that, thank you from the bottom of my heart for listening to another episode of the story of a brand.