THE PT CHRONICLES
PART 9
BELIEF, ACUMEN AND THE STORM
Thirteen months after joining Bootcamp Pilates my client base had grown and the demand had surpassed my need to teach classes. A lot of trainers stagnate and stick with what they know but, the same as knowing that I had to move away for a small town in Wales, I knew I had bigger and better things to do with my career. With Bootcamp Pilates taking 15 hours a week of my time it was time to up and leave to maximise my earnings, business-like huh?
Think about it new PT’s. I was, at that point, on £30 an hour per class or, if I had any sense, I could fill those hours with PT instead and make £60-80 an hour. No brainer. I gave them a few months notice to cover such a heart-breaking loss for all the clients…I’m joking…no I’m not.
The point of the above is that I believed in myself. Walking the floor of the Pilates studio, commanding a room, creating new movements, changing the way classes were taught and teaching new trainers new tricks within a year of qualifying. It all came naturally. There’s a very small jump from confidence to arrogance and belief is part of that. I come from a family of fitness trainers and professionals and when you know when you’re good at what you do it screams at you. When you love it, it becomes a passion and mine was pouring over the side.
I wanted to make more money and start my own reformer Pilates studio. I had ideas to create a synergy between TRX and the Reformer as they can complement each other beautifully.
Thing is, I think I’ve improved over the years but I’m still, in my opinion, not in possession of the greatest business acumen. I was about to prove myself correct.
Remember that I had met Sophie in the Pilates class? She had finished with her boyfriend and we were fully together a year and loving life. Sophie knew of my motivation to create my own studio and being from a wealthy family and into fitness herself, she offered to partner up and invest in me. A lovely gesture but I can feel you already saying Niko don’t. I accepted. Business acumen level zero.
So whilst I started serving my notice at the Pilates studio and still hanging my TRX off a tree in the park, Sophie and I set about making a business plan and looking for properties to create my studio. I was pumped.
We found a property almost immediately in a perfect location in Notting Hill, next to Cowshed, a high-end body, face and hair beauty brand. We were going to kill it there. For any of you that have looked for properties in fitness, you know full well my enthusiasm was about to get tested. Two words…planning permission.
This is boring but essential. Properties have a certain classification. You can’t just make a successful offer on any property and turn it into anything you like. You have to apply to the local planning authority for permission. A planner costs money. Money causes stress. Sophie and I were already feeling it. Successful or failed bids take 6 weeks to return so there was time to wait, get more stressed and ignore the divide the business was causing in our relationship.
The storm had arrived. We lost planning permission because 12 local residents objected to the fact that more people meant less parking available for them. I heard later that one resident, in particular, was the rabble-rouser otherwise we’d have been accepted. Knobhead. Anyway since this was more my party than Sophies, selfishly it made me resent the relationship as it was now linked to my first failure as the hotshot PT I thought I was. Looking back now, that was disrespectful of the amazing woman she was and still is actually,
The starlight of Bootcamp Pilates was no longer shining on me, Sophie and I were on the rocks and that had coincided perfectly with winter arriving.
Clients were not enjoying the cold in the park and to be honest neither was I. The reality of the situation was this. I had to do what I said I’d never do as a PT and rent space from a gym owner. Fuck sake.
It’s ok though because I was about to do something even more stupid…Well, two things.