Former Athletes Harness Teamwork and Grit to Power Studio Expansion
Among the core principles of the mind-body discipline of Pilates are control, precision and concentration. For Joe Ruggieri (above, left) and Jon Smith (above, right), these traits happen to dovetail serendipitously with those critical to launching a business. Long before the duo ventured into the sphere of Club Pilates franchise ownership, the foundation for success had been laid.
Smith and Ruggieri, whose wives grew up together in North Carolina, were on a family vacation in 2016 when they hatched a plan to become business partners. At the time, Pilates was in the midst of soaring global growth and visibility. According to a Sports and Fitness Industry Association (SFIA) report, 12.9 million Americans now practice the fitness regimen, with a 40 percent jump in participation over the past five years. After doing their due diligence, Smith and Ruggieri saw a Club Pilates franchise as a near can’t-miss opportunity.
Given their respective backgrounds, it should come as no surprise that the friends were already well on their way toward building a blueprint for a thriving business. Both men played Division I basketball in North Carolina — Smith at Western Carolina, Ruggieri for the JV team at UNC-Chapel Hill — where they cultivated a discipline required of all high-level athletes. “More than anything, basketball taught me the value of teamwork, but also it helped me develop a persistence and grit muscle,” reflects Smith on his playing days. “Most things in life don’t go exactly according to plan, and learning how to get up after a defeat is probably the most important thing I learned during my playing years. Joe and I both put the same value on teamwork and hustle.”
Club Pilates Franchise Owners See Universal Appeal
Joe’s wife, Kerry (below), is also a fitness enthusiast, and her interest and passion were instrumental in pushing the pair toward a Pilates franchise opportunity where she eventually became an instructor. Founded in 2007 in San Diego, Club Pilates has seen stratospheric growth, with more than 1,200 studios now active across four continents, making it the largest Pilates brand network worldwide. Smith and Ruggieri opened their first studio in March of 2017, with five more soon to follow around the Raleigh metro area.
Those early days, back when the partners were in the studio selling memberships, quickly led to the realization that they’d landed on an idea with universal appeal. “I remember being struck by the variety of people who were thrilled to have their first exposure to Pilates,” says Ruggieri. “We saw that members from age 20 to age 80 all felt equally inspired by their experience in the studio.”
Eight years later, their business has expanded to 34 Pilates studios across the Southeast, now under the umbrella of holding company Aligned Fitness. The growth necessitated that the partners define their roles in a way that utilized their strengths most effectively. Smith, who previously owned a company that sold educational materials, was the natural pick for CEO. Ruggieri, who sold equities in the healthcare sphere, focused on overarching strategy and identifying geographic areas primed for growth. “Building relationships with our team, other owners, and our partners at corporate, has helped us stay curious and good teammates,” explains Ruggieri. “We put people in charge of parts of the business where they have the right experience, but also passion. We are lucky to have team members like our VP of Operations, Kristie Alston, who have been with us since day one and continue to grow with us.”
Such passion can sometimes cut both ways in business, particularly when the stakeholders are also good friends. In Ruggieri’s eyes, however, the closeness is what turned a Pilates franchise opportunity into a flourishing enterprise. “When you have a deep mutual respect for each other as people, you don’t want to let each other down,” he says. “You fight hard for each other and create an environment of teamwork that you can be proud of, because at the end of the day, you care about each other as humans, not business partners.”
As their Club Pilates franchise continued to thrive, it became clear that Smith and Ruggieri had reached a tipping point. They teamed up with Eagle Merchant Partners, a Georgia-based private equity firm, to help lay the groundwork for further expansion. “We were at a point in our growth that we believed we needed not only capital, but strategic operational support,” says Smith. “The team at Eagle was a great fit for our culture.”
Today, beyond its obvious physical benefits, Pilates feels like a much-needed psychological antidote to a tech-centric, often solitary world. The discipline was first developed by German-born Joseph Pilates in the early 20th century. As a youth, he struggled with asthma, rickets and rheumatic fever. He developed the techniques and breathing exercises — originally known as “Contrology” — that became the foundation of the mind-body discipline, largely to fortify his own health.
“More and more people are interested in the holistic benefits of Pilates,” says Smith. “It’s like preventative medicine for the body, offers a restorative element and builds functional strength, while giving people a true sense of community inside our studios — that’s a lot of upside for one modality.”
Learn more about the Club Pilates franchise opportunity.
