Community Highlights: Meet Taylor Cole of Taylored Body

Today we’d like to introduce you to Taylor Cole.

Hi Taylor, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
Growing up, movement was a natural part of my life. My mom has always been naturally dedicated to fitness, no matter the length of her workday, she always made time to go to the gym or take a class to move her body. Eventually, she let me tag along, and that’s where my relationship with movement began. As I got older, that relationship became complicated. Through high school, college, and young adulthood, I struggled with body image and spent hours doing cardio and weight training, hoping to “feel better.” But instead of feeling energized, I felt drained and disconnected from my body. When the world shut down in 2020, I was laid off from work, and I found myself alone in my Los Angeles apartment, isolated from my family and friends back home in Chicago. Movement became my only form of therapy. With gyms closed, I turned to YouTube and stumbled upon a technique called Mat Pilates. From following along with the very first video I tried , something clicked. The slow, controlled movements taught me to listen to my body instead of fighting against it. I fell in love with how it made me feel strong, grounded, and more at peace. Over time, I started to notice real transformation, not just physically, but mentally and spiritually. I began approaching life the same way I approached Pilates: slow and steady, trusting the process, and finding strength in consistency. That mindset changed my life for good! I knew from then on, my purpose is to share with everyone just how powerful Pilates can be, because I know firsthand what it can do for both your body and your mind. Becoming a certified Pilates Mat Instructor feels like the natural next step and my way of paying forward the peace, power, and self confidence that Pilates has provided me!

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
The road definitely hasn’t been smooth. At times it’s been frustrating, especially feeling like the playing field isn’t equal for Black women and other people of color entering or leading in the Pilates space. So many stories I’ve heard about getting certified involve sponsorships or luck, because the financial investment can be a real barrier.

On top of that, balancing a full-time job, the demands of certification, and still trying to care for your mental health or maintain a social life is a lot. It requires sacrifice — but like most meaningful pursuits, the challenges have taught me just as much as the wins. Every obstacle has given me another lesson that I can apply not just to my Pilates journey, but to how I move through life as a whole.

Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Taylored Body?
My business, Tayloredbody, is centered around health and wellness with Pilates at its core. While movement is the focal point, my work expands beyond the mat. I specialize in sharing mindset shifts, nutrition pivots, and simple, sustainable habits that help people become their best and highest selves… their Taylored body. I’m the second generation in my family to carry forward a legacy of wellness, so I bring both lived experience and cultural understanding to my approach. I help beginners re-introduce themselves to their bodies by offering realistic, approachable ways to adjust their eating habits and build consistency in movement. I know what it’s like to start without direction and to feel societal pressure to become someone else. My brand is built on the idea that you already have the raw material you need. Sometimes it just takes a little ‘tayloring’ to reveal your potential.

What sets me apart is how deeply I relate to the journey. I’m proud of the community of women I’ve built online who see themselves in my story and feel empowered by the mindset shifts I share. Watching that community grow has been one of the most fulfilling parts of building Tayloredbody.

I want readers to know that my brand offers quick, beginner-friendly Pilates techniques online, and I’m currently in relentless pursuit of my full certification so I can expand into offering in-person Pilates classes as well. Tayloredbody is more than a workout, it’s a holistic, approachable path toward becoming the strongest, healthiest, most aligned version of yourself.

If we knew you growing up, how would we have described you?
Growing up, I was a curious, confident, yet shy girl! Almost as if I knew my potential internally but at the time, I was too timid to live that confidence part too loudly in fear of being cast down by society. I’m grateful now that I’ve learned to walk in what was always there! I was always talkative, always asking questions, and always drawn to anything involving music or movement. Whether it was dance, sports, or even making up dances in the basement with my family to my favorite songs, I just loved being active.

Even as a kid, before I had the language for it, I could feel how movement shifted something in me. It made me lighter, happier, and more connected to myself. Looking back, I realize I was tapping into a flow state, that peaceful, grounded feeling where everything else fades into the background. Movement became my way of drowning out the noise of the world and tuning into what made me feel like my best self.

Contact Info:

• Email: [email protected]
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tayloredbodyy
• TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@tayloredbodyy