Today we’d like to introduce you to Samantha Luis.
Hi Samantha, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I was born and raised in South Africa, both my parents were in the restaurant industry, so I grew up in a noisy kitchen, hiding under tables, falling asleep next to the live band playing! I loved it and my Mom was an amazing chef – self-taught – so I followed in her footsteps and studied to be a chef. My first job was for the Orient Express Group Hotel chain, where I definitely learnt the hustle and bustle of the industry. My love for food and exploration led me to Vancouver Canada where I worked for an outstanding restaurant in Yaletown called Cioppinos. I loved that job and learned so much from the owner and outstanding chef Pino. I worked a lot and stood a lot and thus started to get some major back aches. I went to see a couple of specialists and the result was that if I didn’t stop standing, I would not be able to walk by the time I was 40. So career change was imminent. In that time, my husband and I had started a move to San Diego, California. My time before starting my Pilates career was filled with my all-time favorite job of being a Mom to my four amazing boys. At this point hadn’t really done much about my back issues and thus just started getting worse. Now having reviewed I had a bulged disc, degenerative disc disease and had already lost 3 discs, finding that I remembered I had fallen as a young child ending up with a fractured tailbone and also discovering that I had not grown some spinus processes on certain vertebrae.
Clearly the pain was unmanageable, and I needed a solution. A suggestion from my dentist one day was “have you tried Pilates” I was like what is Pilates? Anyway, one thing led to the next and I found a studio and started trying it out and loved it! The deeper I started to dig the more I was like I need to be able to do this for the rest of my life! So I decided to get certified and as I worked harder I started to slowly feel better and less back pain and episodes of not being able to walk. After about a year I woke up one morning and didn’t at first realize what was different but then as the day went on I realized I was completely pain-free!!! What a concept! I had to share this and start making other people feel the same as I did, so I started working in Malibu at a small studio, slowly building a clientele who were feeling better and realizing Pilates was for them. My path led me to my beautiful business now and this amazing space I get to share with a wonderful community of extraordinary people in Malibu. Recently I found The GYROTONIC® Method, that I find is a perfect combination with Pilates for our goal of a healthier spine which I am very excited to be offering at the studio.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
It has been an amazing road! I am in the belief that you need to be open to the world around you and always see what path lies ahead. In general, when things are meant to happen, they will and when your heart is filled with good energy and love for what you want to put out there, it will be a very clear path to what you should do and where you should be. I follow my gut and always listen to my families take on it all, without their support and love I would not be here! We, my husband and my boys, have all worked very hard for this dream of helping people. I call our little team Bulates and Sons as the boys have been involved and always help out! I think one of them might become a Pilates Instructor wink wink.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
Pilates is an amazing form of exercise – it is a complete mind, body and spirit workout. It was developed in the early 20th century and mostly for the recovery of injured dancers. Over time realizing that all people could benefit from Pilates as we all have imbalances. We as human beings have generally a habitual nature of how we walk, sit, drive, work and all these habitual and repetitive movements can lead to imbalance in our bodies. Pilates will counteract all of that. Some of the principles in Pilates include precision of movement through using the abdominals and breath control to guide and isolate smaller muscle groups that provide strength and stability of posture and balance. Pilates is for everyone and anyone doesn’t matter your age or your body type.
I’m not really sure what we are known for, but I will say that anybody who comes through our door is welcome and that most clients fall in love with the studio, the warm vibes, serene space and expert instruction. Our mission at Bulates is to guide our clients to strengthen the core, improve posture, increase flexibility, and strengthen the mind body connection. Above that my goal was to create a community environment for all our clients and there definitely is a sense of community when you meet other clients and of course our furry friends – we are pet friendly. Our Instructors are very experienced and have been with Bulates from the beginning creating this wonderful environment we get to call The Bulates Family.
We recently added the GYROTONIC® method to our repertoire of what we teach for growth for our clients and increased mobility, flexibility and strength. The Gyrotonic method is a unique exercise system that allows your body to stretch and strengthen at the same time with minimal effort whilst increasing range of motion and developing coordination. Gyrotonic motion patterns are natural, free and pure, creating a bridge between contraction and extension. Through this 3-dimensional rotation movement pattern of the spine and joints a balanced support system for the skeleton is created. For my clients that do Gyrotonic exercise, they find an increased range of motion in their other sports like tennis and golf and also undoing areas in their spine and body that have had limited movement. GYROTONIC® is a registered trademark of Gyrotonic Sales Corp and is used with their permission.
We also offer some amazing workshops – at the moment focusing on Fascia work, release and stretching and also health coaching, vision boards, etc.
An Exciting project I am working on this year is collaborating with The Chrysalis Lab. Emma is an amazing and super creative soul, curating vintage pieces and upcycling them into wearable art. I gave her my grandmother’s vintage suede coat and she literally turned it into a masterpiece. Together we are working on a line of clothing for Bulates that is clean, sustainable and unique – not your average athleisure wear!
I feel that our studio is very unique as we structure ourselves as a little old school. We keep up with the times in the sense of latest teaching, updating our credentials and learning all that is new in our industry but where the old school part comes in is our communication with clients remains one on one. I know every client that walks through the door, they have had a conversation with me, chatted about their personal Pilates schedule and goals or just to say we appreciate you being here and come and have a coffee anytime! We do a couple of annual parties where all our clients and families get together! Really an extraordinary community.
What sort of changes are you expecting over the next 5-10 years?
So, the Pilates Industry is apparently growing at a rate of about 11% per year – which is pretty great, I think! Not just in California but the world has become a little more aware of how important it is to take care of one’s health and especially with this new posture / problem – I believe it’s called “Tech Neck” we can already see many looking towards ideas and methods of how they can move forward with a healthy spine! With problems like scoliosis, osteoporosis, chronic back pain, bulged and slipped discs I feel that the Pilates Industry will consistently grow as this is the solution to many of those issues.
I would like to see Pilates embraced by the youth – with my four boys, I am always trying to instill excellent form and posture. I do feel the schools could offer Pilates as part of their P.E. Curriculum, really instilling good foundational habits. Pilates has become quite well known amongst professional athletes as they add this to their weekly routines, helping themselves prevent injuries and allowing their bodies become stronger through strength and agility. All these sports start at school and this is where the foundation can begin and maybe even prolong these young athletes’ careers.
Pop into the studio anytime soon for a coffee – look forward to seeing you!
Contact Info:
- Website: bulatesmalibu.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bulatesmalibupilates/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bulatesmalibu
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/bulates-malibu-pilates-malibu
- Other: vagaro.com/bulatesmalibupilates/services
Image Credits
Christina Huntington
