Today we’d like to introduce you to Aaron Marcotte
Hi Aaron, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
Im so deeply grateful for the opportunity to be able to bring a concept like BRXPilates to life.
I have been working in the fitness and wellness/boutique industry for over a decade, and have had the great opportunity to help breathe life into many exciting projects over the years. I have had the great honor to be a part of delivering wellness, fitness, and community experiences all over the world. Most recently, I worked with global fitness powerhouse RSG Group. I had the opportunity to direct the advent of John Reed Fitness from it’s European model for a North American audience, overseeing the opening of John Reed in Los Angeles, and Dallas, and was the primary Director of Fitness and Wellness for HEIMAT – Los Angeles’ premier lifestyle fitness club. Seeing the success of these projects and experiences, I realized it was time for me to venture into my very own project where I could fully cultivate the experience I had always dreamed of.
I hold a Masters of Science in Sports Medicine, and Kinesiology, and have been teaching pilates for 20 years, It is my greatest joy to be able to educate, and help others discover ways to love, nourish, and cultivate a healthy, strong, agile body – and mind. It made perfect sense to me to create a Pilates experience where I could share my passion and education with my community.
BuiltRx Pilates has been a machination of all the things I have come to love about the boutique fitness culture in my years as a consultant, educator, and studio owner; A community based in acceptance, encouragement and kindness; A beautifully appointed space with lots of natural light, and good vibes; Fun, challenging and dynamic programming that is thoughtful and backed by science to provide progressive results; fresh and challenging programming to educate and expose our audience to a multitude of movement and strength techniques; and a team of my most cherished and beloved friends and colleagues whom I have grown both personally and professionally with over the years.
It is one of my greatest pleasures to bring BuiltRX Pilates to Los Angeles, and the starting point of a grander concept, where pilates is the cornerstone of our training principle: When we train Pilates, we Train For Life!
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
I would honestly love to meet the person who decided to leave everything they have known before, and become a solo small business owner, and then hear how smooth and easy it was… HA!
My greatest discovery throughout all of my planning and execution has been the surprising amount of fortitude and determination one must muster to be able to take risks and follow-through.
I’ve always been an ambitious and bright person, and it’s always served me in my professional endeavors. Having the opportunity to develop and direct global brands, and fitness experiences for big market competitors was an amazing experience. However, I felt as if I got to a point where I couldn’t really progress any further unless I really took command of my ability and experience and ventured to do my own thing. It really came down to deciding whether to maintain a lifestyle of comfort and relative ease, or let that go, and turn my sails to uncharted waters. I chose the latter, and just as one could imagine – it was terrifying!
One of the greatest struggles especially in Los Angeles, is how to do a thing in the fitness landscape that could even compare to compete with such a saturated market. I knew the most crucial component would be to approach this project with as much authenticity and honesty as possible. Instead of trying to think of “how can I compete with…..” I took the approach of “How can I show people how, and why I think this thing is so wonderful.” I believe so wholly in the science provided from the Pilates method, and I have spent the last 20 years translating that into great success with personal clients, I knew that all I had to do was capture my love of the theory, science, and mastery of the kinesthetic value of the programming I wanted to offer. Fingers-crossed that it lends itself to a wider audience!
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
At BuiltRx Pilates, our goal is to introduce a more contemporary take on the classical Pilates Reformer cannon. We offer Reformer classes, with an express focus on the strength and power elements offered when using a reformer. Our studio is exceptionally clean, and beautifully appointed with lots of natural light, living greenery, uplifting music, beautiful reformers, and located right in the beating heart of West Hollywood in the Melrose Fashion District.
Our founder and instructors are thoroughly certified in all Pilates methods and apparatus’, as well as maintaining Master Degrees in multitudes of sport and fitness specializations including: kinesiology, sports medicine, exercise science, nutrition, and rehab. Our programming is designed to offer our clients a variable experience of strength and conditioning, never repeating the same workouts weekly, and always ensuring we are offering a scientifically-sound, and challenging Pilates experience.
We pride ourselves on our commitment and devotion to creating and welcoming a diverse community of bodies, and skill levels. One of our brand missions is to highlight the importance and value of Pilates as a baseline strengthening system for ALL bodies, and walks of life. Pilates was not invented for people to just get good at Pilates, and only do Pilates forever! Pilates was created to make people strong, balanced, agile, centered – both physically and mentally.
We are certain consistent Pilates training offers the competitive edge for whatever physical and athletic endeavors you enjoy – Pilates will make you better at it – and we train as such.
Our core values are kindness, authenticity, altruism, creativity, respect, and diversity.
Risk taking is a topic that people have widely differing views on – we’d love to hear your thoughts.
I truly believe for any creative endeavor, it is imperative to approach your vision with the utmost authenticity, and willingness to take risks. To do something that really matters, you have to be very earnest and willing to blaze your own trail. Moreover if you are trying to create something where you really want people to connect with it, it is crucial to allow yourself to be vulnerable. I think vulnerability is the heart of risk and uncertainty.
Our ideals, and dreams and ambitions are the things that make us unique. In a world where “trending” and “viral” encourage a copy-cat sameness, it is very scary to simply take your own thing and share it. Will the risk pay off? Will it matter? Yes. Risk is essential as a creative person in any endeavor of success.
I think the thing to remember is we can’t control anything outside of ourselves. All we can control is how we experience, and react to situations. If we never take the risks to do the things that are calling to us most, we remain ambivalent to our calling, and over time that can become more debilitating than never having tried anything at all.. We all have purpose, and we all have the power to give our life meaning, and risk is a form of vulnerability that allows us to step into control of our destiny. Please, please, take risks. Everyone has insecurities, limitations, ‘roadblocks’ about our abilities – this is true for every single person, and it’s especially true when you are taking the risk of doing something you really care about. How much power you give those things is entirely up to you.
Ask yourself: “is my life better off overall if I just don’t take this risk, and do this thing? Am I more fulfilled in having limited myself and my potential?” The worst thing that can happen is that it doesn’t work out the way you wanted it to, but the thing is that’s totally ok, because you never had control of that anyway. At the end of the day you did something important for your soul. That’s huge. Enjoy the journey.
Pricing:
- Unlimited Monthly Recurring Membership – $300
- 10 Class Pack – $400
- 5 Class Pack – $200
- Drop in – $45
- First Timers 5 Classes (one-time offer for first timers) – $50
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.builtrxweho.com/pilates
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/builtrx_pilates/
Image Credits
Casey James
