March 27, 2017

Meet Andrea Speir of Speir Pilates in Santa Monica

Local Stories

Today we’d like to introduce you to Andrea Speir.

Andrea, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
Growing up in the San Francisco bay area, I lived and breathed dance. I was dancing competitively around California when I injured my knee. I was put into physical therapy with Pilates as the main focus to get me strong and back on stage in no time. I loved the method and what it did for my body, and was able to return to dance. I went on to get my degree in dance and theater at UC Irvine and continue on to dance and perform onstage in London and New York.

Unfortunately, my knee gave out again and I once again returned to Pilates. It was at this moment that I stopped and truly gave this incredible form of fitness my full attention. I obtained my 600 hour certification out of Power Pilates in NY to learn more about the teachings and also my own body. When I began teaching, I truly fell in love. Teaching others the methodology that changed my body ended up changing my course in life. Teaching was beyond inspirational. I made this my full time journey.

I began noticing that sometimes clients would go to do a bit of cardio after their Pilates sessions, since the main focus is on lengthening, sculpting and strengthening the muscles. To make the workout a bit more “all in one,” I began adding in some of my favorite cardiovascular and modern training elements into this classical Pilates approach.

I added elements of HIIT and Tabata as well as some of my favorite moves from the ballet barre. I utilized modern props such as resistance tubing and bands, gliding discs, free weights, and more. This method began catching and I reached a point where I physically couldn’t teach anymore clients or hours in a day. It was at this point I officially created the Speir Pilates Training Method which featured an athletic approach to Pilates with high intensity training worked in and opened my first studio in downtown Santa Monica, CA.

We utilize the classical reformers as well as mats that fuse in all these fun, effective and “sweat-tastic” elements to give you one fantastic workout! We are currently in the works for the second location here in southern California as well as our streamable workout TV channel called SPTV for those who can’t make it to our CA studio.

Has it been a smooth road?
Yes and no. Coming up with the methodology and finding my killer team of trainers actually was an incredibly rewarding experience. While we were in lease negotiations and working on the buildout, I was training the staff on one reformer in my living room. It was very down home and bonding for the staff to come together like this and we had an absolute blast. To this day, I am in awe that I truly got the best trainers in Los Angeles.

What was a bit trickier was the amount of time it took to negotiate with the building, work with the city and execute the buildout. I opened Speir Pilates with my business partner Liz Polk, who is one of the smartest people I know. She is a full time lawyer for Netflix, so her ability to bring high level business strategy and legal counsel to our team was invaluable.

We estimated the buildout and negotiations to take us around 4 months and it took over a year. That was very frustrating and heartbreaking at times, but in the end it worked out. We wanted everything to be exactly how we envisioned it and we didn’t want to skimp on anything. So our attention and need for every detail to be as perfect as possible combined with the pace of the city took a toll on me emotionally.

So, as you know, we’re impressed with Speir Pilates – tell our readers more, for example what you’re most proud of as a company and what sets you apart from others.
Having worked in the fitness industry or over 10 years, I have a pretty good idea about what I think is a necessity in a successful fitness studio, what I love and what I think is lacking.

The thing that I am most proud of is that I continually have clients and staff repeating back to me – elements that were in our business plan and mission statement that they wouldn’t have even know where there. To me, that makes me truly feel like I have accomplished what I set out to.

I wanted a studio that was beyond clean- I get told almost daily by clients that they can’t believe how clean it is. (Seems like a small thing, but trust me, it’s not that common these days at studios).

I wanted a place that exuded style but made you feel like you were at home in a neighborhood spot. I have clients tell me constantly that they have never felt more comfortable or at home in a fitness studio. We wanted this to be a place where people came together, felt like an athlete and made friends. Watching the clients bond with each other and go get coffee afterward with their new friends makes me literally beam with happiness.

In regards to the staff, I wanted a studio that had a non-competitive environment. Being a fitness professional trying to build my career, I found at the studios that I worked at that me trying to pursue writing, modeling, workout videos and more was almost looked down upon the studio owners. I felt the other teachers were always sizing each other up versus truly supporting each other. SO, at my studio this is a huge thing for me. I tell every single one of my teachers that if there is ANYTHING I can do or the studio can do to build a platform for them to stand on, we are here 100% for them. We have helped get our teachers in magazines, blogs, and auditions for major fitness sites, ambassadorships with brands, and more. Within our own company, we are working to build them up as stars of our subscription video site, national teacher trainers for our other exciting studios to be opening soon and more. I never ever want a staff member of mine to feel like they are just staff. We are a team and hearing my staff call us the Speir Squad and tell me how no one has every truly made them feel like this is a true team makes me beyond happy. I have finally created the home I always wished I had as a trainer.

Let’s touch on your thoughts about our city – what do you like the most and least?
This is a tough question because I am thrilled with how everything turned out. If I had to do it again, I would tell myself to trust my gut. I am a very firm believer that the smartest thing to do is to ask questions, advice and opinions of smart people. I am an expert in what I do and what I know, but if I pretend to be an expert in areas I am less versed in, that isn’t the smartest move. We asked the advice of many experts in certain areas and there were a few moments where I had a slightly different opinion and I assumed they knew more. After opening and seeing my gut was right, I was I listened to it more.

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