Meet Anna Herrin of The Studio EMS

Today we’d like to introduce you to Anna Herrin.

Hi Anna, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
This is a veryyyy long story so I will try and keep it brief. I started modeling in college, and what was supposed to be a quick job to make money to visit a boy in Australia, turned into a 12 years career and counting. Through modeling, I was exposed to so many amazing people, places, and for lack of a better word, beauty “hacks.” Let me tell you, models know how to hack everything. They know the latest beauty secrets, the best hair serums, the best facials, you name it, they’ve tried it. Over the years I got exposed to so many incredible workouts, cellulite smoothers, sculpting treatments, saunas, cryo, again… you name it, I was trying it.

Fitness has always meant a lot more to me than just to look good. My moms a yoga teacher and my dad an Iron Man. From a young age, I got to see the physical and mental benefits of living an active lifestyle. My parents were committed to their health, and it transcended into every aspect of their lives, they seemed happy, they looked incredible and were always able to keep up with us. I knew that I wanted to have a similar life to the ones they were living. After college, where I met my now business partner Nicole, I got my yoga teacher certification in Hawaii and did my Barre certification in Bali. I had always been small and bendy and it was amazing to see myself getting older, but so much stronger and more confident. I realized that when you work hard for your body, there is a power that comes with that; for me, being strong feels way better than being skinny.

I was in a place of trying everything so when my friend mentioned an “EMS workout,” which I had never heard of, I was so excited to try! She said that her butt was the most sore it had ever been after a workout, and that was enough of a testimony for me. I tried it, I was hooked after one session, saw results after a few weeks, and was able to cut my exercise time down by more than half, and with the amount I was working out, that was a huge deal! I had tried every barre class, Barry’s, hot yoga, spin classes and those are all amazing, but going to all of the classes took up SO much of my free time. I felt like EMS was that boost I had been looking for to get better results in less than half the time. Eventually, my house became a constant EMS party because I was telling all my friends about the new workout we discovered. People were obsessed; they started showing up at my house on Saturday mornings ready for their sessions. So many people were coming over every week that it was getting a bit silly.

Everyone would ask me how I was so fit on my photoshoots and none of the models or people on set knew what EMS workouts were. The fact that I was surrounded by people who have tried everything and would do anything to see results, but hadn’t heard of it made me realize there was a serious gap in knowledge and marketing of a technology that I felt was life-changing.

My best friend Nicole and I decided we should start an EMS company and get it out to as many people as possible. We funded everything ourselves, there was A LOT of learning, but eventually we started The Studio EMS and it worked. We started with the goal of sharing something we loved and we did just that! People of all different ages, sizes, lifestyles, etc. are seeing amazing results and it truly makes us so happy. With our clients’ support, we have been able to open in Los Angeles, Miami, New York, and Nashville, with a few more to come. We wanted to start something that would really help people, and I feel like we’re doing it. I still don’t believe it’s real sometimes.

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?
This one made me laugh out loud. No, (insert giggle here) it has not been a smooth road. Starting a company is so much harder than I could have ever thought. Anything you want done, you have to do it yourself. That may seem like a “duh” sentence, but there is SO much to constantly get done. We just recently hired a studio manager which has made our lives so much better, shout out to Whitney, we love you!

When we first started, Nicole and I were doing everything ourselves. We made the website, did all of the scheduling, trained clients, managed every trainer, did all of the hiring, met a million people for coffee, bought equipment, did accounting, tried out every FDA-approved EMS suit, spoke to wholesalers, I mean EVERYTHING. All of this is easy to put in a list, and may not seem like that much, but the amount of admin, and texting, and emails, on top of our full-time jobs was a lot. This was a huge learning curve for me. For context, I didn’t own a laptop until we started The Studio EMS. Luckily, Nicole has an incredible business skill set and was able to really shine in areas that I needed help in, and visa versa. People advised us not to work with your best friend, but that has actually been the best part. I can’t imagine going through the day-to-day work, or mini-fires that come up without having someone I really love to go through them with.

Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about The Studio EMS?
The Studio EMS is a concierge fitness company that uses electro-muscular stimulation to give you the most efficient workout possible in 20 minutes. Our certified trainers go to clients’ houses’ and bring all the equipment and motivation you need for an effective EMS session.

For more context, in a normal workout, you contract your muscle one time per movement, with EMS you are contracting your muscles up to 85 times per second. The machine works out your whole body simultaneously, so for example, even if we are focusing on glutes, your abs, arms, back, and legs, are also being engaged the whole time. One 20-minute EMS session can be equal to over two hours in the gym. It sounds crazy, but when you try it, you get it.

We noticed that with most EMS trainers in the market, there was a lot of repetition in the movement, and the overall experience was a little boring. I continued to do it because the results were great, but when we started our company we knew what we wanted to do. We wanted to make EMS something that our clients looked forward to, beyond the results, we wanted them to enjoy the experience. We make sure that we have great playlists, our trainers are friendly, we change up the sequencing for every session, and we focus on more yoga/pilates-based movements, which our clients love. We also have a membership to give people the best possible price while helping them to commit to their fitness. Our membership applies to all four cities we’re in which has been great for our bi-coastal clients or people who like to travel and keep their workouts consistent.

A lot of people that have come to us from other EMS companies have said that we have the most up-to-date equipment, the booking process is easy, we are able to train multiple people at once, and we’re wireless so there is more range of motion during the workout. We focus on giving each client an upscale experience that they look forward to each week.

There is so much I am proud of with our company, from the way we compensate our trainers, to the professionalism with which we treat our clients, it makes me so happy to run a company that I would book with, and would work for. The thing I am the most proud of however, is that all four cities are up and running without us spending any money on advertising. Our clients strictly come from word of mouth which is seriously so cool. Our clients love our service so much they want to share it with the people they care about and if that isn’t the biggest compliment, I don’t know what is.

Is there anyone you’d like to thank or give credit to?
My entire extended network deserves credit. All of my friends/family who were willing to try something new and trust me with their bodies, the first few clients who booked with us off of Instagram and shared with their friends, the people who have continued doing The Studio EMS since we launched over a year ago, the inspiring people in LA who are always focusing on a side hustle or creating something of their own, anyone who has left us a review, the people who helped us grow in other cities, the trainers who show up on time and in a great mood every day, anyone who got on a call with us and answered questions and the 1,000’s of people (pinch me) who have trusted us to come into their homes and try a new workout. The list is seriously endless. There is no way we could have done this by ourselves, and I definitely would never have dreamed of doing this without Nicole. Being able to run a business that I truly believe in with my best friend is one of the most challenging but rewarding experiences of my life. Credit to everyone.

Pricing:

• Sessions starting at $100 for members.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.thestudioems.com
• Instagram: @thestudioems