Today we’d like to introduce you to Brittany Clark.
Hi Brittany, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
My path to Fairfax Pilates didn’t start in a studio — it started in airports. For years I was a consultant with one of the Big 4 firms, the kind of road warrior who lived out of a suitcase, ate most meals in restaurants, and spent whatever time was left hunched over a laptop. I was building a career I’d worked hard for, but I could feel what that pace was doing to my body.
I’d first found Pilates nearly thirty years earlier, so I already knew how good it made me feel. When I went full-time on the road, I couldn’t keep up my private practice, so I bought equipment to use at home on weekends. Without my instructor there to guide me, I quickly realized I didn’t know enough to use the machines well — so I began the STOTT Pilates certification course between travel assignments. Two years later, I was fully certified. (My neighbors were thrilled — I finally knew how to use the fully equipped studio sitting in my house.)
I didn’t expect what happened next. Working through the method that deeply, I fell in love with it all over again — how it made me feel, and how it was genuinely changing my body. That was the turning point. I left consulting behind and opened my first studio in 2015, and I haven’t looked back since.
As I get older, I understand more clearly how essential Pilates is for keeping my body strong — and that only deepens my drive to help others discover it too. I’ve built a studio that welcomes every body: young and seasoned, confident and unsure, strong and still building strength. My mission is to help women move powerfully and age gracefully. There’s nothing quite like giving someone the ability to live independently, to feel capable and confident in her own body — that’s a feeling money can’t buy. I love what I do, I love the community we’ve created at Fairfax Pilates, and I love the team that keeps the energy and positivity flowing seven days a week. You can learn more about the studio at fairfaxpilates.com.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
No — it hasn’t been a smooth road, and I think the hard parts are worth being honest about.
For five years, I ran my first studio with a business partner. I built that studio from the ground up, and I poured everything into it. When the partnership ultimately fell apart, the stress was unlike anything I’d experienced — words don’t really capture it. In the end, I made the decision to walk away from the studio I had built, with nothing but my drive to start over and a genuine love for the work.
What happened next still moves me. My entire teaching staff and most of our members chose to come with me to my new studio. That kind of loyalty isn’t something you can ask for — you can only hope you’ve earned it.
And then there was the timing: all of this unfolded during COVID. For obvious reasons it was a hard season for everyone, but for a small business finding its feet again, it was nearly debilitating. What carried us through was the generosity of a few extraordinary clients who stepped in to help us stay afloat. Once the worst had passed, I repaid every debt — and today Fairfax Pilates is thriving.
Looking back, the struggles are a real part of the story, but so is the lesson: the community we’ve built is the strongest thing we have, and it’s the reason we’re still here.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
My career took a winding route, but looking back, every stop taught me something the studio runs on today.
I started in consulting with one of the Big 4 firms, and that’s where I learned the fundamentals of operating as a professional: be on time, be prepared, be polished, know how to hold a room, and always — always — know your numbers. Those habits never left me, and they’re a big part of why the business side of Fairfax Pilates is as solid as the teaching.
From there I spent time at Equinox, which set my standard for hospitality. The lesson there was simple and absolute: treat every client like the only person in the room, and keep the space immaculate and welcoming at all times. Nothing matters more than the experience of the person in front of you.
I also spent years as a fitness business coach, helping other studio owners navigate the realities of running their businesses. That work meant the most to me because I had lived their exact struggles — so I could help them read their financials, understand their clients, and steady the ship in a crisis. I wasn’t coaching from theory. I was coaching from the trenches.
All of that lives in Fairfax Pilates now. We’re a STOTT Pilates–certified studio that keeps classes small — six clients or fewer — so every session is real coaching, tailored to the individual body in front of us, not a workout you simply follow along to. That combination of business discipline and genuinely personal instruction is rare, and it’s what we’re known for.
What I’m most proud of is the studio and the community we’ve built — a place where the work is serious but the door is open to every body. And what sets me apart, more than any credential, is that I’m authentic, passionate, and honest. People can feel that, and it’s the foundation everything else is built on.
What’s next?
I’m genuinely excited about where things are headed. The throughline for me has always been reaching more people with instruction they can actually trust — and the future is about widening that circle.
Closer to home, that means continuing to grow our retreats. Right now we run one a year, and they’ve become some of the most meaningful experiences we offer; I’d love to host them more often. It also means investing in my YouTube channel (@pilatesbybrittany), where I create instruction for viewers all over the world. There’s something I love about the idea that someone who will never set foot in our Fairfax studio can still learn to move safely and get real results from what we teach.
Longer term, I have a dream of opening a Pilates studio abroad and building the same kind of community there that we’ve created here. Wherever the work takes me, the mission stays the same: genuinely great instruction that helps people move powerfully, stay strong, and live full lives — at any age, anywhere in the world.
Pricing:
- $149 – The Studio Experience
- $325 – The Signature Start
Contact Info:
- Website: https://fairfaxpilates.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fairfaxpilates
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/fairfaxpilates
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@pilatesbybrittany
