P10 Profile: Kim Grady
Kim is the kind of person that jumps into things with two feet. From the moment I met her I thought she had gumption, a magnetic personality, and the amount of drive a person needs to really Make. Things. Happen.
It didn’t take long to realize I was spot on, and that there’s a whole lot more to her as well. Kim is incredibly caring and passionate about helping people, it’s what makes her an amazing mom, business owner, friend, and Pilates Instructor.
I’ve been working as the Studio Manager for just about 6 months, and already I feel really lucky to be part of the history here.
Pilates on 10th has been a fixture in this neighborhood for more than a decade. Over the years the studio has moved up the block, changed ownership, gone virtual and survived a pandemic…but it’s clear that the remarkable community of clients has been a constant.
Did you know that Kim was a client before she bought the studio in 2017? Learn a little more about Kim below, and how her passion for sharing Pilates is reflected in the studio today.
What do you love about this community, and owning the studio?
Community is everything at Pilates on 10th. I was so grateful as a client to be a part of it and I'm proud to continue building a community around Pilates now as the owner. I feel so lucky to be able to teach people to use their bodies in safe ways, and I just love it when they get to see proof that movement does heal–it’s true, it does! To know that I am helping my clients live a happier and healthier life where they are able to do the things that make THEM happy is the real reward!
Do you remember the moment you fell in love with Pilates?
I had a moment when the Instructor I was with at the time introduced me to the exercise “the pull up” on the Cadillac. It’s such a challenging exercise but made me feel strong, and confident, and I needed that. The fact that I could do it well made me more excited about Pilates, and kept me wanting to do more!
What is the biggest challenge you’ve faced while owning the studio, how did you overcome it?
Covid was undoubtedly the biggest challenge I’ve had to face in owning the studio, but I took that on like I take on most challenges– I just took care of it! When you care about something like I care about this, you just get to work and handle it one step at a time. It was so important to me that the studio continued to be a place where our community felt safe to come, even if it had to be online for a while…
Talk about some of the ways the studio reflects who you are outside of Pilates:
I am big on promoting a healthy lifestyle in general, and this ideal influences a lot of my decisions. For example, it’s really important to me that we are using natural and safe products at the studio whenever possible. We make the cleaning solution that clients use on the equipment in-house with pure essential oils, witch hazel, and soaps that aren’t harsh on the body or the environment. Finding things that are sustainably sourced is important to me as well. We try to support other local businesses by bringing in local retail products, and partnering with local vendors whenever possible. Even our scheduling system Pike13 is a Seattle small business!
Let’s talk about the future, what’s something you are excited for that you can share?
We’re going to be doing a little refresh of the studio equipment soon, which is really exciting. We’ll be adding some new pieces of equipment that we’ve never had before, replacing some of the old reformers, and we’re getting a baby chair which is just a really sweet piece of equipment. Ultimately this new set up will allow us more flexibility and we’ll be able to experiment with adding more classes! Stay tuned…
Do you have a Summer goal?
My goal is to get both my kids to do some Pilates this summer! That is REALLY my favorite thing to do, hang out with my kids. I’m always brainstorming ways to share Pilates with kids, so they're going to be my test subjects!
If you were a pilates exercise which one would you be and why?
Control Balance Off: because it’s fun and challenging and I guess I’m fun and challenging!! Plus once you’ve done it, you get to feel very cool.
Is there anything else you want people to know?
We have a parking lot!! I always forget to tell people that. It may be small, but it’s a BIG deal.
Written by Lauren Walker | Studio Manager
originally published July 18, 2022