33-year-old Lauren Sankey has invested over £750k into transforming a disused building on Zoar Street into a Pilates venue, boasting a 10-bed reformer studio, dedicated mat and PT rooms and an infrared sauna.
More than 700 clients from across the area have already signed up for classes at ‘The Pilates Girl’, with the entrepreneur also creating an on-site creche (with qualified childcare assistants) to help moms keen to exercise safe in the knowledge their children are being well cared for.
33-year-old Lauren Sankey has invested over £750,000 into transforming a disused building on Zoar Street into one of the region’s premier Pilates venues (Image: Handout)
The focus is on making Pilates as inclusive as possible by creating a modern and friendly space for people to learn, to exercise and, importantly, to have fun.
Lauren, who initially started out delivering classes at home in between looking after her two children said: “I’ve been absolutely blown away by the response since we officially opened our doors – after a near eight-month transformation project.
“Pilates is a real passion of mine, and I wanted to bring the experience to as many people as possible, regardless of age, ability or experience.
“Once I passed my mat, pre and post-natal Pilates, small equipment and reforming qualifications, I knew it was the right time to make the dream become a reality and launch my own studio.”
Lauren Sankey (Image: Handout)
She continued: “Thanks to family backing, we were able to buy the building in Zoar Street at auction and then went about designing what we wanted from scratch. Nearly £750,000 has been channelled into taking a derelict, crumbling two-story old office and transforming it into something really special.
“My husband’s business, S&R Construction, completed all the building work and I believe Lower Gornal now has access to a studio that wouldn’t be out of place in Birmingham, Manchester or London.”
Lauren, who is known across social media as The Pilates Girl, has already created four part-time jobs, with another new instructor set to be appointed shortly.
She is not stopping there, with the next exciting plan being to create an organic café at the front of the premises, serving healthy meals and snacks, not to mention a great range of juices, cold and hot drinks.
The menu will be designed to complement the fitness and Pilates classes taking place at the studio and will give members and users the chance to catch-up over drinks and food before or after sessions.
Lauren said: “There’s a real community feel here and that’s something I want to build on. The café should be open in a few months, and we’ll be looking for a chef to come in and run it in partnership with us.”
Lauren is hoping that her story will inspire other moms and women to turn their dreams into business reality.
She said: “If I can do it, then anyone can. If you’re passionate about something and people want to buy it our use the service, then go for it! There’s a lot of learning on the job and still is, yet all the things I’ve done previously – such as event management and marketing – I’m now using every day in helping me manage classes and building the brand through the power of social media.
“All of this and I still get to do the school runs and am there for the children’s big life moments.”
