Alum Olivia Quinn graduated from the University of Michigan Ross School of Business in 2014 before working in management consulting for 10 years. After realizing that wasn’t her passion, she has returned to Ann Arbor to open TREMBLE, a franchise of the national boutique fitness studio based in Miami.
In an interview with The Michigan Daily, Quinn said she hoped to use her business background from the University to bring TREMBLE to her former college town.
“I had always loved movement,” Quinn said. “I was a dancer growing up through high school; I didn’t dance in college. So I decided to combine these two things: my business experience with what I love actually spending my free time doing.”
After taking her first TREMBLE class in Dallas during a bachelorette trip, Quinn said she fell in love with the Pilates-based workout class’ fusion of cardio and strength training. Quinn emphasized that her own experience as a student in Ann Arbor played a major role when deciding the studio’s location.
“I really wanted to be on campus, because Ann Arbor was an amazing experience for me as a student,” Quinn said. “I wanted to really be in the heart of things and part of the Ann Arbor community.”
Located on 417 E. Liberty St., the studio was designed by University alum and architect Sydney Filippis, Quinn’s former sorority sister from Delta Delta Delta. Quinn said her own experiences during her undergraduate education informed her understanding of what students would want in a fitness class.
“I do think convenience for people is a huge thing,” Quinn said. “I hope that people feel like they can come here, they can get a challenging, fun and effective workout, they can fit it into their day and they can better meet their goals.”
One of the studio’s notable features is a neon sign which reads, “Those who stay will be champions,” a quote from former Bo Schembechler, head Michigan football coach from 1969 to 1989.
Quinn said she hopes to support and work together with other Ann Arbor businesses. Her studio’s launch party on March 21 will include collaborations with local companies including Hazel Coffee, a coffee shop that opened in November 2025 on Packard Street.
“That’s important to me, to collaborate with the University and with other Ann Arbor-area organizations at large,” Quinn said. “I know Hunã is a new cocktail bar that just opened underneath Echelon. So we’re planning to do a Tiki and TREMBLE event this summer. I just really want to get to know different business owners and the staff of all the businesses in the community.”
TREMBLE classes include strength training, cardio and Pilates inspired movements, all performed on a reformer — a frame designed to provide adjustable resistance for training and flexibility. LSA freshman Isabella Vazeen worked and exercised at the TREMBLE studio in her Nevada hometown before transitioning to work as an instructor at the Ann Arbor location. In an interview with The Daily, Vazeen said she wants to help the students learn more about weightlifting.
“A lot of people don’t know how to lift or things like that,” Vazeen said. “ I think it’s a good workout for people who want to do something and feel worked and build muscle without having to learn that themselves.”
LSA sophomore Amelia Repp, a member of Sigma Kappa sorority, recently attended one of the free trial classes that TREMBLE offered in collaboration with her sorority.
Repp told The Daily she was eager to try a TREMBLE class, as she felt it offered a different workout experience than other local fitness studios.
“I feel like TREMBLE is something different that we don’t really have on campus,” Repp said. “Reformer Pilates is different than other close workout studios on campus, so that’s good.”
As TREMBLE prepares for its official launch on March 21, Quinn said she hopes the studio will become more than just a place to work out but also a reflection of the surrounding community.
“TREMBLE is an incredibly challenging but fun workout, and a community that you will feel like you belong in no matter what your experience is with movement or working out,” Quinn said.
Daily Staff Reporter Olivia Aversano can be reached at oavers@umich.edu.
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