Australian fitness brand, STRONG Pilates has partnered with NRL and AFL star athletes Nicho Hynes, Shaun Johnson, Nat Fyfe and Travis Boak to break down the stigma of “Pilates” being a female sport and show men its real physical and mental benefits, in line with International Men’s Health Week (12 – 18 June).
Last year, the world’s largest health club aggregator, ClassPass, named Pilates the fastest growing fitness genre across Australia and New Zealand.
However, despite its immense and rising popularity, males continue to represent less than 20 per cent of the global Pilates community. Not typically perceived as a challenging workout among men, co-founders, Michael Ramsey and Mark Armstrong elevated the Pilates experience by infusing it with a hit of cardio via unique Rowformer and Bikeformer machines, thus naming it “STRONG” Pilates.
They now own the exclusive rights to the machines in the Australia Pacific region. As ambassadors, each of the four athletes vocally attribute their on- and off-field success to the fitness genre, sharing what “feeling STRONG” means to them.
The seamless integration of STRONG Pilates in their personal and professional lives, with clear evidence of its impact, shows just how much it balances their routine and mindset. Founded in 2019 by fitness entrepreneurs and former F45 studio owners, Michael Ramsey and Mark Armstrong, the unique fitness franchise was born after Ramsey sustained a sports-related ankle injury and discovered Pilates as part of his recovery program.
Ramsey said: “Finding Pilates was revolutionary as it provided me with low impact movements that elevated my recovery, however longer-term, it wasn’t enough for me to do as a standalone routine. Integrating HIIT cardio has been a gamechanger and it is now our mission to show men just how challenging and beneficial this combo can be.”
As part of International Men’s Health Week, STRONG Pilates will be hosting a ‘Community Day’ on Saturday, 17 June across all of its studios in Australia, New Zealand and UK. Anyone who books a session can bring a STRONG male in their life for free as part of a unique partnered workout.
