Rising Stars: Meet Ashley Yono of Beverly Hills, MI

Today we’d like to introduce you to Ashley Yono

Ashley, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I actually started teaching Pilates as a side gig out of the garage of the building that I lived in in Birmingham, MI. I was working full time remotely in finance and would teach privates and small group classes before and after work. I started with 8 girls in the garage, and by the end I somehow managed to squeeze 15 girls in each group class. I ended up quitting my job 8 months in to me teaching Pilates and took it full time. Because it was out of the building that I lived in, I kind of kept it word of mouth. I didn’t advertise a ton, I didn’t put my address out anywhere, I didn’t have a sign. I think that kind of created a hype, like “if you know, you know”. It started small so I really got to know my community of girls, I love to greet everyone with a hug, I know everyone by name, and I genuinely care and I think that shows. Another 8 months later (after getting multiple neighbor complaints) I knew I had to expand…so I moved two miles down the street to Beverly Hills. Now I can fit up to 30 girls in a group class and still offer privates to my OG group of girlies. I have one instructor who joined my team once I expanded, Alli, she’s amazing. I like to think I still have that small homey feel even in the much bigger space where there’s room for me to grow and expand – eventually I will be offering group reformer/cadillac classes as well!

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Oh God no, not at all hahah. I was working two jobs for 8 months, so I would literally start at 6 AM, train til 9 AM, work 9-5 (sometimes take someone on my lunch break), then train some more from 5-8 PM. I really had blinders on at first. I was also studying for my CPA exam, so I would sometimes wake up at 4 AM – 6 AM to study every day. Then after I quit, my neighbors were fed up with the parking on the street, the music, etc. I tried to calm them down the best I could, I looked for about a year for the perfect space for me to expand to. I kept holding them off, one neighbor said he was suing me hahah, I begged and pleaded him not to until I found the perfect space for me to move into….then while I was transitioning spaces I had a STROKE! A full blown stroke, out of nowhere. So I was out of commission for about 2 months, going to PT, OT, speech therapy, trying to regain function and control of my right side. Thank GOD (it’s been about 5 months) I am for the most part, totally healed. But my community was SO supportive it was insane. They patiently waited for me, cheered me on, it was the craziest experience of my life.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
Pilates! I love to cue to the music and have a fun atmosphere, it’s definitely not your typical Pilates class. It’s a little bit more fast paced. Pilates was traditionally thought of as slow and boring. I think I brought a much younger crowd into my studio. I play a mix of house and rap music. I also created a signature flow, every flow starts and begins with 2 songs minimum of abdominal work. I also think the community I’ve created sets me apart from everyone. Because I only had 15 spots in the garage, people would sign up a month in advance for class. Which also created a hype, like you couldn’t get in. The girls from the garage are still my OG core group of girls, and everyone knows each other. The community has expanded, and we are so welcoming, but it started small and I’ll never forget that. I also provide all the props and equipment for class. Classes are heated to 95 degrees, and I offer non-heated classes on the weekends. So you don’t have to bring your own mat, everything in my studio is Bala brand – all you have to do is show up 🙂

What matters most to you?
Helping other people feel confident in their bodies. I never realized before I started this how insecure people were..even the most BEAUTIFUL of women! Working with people 1:1 made me realize that. I really love to help women feel confident in their bodies, be their biggest cheerleaders, let them know just how amazing they are for showing up. Getting messages that they feel stronger, feel healthier, that their mental clarity is better, means so much to me.

Pricing:

• $30/group class drop in
• $145/ 5 pack group classes
• $275/ 10 pack group classes
• $500 / 20 pack group classes

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.444pilates.com
• Instagram: @444Pilates