December 15, 2025 • 49 mins
What happens when the "dream job" you hustled so hard to get...suddenly disappears? You're trapped in the story of who you think you should be, convinced you only fit into one box. When life tears up the script, that loss of identity can be paralysing. But what if that ending is actually the best thing that ever happened to you? What if the thing you’re doing as a "side hobby" is actually an empire waiting to be built?
Tori Clapham is the powerhouse founder behind the boutique fitness brand, Peaches Pilates. Today, she oversees an empire with ten studios, an app used in 54 countries, and over $4 million in annual revenue. But the path there wasn't a straight line. Tori began as a performing arts student, moving from Far North Queensland to NYC and eventually landing a coveted creative role at MTV.
Everything changed when she was made redundant. Left with a $10,000 cheque and a major life decision, Tori looked back at the casual Pilates sessions she ran for colleagues during lunch breaks and realized her "hobby" was actually her calling. She took a massive gamble, using her redundancy pay and travel savings to sign a lease on a tiny "shoebox" studio in Bondi.
In this empowering episode of Pivot Club, Sarah and Tori cover the grit of DIY renovations, the risks involved when her husband quit his corporate job to join the team, and how their lo-fi workout videos accidentally prepared them for a global pandemic. They also dig into the "mini-pivot" of motherhood and how to build a business that serves your life, rather than the other way around.
Get ready to learn why your biggest setbacks are often the things that propel you the most.
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CREDITS:
Guest: Tori Clapham
Host: Sarah Davidson
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:04):
What happens when the dream job you hustled so hard
to get suddenly disappears. You're trapped in the story of
who you think you should be. You've convinced yourself that
you only fit into one box, the creative, the corporate climber,
the artist. But when life tears up the script, that
loss of identity can feel paralyzing. Suddenly you aren't just
(00:25):
losing a job, You're losing the only version of yourself
that you've ever known. But what if that ending is
actually the best thing that ever happened to you? What
if the thing you're doing as a side hobby is
actually an empire waiting to be built. Welcome to Pivot Club.
I'm your host, Sarah Davidson, and I know firsthand how
scary it is to let go of the title you
(00:46):
thought you wanted. My own journey took me from the
prestige of m and a Law to the unpredictable world
of entrepreneurship with matcha Maiden. This is the show where
we unpack the professional plot twists and the pivotal moments
that rewrite our scripts. We dig into the fear of
letting go, the thrill of starting over, and the moment
you realize that your Plan B was actually your Plan
(01:07):
A all along. Today we are talking to a powerhouse
entrepreneur who turned a devastating redundancy into a global movement
all by deciding to give a new passion a red
hot go. That person is Tory Clapham, the founder of
boutique fitness brand Peaches Pilates. Today, Tory overseas an empire
with ten studios and app used in fifty four countries
(01:30):
and over four million dollars in annual revenue, but her
path to get there was anything but a straight line.
In her past life, Tory was a performing arts student.
Speaker 2 (01:38):
She moved from.
Speaker 1 (01:39):
Far North Queensland to New York City at nineteen to
attend film school, and later returned to Australia to study
at NIDA before landing a coveted creative role at MTV.
But when Tory was made redundant, she was left with
a ten thousand dollars redundancy check and a major life decision.
Looking back at the POLARATEI session, she had been running
for colleagues on the office floor during lunch breaks. She
(02:01):
realized her hobby was actually her calling. She took her
redundancy check alongside some money she'd saved for travel, and
signed a lease on a tiny shoebox studio space in Bondai.
In this empowering conversation, we cover the grit of doi renovations,
the risk of her husband quitting his corporate job to
join the team, and how their low fi workout videos
(02:22):
accidentally prepared them for a global pandemic. We also dig
into the mini pivot of motherhood and how to build
a business that serves your life rather than the other
way around. Get ready to learn why your biggest setbacks
are often the things that propel you the most.
Speaker 2 (02:36):
Tory, Welcome to Pivot Club. Thank you so much. I'm
so excited to be here. Oh, I'm so excited to
have you.
Speaker 3 (02:43):
Before we move to the many pivots that you've made,
we always start with your past life to explain the
landscape and the context and what your life looked like
sort of at the beginning. And in your case, I've
been a very long term follower, first time caller and
would never have guessed that your first background was film
(03:03):
school and performing arts. So take us back to finishing
school and choosing performing arts.
Speaker 2 (03:09):
Well, I grew up in far north Queensland, in kens
So first of all, when I finished school, it was like,
if you want to go to UNI, you actually leave.
And very much the norm up in Queensland, particularly the
further north you go, is that when you finish school
you usually do move out of home to go to UNI.
It's not like the biggest cities down here. I moved
(03:30):
to Brisbane, which was very much what everyone was doing,
and I started a Bachelor of Arts at UQ with
a bit of writing in journalism and drama. But went
through a break up with my high school boyfriend. Oh
felt like.
Speaker 1 (03:44):
A divorce, the drama of it all.
Speaker 2 (03:48):
And truly felt like, actually, really do I need to
leave this city to kind of get over this boy
who I was so in love with. Anyway, I was
applying for a film school in New York, which just
you know, ridiculous. I was eighteen years old. I never
for a minute thought that I would get accepted. Kind
of slowly went through the process and one day I
(04:09):
got an email, And if I'm really honest, I actually
got the email when I was really hungover. I'd been
out the night before and I think I'd seen my
ex like kiss another girl and I've been up all
night crying, and I got this email saying congratulations, you've
been accepted, and I called my mum and she said,
I guess you've got to go then. And I moved
to New York City when I was nineteen. I'd look
(04:30):
back now and I think that was ballsy. I just
didn't even think about it.
Speaker 3 (04:34):
And it's ballsy for someone even in Melbourne or Sydney.
But a far North Queenslander who's moved to the Big
Smoke was Brisbane.
Speaker 2 (04:40):
Yeah, Brisbane. Then go straight to.
Speaker 3 (04:42):
New York at such a young age is gigantic. But
what drove even the search for applying to New York.
Speaker 2 (04:52):
I think I wanted to explore film more because I'd
done a lot of theater and stage stuff growing up,
and I just I wanted to try the modality. And honestly,
I can't tell you. It was back on one of
most old mac laptops, googling you know, film schools and
Nider and all of that stuff, and it was just
(05:13):
one of those things that happened. And I look back
now and the way that it has shaped my life
is so massive, and I think, imagine if I never
moved to New York. Imagine if I didn't go to
film school, you know, would I have then come back
and moved to Sydney and gone to nider I don't know.
Speaker 3 (05:28):
And it sounds like it wasn't even a big decision
at the time. It was just kind of like, well,
I'll apply and with no expectation, and.
Speaker 2 (05:33):
If you have the opportunity to go, you go. Yeah,
of course.
Speaker 3 (05:38):
And so a lot of people do make that big
move to, you know, a city as exciting environrant as
New York and then don't come back. What did you
find over there? And then what led you back home?
Speaker 2 (05:50):
Oh my god? It was like a lot of fun,
a lot of honing my craft. Definitely like a sexual revolution.
I had some great lovers over there. I had a
lot of fun, Like I did party cagery hard, which
is what kids these days don't do. But I feel
like I've really given everything a good red hot gohot.
(06:11):
So now I'm so happy in my humble motherhood life.
But I found all these creatives. I made an incredible
group of friends who were from all over the world
who would all come to this melting pot to home
their craft as well. Most of my friends are actually filmmakers, producers,
stuff like that, so they would kind of cast me
in their little films and it was just the most
(06:32):
incredible time of my life. And then when I finished
my course, I moved back home to Australia and I
was very much of the opinion that I didn't really
want to go back to Queensland. I wanted to choose
a larger city. Ended up choosing Sydney, I think because
of the natural beauty of the city, and I'm very
much I love the beach and I love warmer weather.
(06:53):
But also I did get into a course at Nider,
so that kind of drove the move.
Speaker 3 (06:58):
And given that in these sort of arts and entertainment industry,
the US is really where most people are aiming to
end up. What was the thought process of moving home
or had you always planned to come back.
Speaker 2 (07:10):
I was just ready to move home. I was ready.
I was still very young, and I really didn't realize
how much I would miss natural beauty and fresh air
as much as I love the craziness of the city.
I mean, I was living in the Lower east Side,
I was in a grange and I loved it, but
I was ready for a beach. I was ready to
(07:31):
just get in the water and see a tree that
wasn't in the beautiful Central Park.
Speaker 3 (07:37):
So then you went to Nida, which is extremely prestigious
and such an amazing starting point for many different careers.
And this paints a picture of someone who was so
deeply driven by creative artistic pursuits. What was your dream
at that point, Like, was it to be an actress?
Speaker 2 (07:56):
Definitely? I loved creating. I wanted to act. I wanted
to perform. I wasn't a short course night, I wasn't
in the full long form course, but even getting accepted
into that was just like such a huge moment for me.
And to support myself living in Sydney, I got a
job at a little wine bar, which is actually how
I met my husband. But that was definitely what I
(08:19):
wanted to do. But while I was working at the
wine bar, I also discovered an absolute love for the
world of hospitality. It is such a vibrant world. The
way that you connect with the people who you work
with is only people who've worked in hospital will understand.
You become like family. It's fun, it's fast paced. You
learn so much about people and reading a room and
(08:41):
connecting with people and understanding what people want without them
having to speak. I loved it. I worked with some
incredible young men who had started a bar, and luckily
they saw that I was a hard worker and really interested,
and they ended up giving me a managerial position and
they let me look after the music for the bar.
Oh no, So then I hired my husband's little cover
(09:02):
band one weekend to come in, which is how that
all kicked off. And now you have two children, and
now we have two babies.
Speaker 3 (09:09):
Oh my gosh, that is nuts. In some cases, excellent
talent is spotted out in the wilderness and given opportunities.
Speaker 2 (09:16):
Well. Funnily enough, one of the boys from the band
was working at MTV, and I had left Small Bar
after a good few years of a wonderful time there.
The reason that I wanted to leave Small Bar was
because I was starting to get a little bit fatigued
of working nights, really long shifts, also working when my
friends are out socializing, and I was desperate for a job,
(09:37):
like desperate. And my mate was telling me that there
was a job opportunity at MTV, and I thought to myself,
if there's a job in the world that I could
want more than this job. Someone better tell me because
I need and I needed that job like I really
needed that job. I had rent to pay and I'll
never forget when I got it because I was so
(09:57):
lucky and I really didn't have much experience. I managed
to talk my way into the world. I don't really
know how, but once I was there, I loved it.
I got a job in the creative department as the
creative coordinator. I mean, I had had quite a lot
of experience on set, but not on the other side.
And it was so cool to kind of get an
experience of instead of being the talent, organizing shoots and
(10:18):
helping cast and working with producers and dops. And it
was a blast. I couldn't have loved it more. The
Creative Department interview was so cool. I made so many
great friends. But then they made the entire creative department redundant.
Speaker 3 (10:33):
So you had a redundancy from the dream job that
was in the industry, that was lined up for everything
that you thought you wanted.
Speaker 2 (10:40):
What did you do?
Speaker 4 (10:40):
Then?
Speaker 2 (10:41):
I have to tell you, I was so devastated. I
was so shook. But whilst I was there, I got
my polity certificate, which was just a cute little hobby
thing that I thought I should do. I'll tell you
why I did it. I did it because my mum
did it. I grew up to pilarates with my mum.
It was my favorite form of movement. It was our
(11:03):
special thing to do together on a Saturday. And it
was a form of movement that had always resonated with
me and gave me the results that made me feel
good about myself. While I was at MTV, I was
going to this like cult gym around the corner from
the office, because that's whatever and in the office did,
and you went in, and I would go to these
pump classes and you would get there and there would
be nothing like it laid out for you. It was
incredibly stressful.
Speaker 4 (11:23):
The whole thing was very aggressive cortisol through the If
you go from sitting at a desk to running around
the corner to a gym, to smashing your body to
being back at your desk before you could blink, and naturally,
I injured myself and.
Speaker 2 (11:37):
I went back to polarates after a long time at
physio to heal this bulging L four L five disc
that I had, and I couldn't believe it was like
I drank the kool aid, Babe, I got to tell
you all my eggs and pains went away. My body
just kind of lengthened and leaned out, and I thought,
why the hell did I stop moving like this? And
(11:59):
I just became came totally obsessed with Pilarate's instructors. I
would go to classes and think, well, what's she up
to now? Where she got what's what's someone for the
rest of her day? And I had put myself in
this box where I thought, no, no, I'm really someone
who should work in an office and I should kind
of climb in this world and being an instructive I
don't really see that as being something big enough for
what I want out of my life. Yes, And then
(12:21):
Mum got her certificate up in Cans and I thought,
bloody hell, I'll just do it because I want to
learn more about the skeletal system and the muscular system.
And I just enjoyed it as a hobby. And I
taught in the office. In the lunch break, I'd send
out an email and say if anyone wants to join me,
and we'd lie on the carpet and this is blood. Yeah.
Speaker 3 (12:38):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (12:39):
They were my first clients, and they were the ones
who started calling me peaches. The dots are connecting angle anyway,
Then my contract did end at MTV and I wasn't
offered another one, and I was sort of ready to
leave anyway, because I started to feel like, what's my purpose.
I'm sitting at this desk, I'm regurgitating articles that someone
else has written, trying to make it sound like I
(12:59):
wrote it. But I'm bored, and I don't really feel
like I'm doing anything with my life. But then in
my lunch break, someone would come up to me after
my little pilate session on the carpet floor and they
would say, hey, like I actually feel really good after
last week, and my aky shoulder feels a bit better,
or hey, my booty's popping, and I'd be like, damn girl,
it is you look amazing. Look at that waste. It
(13:21):
really excite me, and I realize that you can actually
make a difference in someone's life, particularly when you're helping
them even get body awareness or help ache some pains,
or yeah, look great in a pair of jeans who
doesn't want to feel good about themselves. So I started
to become quite addicted to that ability to just leave
people with a full cup, which is really the premise
(13:43):
of peaches. Now. Oh my gosh.
Speaker 3 (13:45):
The lesson I am taking right now is never miss
an opportunity to try something new. It's quite common to
have that feeling of losing your purpose a little bit
if circumstances change or you change as a person, to think,
I don't really know that this is the right place
for me.
Speaker 2 (14:00):
That's common.
Speaker 3 (14:01):
What's not common is then trying lots of different things
to work out, well, what's next. And I think we're
really scared of trying new things, and we're really scared
of trying them if we don't know if it's going.
Speaker 2 (14:11):
To be successful.
Speaker 3 (14:12):
But I love that you were like, this is just
something that I love because I'm interested in it, and
who knew.
Speaker 2 (14:16):
That where it was going to take it is for sure.
Speaker 3 (14:21):
But the other beautiful thing you said is that you
thought you were a particular kind of person and you
also thought that success looked a certain way. And that's
the other big thing that I'm taking away from you
now is that we silo ourselves and we silo opportunities
as thinking that's for me and that's not for me.
And what you have shown in this messy middle which
we're about to enter, is that anything can change at
(14:42):
any time, Like why isn't something for you?
Speaker 2 (14:44):
And that's the beauty of a pivot one hundred percent.
The only person standing in anyone's way is themselves.
Speaker 3 (14:57):
We've made it to the messy middle, which is the
point where you've just had your little inkling of Okay,
there's a big shift that I need to make. I'm
not getting what I need out of the old me,
and I'm seeing the light towards a new me. But
it's actually making that happen logistically. That is the big
barrier for a lot of people. So your contract ended,
(15:17):
you had a ten thousand dollars redundancy payment, and you
called this your big moment to really take a risk.
And that's messy, but you did it anyway. So how
did you go from teaching colleagues on the floor to
signing a lease?
Speaker 2 (15:30):
Well, I should also say that I held on to
that redundancy payment for a good year. Like I said,
I stayed on at MTV for a and I could
have pissed it away. I could have gone out and
had a good old time. Well, also, it was like
this little teeny tiny nest egg that, like, you know,
they don't come around that often, and I thought, I
really need to be careful with this money and just
use it on something important. And I did actually think
I might travel with it, because in the past I
(15:52):
had had a bit of a habit of like going
on a great trip overseas, maybe getting a credit card,
coming back, paint and off doing that again, which I
do think is advisable for someone in the early twenty
I do think you should see the world. Anyway, my
contract ended, I was living in Bondai with my then
boyfriend and our husband, and he was so supportive about
this part. Some of it he was a bit like, no,
I don't know, but at the time he said, baby,
(16:14):
if you want to explore teaching more, now is the time.
We don't have kids. Like we're living together. He had
a great job. I was teaching at a couple of
random little places, and I also started to take semi
privates in our little Bondai apartment. On our living room floor,
he used to have to shove the coffee table into
one corner of the room. Layout mats humble beginnings, so humble,
(16:36):
and I truly was so humbled by the fact that
I had friends of friends and people that I knew
coming in the cold, wet, dark Sydney winter at five
in the morning to come and work out with me
before going to work. And it was actually a really
sort of validating moment where I thought, well, they're coming
for a reason. They're actually coming because they're getting a
lot out of this. And it just started to snowball.
(16:58):
I just started to get more and more. I'd be
going to people's houses anyway, it's snowballed. And one day
I just said to christ you know what, I've got
all these clients here. I think I need a space.
And Cruise was a hold on a minute, what do
you mean you don't need a space? But of course
I'd already been looking around on commercial real estate and
I had found this teeny tiny, little old hairdresser around
(17:19):
the corner from our house on Ondai Road, and he
was in Melbourne for work and he said, for God's sake,
just don't sign any leases before i'm home. I did
sign a lisea. Of course he did. And I found
this tiny I mean it was we called it the
shoe box. Mum and Dad flew down from cans. They
helped me scrape the letters off the windows. You know,
I had a mate who was an electrician. He helped
me put some lights in. Everything we did by hand,
(17:43):
and you know, it was a pretty basic job. I
have my friend whose brother has a flooring company, and
so it was really cool, kind of like getting to
meet people who had all these amazing trades and giving
them the world's shittest job that most trades don't want
to take, but they did it because I was a friend.
And yeah, I opened to this tiny studio that could
have eight mats. It probably should have been six, but
(18:03):
we rammed them in and that's where Peaches was born.
Oh that is.
Speaker 3 (18:08):
Such an extraordinary beginning and such a valuable reminder that
if you can be fearless or feel the fear but
push through it to take risks and not worry that
they might fail.
Speaker 2 (18:19):
So often they don't fail.
Speaker 3 (18:22):
You're just scared. And I love that that hasn't been
something that got in your way, despite what a big
jump it was for you. But perhaps if it wasn't.
You know, ten thousand dollars is quite a shoestring budget
to start a business, and signing a lease is actually
a big deal.
Speaker 2 (18:36):
Oh my god, I was so nervous.
Speaker 3 (18:37):
Yeah, So even if you weren't scared, you had nerves.
And then with the sort of financial uncertainty, you had
left a really stable job and you obviously have gone
on to have kids. So that's a consideration when you
sort of move into this uncertainty of I'm gonna have
to make my own money now I might not get
Matt leave, as you said, overheads, and there's a whole
new mindset that you also have to upskill because you'd
(18:58):
never run a business before.
Speaker 2 (18:59):
So how did you deal with those nerves? It was
a drive. My biggest passion, my biggest goal ever for
me in life was to be a mummy, and oh
my god, of course. Yeah. And you know, I became
a dueler while I was becoming a party constructor as well.
So my passions very much lie with women and babies
and pregnancy and connection. And I think that you can
(19:19):
bundle all of that up into a really special package.
But because I knew that I really wanted to be
a mother, and I had seen how hard my mom
had worked, I knew that I wanted to build this
little studio to a point where I could just have
flexibility when I became a mum, and that was my driver.
I just thought, if I can just get this studio
to the point where I can start to hire people
(19:41):
and start to have days off, you know, maybe when
my turn comes to be a mum, I can have
this flexibility. Because it was really important to me even
back then. I look back and I think, my god,
I didn't know anything then. You know, I didn't, I
had no idea, but I still had the sense to
know that I wanted to maintain a career and that
side of myself when I became a mum, probably because
(20:04):
my own mother was such an inspiration to me. I
think not always, but maybe when children come from working mothers,
they want to model that themselves. Yeah.
Speaker 3 (20:14):
And then it's so beautiful that your husband came on board,
left his corporate job to manage the business's accounting and
strategy as a director. So you've been a dream team
since twenty eighteen.
Speaker 2 (20:23):
No one was more surprised than him and I that
that happened. What was the driver around that move? Well,
we also had another business partner very important that I mentioned,
Beck Chittiak. So Beck was one of my first clients.
She was my first instructor. Yes, I said to her
one day, you should be an instructor. You're so great.
So she got her certificate and then I hired her
(20:44):
like the next day because I was desperate because I
was teaching seven days a week in extreme amount of classes.
I used to average about thirty five classes a week WOA,
So I was desperate for some help. I was empty,
Like I would get to weekends and my husband would
want to go out and have fun, and I thought,
I literally cannot talk to another person. I need to
go home and be quiet, and everyone else would be
(21:04):
getting drunk on a Friday night and I'll be thinking, well,
I've got to get up and teach in the morning.
So I was I was running on empty anyway. Beck
Essentially she came on board with Peaches. She opened a
studio under the Peach's hat in Marubra, and that was
like our trialing licensees. I mean, certainly franchising was not
a concept back then. But we worked together very closely.
(21:25):
She had Marubra, I had Bondi, and then we started
to record online workouts together. Chris and I got married
in this time. Amongst all of this happening, and you'd
like to keep busy. We just you know, it's that time,
that time of life. Yeah. Anyway, we'd always dreamed of
going overseas for a long trip, and we went away
for about nine months, and wow, I stepped out of
(21:48):
the business and was able to work on it rather
than in it. And I went from being slammed doing
classes every day and then somehow managing social media website.
I built the website. I mean, you know, got it
was a terrible but I used to do all of
that myself to be now able to look at it
from a different perspective and try and grow it. And
Chris would often be looking over my shoulder because even
while we're on this trip, well, I couldn't do anything
(22:10):
other than just work on peaches. We were in the
most beautiful places, and every afternoon and back, I've got
to get to work. I've got to get to work.
And he'd sort of look over my shoulder and say, oh, like,
you know, that's actually not bad money coming in here,
or like you've actually got a decent amount of members.
And he became really involved in the journey and started
to kind of help out and do things, and we
(22:30):
made the decision while we were overseas that he didn't
really want to go back to corporate life. He didn't
want to go back to putting on a suit and
getting on the bus. So he came back and the
three of us decided that we would give this a
red hot go. We created a company. The three of
us owned it in equal shares. Chris and Beck put
in a little bit of money to kind of make
(22:51):
up for what I had built already, and off we went.
The three of us struggled.
Speaker 3 (22:56):
Together absolutely, And also I love that mentality. Do you
keep going back to of just give things a red
hot go? But it has obviously turned out so incredibly
for you from an outsider's perspective, And this is I
think a common obstacle for people who have a good
idea is when an industry looks quite saturated. And Pilartes
(23:16):
obviously wasn't new at the time that you opened. There
are a lot of studios and Bond eight of all places,
isn't a place where it wasn't accessible. What do you
think that you did really differently that differentiated you so strongly?
Speaker 2 (23:28):
Well interestingly enough, there wasn't a huge amount of Polarti
Studios and Bondi ten years ago. There was certainly a
few really fantastic ones, but everything that I came across
in the Polarates world or the fitness world was sterile
or intimidating. There wasn't much color, There wasn't much flair.
There definitely wasn't warmth. Yes, gym world, black white words
(23:51):
like performance. Everything was just very like. And then Pilarates,
I felt like I had to rock up and being
a crop top and do a headstand and take a photo.
And I, even as a Plate's instructor, was like, oh,
I feel really intimidated here. Interesting. So I just wanted
to create a warm space that pulled my creativity in
and was accessible and different and had color and had
(24:13):
a bit of kind of tongue in cheek vibe. So
you know, when I opened that first little studio, I
had my big peach on Bondai Road, and people used
to just walk in the people used to think it
was an art gallery because I had just these plain
white floors and this neon light in there, and people gone,
what is this, Oh it's Pilates. Oh cool. It was
so different from him. Now now the world of pilates
(24:33):
is like colorful, fun, inclusive, warm, body positive, all of
that stuff. But I'm telling you, back then in Bondai,
there was nothing like us. And I think that that
was a really pivotal part of our growth because it
felt like I was providing. I mean, and I heard
it time and time again from my clients. I can't
find this anywhere else. I feel like I've finally found somewhere,
(24:54):
or I feel good about myself and I feel safe
to move. And you know that tagline is so common now,
but back then, we were still heavy in the world
of diet culture and exercise was punishment, and you know,
girls of our generation still carry that with us. And
you know it can take a while to shake it
off a client when they walk in the door.
Speaker 3 (25:13):
It must be so unbelievably spine tingling to watch the impact.
Like you said, all you wanted to do was be
people to come to you and then leave with their
cut more full. But then to watch how you've been
able to do that for like thousands and thousands of people.
Speaker 2 (25:28):
I can't even imagine what that feeling must be like.
Speaker 3 (25:32):
You had also then developed I mean, you've got multiple
studios now, but had kind of moved into the online world.
You mentioned that you and Beck had been recording classes
quite early as well.
Speaker 2 (25:43):
Tell us about.
Speaker 3 (25:44):
Expanding out of the small studio space that you began
with to being able to access everyone wherever they are.
Speaker 2 (25:49):
That was a strike of luck, for sure. So we
had been in the online space for several years before
COVID happened, and Beck and I had just been spitballing
the idea of filming workouts because we had a lot
of friends and family, and particularly me having friends and
family interstate and overseas who really wanted to get peachy
and work out with us, but they weren't close to
(26:11):
a studio in Bonda or Marubra, even people living in
a different suburb in Sydney. So I said to Beck,
let's film some workouts. And growing up, I had loved
my mother's VHS workouts with Denise Austin. Yes, oh my gosh,
that's right.
Speaker 1 (26:31):
I wonder one workout right here.
Speaker 2 (26:34):
Turn off those.
Speaker 1 (26:35):
Phones, dad, don't go anywhere, but stick right with me
for half an hour to get shaped up the tona.
Speaker 2 (26:42):
Oh my god, I mean I did. And again I
would get up before school every morning and do this
same ad workout and I loved it and it never
bothered me that it was the same. In fact, I
loved the comfort of knowing it. So we started by
filming I think it was six or eight workouts and
that was all we did, and we put it out
there and people loved it. And we still have clients
(27:03):
and friends now they're like, I could recite that video verbatim,
and they were terrible, I have to tell you, shocking.
We hired a friend's yoga studio and she had all
this incredption, this view of Mariba Beach, but we had
to close the curtains because the light was so bad.
The lighting is absolutely shocking. There's all this backlight. We
screwed up constantly in the workouts. We say the wrong thing,
(27:24):
we do the wrong leg, and I said, let's not
edit it. Let's not edit it because it feels like
we're on the mat with them. Because I also hated
the way, you know, all those videos were like I'm
perfect and I'm not finding this heart, I'm not breaking
this sweat eight minute aurs.
Speaker 1 (27:37):
In our videos, we.
Speaker 2 (27:38):
Were like sweating, complaining on the floor, kind of just
getting through it with you, and people loved it. Because
it wasn't whanky and it was real and they didn't
mind that we screwed up. We also never thought that
many people would watch them. Then we did another round
of workouts and then COVID hit and thank god we
had this material. So we done. And we also started
(27:58):
selling a travel power because no one used to sell
equipment back then, so we had this idea of getting
at home Pilarates equipment. So I was suddenly sourcing the
Polarates equipment offshore and branding it with this shocking, you know,
slap on branding. But by the time we were in
the world of COVID, we had three studios bricks and
water businesses. Certainly that was our main source of income.
(28:20):
We had to close them and we got like a
couple of days notice we actually closed them before, you know,
we were told you had to, and back then, you know,
people forget that. When this first started happening, it was
really scary, particularly for business owners. I was like, hold on,
I'm paying rent. What the hell are we going to do?
Chris and I. We didn't have one of us making
(28:42):
money from some office job that they didn't suddenly have
to go into Like every dollar we earned we worked
so hard for and so our online program, like our
little packaged up VHS style workouts, sold like crazy. And
we also started to do live workouts because people wanted
to connection. So we ended up doing five sessions a day.
(29:03):
I mean, while we were working our arses off. But
you know what, I look back at that time so fondly.
I remember opening up my laptop and we would send
everyone a zoom link and I'd say, oh, hi, girl,
like how are you and people, you know, people were
struggling at that time, and we'd all work out together.
And I have to tell you that none of our
(29:23):
members canceled their membership. Oh my gosh, for that first lockdown,
no one, no one. Everyone continued to pay us weekly
and we were able to reopen our doors when the
lockdowns lifted, And it was honestly the most heartwarming time
of my life to receive emails from people being like, no,
(29:43):
don't cancel my membership. I want to support you. I
want you to be here when this ends.
Speaker 3 (29:47):
Oh that's beautiful. What an incredible affirmation of what you
had created. But also I feel like many many times
in business you'll face adversity. It's an absolute emotional rollercoaster,
and COVID was of course one of them. But you've
also faced rejections in your time, So you mentioned that
back at this time that was your third studio, but
the third one you tried to open. I'd read that
(30:07):
you were rejected from this.
Speaker 2 (30:09):
You're talking about Bondi.
Speaker 3 (30:10):
Yes, lots of times people had said no to you,
and you just pushed on. Tell us about what you
do in the face of being told no.
Speaker 2 (30:18):
Well, you just keep keeping on, really, and you just
keep working. And you know, Bondai is really our flagship, right,
Like that's where the brand started. And I never felt
that the studio reflected what I wanted it to do. Yeah.
So there was this amazing old cafe in Bondai that
over the years has like changed hands. It used to
be this incredible shoe shop slash cafe, and then it
(30:38):
was a cafe for many years, but they never really
put much effort into the fit out, but the space
itself was really cool. It came up for lease and
we were in a position where we were ready to
take on a big, proper Bondi roade lease and you know,
we put so much work into the application and it
was just a flat out right. I thought for sure
we were going to get it, because I'm always an optimist. Anyway,
we were flat out rejected. The line that they gave
(31:01):
us was we just need a business that is COVID proof,
and I thought, bloody hell, we're still open. But sure.
You know, everyone was very cagey about what they said
yes to because after COVID people were very risk averse. Anyway,
took that site and they went boss, I know, and
before it was even advertised, Chris sawed all over the
(31:22):
news and he opened his emails and he emailed that
agent and that landlord and said, we are still here.
We now have five studios. We've been on Bonde Road
for six years and we got the site. Oh my god,
wait that's the one you're in now. Yeah, a lot
of work. I've got to tell you to get that
space ready. The floors were falling in. It was like
grubby as it was disgusting. Doing fit oubts is hard work.
Speaker 3 (31:45):
Babe, catching up everyone listening to today and your life. Now,
you have made it through the messy middle and refused
to take no for an answer in many situations. The
business is turning ten, which is a huge achievement.
Speaker 2 (32:06):
In itself.
Speaker 3 (32:07):
You're in the dream space on BONDEI Road. Ten studios,
four million dollars in annual revenue, and an app used
in fifty four countries. When you look at this empire,
what do you think is the biggest difference between the
reality of running it now and what the dream was
when you first opened the little shoebox studio.
Speaker 2 (32:29):
It's really interesting because someone asked me that the other day,
and I've had a real evolution in my own vision
for what I'm trying to achieve. And at the start,
I just wanted to make people feel good, and I
wanted a job that fulfilled me. And then the mission was,
I really want to be a mummy. I really want
to be able to have the best of both worlds,
(32:51):
you know. And now I was a working mom. I
like called Jesus, but I really wanted to maintain a
side of myself and not lose myself in motherhood. I
wanted to build my business to point that I could,
you know, have flexibility. Then it became this great mission
of we have this community, we have this family, We
really want to make people feel fun awesome, which is
an internal tagline MPFFA stuff no matter what our touch
(33:14):
point is? Is it our Instagram? Is it our app?
Is it when you walk into the studio and someone
looks you in the eye and gives you a hug?
Whatever we do, do you mpffa. I've got a whole
staff training book designed around touch points on how we
can connect with people and break through the noise of
other studios. That was our driver for probably the last
four or five years. There has been a lot of
(33:34):
growth in the last few years where we've become a
legitimate franchise where we're growing incredibly slowly with great intention
to not move too fast and only work with the
right people. But it has really shifted for me because
now I see that we're able to improve the lives
of other women who own a business. I'm empowering other
(33:57):
women to do what I wanted to do for myself,
you know, like most of our franchise owners are young
mothers themselves, and now, amazingly, I can't believe this, a
few of the husbands are actually looking to cut back
their work to just work on their features studios. So
we just opened a newcastle maybe six months ago and
the owner, Ellie, sent me a voice note after she'd
(34:20):
had a whip with my husband because I wasn't on
the whip, and she said, taurs like, I actually just
want to say this to you too, maybe cry. She
was just like, I actually can't tell you the difference
starting this business has made to my life, she said,
woman to woman, mother to mother. Having come from having
no income to unpaid maternity leaves so much uncertainty in
(34:41):
my life. She said. The money keeps coming in and
every week I don't understand what is happening or why.
And the people that I'm meeting and the community that
I'm building, she said, it blows my mind and I
actually can't believe that it's real. And she said, I
just want to thank you because you've actually changed our lives.
Oh my go. And it was so wonderful to me
(35:03):
to hear it because that is really what we want
to do. And also like it's funny. You know, as
time goes on, you'll know this from having a business yourself,
Like people don't often tell you you you're doing a
good job, Like it's my job to look after all
of our stuff and our franchisees and cheer them on
and be their hype girl. And you work really, really,
really harder for people. And I'm such a people pleaseer,
(35:23):
so it was so nice to be like, oh, like
she sees what we do and what we're trying to do,
and that really for me, is it like if I
can have another mum who's on that same path as me, go,
I can't believe that I'm able to build this business
and support my family. It's pretty special. Oh my god,
And it doesn't make any sense to me. Like I
(35:44):
look back and I think, what the hell.
Speaker 3 (35:46):
Oh, I've got goosebumps to think that if you hadn't
just randomly gone, I'm going to do my polities qualification, Like,
I'm just going to do that. If you hadn't done that,
not only would your life have not benefited so greatly
from the p that you made, but other people's like
blows my mind and blows.
Speaker 2 (36:03):
But like I said, it's everyone's choice to come in
and work hard, and owning a business, as you know,
is not for the fate of heart. And when you start,
you work your ass off. And so yeah, I mean,
they chose that path for themselves, and they work very
hard to get their business to where they need it
to be. That's the thing about a franchise. It's their
business where they're to support and hold their hand and
(36:24):
be a big family and all take care of the
branding and your website presence and all of that. But
the end of the day, I'm not there at six
am in Newcastle. Hell no, I am not.
Speaker 3 (36:33):
Well. It's also incredible that you mentioned before that things
have evolved internally as well. So you've had this big pivot,
created this incredible business. But then even in your own
way of measuring how great it is or the impact
that you can make for other women who are mums
because it's now mother to mother, I have also felt
like motherhood has been a mini pivot in the way
(36:54):
I defined my life, in the way I value my time.
But I think there's this assumption that motherhood is going
to make you less present, or more distracted, or less
good at what you do, whereas I feel like for you,
this mini pivot of motherhood being added to the aspect
of your business has made you better.
Speaker 2 (37:11):
It makes every woman better. Oh my god, and I
have so much to say to you, right tell me
this sal Entering the world of brotherhood is like plugging
into another portal? Is it not entire world? Shatters and
you come out a different person with the day you
give birth. Our hiring strategy sometimes, or particularly franchise e strategy,
is like, is that woman a mother, Well, she's got
some fucking grit. She's seen a hard day today already,
(37:34):
she has work ethic, she knows how to keep calm
under pressure, she has the ability to work hard. I
mean really, you know, we often say, oh, she's a mum,
she's got grit, let's go.
Speaker 3 (37:45):
Oh, she's invincible multitasking, time management, emotional regulation, nurturing, empathetic,
all the things.
Speaker 2 (37:53):
And the ability to get things done in such small
time that my approach to work has changed so much,
Like I have to limit my self so greatly. So
I would say to any woman out there, don't think
that you're going to become less. You become so creative.
You also have this incredible ability to connect with not
just other mothers, but other parents. My level of empathy
(38:16):
for other parents when I meet them is like, I
know how hard it can be sometimes. I mean last night,
last night, I've been so excited to come into mammy.
I'm such a mummy fangirl, and I was like, I'm
going to get a good night's sleep, and of course
the dog had diarrhea. My son woke up he'd wet
through every layer of his pajamas, his sleepsuit, his cot sheet,
(38:37):
the mattress protector, the pillowcase. I was lying on the
floor at two am, holding his hand, praying that he
would go back to sleep, thinking.
Speaker 3 (38:44):
Why is it always this night and you've got something
big the next time?
Speaker 1 (38:48):
Always?
Speaker 2 (38:49):
But you do wake up, and you do rally, and
it actually uncovers the most hardened, resilient person and inside
of yourself, like really, running a business is a piece
of pits compared to that, let's.
Speaker 3 (39:05):
Be honest, one hundred percent, and then adding a whole
other layer to working motherhood. When you run a business
with your husband, I think what's wonderful is that it
means you bring so many differing strengths together and that
every win you work hard for is a shared win.
But it's also very difficult building business and a family.
And do you have any advice for anyone else who
(39:26):
works with their partner.
Speaker 2 (39:27):
It's a question. I get a lot. People are always like,
I can't believe you work with your husband. I would
never want to do that. We've always naturally spent a
lot of time together. He legitimately is my best friend.
I don't want to sound like an asshole, but we
love it and it is easy because we work so
well together. Don't get me wrong, we work hard. There
are problems constantly in the family or in the business
(39:48):
that are hard day to day, but doing it with
him isn't hard. We have each other's back. You know,
you wake up in the morning and you've had a
tough night. You know, Chris and I will tag team
and off from the get go. First of all, like
parenthood for us is fifty to fifty. Don't get me wrong.
I always wanted to be a mum, and I'm a
wonderful mother. I know that in myself, in my ability
(40:09):
to connect and play with them. But I am not
a martyr and I never ever signed up for doing
it by myself, and we knew that going into it.
So for me, I can give my all to the
business and my all to motherhood because I have the
best wingman ever in my husband. And it is so
cool on a Friday to like open a beautiful bottle
(40:30):
of wine and think, my God, like, what happened this week?
Let's talk about it? We can share in the winds
and also he actually gets it, like whereas before when
we would talk about work, you know, you kind of
might tell each other's snippets, but you don't really care
and you don't really know. Yeah, and have a frame
of reference. And it's so important to be able to
like understand that you can have hard conversations and it
(40:53):
doesn't mean that you don't love each other or fancy
the pants off each other. But it's also very like,
don't you reckon that, like when you're work here in
work mode, and then you can just flick compartmentalize.
Speaker 3 (41:03):
Yeah, And I think that's a coping strategy and a
great tip for anyone listening. You do have to be
able to switch it off so that you can have
date night and not be talking about like the bass
or your problem loss or whatever. But you have now
for this incredible journey also been recognized as one of
New South Wales's Top Young Entrepreneurs. For anyone listening right
now who also has a dream their own version of
(41:24):
Peaches or a similar pivot, do you have any other
great advice in the growth journey or the pivot journey
that you would pass on?
Speaker 2 (41:33):
Yeah, I would say that, particularly when it comes to growth.
Just remember that, like, it's all in who you work
with and who you work with, particularly in small business,
you're getting into bed with and they will become your family.
And you should be very very careful about who you
let into the fold. And that is our whole strategy.
Now we do say no a lot. We could have
(41:54):
a lot more studios, We could have studios overseas now,
but there's no way that we want to real the
culture that we have built. We are so proud of
our culture. We really look after each other, We look
after our staff. I also want to look after my
marriage and my ability to be a good mum. I
don't want to grow so fast that I hate my
husband or that I don't have time with my kids.
(42:15):
I also want to make sure that we withhold the
integrity of the brand and why Peaches started. And also
like I don't really care how much money we make.
I never have, Like I'm not attached. Chris had to
be remember these numbers when we go in just in
case all these questions. I'm not drawn to that. Yeah,
don't get me wrong. Sure would I like to make
a bit more money and go overseas business class. Absolutely,
(42:35):
of course I would do. I hope we achieve that, yes,
but it doesn't need to be tomorrow. My most important
job is at home. Next to that, it's my most
important job is to look after our other franchisees. And
you should be very careful about who you hire or
who you let open an extension of your business. Take
it slow, learn from your mistakes. We've made many, and
(42:57):
also just know that, like you can chalk things up
to experience and you're not going to be perfect. Like
we've never franchised before. We didn't know what we were doing,
and that's okay, Like you're allowed to learn on the job.
But yeah, more is not more always, you know, you
need to think about the bigger picture, Like you need
to think about if I've got another person who I
add to a in WhatsApp chat, do I have to
(43:18):
reply to is it worth it? You know, if that
sustainable or do I you know, like, am I still
going to be able to go and pick my kids
up when I want to pick them up? Like, yeah,
that's imperative to me. And no amount of money in
the world will ever be worth peace at home.
Speaker 3 (43:34):
Oh you know that sentiment so much because I think
that gets so obscured in the struggle for success that
we all have.
Speaker 2 (43:43):
But it goes by so fast, like having children is
like holding sand in your hand. They just they grow
so quickly, and it's like it's like I'm grieving. I
feel as though I am grieving and I'm in it,
and I already miss them right now. I miss my
daughter as a year old and my son is a
two year old, because I know I'm going to blink
and she'll be five and he'll be three. And it
(44:04):
is this thing that all mothers can relate to of
you know, am I doing enough? Every time I'm at work?
Do I feel guilty that I'm not with my kids. Yes,
when I'm with my kids, so I feel guilty that
I'm not helping out someone at work? Yes? Do I
have to feel like I'm constantly writing in the group
chat like sorry, we've got gastro again for the fifth
time this year, or you know, I've got to keep
(44:25):
the kids home from daycare today. I can't be in
that meeting or I'll be slow to respond. It's hard,
it's a juggle, but that's the beauty of working with
other months. They get it, they get it.
Speaker 3 (44:35):
So what are the next steps? Do you have any
further expansion in mind?
Speaker 2 (44:40):
Looking at what's next for us, Well, we're opening Roseberry
next year, so we've got a lease there which is
really exciting. We're looking for other sites within the East.
We are looking for more sites in Victoria. Our main
strategy is to really nail Sydney's slash Australia well where
we are already open. We've just signed a lease for
a warehouse Byron, which is really exciting. We can finally
(45:02):
get all of our stock out of our garages. So
Laura up and Barron, who we go in with, she
recently took all of our sock from our literal office
and garage. We film a lot for our app up there,
so we've got more space to do more cool things.
We're desperate for more sites in the East of Sydney.
I think we just really want to make sure we
do the East Coast of Australia. Well, potentially look it overseas,
(45:26):
but again I don't even know if I want that
much more unless it's with the right people. We just
want to be really careful and we just want to
continue like really like loving what we do, you know,
you don't want to commit to so much that it
becomes work.
Speaker 3 (45:41):
Yeah, and I think we do lose sight of that
if you're not enjoying any.
Speaker 2 (45:45):
Part of it.
Speaker 3 (45:46):
Really, success doesn't mean anything unless there's some fulfillment and
enjoyment along the way. And you seem to have such
a good head on your shoulders around that, alongside obviously
excellent business acumen, being able to grow peaches to what
it is become so huge.
Speaker 2 (46:01):
Congratulations, Thank you. It's a true honor to have sat
here today. And it's funny, I said to my ex
business partner, who I still work with very closely, Beck,
because there has been a lot of full circle moments
in the past few weeks, pictures it's turned ten, I
got that great shout out about the entrepreneurs' there's just
been a lot of wins. And Beck said to me,
(46:22):
how did it feel? You know? There was an article
on the paper and I was like, oh, you know,
like it's funny how a lot of that stuff is
kind of just fluff. Yeah, and it was really cool
to see, but it didn't you know, like I was
way more excited about going and picking the kids up
from daycare, you know, and like I feel successful, not
because I had an article written about me, but because
I can go to daycare and take my time meandering around.
(46:43):
I'll say goodbye fifty times. I love chatting to the educators,
and I can even know that like I've got no
one there, kind of checking the time when I arrive
at work like that, to me is what I've worked
so hard for, and I really make sure I enjoy
it and note to the privilege. Know that a lot
of those mums they have to rush to check in
somewhere else for work. So I think I've got this privilege. Yes,
(47:04):
I worked my ass off for it. Thursdays, I used
to teach ten classes six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven, twelve.
Then I'd come back for four five six, like I
was Jesus broken, And then I would duel it for
someone on the weekend. You know, of course you would.
But I did work hard for it. But it doesn't
mean that it's not a privilege. And so I really
make sure that I take a moment and think this
(47:26):
is what it was for, Like look at the face
of your daughter, look at the face of your son.
Don't rush them out the door. We're so slow in
the morning because I really really don't want to start
our days like that, And that is the biggest privilege
of them all to be able to make eggs and
soldiers and their kids and their Jimmy jams. I know
it sounds lame, but like at all, that's what it's
(47:46):
all about. For me, I feel so lucky, and you know,
for every person who has come and been a part
of the journey and facilitated this growth, Like, I don't
think there's much more worthy than like being able to
be the mom that you want to be, at least
for me. Oh no, one hundred percent.
Speaker 3 (48:04):
I think of all the incredible pearls of wisdom for
life decisions and business growth and multitasking and time management
that you've shared.
Speaker 2 (48:12):
There's been so many pearls.
Speaker 3 (48:13):
But that is the perfect way to finish, because that
is the thing we all struggle with the most. I
think it's slowing down for the things that really matter.
Around all the pivots that we're making, and around all
the work and things that you're doing, is the moments
with the people you love. That's what matters the most.
And what a beautiful reminder to finish on.
Speaker 2 (48:33):
Thank you so much, Thank you, Thank you so much
for having me.
Speaker 1 (48:39):
That's all for this week's Pivot Club. If you want
to keep up with our weekly pivots, please hit that
follow button on your podcast app of choice. And if
you know someone who has just faced a redundancy or
is thinking of turning their side hustle into their main hustle,
send this episode their way. Pivot Club is produced by
Sally Best, with audio production by Tom Lyon. Our executive
producer is Courtney Ammenhauser. Thank you so much for listening,
(49:02):
and I'll catch you next time.
What happens when the dream job you hustled so hard
to get suddenly disappears. You're trapped in the story of
who you think you should be. You've convinced yourself that
you only fit into one box, the creative, the corporate climber,
the artist. But when life tears up the script, that
loss of identity can feel paralyzing. Suddenly you aren't just
(00:25):
losing a job, You're losing the only version of yourself
that you've ever known. But what if that ending is
actually the best thing that ever happened to you? What
if the thing you're doing as a side hobby is
actually an empire waiting to be built. Welcome to Pivot Club.
I'm your host, Sarah Davidson, and I know firsthand how
scary it is to let go of the title you
(00:46):
thought you wanted. My own journey took me from the
prestige of m and a Law to the unpredictable world
of entrepreneurship with matcha Maiden. This is the show where
we unpack the professional plot twists and the pivotal moments
that rewrite our scripts. We dig into the fear of
letting go, the thrill of starting over, and the moment
you realize that your Plan B was actually your Plan
(01:07):
A all along. Today we are talking to a powerhouse
entrepreneur who turned a devastating redundancy into a global movement
all by deciding to give a new passion a red
hot go. That person is Tory Clapham, the founder of
boutique fitness brand Peaches Pilates. Today, Tory overseas an empire
with ten studios and app used in fifty four countries
(01:30):
and over four million dollars in annual revenue, but her
path to get there was anything but a straight line.
In her past life, Tory was a performing arts student.
Speaker 2 (01:38):
She moved from.
Speaker 1 (01:39):
Far North Queensland to New York City at nineteen to
attend film school, and later returned to Australia to study
at NIDA before landing a coveted creative role at MTV.
But when Tory was made redundant, she was left with
a ten thousand dollars redundancy check and a major life decision.
Looking back at the POLARATEI session, she had been running
for colleagues on the office floor during lunch breaks. She
(02:01):
realized her hobby was actually her calling. She took her
redundancy check alongside some money she'd saved for travel, and
signed a lease on a tiny shoebox studio space in Bondai.
In this empowering conversation, we cover the grit of doi renovations,
the risk of her husband quitting his corporate job to
join the team, and how their low fi workout videos
(02:22):
accidentally prepared them for a global pandemic. We also dig
into the mini pivot of motherhood and how to build
a business that serves your life rather than the other
way around. Get ready to learn why your biggest setbacks
are often the things that propel you the most.
Speaker 2 (02:36):
Tory, Welcome to Pivot Club. Thank you so much. I'm
so excited to be here. Oh, I'm so excited to
have you.
Speaker 3 (02:43):
Before we move to the many pivots that you've made,
we always start with your past life to explain the
landscape and the context and what your life looked like
sort of at the beginning. And in your case, I've
been a very long term follower, first time caller and
would never have guessed that your first background was film
(03:03):
school and performing arts. So take us back to finishing
school and choosing performing arts.
Speaker 2 (03:09):
Well, I grew up in far north Queensland, in kens
So first of all, when I finished school, it was like,
if you want to go to UNI, you actually leave.
And very much the norm up in Queensland, particularly the
further north you go, is that when you finish school
you usually do move out of home to go to UNI.
It's not like the biggest cities down here. I moved
(03:30):
to Brisbane, which was very much what everyone was doing,
and I started a Bachelor of Arts at UQ with
a bit of writing in journalism and drama. But went
through a break up with my high school boyfriend. Oh
felt like.
Speaker 1 (03:44):
A divorce, the drama of it all.
Speaker 2 (03:48):
And truly felt like, actually, really do I need to
leave this city to kind of get over this boy
who I was so in love with. Anyway, I was
applying for a film school in New York, which just
you know, ridiculous. I was eighteen years old. I never
for a minute thought that I would get accepted. Kind
of slowly went through the process and one day I
(04:09):
got an email, And if I'm really honest, I actually
got the email when I was really hungover. I'd been
out the night before and I think I'd seen my
ex like kiss another girl and I've been up all
night crying, and I got this email saying congratulations, you've
been accepted, and I called my mum and she said,
I guess you've got to go then. And I moved
to New York City when I was nineteen. I'd look
(04:30):
back now and I think that was ballsy. I just
didn't even think about it.
Speaker 3 (04:34):
And it's ballsy for someone even in Melbourne or Sydney.
But a far North Queenslander who's moved to the Big
Smoke was Brisbane.
Speaker 2 (04:40):
Yeah, Brisbane. Then go straight to.
Speaker 3 (04:42):
New York at such a young age is gigantic. But
what drove even the search for applying to New York.
Speaker 2 (04:52):
I think I wanted to explore film more because I'd
done a lot of theater and stage stuff growing up,
and I just I wanted to try the modality. And honestly,
I can't tell you. It was back on one of
most old mac laptops, googling you know, film schools and
Nider and all of that stuff, and it was just
(05:13):
one of those things that happened. And I look back
now and the way that it has shaped my life
is so massive, and I think, imagine if I never
moved to New York. Imagine if I didn't go to
film school, you know, would I have then come back
and moved to Sydney and gone to nider I don't know.
Speaker 3 (05:28):
And it sounds like it wasn't even a big decision
at the time. It was just kind of like, well,
I'll apply and with no expectation, and.
Speaker 2 (05:33):
If you have the opportunity to go, you go. Yeah,
of course.
Speaker 3 (05:38):
And so a lot of people do make that big
move to, you know, a city as exciting environrant as
New York and then don't come back. What did you
find over there? And then what led you back home?
Speaker 2 (05:50):
Oh my god? It was like a lot of fun,
a lot of honing my craft. Definitely like a sexual revolution.
I had some great lovers over there. I had a
lot of fun, Like I did party cagery hard, which
is what kids these days don't do. But I feel
like I've really given everything a good red hot gohot.
(06:11):
So now I'm so happy in my humble motherhood life.
But I found all these creatives. I made an incredible
group of friends who were from all over the world
who would all come to this melting pot to home
their craft as well. Most of my friends are actually filmmakers, producers,
stuff like that, so they would kind of cast me
in their little films and it was just the most
(06:32):
incredible time of my life. And then when I finished
my course, I moved back home to Australia and I
was very much of the opinion that I didn't really
want to go back to Queensland. I wanted to choose
a larger city. Ended up choosing Sydney, I think because
of the natural beauty of the city, and I'm very
much I love the beach and I love warmer weather.
(06:53):
But also I did get into a course at Nider,
so that kind of drove the move.
Speaker 3 (06:58):
And given that in these sort of arts and entertainment industry,
the US is really where most people are aiming to
end up. What was the thought process of moving home
or had you always planned to come back.
Speaker 2 (07:10):
I was just ready to move home. I was ready.
I was still very young, and I really didn't realize
how much I would miss natural beauty and fresh air
as much as I love the craziness of the city.
I mean, I was living in the Lower east Side,
I was in a grange and I loved it, but
I was ready for a beach. I was ready to
(07:31):
just get in the water and see a tree that
wasn't in the beautiful Central Park.
Speaker 3 (07:37):
So then you went to Nida, which is extremely prestigious
and such an amazing starting point for many different careers.
And this paints a picture of someone who was so
deeply driven by creative artistic pursuits. What was your dream
at that point, Like, was it to be an actress?
Speaker 2 (07:56):
Definitely? I loved creating. I wanted to act. I wanted
to perform. I wasn't a short course night, I wasn't
in the full long form course, but even getting accepted
into that was just like such a huge moment for me.
And to support myself living in Sydney, I got a
job at a little wine bar, which is actually how
I met my husband. But that was definitely what I
(08:19):
wanted to do. But while I was working at the
wine bar, I also discovered an absolute love for the
world of hospitality. It is such a vibrant world. The
way that you connect with the people who you work
with is only people who've worked in hospital will understand.
You become like family. It's fun, it's fast paced. You
learn so much about people and reading a room and
(08:41):
connecting with people and understanding what people want without them
having to speak. I loved it. I worked with some
incredible young men who had started a bar, and luckily
they saw that I was a hard worker and really interested,
and they ended up giving me a managerial position and
they let me look after the music for the bar.
Oh no, So then I hired my husband's little cover
(09:02):
band one weekend to come in, which is how that
all kicked off. And now you have two children, and
now we have two babies.
Speaker 3 (09:09):
Oh my gosh, that is nuts. In some cases, excellent
talent is spotted out in the wilderness and given opportunities.
Speaker 2 (09:16):
Well. Funnily enough, one of the boys from the band
was working at MTV, and I had left Small Bar
after a good few years of a wonderful time there.
The reason that I wanted to leave Small Bar was
because I was starting to get a little bit fatigued
of working nights, really long shifts, also working when my
friends are out socializing, and I was desperate for a job,
(09:37):
like desperate. And my mate was telling me that there
was a job opportunity at MTV, and I thought to myself,
if there's a job in the world that I could
want more than this job. Someone better tell me because
I need and I needed that job like I really
needed that job. I had rent to pay and I'll
never forget when I got it because I was so
(09:57):
lucky and I really didn't have much experience. I managed
to talk my way into the world. I don't really
know how, but once I was there, I loved it.
I got a job in the creative department as the
creative coordinator. I mean, I had had quite a lot
of experience on set, but not on the other side.
And it was so cool to kind of get an
experience of instead of being the talent, organizing shoots and
(10:18):
helping cast and working with producers and dops. And it
was a blast. I couldn't have loved it more. The
Creative Department interview was so cool. I made so many
great friends. But then they made the entire creative department redundant.
Speaker 3 (10:33):
So you had a redundancy from the dream job that
was in the industry, that was lined up for everything
that you thought you wanted.
Speaker 2 (10:40):
What did you do?
Speaker 4 (10:40):
Then?
Speaker 2 (10:41):
I have to tell you, I was so devastated. I
was so shook. But whilst I was there, I got
my polity certificate, which was just a cute little hobby
thing that I thought I should do. I'll tell you
why I did it. I did it because my mum
did it. I grew up to pilarates with my mum.
It was my favorite form of movement. It was our
(11:03):
special thing to do together on a Saturday. And it
was a form of movement that had always resonated with
me and gave me the results that made me feel
good about myself. While I was at MTV, I was
going to this like cult gym around the corner from
the office, because that's whatever and in the office did,
and you went in, and I would go to these
pump classes and you would get there and there would
be nothing like it laid out for you. It was
incredibly stressful.
Speaker 4 (11:23):
The whole thing was very aggressive cortisol through the If
you go from sitting at a desk to running around
the corner to a gym, to smashing your body to
being back at your desk before you could blink, and naturally,
I injured myself and.
Speaker 2 (11:37):
I went back to polarates after a long time at
physio to heal this bulging L four L five disc
that I had, and I couldn't believe it was like
I drank the kool aid, Babe, I got to tell
you all my eggs and pains went away. My body
just kind of lengthened and leaned out, and I thought,
why the hell did I stop moving like this? And
(11:59):
I just became came totally obsessed with Pilarate's instructors. I
would go to classes and think, well, what's she up
to now? Where she got what's what's someone for the
rest of her day? And I had put myself in
this box where I thought, no, no, I'm really someone
who should work in an office and I should kind
of climb in this world and being an instructive I
don't really see that as being something big enough for
what I want out of my life. Yes, And then
(12:21):
Mum got her certificate up in Cans and I thought,
bloody hell, I'll just do it because I want to
learn more about the skeletal system and the muscular system.
And I just enjoyed it as a hobby. And I
taught in the office. In the lunch break, I'd send
out an email and say if anyone wants to join me,
and we'd lie on the carpet and this is blood. Yeah.
Speaker 3 (12:38):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (12:39):
They were my first clients, and they were the ones
who started calling me peaches. The dots are connecting angle anyway,
Then my contract did end at MTV and I wasn't
offered another one, and I was sort of ready to
leave anyway, because I started to feel like, what's my purpose.
I'm sitting at this desk, I'm regurgitating articles that someone
else has written, trying to make it sound like I
(12:59):
wrote it. But I'm bored, and I don't really feel
like I'm doing anything with my life. But then in
my lunch break, someone would come up to me after
my little pilate session on the carpet floor and they
would say, hey, like I actually feel really good after
last week, and my aky shoulder feels a bit better,
or hey, my booty's popping, and I'd be like, damn girl,
it is you look amazing. Look at that waste. It
(13:21):
really excite me, and I realize that you can actually
make a difference in someone's life, particularly when you're helping
them even get body awareness or help ache some pains,
or yeah, look great in a pair of jeans who
doesn't want to feel good about themselves. So I started
to become quite addicted to that ability to just leave
people with a full cup, which is really the premise
(13:43):
of peaches. Now. Oh my gosh.
Speaker 3 (13:45):
The lesson I am taking right now is never miss
an opportunity to try something new. It's quite common to
have that feeling of losing your purpose a little bit
if circumstances change or you change as a person, to think,
I don't really know that this is the right place
for me.
Speaker 2 (14:00):
That's common.
Speaker 3 (14:01):
What's not common is then trying lots of different things
to work out, well, what's next. And I think we're
really scared of trying new things, and we're really scared
of trying them if we don't know if it's going.
Speaker 2 (14:11):
To be successful.
Speaker 3 (14:12):
But I love that you were like, this is just
something that I love because I'm interested in it, and
who knew.
Speaker 2 (14:16):
That where it was going to take it is for sure.
Speaker 3 (14:21):
But the other beautiful thing you said is that you
thought you were a particular kind of person and you
also thought that success looked a certain way. And that's
the other big thing that I'm taking away from you
now is that we silo ourselves and we silo opportunities
as thinking that's for me and that's not for me.
And what you have shown in this messy middle which
we're about to enter, is that anything can change at
(14:42):
any time, Like why isn't something for you?
Speaker 2 (14:44):
And that's the beauty of a pivot one hundred percent.
The only person standing in anyone's way is themselves.
Speaker 3 (14:57):
We've made it to the messy middle, which is the
point where you've just had your little inkling of Okay,
there's a big shift that I need to make. I'm
not getting what I need out of the old me,
and I'm seeing the light towards a new me. But
it's actually making that happen logistically. That is the big
barrier for a lot of people. So your contract ended,
(15:17):
you had a ten thousand dollars redundancy payment, and you
called this your big moment to really take a risk.
And that's messy, but you did it anyway. So how
did you go from teaching colleagues on the floor to
signing a lease?
Speaker 2 (15:30):
Well, I should also say that I held on to
that redundancy payment for a good year. Like I said,
I stayed on at MTV for a and I could
have pissed it away. I could have gone out and
had a good old time. Well, also, it was like
this little teeny tiny nest egg that, like, you know,
they don't come around that often, and I thought, I
really need to be careful with this money and just
use it on something important. And I did actually think
I might travel with it, because in the past I
(15:52):
had had a bit of a habit of like going
on a great trip overseas, maybe getting a credit card,
coming back, paint and off doing that again, which I
do think is advisable for someone in the early twenty
I do think you should see the world. Anyway, my
contract ended, I was living in Bondai with my then
boyfriend and our husband, and he was so supportive about
this part. Some of it he was a bit like, no,
I don't know, but at the time he said, baby,
(16:14):
if you want to explore teaching more, now is the time.
We don't have kids. Like we're living together. He had
a great job. I was teaching at a couple of
random little places, and I also started to take semi
privates in our little Bondai apartment. On our living room floor,
he used to have to shove the coffee table into
one corner of the room. Layout mats humble beginnings, so humble,
(16:36):
and I truly was so humbled by the fact that
I had friends of friends and people that I knew
coming in the cold, wet, dark Sydney winter at five
in the morning to come and work out with me
before going to work. And it was actually a really
sort of validating moment where I thought, well, they're coming
for a reason. They're actually coming because they're getting a
lot out of this. And it just started to snowball.
(16:58):
I just started to get more and more. I'd be
going to people's houses anyway, it's snowballed. And one day
I just said to christ you know what, I've got
all these clients here. I think I need a space.
And Cruise was a hold on a minute, what do
you mean you don't need a space? But of course
I'd already been looking around on commercial real estate and
I had found this teeny tiny, little old hairdresser around
(17:19):
the corner from our house on Ondai Road, and he
was in Melbourne for work and he said, for God's sake,
just don't sign any leases before i'm home. I did
sign a lisea. Of course he did. And I found
this tiny I mean it was we called it the
shoe box. Mum and Dad flew down from cans. They
helped me scrape the letters off the windows. You know,
I had a mate who was an electrician. He helped
me put some lights in. Everything we did by hand,
(17:43):
and you know, it was a pretty basic job. I
have my friend whose brother has a flooring company, and
so it was really cool, kind of like getting to
meet people who had all these amazing trades and giving
them the world's shittest job that most trades don't want
to take, but they did it because I was a friend.
And yeah, I opened to this tiny studio that could
have eight mats. It probably should have been six, but
(18:03):
we rammed them in and that's where Peaches was born.
Oh that is.
Speaker 3 (18:08):
Such an extraordinary beginning and such a valuable reminder that
if you can be fearless or feel the fear but
push through it to take risks and not worry that
they might fail.
Speaker 2 (18:19):
So often they don't fail.
Speaker 3 (18:22):
You're just scared. And I love that that hasn't been
something that got in your way, despite what a big
jump it was for you. But perhaps if it wasn't.
You know, ten thousand dollars is quite a shoestring budget
to start a business, and signing a lease is actually
a big deal.
Speaker 2 (18:36):
Oh my god, I was so nervous.
Speaker 3 (18:37):
Yeah, So even if you weren't scared, you had nerves.
And then with the sort of financial uncertainty, you had
left a really stable job and you obviously have gone
on to have kids. So that's a consideration when you
sort of move into this uncertainty of I'm gonna have
to make my own money now I might not get
Matt leave, as you said, overheads, and there's a whole
new mindset that you also have to upskill because you'd
(18:58):
never run a business before.
Speaker 2 (18:59):
So how did you deal with those nerves? It was
a drive. My biggest passion, my biggest goal ever for
me in life was to be a mummy, and oh
my god, of course. Yeah. And you know, I became
a dueler while I was becoming a party constructor as well.
So my passions very much lie with women and babies
and pregnancy and connection. And I think that you can
(19:19):
bundle all of that up into a really special package.
But because I knew that I really wanted to be
a mother, and I had seen how hard my mom
had worked, I knew that I wanted to build this
little studio to a point where I could just have
flexibility when I became a mum, and that was my driver.
I just thought, if I can just get this studio
to the point where I can start to hire people
(19:41):
and start to have days off, you know, maybe when
my turn comes to be a mum, I can have
this flexibility. Because it was really important to me even
back then. I look back and I think, my god,
I didn't know anything then. You know, I didn't, I
had no idea, but I still had the sense to
know that I wanted to maintain a career and that
side of myself when I became a mum, probably because
(20:04):
my own mother was such an inspiration to me. I
think not always, but maybe when children come from working mothers,
they want to model that themselves. Yeah.
Speaker 3 (20:14):
And then it's so beautiful that your husband came on board,
left his corporate job to manage the business's accounting and
strategy as a director. So you've been a dream team
since twenty eighteen.
Speaker 2 (20:23):
No one was more surprised than him and I that
that happened. What was the driver around that move? Well,
we also had another business partner very important that I mentioned,
Beck Chittiak. So Beck was one of my first clients.
She was my first instructor. Yes, I said to her
one day, you should be an instructor. You're so great.
So she got her certificate and then I hired her
(20:44):
like the next day because I was desperate because I
was teaching seven days a week in extreme amount of classes.
I used to average about thirty five classes a week WOA,
So I was desperate for some help. I was empty,
Like I would get to weekends and my husband would
want to go out and have fun, and I thought,
I literally cannot talk to another person. I need to
go home and be quiet, and everyone else would be
(21:04):
getting drunk on a Friday night and I'll be thinking, well,
I've got to get up and teach in the morning.
So I was I was running on empty anyway. Beck
Essentially she came on board with Peaches. She opened a
studio under the Peach's hat in Marubra, and that was
like our trialing licensees. I mean, certainly franchising was not
a concept back then. But we worked together very closely.
(21:25):
She had Marubra, I had Bondi, and then we started
to record online workouts together. Chris and I got married
in this time. Amongst all of this happening, and you'd
like to keep busy. We just you know, it's that time,
that time of life. Yeah. Anyway, we'd always dreamed of
going overseas for a long trip, and we went away
for about nine months, and wow, I stepped out of
(21:48):
the business and was able to work on it rather
than in it. And I went from being slammed doing
classes every day and then somehow managing social media website.
I built the website. I mean, you know, got it
was a terrible but I used to do all of
that myself to be now able to look at it
from a different perspective and try and grow it. And
Chris would often be looking over my shoulder because even
while we're on this trip, well, I couldn't do anything
(22:10):
other than just work on peaches. We were in the
most beautiful places, and every afternoon and back, I've got
to get to work. I've got to get to work.
And he'd sort of look over my shoulder and say, oh, like,
you know, that's actually not bad money coming in here,
or like you've actually got a decent amount of members.
And he became really involved in the journey and started
to kind of help out and do things, and we
(22:30):
made the decision while we were overseas that he didn't
really want to go back to corporate life. He didn't
want to go back to putting on a suit and
getting on the bus. So he came back and the
three of us decided that we would give this a
red hot go. We created a company. The three of
us owned it in equal shares. Chris and Beck put
in a little bit of money to kind of make
(22:51):
up for what I had built already, and off we went.
The three of us struggled.
Speaker 3 (22:56):
Together absolutely, And also I love that mentality. Do you
keep going back to of just give things a red
hot go? But it has obviously turned out so incredibly
for you from an outsider's perspective, And this is I
think a common obstacle for people who have a good
idea is when an industry looks quite saturated. And Pilartes
(23:16):
obviously wasn't new at the time that you opened. There
are a lot of studios and Bond eight of all places,
isn't a place where it wasn't accessible. What do you
think that you did really differently that differentiated you so strongly?
Speaker 2 (23:28):
Well interestingly enough, there wasn't a huge amount of Polarti
Studios and Bondi ten years ago. There was certainly a
few really fantastic ones, but everything that I came across
in the Polarates world or the fitness world was sterile
or intimidating. There wasn't much color, There wasn't much flair.
There definitely wasn't warmth. Yes, gym world, black white words
(23:51):
like performance. Everything was just very like. And then Pilarates,
I felt like I had to rock up and being
a crop top and do a headstand and take a photo.
And I, even as a Plate's instructor, was like, oh,
I feel really intimidated here. Interesting. So I just wanted
to create a warm space that pulled my creativity in
and was accessible and different and had color and had
(24:13):
a bit of kind of tongue in cheek vibe. So
you know, when I opened that first little studio, I
had my big peach on Bondai Road, and people used
to just walk in the people used to think it
was an art gallery because I had just these plain
white floors and this neon light in there, and people gone,
what is this, Oh it's Pilates. Oh cool. It was
so different from him. Now now the world of pilates
(24:33):
is like colorful, fun, inclusive, warm, body positive, all of
that stuff. But I'm telling you, back then in Bondai,
there was nothing like us. And I think that that
was a really pivotal part of our growth because it
felt like I was providing. I mean, and I heard
it time and time again from my clients. I can't
find this anywhere else. I feel like I've finally found somewhere,
(24:54):
or I feel good about myself and I feel safe
to move. And you know that tagline is so common now,
but back then, we were still heavy in the world
of diet culture and exercise was punishment, and you know,
girls of our generation still carry that with us. And
you know it can take a while to shake it
off a client when they walk in the door.
Speaker 3 (25:13):
It must be so unbelievably spine tingling to watch the impact.
Like you said, all you wanted to do was be
people to come to you and then leave with their
cut more full. But then to watch how you've been
able to do that for like thousands and thousands of people.
Speaker 2 (25:28):
I can't even imagine what that feeling must be like.
Speaker 3 (25:32):
You had also then developed I mean, you've got multiple
studios now, but had kind of moved into the online world.
You mentioned that you and Beck had been recording classes
quite early as well.
Speaker 2 (25:43):
Tell us about.
Speaker 3 (25:44):
Expanding out of the small studio space that you began
with to being able to access everyone wherever they are.
Speaker 2 (25:49):
That was a strike of luck, for sure. So we
had been in the online space for several years before
COVID happened, and Beck and I had just been spitballing
the idea of filming workouts because we had a lot
of friends and family, and particularly me having friends and
family interstate and overseas who really wanted to get peachy
and work out with us, but they weren't close to
(26:11):
a studio in Bonda or Marubra, even people living in
a different suburb in Sydney. So I said to Beck,
let's film some workouts. And growing up, I had loved
my mother's VHS workouts with Denise Austin. Yes, oh my gosh,
that's right.
Speaker 1 (26:31):
I wonder one workout right here.
Speaker 2 (26:34):
Turn off those.
Speaker 1 (26:35):
Phones, dad, don't go anywhere, but stick right with me
for half an hour to get shaped up the tona.
Speaker 2 (26:42):
Oh my god, I mean I did. And again I
would get up before school every morning and do this
same ad workout and I loved it and it never
bothered me that it was the same. In fact, I
loved the comfort of knowing it. So we started by
filming I think it was six or eight workouts and
that was all we did, and we put it out
there and people loved it. And we still have clients
(27:03):
and friends now they're like, I could recite that video verbatim,
and they were terrible, I have to tell you, shocking.
We hired a friend's yoga studio and she had all
this incredption, this view of Mariba Beach, but we had
to close the curtains because the light was so bad.
The lighting is absolutely shocking. There's all this backlight. We
screwed up constantly in the workouts. We say the wrong thing,
(27:24):
we do the wrong leg, and I said, let's not
edit it. Let's not edit it because it feels like
we're on the mat with them. Because I also hated
the way, you know, all those videos were like I'm
perfect and I'm not finding this heart, I'm not breaking
this sweat eight minute aurs.
Speaker 1 (27:37):
In our videos, we.
Speaker 2 (27:38):
Were like sweating, complaining on the floor, kind of just
getting through it with you, and people loved it. Because
it wasn't whanky and it was real and they didn't
mind that we screwed up. We also never thought that
many people would watch them. Then we did another round
of workouts and then COVID hit and thank god we
had this material. So we done. And we also started
(27:58):
selling a travel power because no one used to sell
equipment back then, so we had this idea of getting
at home Pilarates equipment. So I was suddenly sourcing the
Polarates equipment offshore and branding it with this shocking, you know,
slap on branding. But by the time we were in
the world of COVID, we had three studios bricks and
water businesses. Certainly that was our main source of income.
(28:20):
We had to close them and we got like a
couple of days notice we actually closed them before, you know,
we were told you had to, and back then, you know,
people forget that. When this first started happening, it was
really scary, particularly for business owners. I was like, hold on,
I'm paying rent. What the hell are we going to do?
Chris and I. We didn't have one of us making
(28:42):
money from some office job that they didn't suddenly have
to go into Like every dollar we earned we worked
so hard for and so our online program, like our
little packaged up VHS style workouts, sold like crazy. And
we also started to do live workouts because people wanted
to connection. So we ended up doing five sessions a day.
(29:03):
I mean, while we were working our arses off. But
you know what, I look back at that time so fondly.
I remember opening up my laptop and we would send
everyone a zoom link and I'd say, oh, hi, girl,
like how are you and people, you know, people were
struggling at that time, and we'd all work out together.
And I have to tell you that none of our
(29:23):
members canceled their membership. Oh my gosh, for that first lockdown,
no one, no one. Everyone continued to pay us weekly
and we were able to reopen our doors when the
lockdowns lifted, And it was honestly the most heartwarming time
of my life to receive emails from people being like, no,
(29:43):
don't cancel my membership. I want to support you. I
want you to be here when this ends.
Speaker 3 (29:47):
Oh that's beautiful. What an incredible affirmation of what you
had created. But also I feel like many many times
in business you'll face adversity. It's an absolute emotional rollercoaster,
and COVID was of course one of them. But you've
also faced rejections in your time, So you mentioned that
back at this time that was your third studio, but
the third one you tried to open. I'd read that
(30:07):
you were rejected from this.
Speaker 2 (30:09):
You're talking about Bondi.
Speaker 3 (30:10):
Yes, lots of times people had said no to you,
and you just pushed on. Tell us about what you
do in the face of being told no.
Speaker 2 (30:18):
Well, you just keep keeping on, really, and you just
keep working. And you know, Bondai is really our flagship, right,
Like that's where the brand started. And I never felt
that the studio reflected what I wanted it to do. Yeah.
So there was this amazing old cafe in Bondai that
over the years has like changed hands. It used to
be this incredible shoe shop slash cafe, and then it
(30:38):
was a cafe for many years, but they never really
put much effort into the fit out, but the space
itself was really cool. It came up for lease and
we were in a position where we were ready to
take on a big, proper Bondi roade lease and you know,
we put so much work into the application and it
was just a flat out right. I thought for sure
we were going to get it, because I'm always an optimist. Anyway,
we were flat out rejected. The line that they gave
(31:01):
us was we just need a business that is COVID proof,
and I thought, bloody hell, we're still open. But sure.
You know, everyone was very cagey about what they said
yes to because after COVID people were very risk averse. Anyway,
took that site and they went boss, I know, and
before it was even advertised, Chris sawed all over the
(31:22):
news and he opened his emails and he emailed that
agent and that landlord and said, we are still here.
We now have five studios. We've been on Bonde Road
for six years and we got the site. Oh my god,
wait that's the one you're in now. Yeah, a lot
of work. I've got to tell you to get that
space ready. The floors were falling in. It was like
grubby as it was disgusting. Doing fit oubts is hard work.
Speaker 3 (31:45):
Babe, catching up everyone listening to today and your life. Now,
you have made it through the messy middle and refused
to take no for an answer in many situations. The
business is turning ten, which is a huge achievement.
Speaker 2 (32:06):
In itself.
Speaker 3 (32:07):
You're in the dream space on BONDEI Road. Ten studios,
four million dollars in annual revenue, and an app used
in fifty four countries. When you look at this empire,
what do you think is the biggest difference between the
reality of running it now and what the dream was
when you first opened the little shoebox studio.
Speaker 2 (32:29):
It's really interesting because someone asked me that the other day,
and I've had a real evolution in my own vision
for what I'm trying to achieve. And at the start,
I just wanted to make people feel good, and I
wanted a job that fulfilled me. And then the mission was,
I really want to be a mummy. I really want
to be able to have the best of both worlds,
(32:51):
you know. And now I was a working mom. I
like called Jesus, but I really wanted to maintain a
side of myself and not lose myself in motherhood. I
wanted to build my business to point that I could,
you know, have flexibility. Then it became this great mission
of we have this community, we have this family, We
really want to make people feel fun awesome, which is
an internal tagline MPFFA stuff no matter what our touch
(33:14):
point is? Is it our Instagram? Is it our app?
Is it when you walk into the studio and someone
looks you in the eye and gives you a hug?
Whatever we do, do you mpffa. I've got a whole
staff training book designed around touch points on how we
can connect with people and break through the noise of
other studios. That was our driver for probably the last
four or five years. There has been a lot of
(33:34):
growth in the last few years where we've become a
legitimate franchise where we're growing incredibly slowly with great intention
to not move too fast and only work with the
right people. But it has really shifted for me because
now I see that we're able to improve the lives
of other women who own a business. I'm empowering other
(33:57):
women to do what I wanted to do for myself,
you know, like most of our franchise owners are young
mothers themselves, and now, amazingly, I can't believe this, a
few of the husbands are actually looking to cut back
their work to just work on their features studios. So
we just opened a newcastle maybe six months ago and
the owner, Ellie, sent me a voice note after she'd
(34:20):
had a whip with my husband because I wasn't on
the whip, and she said, taurs like, I actually just
want to say this to you too, maybe cry. She
was just like, I actually can't tell you the difference
starting this business has made to my life, she said,
woman to woman, mother to mother. Having come from having
no income to unpaid maternity leaves so much uncertainty in
(34:41):
my life. She said. The money keeps coming in and
every week I don't understand what is happening or why.
And the people that I'm meeting and the community that
I'm building, she said, it blows my mind and I
actually can't believe that it's real. And she said, I
just want to thank you because you've actually changed our lives.
Oh my go. And it was so wonderful to me
(35:03):
to hear it because that is really what we want
to do. And also like it's funny. You know, as
time goes on, you'll know this from having a business yourself,
Like people don't often tell you you you're doing a
good job, Like it's my job to look after all
of our stuff and our franchisees and cheer them on
and be their hype girl. And you work really, really,
really harder for people. And I'm such a people pleaseer,
(35:23):
so it was so nice to be like, oh, like
she sees what we do and what we're trying to do,
and that really for me, is it like if I
can have another mum who's on that same path as me, go,
I can't believe that I'm able to build this business
and support my family. It's pretty special. Oh my god,
And it doesn't make any sense to me. Like I
(35:44):
look back and I think, what the hell.
Speaker 3 (35:46):
Oh, I've got goosebumps to think that if you hadn't
just randomly gone, I'm going to do my polities qualification, Like,
I'm just going to do that. If you hadn't done that,
not only would your life have not benefited so greatly
from the p that you made, but other people's like
blows my mind and blows.
Speaker 2 (36:03):
But like I said, it's everyone's choice to come in
and work hard, and owning a business, as you know,
is not for the fate of heart. And when you start,
you work your ass off. And so yeah, I mean,
they chose that path for themselves, and they work very
hard to get their business to where they need it
to be. That's the thing about a franchise. It's their
business where they're to support and hold their hand and
(36:24):
be a big family and all take care of the
branding and your website presence and all of that. But
the end of the day, I'm not there at six
am in Newcastle. Hell no, I am not.
Speaker 3 (36:33):
Well. It's also incredible that you mentioned before that things
have evolved internally as well. So you've had this big pivot,
created this incredible business. But then even in your own
way of measuring how great it is or the impact
that you can make for other women who are mums
because it's now mother to mother, I have also felt
like motherhood has been a mini pivot in the way
(36:54):
I defined my life, in the way I value my time.
But I think there's this assumption that motherhood is going
to make you less present, or more distracted, or less
good at what you do, whereas I feel like for you,
this mini pivot of motherhood being added to the aspect
of your business has made you better.
Speaker 2 (37:11):
It makes every woman better. Oh my god, and I
have so much to say to you, right tell me
this sal Entering the world of brotherhood is like plugging
into another portal? Is it not entire world? Shatters and
you come out a different person with the day you
give birth. Our hiring strategy sometimes, or particularly franchise e strategy,
is like, is that woman a mother, Well, she's got
some fucking grit. She's seen a hard day today already,
(37:34):
she has work ethic, she knows how to keep calm
under pressure, she has the ability to work hard. I
mean really, you know, we often say, oh, she's a mum,
she's got grit, let's go.
Speaker 3 (37:45):
Oh, she's invincible multitasking, time management, emotional regulation, nurturing, empathetic,
all the things.
Speaker 2 (37:53):
And the ability to get things done in such small
time that my approach to work has changed so much,
Like I have to limit my self so greatly. So
I would say to any woman out there, don't think
that you're going to become less. You become so creative.
You also have this incredible ability to connect with not
just other mothers, but other parents. My level of empathy
(38:16):
for other parents when I meet them is like, I
know how hard it can be sometimes. I mean last night,
last night, I've been so excited to come into mammy.
I'm such a mummy fangirl, and I was like, I'm
going to get a good night's sleep, and of course
the dog had diarrhea. My son woke up he'd wet
through every layer of his pajamas, his sleepsuit, his cot sheet,
(38:37):
the mattress protector, the pillowcase. I was lying on the
floor at two am, holding his hand, praying that he
would go back to sleep, thinking.
Speaker 3 (38:44):
Why is it always this night and you've got something
big the next time?
Speaker 1 (38:48):
Always?
Speaker 2 (38:49):
But you do wake up, and you do rally, and
it actually uncovers the most hardened, resilient person and inside
of yourself, like really, running a business is a piece
of pits compared to that, let's.
Speaker 3 (39:05):
Be honest, one hundred percent, and then adding a whole
other layer to working motherhood. When you run a business
with your husband, I think what's wonderful is that it
means you bring so many differing strengths together and that
every win you work hard for is a shared win.
But it's also very difficult building business and a family.
And do you have any advice for anyone else who
(39:26):
works with their partner.
Speaker 2 (39:27):
It's a question. I get a lot. People are always like,
I can't believe you work with your husband. I would
never want to do that. We've always naturally spent a
lot of time together. He legitimately is my best friend.
I don't want to sound like an asshole, but we
love it and it is easy because we work so
well together. Don't get me wrong, we work hard. There
are problems constantly in the family or in the business
(39:48):
that are hard day to day, but doing it with
him isn't hard. We have each other's back. You know,
you wake up in the morning and you've had a
tough night. You know, Chris and I will tag team
and off from the get go. First of all, like
parenthood for us is fifty to fifty. Don't get me wrong.
I always wanted to be a mum, and I'm a
wonderful mother. I know that in myself, in my ability
(40:09):
to connect and play with them. But I am not
a martyr and I never ever signed up for doing
it by myself, and we knew that going into it.
So for me, I can give my all to the
business and my all to motherhood because I have the
best wingman ever in my husband. And it is so
cool on a Friday to like open a beautiful bottle
(40:30):
of wine and think, my God, like, what happened this week?
Let's talk about it? We can share in the winds
and also he actually gets it, like whereas before when
we would talk about work, you know, you kind of
might tell each other's snippets, but you don't really care
and you don't really know. Yeah, and have a frame
of reference. And it's so important to be able to
like understand that you can have hard conversations and it
(40:53):
doesn't mean that you don't love each other or fancy
the pants off each other. But it's also very like,
don't you reckon that, like when you're work here in
work mode, and then you can just flick compartmentalize.
Speaker 3 (41:03):
Yeah, And I think that's a coping strategy and a
great tip for anyone listening. You do have to be
able to switch it off so that you can have
date night and not be talking about like the bass
or your problem loss or whatever. But you have now
for this incredible journey also been recognized as one of
New South Wales's Top Young Entrepreneurs. For anyone listening right
now who also has a dream their own version of
(41:24):
Peaches or a similar pivot, do you have any other
great advice in the growth journey or the pivot journey
that you would pass on?
Speaker 2 (41:33):
Yeah, I would say that, particularly when it comes to growth.
Just remember that, like, it's all in who you work
with and who you work with, particularly in small business,
you're getting into bed with and they will become your family.
And you should be very very careful about who you
let into the fold. And that is our whole strategy.
Now we do say no a lot. We could have
(41:54):
a lot more studios, We could have studios overseas now,
but there's no way that we want to real the
culture that we have built. We are so proud of
our culture. We really look after each other, We look
after our staff. I also want to look after my
marriage and my ability to be a good mum. I
don't want to grow so fast that I hate my
husband or that I don't have time with my kids.
(42:15):
I also want to make sure that we withhold the
integrity of the brand and why Peaches started. And also
like I don't really care how much money we make.
I never have, Like I'm not attached. Chris had to
be remember these numbers when we go in just in
case all these questions. I'm not drawn to that. Yeah,
don't get me wrong. Sure would I like to make
a bit more money and go overseas business class. Absolutely,
(42:35):
of course I would do. I hope we achieve that, yes,
but it doesn't need to be tomorrow. My most important
job is at home. Next to that, it's my most
important job is to look after our other franchisees. And
you should be very careful about who you hire or
who you let open an extension of your business. Take
it slow, learn from your mistakes. We've made many, and
(42:57):
also just know that, like you can chalk things up
to experience and you're not going to be perfect. Like
we've never franchised before. We didn't know what we were doing,
and that's okay, Like you're allowed to learn on the job.
But yeah, more is not more always, you know, you
need to think about the bigger picture, Like you need
to think about if I've got another person who I
add to a in WhatsApp chat, do I have to
(43:18):
reply to is it worth it? You know, if that
sustainable or do I you know, like, am I still
going to be able to go and pick my kids
up when I want to pick them up? Like, yeah,
that's imperative to me. And no amount of money in
the world will ever be worth peace at home.
Speaker 3 (43:34):
Oh you know that sentiment so much because I think
that gets so obscured in the struggle for success that
we all have.
Speaker 2 (43:43):
But it goes by so fast, like having children is
like holding sand in your hand. They just they grow
so quickly, and it's like it's like I'm grieving. I
feel as though I am grieving and I'm in it,
and I already miss them right now. I miss my
daughter as a year old and my son is a
two year old, because I know I'm going to blink
and she'll be five and he'll be three. And it
(44:04):
is this thing that all mothers can relate to of
you know, am I doing enough? Every time I'm at work?
Do I feel guilty that I'm not with my kids. Yes,
when I'm with my kids, so I feel guilty that
I'm not helping out someone at work? Yes? Do I
have to feel like I'm constantly writing in the group
chat like sorry, we've got gastro again for the fifth
time this year, or you know, I've got to keep
(44:25):
the kids home from daycare today. I can't be in
that meeting or I'll be slow to respond. It's hard,
it's a juggle, but that's the beauty of working with
other months. They get it, they get it.
Speaker 3 (44:35):
So what are the next steps? Do you have any
further expansion in mind?
Speaker 2 (44:40):
Looking at what's next for us, Well, we're opening Roseberry
next year, so we've got a lease there which is
really exciting. We're looking for other sites within the East.
We are looking for more sites in Victoria. Our main
strategy is to really nail Sydney's slash Australia well where
we are already open. We've just signed a lease for
a warehouse Byron, which is really exciting. We can finally
(45:02):
get all of our stock out of our garages. So
Laura up and Barron, who we go in with, she
recently took all of our sock from our literal office
and garage. We film a lot for our app up there,
so we've got more space to do more cool things.
We're desperate for more sites in the East of Sydney.
I think we just really want to make sure we
do the East Coast of Australia. Well, potentially look it overseas,
(45:26):
but again I don't even know if I want that
much more unless it's with the right people. We just
want to be really careful and we just want to
continue like really like loving what we do, you know,
you don't want to commit to so much that it
becomes work.
Speaker 3 (45:41):
Yeah, and I think we do lose sight of that
if you're not enjoying any.
Speaker 2 (45:45):
Part of it.
Speaker 3 (45:46):
Really, success doesn't mean anything unless there's some fulfillment and
enjoyment along the way. And you seem to have such
a good head on your shoulders around that, alongside obviously
excellent business acumen, being able to grow peaches to what
it is become so huge.
Speaker 2 (46:01):
Congratulations, Thank you. It's a true honor to have sat
here today. And it's funny, I said to my ex
business partner, who I still work with very closely, Beck,
because there has been a lot of full circle moments
in the past few weeks, pictures it's turned ten, I
got that great shout out about the entrepreneurs' there's just
been a lot of wins. And Beck said to me,
(46:22):
how did it feel? You know? There was an article
on the paper and I was like, oh, you know,
like it's funny how a lot of that stuff is
kind of just fluff. Yeah, and it was really cool
to see, but it didn't you know, like I was
way more excited about going and picking the kids up
from daycare, you know, and like I feel successful, not
because I had an article written about me, but because
I can go to daycare and take my time meandering around.
(46:43):
I'll say goodbye fifty times. I love chatting to the educators,
and I can even know that like I've got no
one there, kind of checking the time when I arrive
at work like that, to me is what I've worked
so hard for, and I really make sure I enjoy
it and note to the privilege. Know that a lot
of those mums they have to rush to check in
somewhere else for work. So I think I've got this privilege. Yes,
(47:04):
I worked my ass off for it. Thursdays, I used
to teach ten classes six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven, twelve.
Then I'd come back for four five six, like I
was Jesus broken, And then I would duel it for
someone on the weekend. You know, of course you would.
But I did work hard for it. But it doesn't
mean that it's not a privilege. And so I really
make sure that I take a moment and think this
(47:26):
is what it was for, Like look at the face
of your daughter, look at the face of your son.
Don't rush them out the door. We're so slow in
the morning because I really really don't want to start
our days like that, And that is the biggest privilege
of them all to be able to make eggs and
soldiers and their kids and their Jimmy jams. I know
it sounds lame, but like at all, that's what it's
(47:46):
all about. For me, I feel so lucky, and you know,
for every person who has come and been a part
of the journey and facilitated this growth, Like, I don't
think there's much more worthy than like being able to
be the mom that you want to be, at least
for me. Oh no, one hundred percent.
Speaker 3 (48:04):
I think of all the incredible pearls of wisdom for
life decisions and business growth and multitasking and time management
that you've shared.
Speaker 2 (48:12):
There's been so many pearls.
Speaker 3 (48:13):
But that is the perfect way to finish, because that
is the thing we all struggle with the most. I
think it's slowing down for the things that really matter.
Around all the pivots that we're making, and around all
the work and things that you're doing, is the moments
with the people you love. That's what matters the most.
And what a beautiful reminder to finish on.
Speaker 2 (48:33):
Thank you so much, Thank you, Thank you so much
for having me.
Speaker 1 (48:39):
That's all for this week's Pivot Club. If you want
to keep up with our weekly pivots, please hit that
follow button on your podcast app of choice. And if
you know someone who has just faced a redundancy or
is thinking of turning their side hustle into their main hustle,
send this episode their way. Pivot Club is produced by
Sally Best, with audio production by Tom Lyon. Our executive
producer is Courtney Ammenhauser. Thank you so much for listening,
(49:02):
and I'll catch you next time.
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Betrayal: Weekly
Betrayal Weekly is back for a brand new season. Every Thursday, Betrayal Weekly shares first-hand accounts of broken trust, shocking deceptions, and the trail of destruction they leave behind. Hosted by Andrea Gunning, this weekly ongoing series digs into real-life stories of betrayal and the aftermath. From stories of double lives to dark discoveries, these are cautionary tales and accounts of resilience against all odds. From the producers of the critically acclaimed Betrayal series, Betrayal Weekly drops new episodes every Thursday. Please join our Substack for additional exclusive content, curated book recommendations and community discussions. Sign up FREE by clicking this link Beyond Betrayal Substack. Join our community dedicated to truth, resilience and healing. Your voice matters! Be a part of our Betrayal journey on Substack. And make sure to check out Seasons 1-4 of Betrayal, along with Betrayal Weekly Season 1.