Classes for all experience levels
Dawn Pitt hasn’t always been a Pilates instructor or business owner.
While working full time in Sydney as the general manager for a technology marketing company, the ex-dancer also freelanced as a part-time instructor at various Pilates studios.
When she moved to Melbourne four years later, she hunted high and low for a mat Pilates based studio that fit her criteria. What she found was that many studios were great in other formats and forms of fitness - but she felt that Melbourne was lacking a space that focused solely on Pilates.
So she built her own.
“I had always thought I’d like to open a Pilates studio, but when I couldn’t find what I was looking for in Melbourne, my goal got fast tracked from five years to twelve months,” she smiles.
“My aim is to create a space where I can teach Pilates and help people of all backgrounds, all ages and all body types feel included,” she explains. “I want every person to feel like they have a voice, that they aren’t just a number, and that they are part of a community.”
“I want every person to feel like they have a voice, that they aren’t just a number, and that they are part of a community.”
DAWN PITT
When Dawn opened her Newport Pilates studio, the name and features of a Silverback, a mature mountain gorilla distinguished by silvery hair across the back, seemed like the perfect fit for her business.
“I found that other businesses would often have ‘Pilates’ in the name, or ‘movement’ or the brand was really feminine,” she says. “I wanted a name that was neutral and which didn’t necessarily spell out what the business was. And if you think about the shape of an ape or monkey - it’s 99% the same skeleton as a human skeleton. So that connection made a lot of sense.
“Oh - and my partner’s nickname is Silverback!”
At Silverback Studios Dawn and her instructors offer small group classes in all things pilates. That includes traditional mat pilates classes for all experience levels as well as hybrid exercise classes like Piloxing (pilates plus boxing), Piloxing Barre (pilates, boxing and barre) and Pilates HIIT (pilates and high intensity interval training).
With gyms having to close over many months in 2020 and 2021, Dawn offers her clients different ways to exercise with the Silverback instructors, including live streaming classes, providing on-demand online access to classes videos and when permitted, in-studio classes.
While Dawn continues to work full time in her day job, she is still very much involved in the business.
“I come and do a lot of classes with my instructors (who I’ve trained to a very precise standard). And I am still teaching too. I just love being with the members and being able to witness their growth and enjoyment in my studio.”
