Gabi ‘fell in love’ when she discovered a new hobby
Gabbi Rimmer at her new Pilates Studio in Formby,called Reformme Soul(Image: Andrew Teebay Liverpool Echo)
A woman overcame her fears to “completely change” her lifestyle. Gabbi Rimmer, 21, from Formby, runs ReformMeSoul, a Pilates studio in Formby village.
Gabbi finally opened her own space a few weeks ago after hosting Pilates sessions across Merseyside for several years from her old school to wellness retreats at the Hope Street Hotel.
Gabbi never imagined she’d end up in this position when she attended her first class as a teenager. Instead of using a mat, Reformer Pilates, uses a reformer machine to create resistance as you move through different exercises.
Speaking to the ECHO shortly before her studio opened, Gabbi said: “When I was about 14, me and my mum went to a Pilates class and I was never really into exercising myself.
“Before that, I played a bit of netball but that was all I did. I was so shy too. When I was younger I wouldn’t speak to anyone I didn’t know.
“But as soon as I started doing the format, I just fell in love with it. Ever since then, it made me fall in love with every aspect of exercise and I became quite obsessed with it really.”
Following this, Gabbi took a different approach to other people of her age. She said: “It completely changed my mindset on the whole aspect of exercise and my lifestyle. It stopped me going out drinking on the weekends because I’d always have a Pilates class booked the next morning.
“When I started working in Pilates studios at weekends, I wasn’t seeing my friends, so they ended up coming to the studio to do classes with me. It just completely changed my lifestyle.”
Gabbi Rimmer, 21, from Formby, runs ReformMeSoul, a Pilates studio in Formby village(Image: Andrew Teebay Liverpool Echo)
However Gabbi admitted she was apprehensive when it came to building her own client base for Pilates sessions as her friends took a different approach.
She said: “All my friendship group went to university, so I was a bit like, what if I don’t earn any money? I don’t know if I’m going to get the qualifications I need, so I was scared.
“It took me a good eight months, I’d say, to build up my clients. At first I was thinking, I don’t think I’ll be able to do this full time. But all of a sudden, it just took off and it just got bigger and bigger from there.”
Gabbi became keen to have a space of her own. A few months ago, an opportunity to do exactly that came up when a client of hers opened up a café and had some space upstairs.
Poke Superfood Bar focuses on healthy snacks, including acai bowls, juices and smoothies. Gabbi said: “Opening my own place has been at the back of my mind for the past year or so. A couple of months ago, one of our clients opened Poke and so this opportunity just rose from there.
“She had some space available upstairs for a studio. I spoke with my mum and dad about it. We just thought it was probably the perfect opportunity because it’s so local to where we are as well. It’s a cool place to hang out, so people can do the Pilates class and then meet up with their friends afterwards.”
Gabbi is delighted at where she has ended up. She said: “I think it’s been like a long time coming. I can’t wait to have it as a little place to call my own.
“It’s quite crazy because I think back then if someone would’ve told me that I would have been running a business and working in the fitness industry, I would have probably laughed and said, no way.
“14 year-old me would have been shocked. I wasn’t able to stand up and talk in front of a group. Now I’ve done classes with 50 people and told them what to do. Pilates has really grown my confidence.”