Born in Germany in 1880, Joseph H. Pilates had a lifelong interest in body conditioning.

As a frail child Joseph Pilates sought ways to develop his body, he grew to become an accomplished skier, diver, gymnast and boxer.

While interned in England during World War I for his German citizenship, Joseph became a nurse. His experience in resistance using springs attached to a hospital bed strengthened immobilized patients.

After the war he took these ingenious ideas to New York City and in 1926 opened up the first Pilates studio. The dance community quickly embraced it, and choreographers like George Blanchine and Martha Graham sent their dancers to Pilates for injury prevention and rehabilitation.

Pilates didn’t just train dancers. His studio soon became the fitness center of New York City, drawing a number of the city’s richest and most influential citizens.

Joseph Pilates died in 1967 at the age of 87.

Today, his methods and exercises are used worldwide to provide safe and effective body conditioning.