Club Pilates

Bios

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  Elisa Pontone*

  Elisa Pontone, a native Houstonian, developed a love of dance and movement at the early age of five. She carried that love with her through college, where she continued her study of dance at the University of Montana. Like many dancers, Elisa endured various injuries throughout her dance career and during the rehabilitation process was introduced to Pilates. While rehabilitating her knee using the Pilates Reformer, Cadillac and other classical Pilates equipment Elisa discovered the importance of the “mind/body connection”, transforming the way she moved and felt in her body in much the same way dance did when she was younger. She was hooked and was ready to share Pilates with everyone! Inspired by her lifelong passion for movement and her new found passion for Pilates, Elisa decided to make a bold career move away from the corporate world by completing her Peak Pilates certification in 2011. Years later when her husband asked, “If money was no object and you could do absolutely anything in the world, what would you do? What is your dream?” Without hesitation Elisa answered, “I would love to own a Pilates studio to help make people feel as amazing as I do when I do Pilates and I would l love to be successful enough to give back to the charities I believe in.” Elisa's dream of owning her own studio became a reality when she found Club Pilates. Together with her husband and brother, coupled with her business background and 10 years in corporate sales, Elisa opened her own Club Pilates studio in the heart of Memorial Houston and plans are underway to open a second location in Katy, Texas. “I love what I do. Not only are our members empowered and strengthened through their Pilates class, but they also leave feeling amazing because they know that their classes are always affordable and accessible. Our dream is for all our members to feel like they are a part of our family.”

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  Kelsey Broussard

  Kelsey is a certified Pilates instructor through Club Pilates. She embraces a passion for physical activity, health, and wellness. She strives to provide her classes with a balance between comfort and challenge, working to strengthen both the mind and body.   She designs effective, diverse, challenging, and enjoyable classes. With continued education in corrective exercise programming, and a background in dance, she can design a safe and challenging fitness program for you so that you can be in your best shape possible. 

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  Lexi Stinger*

  Lexi Stinger, a native Houstonian, received her Pilates Mat and Pilates Apparatus certification in New York through The Lab NYC. She attended Southern Methodist University, receiving a B.F.A. in Dance Performance and a B.A. in Advertising. Upon graduation, she moved to New York City to dance professionally with Graham II, a modern dance company. It was through a diagnosis of Rheumatoid Arthritis that Lexi fell in love with Pilates and deepened her passion for fitness, nutrition, and wellness. Pilates provided an outlet to keep moving and challenging the body in a beneficial way that corrected alignment and rebalanced muscles. This personal discovery inspired Lexi to share it with others. She is a caring and passionate instructor who wants to see her clients not only succeed but also exceed in accomplishing their goals. With emphasis on creativity and form, her goal is to empower others to transform into their most strong, powerful, and healthy selves.

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  Maylin Garcia

  Pilates Instructor

  Maylin was born in Havana, Cuba in 1971 and has had a passion for the dancing industry since she was 6 years old. Her love for dance began when she joined the Infant TV ballet school; this school did many appearances on T.V. She was there for 6 years and later, after graduating high school, joined the School of Performing Arts (Cuba) where she studied ballet, contemporary dance, drama, acrobatics and many more subjects. Maylin graduated in 1991, obtaining the diploma as a Variety Artist. In that same year, she was chosen to dance for the most famous dance company in Cuba, Tropicana where she danced for 5 years. After 2 years performing at Tropicana, she was selected to go on a tour around Europe (France, Belgium and Switzerland) for 2 months. She began working in the Fitness Industry in Milan, Italy (1998) for American Contourella, 2ERR and Gold Gym where she taught Aerobics, Step, and Body conditioning and stretching for 2 years. Maylin then moved to Aberdeen, Scotland (2000) and taught in the Bannatyne Health Club, Warehouse, Jesmond center and Beach Leisure center and worked there as a Latin Aerobic instructor. Later on she became certified as a Studio Instructor (2008), Gym instructor level 1 and 2 (2009) and was awarded the Level 3 award in Conversion of Advanced Fitness instructor to personal trainer (2012) with YMCA fitness training (UK). In July 2012, she moved to Houston, Texas and was certified with the Peak Pilates level 1 Certification (2014), level 2(2015) and the Peak Pilates comprehensive certification (2016). Maylin joined Club Pilates in August of 2016. She brings her love of fitness and enthusiasm to every class.

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  Melinda Johnson

  Melinda Johnson was raised in Tallahassee, Florida. She graduated from the University of Texas with a B.S. in Nutrition.  She continued her education by obtaining a Master’s of Public Health, then graduating from Baylor College of Medicine Physician Assistant Program.  She worked as a PA in Plastic Surgery and Orthopedic Surgery.  Being an exercise enthusiast for years, Melinda is also Comprehensively Certified Pilates Instructor through Peak Pilates. She has been teaching in the Houston and Katy area for the last 9 years.  Melinda is also certified in Barre and TRX. She has seen how regular Pilates practice can improve posture, core strength, flexibility, stamina and and self confidence as well as body awareness.  Melinda and her husband Gordon have 3 children. Brita- 27years old, Craig- 26 and Jenna 21.

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  Renata Sandweg

  Renata Sandweg was born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (Carioca para sempre!) and moved to Houston in 1979 when she was 8 yo. She has lived in Texas ever since, though always keeping strong ties with her family and culture in Brazil through today! In 1993, she graduated from Trinity University in San Antonio with a Bachelors Degree in Economics, minors in Math & Business. After working as an Assistant Buyer, she felt she wanted to work in a field where she could help those in need and have more interpersonal contact with people. She eventually earned a Masters Degree in Physical Therapy from Texas Woman’s University in Dallas in 1997, and has been a licensed PT in Texas for over 20 years. She was introduced to Pilates by colleagues while working at Woman’s Hospital of Texas in Houston. In 2002 she was certified in Pilates and also as a Personal Trainer, and she worked with prenatal, postpartum, pre and post-surgery, incontinence, and orthopedic patients, as well as general fitness clients. She has been married since 1999, had a son in 2004, and twin girls in 2006… they keep her busy and a little crazy! She joined Club Pilates in Katy in August 2016 as a member and was thrilled to be back on the Reformer again! As a long time runner, she personally experienced the benefits of Pilates in improving strength, flexibility, stability, posture, balance, and mobility. She decided to get re-certified in Pilates through the Club Pilates Comprehensive Teacher Training program in April 2017. She is currently teaching private sessions to clients who are new to Pilates, want to refine or advance their Pilates practice, or who have special physical needs requiring individualized Pilates programs for recovery and wellness. She believes in always challenging your core while integrating and toning your full body, gaining strength in flexibility, and improving balance with mobility! She believes in the quote “Pilates, in other words, is for anyone and everyone!” (Rael Isa

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  Rinda Phillips

  Pilates Instructor

  Rinda Phillips is a Certified Pilates Instructor through the Pilates Elite Certification program. Rinda was born and raised in Texas. She started ballet, tap, and jazz dance classes at a very young age. Rinda was also competitive gymnast. These loves got her scholarships to school where she was trained as a nurse. After Rinda worked in nursing for 12 years, she came home to raise her 2 sons and go back to her love of dance. Rinda attended the local university for Dance Therapy where she was introduced to Pilates. When her family relocated to the Houston area she found her mentor in Pilates and was certified 14 years ago. After working with her mentor for 2 years, Rinda branched off and opened her own Pilates studio in Katy. Rinda hopes to help her clients achieve feelings of strength, balance, and a sense of wellness that rarely came during her work in the medical field.

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  Kara Musselman

  Kara was born and raised in Corpus Christi, TX. She obtained a Bachelor of Business and a Masters in Accounting from the University of Texas at Austin. After working several years for an accounting firm, she began staying home with her kids, now 14, 12, 11, and 7, and she began teaching group fitness at her local gym. She first discovered the Pilates Reformer in 2005 when she was asked to bring this new apparatus to the clients at the gym. She completed a short training course and began practicing Pilates on her own and instructing. Kara says, “What I discovered was the amazing core abdominal strength a consistent Pilates practice could provide for the other activities in my life.” Kara continued to teach until her husband’s job took their family overseas to Singapore for four years. Upon returning in 2016, Kara joined Club Pilates in Katy and dedicated her time to a more comprehensive certification. She completed the 500-hour Club Pilates Teacher Training Program and enjoys teaching fun, energetic, and encouraging group classes as well as private Pilates apparatus classes to help clients meet personal fitness goals. Kara finds it personally rewarding to teach and watch a new client go from, “I don’t feel anything,” to “I get it, it’s working!” She believes Pilates can generate this positive feeling and attitude that will pour over into daily life.

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  Bebe Jaramillo

  Brianna Jaramillo, a native Houstonian, developed a love for dance and fitness as a young child. When Brianna was a teenager she became very ill for over a year. That journey opened up her eyes and heart for the passion to help people become stronger every day. At the age of 18 she moved and studied in Kula Lumpur, Malaysia for over two years. Gaining the education and knowledge of a different culture and the way they heal the body soon became a big recovery process for herself. That love for rehabilitating the body leaded her to Pilates, “The way Pilates constantly challenges the body and mind is incredible, I knew I had to share this with anyone willing to take the challenge. Knowing that I am helping someone’s body whether to have more mobility in their hips or just for a great workout is the best job!” In 2017 she suffered a shoulder and neck injury while prepping for the Texans Cheerleaders tryouts, her body changed completely. Her normal workout routine was causing strain and more injuries, taking this set back she then found her way home to Pilates. In late summer 2018 Brianna Started her 500- hour Teacher Training with Club Pilates and now remains learning and pursing the art of Pilates.

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  Angela Wilson

  Instructor

  Angela Wilson, a Houston transplant originally from Dallas, Texas, has spent the last 21 years working in various capacities in the makeup and beauty industry. Starting as a beauty consultant, Angela has been involved in many facets of the industry including, artistry, research and development, training, and management. She currently serves as the Chief Operating Officer for MustaeV USA, a Korean artistry brand that launched five years ago in the US. Although happily married with a beautiful son and successful career, she found herself miserable due to the weight she had put on through years of focusing on everything but her health. At 255 pounds she realized she had to make a change for her health and well-being. She committed to a healthy eating plan and began to lose weight. She noticed after a few years the weight began to creep back and so she incorporated intense exercise into her lifestyle. After months of training she experienced a back injury which is how she was introduced to Pilates. While practicing Pilates she realized it was changing her life. The Pilates methods helped her rehabilitate her injury, increase her flexibility, improve her performance at her other fitness routines and she was sleeping better. In addition, her body completely transformed and she had built incredible core strength. She fell in love with Pilates and decided not only does she want to practice Pilates, but wants to share her passion for it with others, so she began her Pilates instructor training. Angela wants to empower others to transform into the healthiest person they can be and strives to motivate others to achieve their fitness goals.

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  Monica

  Currently on Paternity leave - will be back at the end of June. She is a certified Physical Therapist. Has previously owned her own studio. She is super energetic with such a loving and welcoming personality.

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  Angela Donnelly

  Angela was born and raised in Davenport, IA. She attended the University of Northern Iowa, where she received her bachelors of science in Exercise Science. While she was always an athlete, in college she discovered yoga, and was instantly hooked. After a year or so of participating, she became an instructor herself, and so began her passion for fitness and teaching. Over the next five years after college, Angela built her resume with the following certifications— Yogafit (2005), Personal training (2005), Group Exercise Instructor (2005), Mat Pilates (2008), Pilates Reformer through Stott Pilates (2008), Les Mills Body Flow (2009). In 2006 Angela Moved to San Antonio, TX, where she met her now husband. In 2009 she began teaching multiple classes a week at the YMCA in San Antonio, where she taught for over 10 years. In the summer of 2019, she and her family relocated to the Katy area. Angela and her husband have four girls ranging from ages 3 to 10, who keep her very busy outside of teaching!

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  Lisa Hudson

  Lisa Marie is a United States Navy Veteran, IT Manager, Health Coach, Avid Golfer, Wife, Mom and a Certified Pilates Instructor. Lisa Marie found Pilates one cold rainy Saturday in 2018 when her tee time was rained out, but instead of staying inside she showed up to an intro class where she discovered a new passion. Within a few months of attending classes she noticed such a change in herself mentally and physically. She then decided to enroll in the next Club Pilates Teacher Training class to learn more and enhance her own self practice. Upon getting her certification, Lisa knew she wanted to teach. Lisa Marie has a desire to help others find in themselves what she found by coincidence, accident or some may call it fate one rainy Saturday morning. She continues to work full time and instructs evenings and weekend classes because it fills her heart with joy. Both of her children are still active duty military and are deployed away from home. Lisa Marie’s motto is to Live, Love & Laugh Everyday....and to always wear cute shoes!

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  Regina Abanathy

  Regina Abanathy is has been in the nutrition and foodservice industry for over two decades. Regina has achieved success with organizations such as the Texas Department and Agriculture and KIPP TX Public Schools where she served as the first ever Director to build a Nutrition Services Department for the largest KIPP concept in the nation with over 16k students. Regina holds a B.S. in Dietetics from Prairie View A&M University and a Master’s of Business Administration from Texas Women’s University in Texas. She is a certified ServSafe Instructor and Procotor.