Today we’d like to introduce you to Toni Callahan.
Hi Toni, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
I always knew I wanted to own a business, and that’s a big part of why I studied business in college. I wanted to build something of my own, something I had control over and could pour myself into. What I didn’t know was what that business would be.
I grew up in Santa Cruz, left for school, and eventually found my way back home, which felt right. Along the way I fell in love with fitness, but for a long time I struggled to find something I could do consistently. That changed when I discovered mat Pilates, and then reformer Pilates. Something about it just clicked for me. It complemented the way I already liked to move, surfing, hiking, swimming, and it made me feel strong and balanced in a way I hadn’t experienced before.
Eventually I became a reformer instructor, and I was surprised by how much I loved teaching. I was a pretty big introvert growing up, really shy as a kid, so standing in front of a room and leading people through a workout wasn’t something I ever saw coming. But it turned out to be the missing piece.
Santa Cruz County didn’t yet have the studio I personally wanted to go to. A strength-based, energy-forward reformer experience, something that felt modern and athletic, not just restorative. So I decided to build it. I was working in tech in Silicon Valley and finishing my MBA at the same time, I like to stay busy, but I kept coming back to this idea.
Looking back, it all makes sense. The business degree, the reformer, the coming home. I’m only 27, and I know that’s young to have opened a studio, but I’ve always moved a little faster than expected. I grew up having to figure things out for myself, and I think that’s what made me comfortable betting on something before most people my age would. Opening a business in my hometown has been the hardest yet most rewarding thing I’ve ever taken on.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Honestly, no. Almost every part of this was hard in some way.
I was balancing my job, finishing school, and building a business at the same time, so bandwidth was always an issue. I wore every hat, and I wore them all at once. The parts I didn’t expect to be so complex were the operational ones, the legal side, permits, payroll, HR, tax elections, workers’ comp. None of it comes with a manual and I had to figure most of it out as I went.
Financially, betting on yourself is scary. There’s no guaranteed outcome, and I felt that weight every day during the build-out. My fiancé and I were in the studio in the evenings laying down flooring on our hands and knees until our backs gave out, and then showing up the next day to do it again. You don’t really picture that part when you imagine opening a business, but that’s what it actually looks like.
There were definitely moments I doubted myself. Not the idea, but my ability to get it all done. I leaned heavily on my fiancé, my marketing manager Maya, my SBDC advisors, and my friends during those moments, and I really don’t think I could have done it without them.
But I think the hard parts were supposed to be there. I came out the other side knowing this business inside and out because I built every piece of it myself, and that means a lot to me.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
Offshore Pilates is a boutique strength-based reformer studio in Aptos. At its core, we use the reformer, a spring-based resistance machine, to deliver a workout that is challenging, intentional, and results-driven. We blend the foundational principles of Pilates, breath, control, precision, with contemporary strength training to create something that feels athletic and energizing without ever leaving you behind.
What sets us apart is the approach. We are not a traditional Pilates studio and we are not a franchise. We are a small, locally owned studio with a very specific point of view, that the best workout is one that meets you where you are, pushes you at the right level, and makes you want to come back. Our classes are programmed thoughtfully, our instructors are exceptional, and the experience from the moment you walk in is designed to feel personal and intentional.
Offshore is for everyone. We have members in their 20s and members in their 60s. We have athletes who cross train with us and people who had never touched a reformer before walking through our doors. The common thread is that they want to feel something, they want a real workout, and they want to be part of a community that actually shows up for each other.
That community is honestly what I am most proud of. We hit our membership goals faster than I ever expected, and watching the relationships form between members, between members and instructors, has been the most rewarding part of this whole thing. We offer memberships as our primary model, and I love that because it means we get to really know our members and grow with them over time.
We are just getting started, but the foundation we have built in such a short time tells me we are exactly where we are supposed to be.
Where do you see things going in the next 5-10 years?
The fitness industry is shifting in a really interesting direction right now and I think boutique studios are at the center of it.
People are moving away from big box gyms and toward experiences that feel personal, intentional, and community-driven. They don’t just want a place to work out anymore, they want to belong somewhere. That is a fundamental shift in what people are looking for from fitness, and boutique studios are uniquely positioned to deliver that in a way a 50,000 square foot gym never could.
Within Pilates specifically, I think we are going to see strength training become completely mainstream in the space. For a long time Pilates was associated with rehabilitation or low-impact movement, and while that has its place, a new generation of clients is coming to the reformer wanting to be challenged. They want to feel it the next day. They want results they can see. That is exactly what we built Offshore around, so in a lot of ways I feel like we are right on time.
I also think personalization is going to continue to grow. People want their instructor to know their name and their goals. Small group and membership-based models lend themselves to that naturally, which is another reason I believe deeply in the boutique model.
For Offshore specifically, my vision is for this studio to grow into something bigger than just a place you come to work out. I want it to be a community hub, a place where relationships are built, where people feel truly connected to something. The fitness is the entry point, but the belonging is what keeps people coming back. That is what we are building, and I think the industry is moving exactly in that direction.
Pricing:
- We offer an Intro Pack for anyone who wants to come try us out before committing to a membership. It’s 3 classes for $98, which gives you enough time to really experience the method, get comfortable on the reformer, and see if Offshore is the right fit for you. We hope you stay, but we want you to feel confident in that decision first.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.offshorepilates.com/
- Instagram: @offshorepilates
- Facebook: @offshorepilates
