Our mission is to bring you the world’s best original Pilates services to our home in West Melbourne or to you home via Zoom. Our intention is educate you and provide a first-hand experience of how transformative the full and complete Pilates method is. We do not seek to run a highly commercialised space, franchise or take over the world. This (sadly unique) position enables us to work with clients who are committed to their wellbeing and time at the studio. Believe us when we say, we care about Pilates and your personal development.

As an established studio with a very loyal clientele, our availability is quite limited to on-board new clients; although we would love to work with you, we may not have the scope especially if you have a standard work week/roster. Please be patient, we are definitely worth the wait and would love to work with you as soon as it is practical.

All clients begin with 2-10 private sessions where we teach you the fundamentals of movement, of Pilates and really get to know how you think, move and interact with exercise. From this point we will mutually determine which streams of training (private, group, autonomous) are best geared to your development.

You may see starting with 1:1 tuition a bit much, that’s ok. Our 20+ years of experience has taught us that it’s usually the people who are raring to go or complete novices who actually need more attention to understand their own body and how to build it safely and effectively with Pilates.

Even in our first level of group classes, you will be expected to learn the names of exercises, retain details and operate the apparatus without your teacher. This is a cornerstone of legitimate Pilates training and it can’t be rushed. Rely on our expertise to set the time-frame and pace for your training; if you do it right, you’ll benefit for years to come.

If group classes are where you’d like to concentrate, please note that our programme runs on a calendar similar to school terms and you may need to wait for the next term to kick off.

As we hope to work with you for many years, please read on to see that we are the right fit for you and you for us …

Studio culture

For over 20 years we have put Pilates front and centre. We take our work very seriously, but have fun along the way. Our clients are interested in learning about their body, how to move it intelligently, to be healthy at any age. 

There’s a reason why we are still going strong and many fitness oriented ‘pilates’ studios close. Our on-boarding process and focus on technique seems strict? Maybe… but as lineage bearers connected to Mr and Mrs Pilates, like you, we are quality-oriented and thrive with old-school manners in shared space; this enables us all to focus purely on the work.

Please think carefully before signing up to our courses and classes, it’s important to us that you come to the studio when the time is right and you have a clear run at dedicated training; we are in it for the long-haul with you. You will need to train with us at least twice a week and turn up mentally and physically available each session. ‘Life’ is more important than this Pilates studio, but you’d be amazed what you will be able to accomplish when you set the time aside and prioritise consistent training at The Refinery.

Our studio is rooted heavily in the “health at every size” principle. We are free from diet-culture and aesthetic observation or comparison. We strive for ‘body-neutrality’ in the space and operate from a skill-acquisition perspective. We believe that everyone has the right to a space where nourishing, purposeful exercise will triumph over an arbitrary physical appearance. If you’re looking to burn/firm, have a no pain, no gain vibe … or train for the apocalypse and while checking yourself in the mirror … please head down the road.

 We eat, sleep and breathe this wonderful method and will work diligently to support your wellbeing by offering you the best original Pilates experience in the Antipodes.