Today we’d like to introduce you to Meredith Opsahl. They and their team shared their story with us below:
Meredith is the Founder and Owner of BK Pilates Charleston and Charlotte locations. In February 2020, the Pilates instructor and former advertising sales exec opened the doors of the boutique studio BK Pilates in Charlotte’s South End. She’d just landed from New York City, where Meredith and Marina Kaydanova, the founder of BK Pilates NYC, met. Meredith took the BK Pilates workouts to the South, introducing a style about alignment and slow, controlled movements for tone, endurance, and good posture. Meredith is a certified Balanced Body Instructor with over 15 years of practicing experience and 8 years of teaching experience. Fast forward to 2024, she’s opening the doors to BK Pilates Charleston in the Holy City. Located in Northcutt Plaza in Mount Pleasant, you can catch her here at the studio asking you to plank it out just one more time, focusing more on an athletic style pilates approach; Meredith’s classes are sure to leave you feeling the burn, but also feeling GOOD. When she’s not at the studio, you may find her on the beach in Sullivans Island or a frequent visitor of 167 Raw. If you see Meredith, don’t hesitate to say Hi, as she loves building connections in her community.
We all face challenges, but looking back, would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Not at all! The first business I opened after saying goodbye to Corporate America was in February 2020, 6 weeks shy of what we all didn’t know would change the world- COVID & the pandemic. The biggest hurdle I would ever take was pausing for what we all thought would be 2 weeks- to closing the first-ever BK Pilates Charlotte for over 4 months. Re-cupping from the pandemic closures didn’t take me down enough to close the business forever; it pushed me to return stronger. Opening the doors of the 2nd BK Pilates Charlotte studio in March 2021. My motto is “You can only go up from negative.”
Let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
My job as a Pilates instructor, first and foremost, is to help others’ bodies. Whether rehabbing from a knee replacement, my job is to prepare their bodies to recover better than they could, improve their strength, and encourage them to keep moving forward after surgery- progressing 1 day at a time. As a business owner and leader of a company- my job is to make sure my staff and I are implementing the core are encouraging and implementing the core values of the BK brand- “Be Kind”- BK stands for Be Kind To Your Body. After all, movement is medicine, and pilates heals. I am proud of the community we’ve built in Charlotte, NC, and I cannot wait to make this community in Mount Pleasant and the Charleston, SC, community. Pilates is a healing movement, whether you’re 13, 35, or 90. Movement is medicine.
What’s next?
Let’s take one day at a time. Mount Pleasant, SC, is the first BK Pilates in South Carolina. Today, let me pause; this is my 3rd studio opening in 4 years. But then again, 6 months from now, as an entrepreneur, I could see myself saying, ok, let’s keep going; we’ve got a good thing going on here!
Pricing:
- 1st Group Class- $25
- New Client Introduction Private- $75
- Opening Weekend 3 Group Class Pack- $75
- Founders 16x Membership- $309/month
Contact Info:
- Website: http://www.bkpilatescharlestonsc.com
- Instagram: @bkpilateschs
- Facebook: BK Pilates Charleston
- Other: https://www.mindbodyonline.com/explore/locations/bk-pilates-chs
