On today’s episode, host Pete Moore sits down with Emma and Ben Stallworthy, the husband and wife team behind the Melbourne-based, Your Reformer. With a foundation built on serial entrepreneurship and a huge passion for Pilates, Emma and Ben share their story from reviving a rundown health club to scaling a successful chain of gyms, and ultimately selling their business to a major player.

They dive into the challenges of pivoting from brick-and-mortar to launching their own Pilates equipment and digital content venture, all while (trying!) to balance family life, married life, and staying true to their values. Listen now for some candid conversations about risk-taking, jumping on opportunities, and why they believe the future of wellness lies in making Pilates accessible anytime, anywhere, and for anyone.

On knowing your bottom line during negotiations, Emma states, "Make sure you're equipped with the right advisors around what is a realistic valuation that you can have some wiggle room in negotiation to move with. You should know, what's my bottom line, what would I walk away from, and what am I comfortable with? This way, you can then go in there and be comfortable with either decision and have no regrets."

Key themes discussed

• Building and scaling health clubs in Australia.
• Entrepreneurial journey and personal growth.
• Introducing reformer Pilates into gyms.
• Navigating acquisitions and business exits.
• Creating boutique wellness experiences within larger clubs.
• Transitioning to digital and at-home Pilates solutions.
• Balancing family life with business partnerships.

A few key takeaways:

1. Entrepreneurial Spirit and Diverse Ventures: The couple's journey highlights their strong entrepreneurial drive. From purchasing a rundown club at 22, to experimenting with other unusual businesses, they’ve shown a knack for identifying and chasing new opportunities. Their evolution to focusing on one “core thing” (Pilates, with Your Reformer) demonstrates the power of learning, adaptation, and focus.

2. Building, Growing, and Exiting a Fitness Chain: They took a failing gym, revamped it, and eventually scaled to six clubs (Pinnacle Health Clubs) by innovating early—like introducing 24/7 access before it became common. This alone doubled their membership! Their ability to consistently listen to member needs and adapt offerings was essential for sustained growth, culminating in a successful exit to Viva Leisure.

3. Pilates and Boutique Wellness as a Growth Engine: The pair recognized Pilates—specifically Reformer Pilates—as a critical differentiator and a driver of future growth. By integrating boutique wellness elements into their clubs, they expanded the appeal and unlocked additional revenue, with up to 30% of members opting in for premium wellness options.

4. Navigating the Acquisition Process: Emma and Ben shared valuable advice on selling a business: When a strategic buyer comes with an offer, don’t let personal attachment cloud your judgment! They stressed the importance of getting solid advice, knowing your worth, negotiating from a position of strength, and recognizing that the first offer is often the best. Detaching emotionally and staying commercially minded is crucial.

5. Transitioning to Product and Digital Solutions: After their exit, they transitioned from brick-and-mortar gyms to manufacturing reformer Pilates machines and digital solutions, supplying both commercial facilities and the home market. Your Reformer meets the needs of major gym chains to home users, making Pilates more accessible without breaching any non-compete. They’ve combined design, content, and hardware into user-focused solutions, leveraging insights from hands-on, member-facing experience.

Resources:

• Emma Stallworthy: https://www.linkedin.com/in/emma-stallworthy
• Ben Stallworthy: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ben-stallworthy-912625a1/
• Your Reformer: https://yourreformer.com/
• Prospect Wizard: https://www.theprospectwizard.com
• Promotion Vault: http://www.promotionvault.com
• HigherDose: http://www.higherdose.com

Every Wednesday we release our all new “HALO Academy: 2 Minute Financial Drill" by Integrity Square Founder & HALO Talks host, Pete Moore on everything you need to know for financial literacy, unit economics, legal documents used for M&A and capital raises, capital sources you can access, understanding how financings are structured, valuation metrics and parameters, and what you need to know about your own business before engaging in cap raises and/or a potential sale.

If you missed our email about this, you can re-read it here: https://mailchi.mp/9567da51c0ce/2025programschedule
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RESOURCES

• https://www.integritysq.com
• https://www.halotalks.com
• https://www.thehaloacademy.com
• Watch the video here: https://www.youtube.com/@halotalks

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ABOUT YOUR INSTRUCTOR

Pete is the Founder, Managing Partner and Chief Dream Architect at Integrity Square ("ISQ"), a leading boutique financial advisory firm focused on the $4.7T Health, Active Lifestyle, Outdoor ("HALO") sector. Since founding ISQ in 2010, the firm has played an active advisory role in 100+ mergers & acquisitions, private placements and advisory assignments across North America.

Pete Moore and his team have also invested in passionate entrepreneurs at HigherDOSE, XTEND, and Promotion Vault. ISQ's media and "live education" properties include HALO Talks, the leading B2B podcast in the sector, Time To Win Again, and the HALO Academy, an Executive Education Bootcamp Series.

Prior to ISQ, Pete was Head of the Active Lifestyle & Wellness Group at Sagent Advisors (2003-2010.) Prior to 2003, Pete was co-founder of FitnessInsite, a SasS sales management platform with 1500+ clients (based in AZ.) At FitnessInsite, Pete invested his personal capital, leveraged his credit cards and learned what it takes to manage a startup.

Pete built his business and financial acumen on top of the foundation laid at three critical positions early in his career: Senior Associate at Brockway Moran & Partners, the private equity owner of Gold’s Gym International, Inc; worked as an Associate at Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette; and an Analyst at Chase Securities. (Now JP Morgan.)

ISQ saw a need for a deeper & more useful level of education in the HALO sector. In response, we launched the HALO Talks podcast, with 500+ completed interviews and over 120,000 downloads. HALO Talks has become a “must listen” for anyone working or investing in the sector.

Pete graduated from Emory University (BBA, 1994) and received his MBA from Harvard Business School (1999.) While at HBS, he co-founded IRON PLANET, the leading B2B auction site for used heavy equipment, which was sold to Ritchie Bros for $758 million. His hobbies include: Football, basketball, tennis, podcasting, amateur ventriloquism, pro bono DJ and fitness enthusiast.

In today's episode, Integrity Square Founder Pete Moore dives into the roots and current landscape of private equity (PE) — and why it matters to literally 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘰𝘯𝘦 in the HALO sector. Ignore at your own peril.

• PE's Evolution: PE started when changes like the Prudent Man Act allowed institutions (think university endowments and pension funds) to invest in private companies. This ushered in a new era for higher-risk, higher-return investments.

• The PE Playbook: Early pioneers like Kohlberg, Kravitz & Roberts (KKR) built the model we see today: Acquire private companies, add layers of financing, optimize operations, make additional add-on acquisitions, and resell for higher multiples and strong returns over a 5-7 year hold period.

• PE’s Widespread Impact: For better or worse (more on that in future videos) private equity now owns major brands across industries (including popular gym chains and franchises in the HALO sector.) Their involvement accelerates change, competition, and operational improvement—if you’re in the industry, you’re either a target, a competitor, or a potential partner.

If you missed our video about EoS Fitness, we touch on that here: https://youtu.be/CQtaGUQIyxY

Want to learn more? (You should. Otherwise you're playing checkers while the rest of the industry plays chess.)

Give us 10 hours of your time at the next HALO Academy starting June 24th. Register at https://www.thehaloacademy.com now for $495 and earn a $100 gift card from our friends at Promotion Vault. Testimonials at https://www.thehaloacademy.com/testimonials

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Thanks to Promotion Vault and HigherDose for sponsoring. For 15% off products sitewide (excluding bundles, kits, and full saunas) use the code GOHALO at https://tidd.ly/4l1WXEf