Meet Valerie Lucas of Pilates VIP in North Fort Worth – Keller Area

Today we’d like to introduce you to Valerie Lucas.

Valerie, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I grew up as an “army brat”, a term I despised as a child. Today, I embrace and appreciate my “army brat” life, as it has given me several essential tools in building a successful business. Not only was hard work, selflessness, determination, loyalty and accountability exemplified in my parent’s army careers, but lack of the same values (among many others) in their children was not an option. We moved every three years, at the very least, and had no choice but to adapt to the varying environments. This meant we had to constantly adjust to changes to our “comfort zones”. When I discovered my passion (something I never had before), I was determined to figure out how to create a new career doing what I love for the rest of my life. It has taken faith (first and foremost) and the ability to step out of my comfort zone to start this journey. My new career is endless hard work in many facets, from the daily business functions to, more importantly, keeping clients feeling their best. I couldn’t have this new, rewarding career without these people in my life, and I’m thankful for that every day. It’s a complete pleasure having all of them in my life.

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
I don’t recall anything every being easy in my life, similar to many individuals out there. However, there is always a silver lining, and I’m grateful for my struggles. It’s in the struggles where we grow the most and gain strength we didn’t know we had.  Of course, I have to thank those close to me for their endless support and encouragement.     

When I first resigned from my corporate job of 18 years, where I was the breadwinner, to pursue my passion, our house started literally falling apart. We had financial woes now and pre-existing personal family issues accelerated, which limited my new career to just three years. Heartbroken, and dealing with the “death” of my hopes and dreams for my family, I returned to the career I had left just three years prior out of necessity. Day one back on the corporate track, my drive was fueled by the desire to get back to what I love and was created to do. After two years, I saved enough money to open the studio. I “jumped” as Steve Harvey says, taking a leap of faith, yet again, this time as a divorced, single income, mother of two precious sons. What was I thinking?!

Pilates VIP – what should we know? What do you do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
After a 5-year journey, I opened a local, boutique Pilates Studio called Pilates VIP in Keller. We offer our community Private, Semi-Private, Mat and Equipment Classes to people of ALL fitness levels. At Pilates VIP, everyone is treated as a VIP in a warm and welcoming environment, teaching precise and mindful movement to last a lifetime. Classes sizes are limited (5 for equipment classes and 10 for mat classes) to facilitate individual corrections to form. This also allows our VIP members to get the most out of their investment of time and money.  Plus we love getting to know all of our members! They truly are family to us.

Our teachers are BASI (Body, Arts and Science International) Pilates trained with over 500 hours of course work in addition to continuing education hours, which is something we take great pride in (www.basipilates.com). We are passionate about sharing the practical benefits of Pilates with our clients by being attentive and encouraging the mind/body connection throughout each session. Pilates truly is a way of life, and it’s our goal to incorporate as many of the Pilates Principles as possible in each class. We want every client to feel the results and the difference it makes in their lives, both physically and mentally.

What is “success” or “successful” for you?
This is a great question.  Success can definitely be defined by each person differently based on their personal values and goals. For me, being successful means making a choice to do your very best every day to just be better in all facets of life. There needs to be a conscious effort for self-improvement in order to positively impact the world around us. We have complete control only over ourselves, so we have to start there. More specifically, I would say it would be a success for me to continue to have the opportunity to change the lives of countless others with Pilates, giving them a workout they love and building their confidence from the inside out.

Pricing:

• ~ Introductory Offer #1: 2 Private Sessions PLUS Unlimited Group Classes for 3 weeks for $199
• ~ Introductory Offer #2: 3 months of Unlimited Group Classes for $125/mo.

Contact Info:

• Address: 5700 Kroger Dr., Suite 8 (top floor)
  Keller, TX 76244
  (Located in Dana’s Studio of Dance – Keller)
• Website: www.pilatesvip.net
• Phone: 817-706-1391
• Email: valerie@pilatesvip.net
• Instagram: @Pilates_vip
• Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pilatesviptexas/
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/pilates-vip-keller?osq=pilates+vip
• Other: https://www.wellnessliving.com/signup/pilatesvip

Image Credit:
Weston Richey, Captures by Erin

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