Praxia Pilates - a studio for everyone: here’s how it was built

The idea for a Pilates studio to be built in Salo first came to life at a workplace wellbeing event 15 years ago. The final vision for Praxia Pilates took concrete form during brothers Antti and Mikko’s trip to Thailand. Now Praxia Pilates runs its day-to-day in Thril, and the customer register already holds over 400 customers.

Brothers Antti and Mikko Rindell built a shared Pilates studio in Salo after years spent in different parts of Finland. The interest grew from a single experience and local demand.

“Back at a workplace wellbeing event I tried reformer Pilates, and after that one hour I felt so good that I thought — how is there no Pilates studio in Salo where you can do reformer Pilates? That thought has been simmering in my head ever since,” Antti recalls.

The idea stayed with him for years. It became more concrete when both Antti and Mikko moved back to Salo. Mikko emphasises that a major reason for starting the business together was the desire to strengthen their bond as brothers after years spent apart.

Getting the studio up and running didn’t take long in the end. In under a year, the vision and the company were in place.

The Phuket fast

A milestone on the road to opening the studio was a week-long trip to Phuket about a year and a half ago. The menu for the week consisted of green juices and herbal capsules. Mikko laughs that the fast lasted six days — and during that time, their vision unexpectedly sharpened. The trip brought a reformer Pilates opportunity and familiar Pilates entrepreneurs who supported the brothers’ ideas.

“They shared a lot of insights with us, and encouraged us too — that this is worth going for,” Mikko recalls.

The final push to open the studio was, according to Mikko, the general interest among people in Salo. A video posted to a local Facebook group during the planning phase gathered a lot of attention and comments from strangers, which sealed the decision.

“We’ve been waiting for this,” the comments said.

A place you want to go to yourself

The guiding idea behind the studio renovation was simple: create a place you’d want to visit yourself at least once a week.

“We wanted the look and feel to appeal to both women and men, people of all ages. And I think we pulled that off pretty well,” Mikko says. Customers have given feedback that the space feels calming just as it is.

“These are the kind of ventures where if you knew in advance how much work was involved, you probably wouldn’t start,” he laughs.

As much as possible in one system

As an active Thril user and keen follower of analytics, Mikko has already done his homework on the numbers. He notes that according to Thril, Praxia already has over 400 customers in the register, of whom around 350 have paid the studio something. The growth has happened from a small base, but quickly.

“It starts from a small number and grows, and every day you notice there are faces here I don’t even recognise,” Antti adds.

Day-to-day operations are centred around Thril, managed by Antti and Mikko along with studio manager Essi in particular. Praxia Pilates hasn’t brought everything into one place yet, but the direction is clear:

“I personally believe in keeping as much as possible tied to the same system. That’s what we’re working towards in our day-to-day. We can see that it reduces the load that comes with running things,” Mikko sums up.

Mikko praises Thril for its active development work and willingness to help. The quick support received via WhatsApp gets a special mention. A productive working relationship has grown between Praxia and Thril, and brainstorming together has moved both parties forward.

“Thril has worked really well. I hadn’t used a laptop for ten years, and now I’ve had to come back to it. And even for me, Thril works really well,” Antti laughs at the end.

Explore Praxia Pilates or book a class.

If you’d like to hear more about Thril, book a demo here!

Contact Information

📞 Phone: +358 50 3068660

📧 Email: info@thril.fi

📍 Address: Unioninkatu 24, 00130 Helsinki, Suomi