Building Resistance — Why I Started a Fitness Studio.

By Erin Heatherton

Fitness has played a central but evolving role throughout my life. My childhood is filled with memories of practicing and competing in varsity and AAU basketball. In modeling, working out was both a professional necessity and a refuge from the intense pressure. Today it has become my community, my business, and my biggest source of fulfillment.

Fitting In

There are both privileges and pressures to being successful as a young model. 

The privilege that I appreciated the most was the opportunity to work with kind people whose expertise and passion brought them to the top of their field. I have been blessed to work with many phenomenal trainers over the years. In a lifestyle of cramming meetings and media between shoots in different timezones, my workout was consistently my favorite hour of the day. There’s something therapeutic about escaping all the stress and distractions preoccupying your mind as you focus on connecting with your body through a challenging workout. 

At the peak of my career, there was constant pressure to stay very thin. Even early on, maintaining industry standards was a full time job, but it was possible for my body type at the time. I took my fitness seriously and was motivated by the validation I received.

As I got older, I continued to work hard, but the “fit” version of my body looked different. I built my career and my self image on positive feedback that came naturally when I was younger and the foundation crumbled when that feedback turned negative. Shoots and agency meetings that were once fun and rewarding felt depleting and incredibly taxing on my self esteem. I was training twice a day and religiously monitoring the quality of my diet, but my body would simply not return to its 18 year old shape. Exercise shifted from something I did for myself to something I did for increasingly unattainable validation. I was emotionally and physically burnt out and started associating fitness with rejection.

At the time, I lacked the coping skills to deal with these feelings in a healthy way. It’s easy to reject healthy habits when we need them the most. People resort to unhealthy foods when we’re stressed at work, stop exercising when problems arise in their relationships, or sleep less and drink more caffeine when their schedule becomes overwhelming. I allowed a shock to my self-esteem to create a negative feedback loop and lost motivation.

I no longer found joy in the process of staying fit and I stopped exercising. Over the course of a year, my rejection of fitness leaked  into other aspects of my life: my diet, my relationships, my sleep habits, my career and my happiness.

Reconnecting With Myself

Figuring myself out during this time was a process in itself and I’m thankful for the people who cared enough to help me identify the best way to move forward. I moved back to Chicago, closer to my family and away from the stressors that were affecting my negative spiral. While I still had problems that moving didn’t resolve, I was determined to earn my confidence back and sought the best first step in that direction.

That step turned out to be my first class at a Lagree studio in Chicago. When I was researching class options, I was drawn to Lagree Method’s emphasis on slow, controlled movements. When I was  training for the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show, my trainer Justin Gelband always preached slow movement – “go slower than you think you should”. Lagree’s approach resonated with me because it felt familiar: I knew from experience that slow movements got results.

As I struggled through that first Lagree class, I was inspired by the strength of everyone around me. It was so impressive watching others maintain perfect form as I took breaks to recover, drenched in sweat. I left that class humbled and feeling like jelly. The next day, every muscle fiber was sore in a way I had never felt before. 

With each class, I could feel the improvement: I took less breaks, I held poses longer, I went deeper into each movement. These improvements translated into day-to-day life as well: I had more energy, better posture, and my back pain disappeared. The most profound shift I experienced was in my confidence - I was now able to do moves that seemed impossible in that first class. While I was still looking at the most advanced people in class for motivation, beginners were now looking at my form to improve theirs. Along with the endorphins from each completed class, this progress kept me motivated and quickly turned into positive changes I could see. 

Improving at Lagree Method is not a matter of doing more reps, lifting more weight or moving faster. You improve by pushing yourself to do each class with better form at a slower pace.

A New Stage

Around this time I got a Hinge message from some guy named “Karol, 30”. After vetting him over dinner, I decided to invite him on a second date: joining me at a Lagree class. He looked it up and said “it kinda seems like a girl workout”, a statement that he apologetically retracted shortly after taking the class. We started going together regularly, keeping each other accountable. I was attracted to his willingness to try something new and challenging. Four years later, we’re engaged. 

Karol had no background in the fitness industry. Two years ago, some entrepreneurial instinct crossed wires with his love of Lagree and he started talking about opening a studio together. I wanted a career outside of modeling, but becoming a Lagree Instructor and studio manager seemed daunting. By this point, I had taken over 200 Lagree classes, but the idea of actually leading a class gave me instant anxiety. 

Growing up, I didn’t dream of being a model. I wasn’t a theater kid.  Social media wasn’t a thing yet. My natural impulse was never to seek the spotlight or put myself on any stage. Managing that aspect of modeling was always challenging for me, but I tried my best to adapt.

Now in my 30’s, changing careers to something completely outside my comfort zone felt like a big undertaking. A good Lagree instructor needs to prepare perfectly-timed routines that target every muscle group and succinctly explain each move in a way that allows beginners to get into proper form, all while observing each person in class, making adjustments, and giving adequate feedback based on their individual level. I knew that I could nail the technical side of it with enough preparation and practice, but I was scared to do all of this while speaking into a microphone in a room full of new people. Teaching classes meant putting myself on yet another stage, but I decided to embrace the discomfort. 

We spent months looking at spaces, talking to contractors, brainstorming our branding (Karol’s sister Karina designed our logo!), finding excellent instructors and ordering Megaformers.  After completing our training with a Lagree Master Instructor, I started teaching countless practice classes with friends and family until I finally felt ready. We planned our  spectacular grand opening in… March of 2020! July of 2020! February of 2021! 

(At some point, I’ll share my experience of launching a  fitness studio the week that COVID lockdowns started. However, the delay gave me time to keep improving as an instructor and gave me even more confidence when we were finally able to open. I even typed out 10 complete classes word for word and made Karol do them with me as I fine-tuned the script.)

Full Circle

We called our studio Resistance not to clarify the type of training we offer, but to invoke the word’s other definition: 

The ability to not be adversely affected by something.

Two years since opening, thousands of people have come through our studio. Many were complete Lagree beginners. Hundreds of them trusted me, personally, to guide them through that crucial first step in their own journey towards a healthier life. For that I am immensely grateful.

I started a fitness studio because it was a way for me to take something that I am genuinely passionate about and share it directly with the people around me.

It was important to me that the next chapter of my life after modeling was more authentic. My passion was never lingerie, luxury products, or social media. My proudest accomplishment is not what my body looked like when it was framed by angel wings on a runway. My proudest accomplishment is building Resistance, channeling the challenges from my past into something that helps people feel good about their bodies.