Meet Brittany Landefeld of Powerhaus Pilates

Today we’d like to introduce you to Brittany Landefeld.

Hi Brittany, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
I’m a Southern California native, and wellness has always been part of my story. I went to college intending to become a dietitian, and that curiosity about how we care for our bodies never left me. My Pilates practice began in 2008, but it didn’t truly change my life until 2015.

At the time I was a restaurant GM, constantly running on fumes and late nights. One night at 4am, while I was working a closing shift, my store was robbed. That moment stopped me cold. I knew I could never again work somewhere that required me to be alone in a building overnight.

Pilates and therapy carried me through one of the darkest chapters of my life, and I came out on the other side stronger, more intentional, and clear about what I was meant to do. I trained and certified through BASI Pilates, the program Rael Isacowitz founded in my home state, and that education gave me a deep respect for the method as Joseph Pilates designed it. My teaching lineage runs from Joseph Pilates to Kathy Grant to Rael, and I carry that responsibility into every session I teach.

As I taught in different settings over the years, I kept seeing the same pattern in larger group formats. Classes grew, the work got simpler, and women who came in wanting to feel strong were leaving with a watered-down version of what Pilates can actually do. I knew they deserved more.

My husband was born just north of Columbus, and he’s the reason Ohio became home. In 2023 I opened Powerhaus Pilates inside a larger gym with a few pieces of equipment and a handful of loyal clients who believed in what we were building. This year we moved into our own dedicated studio on Post Road in Dublin. Today clients work on the Reformer and Tower in semi-private classes capped at four people, and we also offer private sessions, workshops, and on-demand content.

I’m happily married and a mom to two little ones under five, so I live the juggle our clients know so well. I share all of this because I want you to know I didn’t come to this work casually. I came to it through my own experience of feeling depleted, disconnected, and desperate to find my way back to myself. Most of the women who walk through our door have spent years taking care of everyone else, and I understand, deeply, what brought them here. My role is to guide them back to their strength.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Not at all, and I’m grateful for that now, even when it didn’t feel that way in the moment.

I knew how to teach Pilates long before I knew how to run a business. Becoming a founder meant learning everything else as I went: bookkeeping, payroll, contracts, marketing, building a website, and making decisions that used to be someone else’s job. Some of those lessons came the hard way. I’ve signed agreements I would write differently today, trusted promises that weren’t kept, and had a major equipment order arrive that didn’t work for our space. Every one of those moments cost me something, and every one of them made me a sharper, more careful business owner.

I also had to accept that I didn’t need to figure it all out alone. Some of my most valuable lessons came from people who were a few steps ahead of me, whether that was another studio owner, a mentor from my BASI training, or a local business owner willing to share what worked for them. Asking for help used to feel like admitting I was behind. Now I see it as one of the smartest things a founder can do.

That’s where my network has made all the difference. The small business community in Dublin and Columbus has been incredibly generous, from coffee partners at our grand opening to wellness collaborators who’ve hosted events with us. Those relationships have brought new clients through our door, but more than that, they’ve reminded me that I’m part of something bigger than my own four walls.

Running the studio on my own while raising my kids still stretches me every day. I’ve learned to protect my energy, lean on the people around me, and give myself grace when something doesn’t go perfectly. Our clients are often learning those same lessons in their own lives, and I think that shared understanding is part of what makes Powerhaus feel like home.

Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
Powerhaus Pilates is a boutique, full-apparatus Pilates studio in Dublin, Ohio, serving women throughout Dublin, Powell, and the greater Columbus area. We specialize in authentic Pilates taught the way Joseph Pilates intended, with real equipment, real progressions, and real results.

What sets us apart starts with our class size. Every semi-private class is capped at four people. That means I can see how your body moves, correct your form in the moment, and challenge you in a way that a crowded room simply can’t. You’ll never get lost in the back row here, and you’ll never be held back by a class that has to slow down to the lowest common denominator. We like to call it Pilates without the noise.

Our clients are mostly women who have spent years pouring into their families, their careers, and everyone around them. Many come to us feeling weaker than they’d like or frustrated that their bodies don’t feel like their own anymore. They don’t need another trendy workout. They need thoughtful, intelligent movement that rebuilds strength from the inside out. Watching a client stand taller, move without pain, or lift her grandkids with ease is the reason I do this work.

Beyond our semi-private classes, we offer private sessions, workshops, and on-demand content so clients can keep their practice going wherever life takes them. We also love collaborating with other local, women-led businesses, because a strong community makes all of us stronger.

Brand-wise, I’m most proud that Powerhaus has stayed true to who we are. In an industry full of fast, flashy formats, we chose depth over volume. Our tagline, Power Beneath The Surface, reflects that. The strength we build isn’t always visible at first, but our clients feel it in how they carry themselves, both in the studio and in their everyday lives.

If you’ve been craving a space that feels calm, elevated, and personal, where you’re truly seen and supported, we’d love to welcome you. You can explore our schedule and book your first class at powerhausstudio.com or follow along on Instagram at @thepowerhausstudio.

Risk taking is a topic that people have widely differing views on – we’d love to hear your thoughts.
I don’t think of myself as a natural risk-taker, but when I look back, nearly every meaningful chapter of my life started with one.

The first big leap was walking away from restaurant management. I had years invested in that career and a steady paycheck, and choosing to build a life around Pilates instead felt both terrifying and completely right. After what I’d been through, staying felt like the bigger risk.

Moving from Southern California to Ohio was another one. I left the place I grew up, and the community where I trained, to build a life here with my husband. Starting over in a new city meant building relationships and a reputation from the ground up.

Opening Powerhaus in 2023 was the risk that tested me most. I chose to start small, inside a larger gym, so I could prove the concept before taking on more. That decision gave me room to learn, grow a loyal client base, and make mistakes without betting everything at once. When we moved into our own studio this year, it was a much bigger commitment, but by then I had real evidence that what we were building was working.

Even our business model carries risk. Capping classes at four people means fewer clients per hour than most studios, and plenty of people would tell you that’s not the efficient choice. But I’d rather build something smaller and exceptional than something bigger and diluted. Our clients feel that difference, and it’s why they stay.

I’ve come to see risk less as a dramatic leap and more as a series of intentional steps. I ask myself what the worst realistic outcome would be, whether I could recover from it, and whether staying put would cost me more in the long run. Then I start with the smallest version of the idea and let it earn the next step.

Being a mom to two little ones has also changed how I think about it. Every risk I take now affects my family too, so I’m more thoughtful than I used to be. At the same time, I want my kids to grow up seeing their mom choose courage over comfort when something matters. That’s a lesson I hope they carry with them.

Pricing:

• New client intro offer: 2 classes for $80
• Monthly memberships at 4, 8, or 12 classes per month
• 10-class packs for flexible scheduling
• Private sessions with package options
• Current pricing and schedule available at powerhausstudio.com

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.powerhausstudio.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thepowerhausstudio
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pilatesbrittany
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@thepowerhausstudio

Image Credits
Brooke Muhumad @brookenicolephotography