Accessible Pilates studio set to open in Seaham next month

Nicci Rowlands, from Denton, is the brains behind PilatEASE UK, a growing not-for-profit reformer Pilates company, with a sixth site set to open in Seaham at the end of June.

The 48-year-old launched her first reformer studio in Denton in 2019 after suffering from a back injury while working as a kettlebell instructor and turned to the exercise form as a method to recover.

She said: “I slipped a disc demonstrating how not to swing a kettlebell – I was literally showing people what could go wrong and then it went wrong for me.

“I was in agony and was desperate to find something that would help. I went to a few classes, but I didn’t feel comfortable in the classes I tried.

PilatEASE UK (Image: PilatEASE UK)

“Then I found reformer Pilates and it was like someone had opened a door. Suddenly I could move without having to get down on the floor, and I remember thinking, this is going to change everything for people like me, people with pain, injuries, busy lives, people who just want to feel like themselves again.”

Following the success of her first studio, the founder has since expanded in Newcastle upon Tyne, Denton, Ryton, Morpeth, Consett and Whitley Bay with a focus on affordability and accessibility for everyone.

The company then became a not-for-profit charity in December 2025.

Ms Rowlands said: “We built PilatEASE UK to challenge everything people think Pilates is too expensive, too exclusive, too intimidating and prove it can be the complete opposite.

“We’re a community interest company now, so we operate very similarly to a charity. Every penny we make is ploughed straight back into our studios and into our teachers, which means we can keep classes affordable and open doors in communities where other studios simply wouldn’t go.”

The PilatEASE UK instructors (Image: PilatEASE UK)

The new PilatEASE UK studio, in Murton Village, will offer a variety of reformer classes each week with an emphasis on low-cost and “pay what you feel” options.

Ms Rowlands said: “You find with Pilates nowadays there’s a certain aesthetic that goes with it that a lot of people don’t feel they fit into.

“In my studios, there are no mirrors and no dress code – you can turn up in your matching set or in your oldest joggers and socks, and nobody will bat an eyelid.

“Our teachers range from their 20s to their 70s, all shapes, all sizes, and every single one of them is there because Pilates has helped them physically or mentally, that’s the difference, and people feel it as soon as they walk in.”

Determined to remove barriers, Ms Rowlands went on to launch the PilatEASE Training School in 2021, offering reformer teacher training in the North East, so aspiring instructors no longer had to travel to London to qualify.

The new studio in Seaham. (Image: PilatEASE UK)

She said: “When I first trained, there was nowhere in the North East to do reformer Pilates training, so you had to travel, pay for hotels, trains, the lot, it made the whole thing feel out of reach. I was determined that nobody coming after me would have to go through that.

“So, I set up the PilatEASE Training School and brought affordable reformer training to the region.

“Since then, we’ve trained dozens of teachers, which has been a huge part of putting reformer Pilates on the map in the North East.

The new studio in Seaham. (Image: PilatEASE UK)

“There will always be space for the super-boujee studios, and they do what they do really well. But what we’re doing with PilatEASE UK is different, it’s real people, real lives and real North East communities.

“We’re here to help people feel better, move better and, ultimately, live better and that should belong to everybody, not just a few.”

While an official location and opening date has yet to be announced, the owner said the details will be revealed in the coming weeks.