Today we’d like to introduce you to Amanda Mecsey.
Hi Amanda, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today.
Oak Cliff Pilates started at Kidd Springs Park in 2016. Amanda had been working at a studio in Plano when she moved with her family to Bishop Arts. She began teaching private Reformer Pilates in the spare room of the house and doing Mat Pilates in the park with people from the neighborhood. It grew until she partnered with a neighborhood gym and started teaching out of their space. She added 6 reformers and then more, and then finally, in June of 2021, opened her first official OCP location. She outgrew that space and, in Oct of 2022, moved to a brand-new studio just down the street. OCP now serves over 450 members and has roots in the community with the people and local business owners.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
There have been some challenges. An early partnership that went south led to the OCP we know today. A dispute with the previous landlord over parking, and then a massive storm that knocked a wall down. We spent almost 2 weeks manually filling a generator with gas multiple times per day so we could keep our studio running during the hot summer. We have learned a lot about running a business, but we have always stayed true to our core values which was about serving the community and making Pilates more accessible and more inclusive.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar, what can you tell them about what you do?
Amanda spent 17 years in Arizona running a hair salon and doing hair. When she move to Dallas, she had to give up some of that business but found a love for Pilates, and that sent her down this new career path. Amanda has a unique and striking look, and her personality and ability to connect with people, probably from doing hair and listing to many life stories, has made her beloved by her community and members of the studio.
We’d be interested to hear your thoughts on luck and what role, if any, you feel it’s played for you.
There have been two pivotal moments in this business. The first was the breakup with the first business partner. It was very hard and emotional, but we built a much better brand and business because of it. The second was the dispute with the previous landlord. A bad leasing experience, bad parking and disagreement with other tenants, and then a giant wall falling down and disrupting our business paved the way to move to a much bigger and more professional space. Our business has grown significantly since this move.
