We are celebrating Women’s History Month and are starting with our very own Liz Hilliard! This is the story of her passion that started Hilliard Studio Method and how it evolved to be what it is today.
At Hilliard Studio Method we are surrounded by powerful, strong women and we’d love to share your story. Click here if you would like to share!
At age of 54 at the height of the 2008 financial crisis I opened the doors of Hilliard Studio Method in rented space in a church gym that was used for cycling. I had no equipment, no guarantees, and no clue where this was going. What I had was passion, ability and a strong desire to give people a workout that would blow their minds and sculpt and strengthen their body at any age. I had used my daughter and myself as guinea pigs for a concept that was soon to be causally known as “Hilliard” or “HSM”. Nobody can actually say Hilliard Studio Method three times fast without stumbling. My daughter lost 2 dress sizes before her wedding and I replaced fat with muscle, dropped a dress size and blew my own mind at the height of my own journey through menopause. Mic drop. Seriously. Have you gone through menopause? Okay, talk to me when you do.
It never occurred to me that starting a fitness business at age 54 was weird or strange when most of my counter parts were in their 20s or 30s. It also never occurred to me how foolish it might be to start any business during a financial crisis. I simply tunnel visioned my way into success. I didn’t see failure as an option. The workout was proven. I was good. My age gave me the empathy and maturity of years to understand people in a more holistic way than by just a physical body composed of muscles, bones and joints that performed in flawless ways when efficiently and safely pushed to exertion. I knew about the emotions of this too and how our body responds to positive and negative thoughts and vibrations. I knew that everything including music and taking the time to know each of my clients was key. Not just in the success of my business but in the success of my own happiness which in turn insured the success and happiness of my clients and their attitudes toward their bodies as well as emotional health. This is part of the magic of HSM. Fear, as in fear of my workout and pain, as in the pain of the muscles working to full exertion can be transformed through nurturing, supportive instruction into love and strength of the body and the mind. My first business card said Mind Body Spirit. And that’s exactly what it still is today.