How Two Austin Women Built A Fitness Experience They Believe In

In the mornings, when light carries through the large glass windows at Kore Kollective Modern Pilates, there’s no chance to hide. There are no strategically dimmed fixtures, and there are no shadows that create an illusion of who you are.

The studio has a very clear point: Embrace you.

“We want it to be bright,” says Joy Domingues-Torres, the co-founder of the reformer pilates studio in East Austin, along with Vanda Taurpradist. “We don’t want people to feel judged or intimidated.”

It allows Domingues-Torres, a long-time slow-resistance training and yoga instructor, to really dial in on the idea of why you’re there in the first place: to get the best damn reformer pilates class you’ve ever had. 

“Never take Joy on a Friday,” says Vanda Taurpradist, jokingly referring to the back-to-back-to-back comments her business partner has now received, all versions of the same feedback. “Geez, that was the hardest class I’ve ever taken.” 

Like any new business, long-term success ultimately relies on the feedback of its community. Value matters, as does trust and repeat visits. The fitness industry can sometimes be its own prisoner—we live and die by the product. But is that good enough nowadays? Let’s ask ourselves: What experience did you provide? 

“I’ve taught at other studios,” Taurpradist said. “The conversations we often had were, ‘How do we sell memberships to clients?’ That’s not the vibe here. We like to say, ‘Did you really like this workout? Did you feel good?’”

So far, business has been good. In fact, a little more than a year in, with 40 classes a week and 10 instructors, the East Austin studio is now planning for a life with more responsibility.

Kore Kollective 2.0 is scheduled to open in spring 2027. 

Kore Kollective Modern Pilates hit its one year anniversary in March.

The Origins Of A Modern Pilates Gym 

In many ways, Domingues-Torres, 44, was ready for this. Years ago, living in Connecticut with her husband, the duo opened a hybrid studio that featured yoga and capoeira, a Brazilian mixed-martial art. After they wound that operation down, they moved to Austin 14 years ago. 

A decade on, Domingues-Torres has worn many hats: graphic designer, instructor, business owner. Early on, she scored a contract with the City of Austin, teaching yoga and slow-resistance training. Next came an apparel line—designing and manufacturing fitness clothes out of her native Brazil. For a time, she worked at Urban Lagree.

Often, she would hang her hat on 60 hour weeks. At some point, though, she became tired by the grind of it all. She was a mother to two children now. 

Then she met Taurpradist. Back when Domingues-Torres was teaching at Urban Lagree, there was Taurpradist–a client with an unrelenting drive to improve. That feeling was born out of a desire to change habits. “When I was 25 years old, I was at my heaviest weight,” said Taurpradist, a University of Texas graduate. “I was 325 pounds.” 

A series of injuries contributed to that state. She tore her ACL, MCL and meniscus. Then, “I gained a lot of weight,” she said. She got surgery, started working with a trainer, and then lost 200 pounds. She gained a lot of hobbies in the process.  

“I used to be a serious HEAT bootcamper,” she said. “I did 299 bootcamp classes there.” 

How Kore Kollective Turned The Corner

Taurpradist, 36, and her now husband—who own a 4-year-old African Basenji who was named among Austin Fit Magazine’s fittest dogs in 2023—were early-adopters of Hyrox. They competed in the now-burgeoning endeavor in its first year and even reached the U.S. Championships in Chicago.

By the time she returned from competition, Taurpradist said, she was looking to add more value in her life. 

“It’s The Most Fulfilling Thing I’ve Ever Done In My Life.” — Vanda Taurpradist

That manifested in teacher training. After working diligently with Domingues-Torres and taking nearly 1,000 classes on her own, she gained her reformer pilates certification (about 30 hours of training) in 2021. But Taurpradist didn’t rest on her laurels. 

She taught 70 mock classes before she stepped into the role for the first time. Then, managing a busy life that included being an executive assistant to roughly 10 founders and CEOs, she taught 826 classes in a year and a half (averaging roughly a class and a half a day over that span).

Any gleam of hope made way for dry spells. Both felt something was amiss.

“I would sometimes give feedback to owners, but they just weren’t taking it,” Taurpradist said. 

“Being a brown immigrant,” Domingues-Torres said. “I was sometimes the first person who looked like me in the studio. I wanted to have the freedom to create the things I wanted.” 

By the end of 2024, the duo were now laser-focused on creating their own vision.

Building Kore Kollective 

Looking ahead, the pair visited 15 spaces across Central Texas, from locations in Mueller to a handful on the East side. Their last meeting was at 979 Springdale Road, in a renovated building that formerly served as a food distribution warehouse. In recent years, the site has exploded into mixed-business use, from corporate offices to retail space and fitness gyms like Austin Bouldering Project. 

Domingues-Torres reviewed the space and a light flickered on. Industrial. Concrete flooring. High ceilings. “The natural light,” she said. 

Ding ding ding. 

Quickly, Kore Kollective took form. The pair signed a lease agreement. Domingues-Torres started designing the space: A big open space for reformer machines, two bathrooms, and a front desk for instructors to meet with clients. The duo put down $50,000 down on 10 new reformer pilates machines, each costing $11,000, then financed the remaining. 

“This was a blank canvas,” Domingues-Torres said. 

The first couple weeks, they promoted their studio’s opening on Instagram. But generally, they said, they stayed away from mass marketing, instead relying on word of mouth. Within months, that strategy paid off.

Previous clients joined them early. New ones came in, including ones they didn’t even expect—climbers, cyclists, even pole dancers. Domingues-Torres and Taurpradist scaled up, but didn’t overwhelm their schedule with classes on the hour, every hour.

Business eventually hit a rhythm. 

Looking Ahead To What’s Next

The pair take pride in the fact that this studio is a female-run business, operated by two women of color. They say their clientele reflects their own experiences: women and men of color, people in the LGBTQ+ community, everyone in between. They’re excited by their next steps, and want to see just how far they can take this. 

The experience, to be honest, has been a little unexpected. 

“I don’t know if Joy and I felt real stress about it, which is kind of unheard of,” Taurpradist said. “I think that’s a testament to building our network. It’s the most fulfilling thing I’ve ever done in my life. I honestly don’t see a chapter past this. For me, it’s, ‘How can we build on it?’” 

“I think it’s really about the experience for the client,” Domingues-Torres said. “We really wanted to make sure when people walk through the door, they’re like, ‘The instructor sees me, they’ve spoken to me, the class is full.’

“I always tell clients, ‘I shouldn’t have to sell it for you. The workout should speak for itself.’”