When Elena Duni hears the phrase “Pilates princess,” she winces.
The founder of SQLPT, a boutique mat-based Pilates studio with locations in Fort Lauderdale, Boca Raton and Brickell, wants to dismantle the stereotype that Pilates is simply a fashionable workout for influencers in matching sets.
“Pilates is for everybody,” Duni says. “But it’s not for every mindset.”
For Duni, Pilates isn’t about social media, mirror selfies, or chasing the latest fitness trend. It’s about learning how to move well enough to carry groceries without hurting your back, pick up your children with confidence, or simply maintain mobility as you age.
“It’s functional movement,” she says. “It’s about creating a body that serves you for life.”
That philosophy was born from experience.
Eight years ago, after the birth of her son, Duni worked at a job that, while lucrative, didn’t feed her soul. A series of personal tragedies were weighing on her mind and body – literally. Feeling not like herself at 185 pounds on a petite frame, Duni was dragged to a Pilates studio in Macedonia by her aunt.
“I hated it,” she laughs. “Everyone around me could hold a plank for a minute and a half. I couldn’t hold one for 10 seconds. But I kept coming back.”
She committed to practicing five days a week, overhauled her diet, and eventually lost 60 pounds—long before GLP-1 medications like Ozempic transformed the weight-loss conversation.
“It wasn’t a shortcut,” she says. “It was consistency. That’s still what I teach today.”
Her training also set her apart.
Rather than learning in a traditional boutique fitness environment, Duni trained through a hospital-affiliated rehabilitation program in Eastern Europe, where physical therapy patients transitioned into Pilates before returning to everyday life.
Not that far after, Duni found herself working with post-surgical patients, NFL athletes, and people recovering from significant injuries. Those experiences became the foundation of the SQLPT method, which emphasizes anatomy, alignment, and longevity over calorie burn.
“If your alignment is wrong, nothing else matters,” she says. “Movement should make your body function better.”
That conviction became deeply personal in 2020.
When Duni’s younger brother was diagnosed with cancer, doctors warned he might never walk again. She refused to accept that prognosis.Through rehabilitation and Pilates, he gradually regained strength. Today, he is six months into remission.
“I told him, ‘We’re going to prove them wrong,'” she recalls. “Watching that recovery reminded me why this work matters.”
The road to building SQLPT wasn’t easy.
Three years ago, Duni says she was carrying $80,000 in debt. She left a prestigious career at Louis Vuitton, where she served as a regional director, because something was missing.
“It looked successful,” she says. “But it didn’t feel purposeful.”
Without investors, loans, or wealthy backers, she built SQLPT from the ground up while raising two children. In just over a year, the company has expanded to three South Florida studios, with locations in Miami, Boca Raton, and Fort Lauderdale. Duni isn’t stopping there: she has solid plans to open four additional studios in the coming months.
Her classes have earned a reputation for being demanding, and she makes no apologies for that. She also admits that training at one of her studios might feel repetitive – but that’s what builds muscle memory, strength, and a lifelong change to both body and mind.
“I don’t promise fun,” she says. “I promise results.”
Clients quickly learn that details matter—engaging the correct muscles, protecting the spine and moving with intention. Those corrections, she believes, are what transform Pilates from exercise into a lifelong practice.
As wellness continues evolving away from high-intensity workouts and toward longevity, mobility and recovery, Duni believes Pilates is finally being understood for what it has always been.
“We’re living longer,” she says. “If we want to stay independent into our 80s and 90s, we have to train differently.”
For Duni, that’s the future of fitness—not chasing perfection, but building a body capable of carrying you through life.
And if that journey starts with a mat instead of a mirror, she’s perfectly happy with that.
