From fashion and art to food and fitness, Greenpoint is awash with cool people doing some really cool things, running independent businesses completely unique to the neighborhood.
Jules Bakshi and Chloe de Winter are no exception. These two friends are also the two women behind small businesses that have been thriving through the pandemic.
Their two fitness studios have found their footing, despite being completely displaced by the pandemic. Good Move, the home of dance and mindful fitness and Go Chlo Pilates, a virtual safe haven for all things Pilates, have continued to grow, in Brooklyn and beyond.
Bakshi and de Winter continue to support one another in their business endeavors; recently taught their first combination class together on Zoom, hopefully with more to come! Whether you want to dance your heart out in McCarren Park or flow-on-the-go, these women-run businesses have your back.
Good Move
Jules Bakshi, the founder and CEO of Good Move, is a professional modern dancer, self-made businesswoman, and health & wellness coach. Bakshi got her start as a dancer touring with the Douglas Dunn + Dancers company where she worked as a performer from 2010-2017. With the desire to extend her longevity as a dancer, Bakshi found herself learning more and more about wellness culture and proper ways to rehabilitate her body. After her time with Douglas Dunn + Dancers, she ran an experimental dance troupe, and worked as a Pilates instructor and integrative nutritional health coach before teaching what was supposed to be a one-off adult beginner dance class: “Dance like the hot b*tch you always knew you were.”
What she didn’t know at the time was how many people wanted to “dance like the hot b*tch they always knew they were.” Literally. With the class growing in size, Bakshi began to realize how much people needed a space where they were granted permission to show up, get groovy, and enjoy themselves. Unlike other dance studios in NYC, Bakshi created a space for people to dance and have fun without concern for skillset or prior dance knowledge. Hence, the birth of Good Move, an inclusive dance studio built on the foundation of empowerment through movement. Good Move believes that dance is for “every body.”
After putting extensive time and effort into a studio space only to be shut down by the pandemic after less than a year in operation, Bakshi had to think quickly. In March of 2020, “Good Move TV” became the on-demand option for anyone looking to get up and move from the comfort of their own home. Now, Good Move offers a variety of dance, movement, Pilates, and yoga classes via Good Move TV; live Zoom classes; live classes in McCarren Park, and *drumroll please*… Good Move is opening a new studio space! (Oh, the best part? Bakshi still teaches the “Hot B*tch” class.) Stay tuned for the new studio location announcement.
Instagram: @goodmoveny
Go Chlo Pilates
Chloe de Winter, founder of Go Chlo and Master Pilates instructor, was the director of teacher training at East River Pilates (where she met Bakshi) before she went home to Melbourne, Australia for what was supposed to be for 2 weeks in February of 2020. Suddenly home indefinitely and unemployed, de Winter decided to jump on an idea that had been ruminating on for quite some time… a YouTube channel for all things Pilates. With a master’s degree in physiotherapy and behavior health science, paired with her passion for Pilates, de Winter quickly started her Go Chlo channel in March of 2020 and taught up to 8 live classes a week on Zoom.
Even though de Winter no longer lives in Brooklyn, most of her subscribers are directly from the Williamsburg/Greenpoint community that she cultivated during her three years here. One silver lining to this displacement has to be the international community that de Winter has created, from Brooklyn & beyond. The second silver lining? de Winter says that this is her calling. She loves bringing people together and sharing her physiotherapy and anatomical knowledge through creating and delivering workouts that are good for your body, your posture, and your health. (While having fun, of course!)
Working out doesn’t have to be a burden. For many, finding the time and energy to even consider hitting the gym is anxiety-inducing enough to avoid it completely. With Go Chlo Pilates, de Winter leads workouts that are challenging, but with a kind and uplifting demeanor that puts you at ease.
Go Chlo offers an on-demand subscription platform that provides unlimited access to classes of different levels, different intensities, and different lengths for your tailored needs. Go Chlo also offers prenatal and postnatal classes that are designed for the pregnant body, and de Winter still finds time to offer ‘pay-what-you-can’ live class on Zoom.
Instagram: @gochlo_pilates