About Aero Pilates

Reformer Pilates in Burleigh Heads, taught the unhurried way.

A small studio on the Gold Coast built around one idea: learn to move well, then keep moving well for years.

Our founder

Founded and led by
Claire Hartley.

Claire Hartley opened Aero Pilates in Burleigh Heads in 2019 to give the Gold Coast a reformer studio that teaches properly: small classes, clear cues and programs that build real strength over time.

Before opening the studio, Claire Hartley spent eight years teaching reformer and mat Pilates in Melbourne. The classes that mattered most were rarely the hardest. They were the ones where an instructor noticed a tight hip or a lifting shoulder, changed a spring and explained why. Aero is built around that kind of attention.

Every class here is capped at ten people, so instructors can watch, cue and adjust each person on the reformer. Beginners start in Reformer Foundations and progress when they are ready, not when a program says so. Members who want more challenge move into Sculpt and Burn with the same focus on control.

Clinical Pilates runs alongside the group timetable. Our physiotherapist, Priya S., assesses each clinical client and writes a program around their history and goals, and the group instructors work from the same principles. It means you can move between a 1:1 session and a group class without starting again.

Outside the studio, Claire Hartley keeps learning: workshops with senior teachers, courses in pelvic floor and bone health, and regular sessions with Priya so the clinical and group programs stay connected. What comes out of that study shows up in your classes as a clearer cue, a smarter progression or a better option on a day your back is sore. It is the part of running a studio that never gets old.

Training and credentials

Diploma of Pilates (Coastline Pilates Academy)

Comprehensive reformer, tower and chair training

15 years teaching group and private classes

Current first aid and CPR certificate

Our approach

Three principles,
every class.

Mind, body and soul is how we describe it on the studio wall. In practice it means three things we hold every class to, whether it is your first Foundations session or your fiftieth Burn. None of them are complicated. All of them take care.

Explore classes

Mind

Pilates starts with attention. We teach you to breathe with the movement, notice how you are holding yourself and move with intent rather than momentum. Classes are calm, cues are clear and nobody rushes you. Instructors explain the why behind each exercise, so the work makes sense and you feel it in the right places.

Body

Strength is built slowly and on purpose. Springs, tempo and range are matched to your level, and progressions are earned. The aim is a body that feels capable outside the studio: lifting, carrying, getting up off the floor with ease. Every class balances load with mobility, so you finish worked but never wrung out.

Soul

A studio should feel like somewhere you want to be. Ten people per class, instructors who learn your name, filtered water and tea after class. Small things that make showing up three times a week feel easy. Consistency does more than intensity, so we make the habit as easy to keep as we can.

Breath leads the movement

Control before load

Ten people, never more

Leave lighter than you came

The studio

Ten reformers.
Plenty of room.

The studio sits at James Street in Burleigh Heads, with natural light, timber floors and enough space between reformers to move without bumping a neighbour. Equipment is cleaned between classes and set up before you arrive, so you can walk in, find your reformer and start.

Private and Clinical Pilates sessions use the tower and Wunda chair as well as the reformer. Having all three lets your instructor or physio load a movement gently, then build it up over the weeks that follow.

Classes run seven days a week, from 5:30 am on weekdays and 6:30 am on weekends, so there is a time that fits around work, school runs and training. Book through the Aero app, pick up grip socks at the front desk if you need a pair, and arrive ten minutes early for your first class so we can set you up.

Equipment

Ten Merrithew reformers

Tower and Wunda chair

Jumpboards for Burn

Mats, rings and light weights

Amenities

Showers and fresh towels

Filtered water and tea

Grip socks in store

Free parking out front

Plan your first visit

From our founder

“I wanted a studio where people slow down enough to feel the work.
That is where the strength comes from.”

Claire Hartley · Founder, Aero Pilates

Our team

The people
you will train with.

Every instructor holds a recognised Pilates qualification and completes Aero’s own reformer training before teaching a class. Clinical Pilates is led by our physiotherapist, and the team meets each month to share notes on cueing, programming and the members they teach.

View the timetable