Summer 2011. Gitte Mia Salling had already lived an entire life in fitness. She opened her first training centre at 19 — Krop & Hop in Greve — and ran it for nine years with 25 employees. She then spent five years as head of group training at one of Denmark's largest fitness chains, helping open the first 100 studios and educating more than 4,000 instructors.
But something was missing.
In May 2010, Gitte sold everything and travelled to Miami. Six months of sun, training and an open mind. It was on Ibiza, with her friend and now business partner Carsten Mikkelsen, that she lay down on a reformer machine for the first time — taught in a class of two, with no music and no energy.
Her first reaction? "I wasn't ready to stop when the instructor counted down. I missed motivating music and the class dynamic I've always loved." But the machine fascinated her. Strength, mobility, balance — all on one device. The classic pilates approach, however, was too slow and quiet for her.
So Gitte built her own concept and her own exercises. She removed 90% of the pilates elements. Added strength training, more tempo and motivating house music. The result was something entirely new: The Ultimate Workout — 50 minutes of group training on the reformer that feels like personal training, just with others sweating and laughing alongside you.
