STRONG Pilates opened its first Greater Philadelphia studio in downtown Wayne on Saturday, Oct. 17. The Australian-born fitness franchise occupies street-level retail space in the Wayne Station apartments at 158 E. Lancaster Ave.
The grand opening was first reported by Patch. The Wayne studio features 18 Rowformer beds for 45-minute classes. Some sessions are exclusively Pilates, while others also incorporate strength training and cardio.
The brand launched in Australia and reached the U.S. in 2024, according to Patch, with 120 locations worldwide. Co-founders Michael Ramsey and Mark Armstrong started the concept in Melbourne in 2019 after Ramsey rehabbed an ankle break with reformer Pilates and discovered the Rowformer, a machine that combines a rower and a reformer, Franchise Times reported in July 2026.
Wayne is the brand's first Philadelphia-area location.
Franchisee Rico Macaraeg, CEO of StriveWell, holds a 25-unit development agreement covering Philadelphia and New Jersey, according to Franchise Times. Macaraeg co-founded StriveWell around 2023 with his husband, Steven Schnelle. The group plans to open four studios per year going forward.
"We like the saturation," Ramsey told Franchise Times. "We like the fact that Pilates is growing and there's lots happening in the space because we're very much a point of difference."
The Wayne studio sits on the ground floor of Apartments at Wayne Station, a mixed-use development by Berger Rental Communities that includes 24 apartments above 10,000 square feet of retail space, according to the developer. The studio's location page lists lockers and paid parking.
Class schedules and registration information are available on the STRONG Pilates Wayne website.
