Beverley Densham, who runs Lifestyle Pilates in Hatfield, has been named as a semi-finalist in the 2010 Barclays Trading Places Award, which carries a first prize of £10,000.
The awards recognise people who have beaten the odds to succeed in business – a criteria that Beverley, 36, almost certainly meets.
It was pilates that helped Beverley recover from a horrendous accident she suffered while living in Australia in 1997.
She was cycling to work one day when she collided with a car, sustaining serious injuries.
“My head smashed against the windscreen, and I aggravated my back when I landed,” Beverley recalled.
“I had to have my wrist pinned and I had quite a lot of problems after that.”
After returning to England to recover, Beverley became the first Body Control Pilates Association (BCPA) qualified teacher in Hertfordshire, and opened her Lifestyle Pilates studio at Birchwood Leisure Centre, Hatfield, in 1998.
But she experienced a further setback in 2005, when she suffered a pre-eclamptic fit during the birth of her son, and ended up visiting her own studio as a beginner on a rehabilitation programme.
But Beverley, from WGC, has managed to turn those personal traumas into business success.
“Having been through those things myself, it’s really helped the clientele. I’ve always put on a good show, even if it’s been challenging.
“There’s a real determination and motivation to take Lifestyle Pilates as far as I can.
”I’m over the moon [about being a semi-finalist] and I’d never have done it if it wasn’t for my bank manager who suggested I enter!”
Beverley also paid tribute to her sister, Julie Jones, who runs life and business coaching company Changes Forever in Letchworth, and was a quarter finalist for the Trading Places Awards herself.
“She’s helped me heal from trauma, illness and divorce,” she said. “And she’s helped take Lifestyle Pilates to another dimension.”
For more information about Lifestyle Pilates, call 01707 271272 or visit the website.
Or if you have pain and need treatment or advice call the Welwyn and Hatfield Practice and ask to speak to
Ian Norman
Osteopath and Practice Director on 01707 8882e29
