Clain diPalma in a TV spot filmed at Tribeca Bodyworks

The phone rang…and I picked up quickly chirping “hello?” reflexively- before quickly correctng myself. “Tribeca Bodyworks, can I help you?”

An hour earlier the phone company had packed up and left me with a brand new phone line. I had moved out of my apartment and into our commercial space and we were almost ready.

My answering service (a relic of the old days) was forwarded to the new line effective that day.

The only wrinkle? I didn’t have a phone. A physical phone - so once the phone company left - I went out to buy one.

The walls of my 1st studio were cinder block. The studio had a distinctly industrial feel and the outlet was placed squarely at baseboard height although there were no baseboards. The cold of the wall was evident when I managed to get the phone wire plugged into the jack.

And that is the exact moment - that the phone rang.

Once I recovered my composure the voice on the other line took over. A woman introduced herself and explain succinctly that she was from a cable network show and had been referred to me because they wanted to film a segment about Pilates.

I pivoted my gaze slowly around the room, taking in the reality. The walls had been painted. The indoor/outdoor carpet was scheduled. There were no mirrors. There was no equipment. It was not yet a Pilates studio.

“When did you want to film?” I queried.

The answer was what I had hoped to hear. “Two weeks”.

“Perfect”, I replied.

The shoot happened. It was the first of many. I wonder sometimes if the phone company hadn’t shown up that day on time or even if I’d missed the call.

Would the rest have happened?

We’ll never really know!

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These images is a still captured from the VHS video. Pilates colleagues at the time, Caron Bosler and the late Clain Thomson DiPalma, were both featured.