Reiner Grootenhuis

Reiner began his professional career by studying psychology, while at the same time studying Weng Chun, the martial and healing art of the South Shaolin Monastery. After receiving his master's degree in psychology, he first opened a Weng Chun Kung Fu school. He soon felt he could also put his psychology degree to better use, and sold his school after a year to embark on a long and successful corporate career in PR, market research and marketing, earning an MBA while working - but without losing his connection to the world of martial arts. Reiner got married, had 2 children and his desire to get back into the world of movement grew stronger. That's how he got to know Pilates in the early 2000s. Once inspired, Pilates wouldn't let him go. Reiner threw himself headlong into everything he could find about the method and its history and completed the training to become a Pilates trainer for mat and apparatus at the Pilates training institute Body Arts & Science International. In his desire to deepen and share knowledge with as many dedicated teachers as possible, Reiner founded the online forum pilates-contrology-forum on Facebook in 2011, with over twelve thousand Pilates instructors participating. He additionally runs the large marketplace for used Pilates equipment, pilates-contrology-marketplace, with over 18,000 members as a non-profit effort. In 2012 Reiner took the plunge and opened his studio pilates-powers in Tönisvorst, just 25 km from Joseph Pilates' birthplace Mönchengladbach. He steadily expanded his rooms, equipment and range of services and has even been offering his own studio pilates training program since 2014. Due to his strong interest in the history, development and different interpretations of the individual exercises, Reiner is very interested in exchanging ideas with teachers from all over the Pilates world. Of particular note in this regard was 2014, when Kathy Corey appointed him to the board of the Pilates Heritage Congress, which is held regularly in Mönchengladbach. Since 2016, under her guidance, he has been studying the intricacies of the teaching methods of the various teachers who were trained directly by Joseph Pilates. A personal highlight for him was the appointment as Pilates Master Teacher by Kathy Corey in July 2019. It is also worth mentioning that in November 2017 he had the great honor to be appointed by Brett Miller to his team of experts "Pilates Intel". Since then, he has been writing articles for "Pilates Intel" on a regular basis. From September 2018 to July 2023, Reiner was a member of the three-person Certification Committee of the German Pilates Association. Reiner has chaired the Certification Committee since September 2019. In 2023 Reiner completed his training as a teacher trainer in the Kathy Corey Pilates Method with a small group of teachers. He has published the following book and manuals: Wunda Chair (in German) Arm Chair (in English & German) Cadillac part 1 and 2 (in English, German, Korean), Reformer part 1 and 2 (in English, German and Korean) A biography of Carola Trier (in English & German) Foot Corrector and Toe Corrector together with Kathy Corey (in English & German) A Spine Corrector Manual (in German)