A St. Augustine native who once cheered for the Jacksonville Jaguars is bringing a boutique Pilates franchise home. JETSET Pilates will hold its grand opening in World Golf Village on Nov. 20, marking the brand's first studio in the city and bringing 15 custom reformer machines to a market that already has one established local competitor.
Chelsea Dawson and her husband, Evan, own the new studio, located at 150 Village Commons Drive, Suite 104, according to staugustine.com. The couple plans to mark the opening with local vendors, food and giveaways, the outlet reports.
Chelsea Dawson is a St. Augustine native and University of North Florida graduate who previously cheered for the Jaguars, per the same account. She has said that opening JETSET Pilates connects her to her hometown through business ownership and community-focused wellness programming, and she has described the brand as an elevated Pilates experience.
What the New Studio Will Offer
The St. Augustine location is expected to create 25 new jobs, the station's report notes. Classes will run 50 minutes and combine Pilates-inspired movements with strength and cardio training set to music, designed to strengthen, lengthen and energize the body and mind for all fitness levels, per the same outlet.
JETSET's own site, jetsetpilates.com, describes the core Reformer class as a 50-minute, high-intensity, low-impact full-body workout on custom reformers. The lineup also includes Foundations, a slower-paced, form-focused class emphasizing alignment and technique, along with Upper Sculpt and Lower Sculpt classes targeting resistance training for the arms, shoulders, chest and back, and the glutes and legs, respectively. More advanced options include Pro50, a 50-minute workout for experienced clients featuring complex sequencing and higher-intensity strength work, and Pro60, a 60-minute class built around progressive programming meant to maximize strength, endurance and precision, according to the company's location page. Memberships require a three-month minimum commitment and automatically renew monthly, per the same source.
A Franchise on a Growth Streak
JETSET Pilates was founded in 2010 and began franchising in 2022, and the company reports more than 400 studios open or in development across the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia. As of June 9, according to a release distributed via PR Newswire, the brand had sold more than 400 franchise territories, shortly after hitting a 350-territory milestone earlier in the year.
At that point the company had 70 studios open across the U.S. and Australia and expected more than 80 additional studios to open before the end of 2026, with a target of 500 territories sold and 150 studios open by year's end, the release states. JETSET also reported an average unit volume of $1.13 million.
Leadership Weighs In on the Local Pick
JETSET Pilates CEO Bertus Albertse said Chelsea and Evan Dawson are a strong fit for the franchise's expansion and that the brand is coming to World Golf Village with owners committed to building a welcoming studio. The St. Augustine opening adds a national franchise name to a local Pilates scene that already includes St Johns Pilates, which operates two studios in Fruit Cove and World Golf Village, including one at 955 Registry Blvd, according to stjohnspilates.com. That studio offers small-group training for up to eight people per class, a different format from JETSET's reformer-focused sessions.
