Hottest Trainer Contestant #14: Carro Czechowska

Racked is no longer publishing. Thank you to everyone who read our work over the years. The archives will remain available here; for new stories, head over to Vox.com, where our staff is covering consumer culture for The Goods by Vox. You can also see what we’re up to by signing up here.

Welcome to Racked SF's search for San Francisco's hottest trainer. Over the coming weeks, we'll profile sixteen smoking hot candidates who work at local gyms and studios. Then, once you've gotten to know everyone, we'll host a March Madness-style showdown in which you get to vote for your favorite. Let the games begin!

Grid View

Expand

• Photos by Arlene Watson

Photos by Arlene Watson
Carolina "Carro" Czechowska is the prima ballerina of this year's Hottest Trainer competition. Born and raised in Stockholm, Sweden, she trained at the Royal Swedish Ballet School for nearly a decade. When she took a break from dancing, she discovered Pilates in her hometown. Practicing turned to teaching and now Carro helps clients achieve their fitness goals while balancing her ongoing dance career with Garret+Moulton Productions. You'll totally crush on this lean, dancing machine after taking her classes and scoping her out in a show. She's pure beauty in motion and she'll inspire you to live out your dreams, as well.

In one line, tell us about yourself.

I was trained at the Royal Swedish Ballet School from age ten until eighteen; a rigorous professional ballet school, where after-school activities involved participating in performances at The Royal Opera house, and traveling around the world for boot camp ballet programs.

Why did you become a trainer?

I had stopped dancing at the time, with no plans of returning, and stumbled upon a Pilates studio a few blocks away from my house. I had done a lot of Gyrotonic growing up but had a strange apprehension to the Pilates method. After my first private session on the Pilates apparatus, I was annoyed that despite my many years of dance training I wasn't able to do movements correctly and felt weak—there's no hiding in this method. My clients always hear me say, "Pilates shows the true imbalances of the body."

What started off as a way to strengthen my body quickly turned into a deep fascination with the method. My mentors saw the teacher in me and encouraged me to become certified. I had no idea teaching would be so enriching, and it's exciting to help, and witness, daily changes in my clients, both internal and external. Pilates is so much more than fitness to me.

What advice would you offer to someone who is just starting in your class?

Pilates is a very complex system, and it takes full engagement to truly benefit from it. I would encourage the student to come to class a few times in a row, so it can all start to make sense. Sometimes it can be overwhelming to hear a lot of corrections, and it takes time for the brain to translate the information [and apply it] to the body. I'm like a hawk in class, seeing everyone, especially if you're new, and very hands on. So if you don't want to be touched, tell me before I attack you. In general, I think a clear mind and curiosity is key to fully enjoying my classes, and over time you will start to understand the method, feel better, and see quicker results.

Tell us one fun fact about yourself.

There is a standing joke about me with my dance colleagues in Garrett+Moulton Productions: if someone can't find me I'm either at Rainbow Grocery, having coffee, at Zeitgeist, or on a date. The accuracy of this has shifted a bit since it's start, but I still do go to Rainbow Grocery almost everyday.

If you weren't a trainer, what would you be?

I would be a Parkour professional or a poet. I would have a great excuse to sit and watch the fog roll in all day long. Actually, a combination of the two would be pretty incredible and would compliment each other—almost like an intellectual/spiritual super hero ninja.
· Pilates with Carro [Official Site]
· All Hottest Trainer 2014 posts [Racked SF]