The Slope Survey returns for its 15th installment with local entrepreneur Jennifer Deluca.
Jennifer is the owner and director of BodyTonic Pilates Gymnasium (est. 1999) where 1000’s of clients and hundreds of teachers have sweated through the process of transforming their body through Pilates. She is a strong advocate for small businesses and frequently collaborates with fellow business owners, schools and sports teams to bring Pilates, yoga and all kinds of healthy movement into people’s lives. In addition to knowing which moves are good for specific physical goals, Jennifer has a keen sense of the mental headspace people show up with and how to work with a person’s unique combination of mind, body and soul to get results. In the Pilates industry, Jennifer is considered to be one of the most knowledgeable and generous teachers of the lineage of Joseph H. Pilates alive today. She frequently writes for her blog, mentors teachers, advises other small businesses and has been featured in local, national and international news and magazines. Last year she launched her podcast, bodytonic radio available on SoundCloud, and was thrilled to be a part of the Wanderlust Festival. She is now working on video content (in the beta stage) at www.minutesonthemat.com. Jennifer considers health to be a creative process that is pleasurable and enjoys watching people discover that for themselves.
Jennifer is a native New Yorker, and lives in Park Slope with her two children, Leila and Darius and her two cats, Marceline and Trooper.
You can read more about Jennifer and BodyTonic at www.body-tonic.com.
What brought you to Park Slope?
My best friend in high school lived here. We were both dance majors at the High School of Performing Arts (now LaGuardia High School). I used to go back home to Queens with the second hand clothes I bought at the 321 flea market. My mom would be like, “That coat is enormous on you!” (It was the 80’s.) I knew back then that this was where I wanted to live as an adult. As soon as I could manage it, I moved here. That was in 1995. I had a part-time job at PEOPLE Magazine and taught kids at the Dance Studio of Park Slope which at the time was on Union Street and 7th Avenue. I moved into an apartment on Garfield Place between 7th and 8th with my boyfriend. A year later he was gone, but I replaced him with Pilates equipment in my living room.
What is your most memorable Park Slope moment?
9/11. I particularly remember the Halloween Parade right after and how hard everyone was trying to make things normal again. But it just wasn’t normal. Park Slope has a strong, supportive foundation of people that have been here for generations and with that there is a very strong sense of community. There are a lot of new people coming into the neighborhood, but I like to think the foundation is palpable to them and that’s why they like it here. That time was one of shared anguish and love.
Describe your community superpower.
At our 20th Anniversary, a longtime client toasted and said I created a “safe space”. It makes me tear up every time I think about it. People and their bodies can invite complicated feelings. To know that people feel safe at BodyTonic is everything. Others have told me that I have a unique ability to bring out the strengths in others, in a way that feels like they’ve located it themselves. People who were close to my dad told me he had an uncanny way of knowing who would be good at what. I think I have that, too.
If you could change one thing about the neighborhood, what would it be?
More affordable living spaces. It’s a shame that someone like the “1996” me could never move here now. Back in the 70’s, this neighborhood was full of artists, school teachers, and single moms making their way through life. They made this neighborhood what it is today. They could all afford a brownstone back then or at least a nice apartment.
What do you think Park Slope will look like in 10 years?
Either the neighborhood will succumb to industry trends of more recognizable brand names (yuck!), or there will be push back against that with more people taking their goods and services in their own hands. Running a business is a lot of work but at the same time with advances in technology and access to information people can create their own destinies. I have a daughter who is 13 and the other day she said to me, “Maybe in the future our lives won’t be centered around work and career. Maybe our life’s meaning will be about something completely different.” I had to pause and think about that. Things change so rapidly now.
What are you reading, would you recommend it?
I recently finished “All The Light We Cannot See” by Anthony Doerr and it was exquisite. I am now reading “2600 Phrases for Effective Performance Reviews” by Paul Falcone. It’s captivating in its own way. I would solidly recommend both!
What is your greatest extravagance?
I’m actually a pretty modest person but I would rather pay more for something that I really enjoy than dilute an experience by going for something less expensive. If I buy tickets for a performance, I go for 10th row center. If I buy a winter sweater, I will go for ethically made, warm and soft wool. I eat a lot more ice cream than people would think and I only buy quality shoes.
If you couldn’t live in Park Slope or in Brooklyn, where would you go?
Sicily. I’ve neve been, but it’s my fantasy relocation. Both of my kids are in good schools in New York City right now, one at Hunter and the other at MS442, so for me to leave you would have to take me out in a body bag.
Who is your hero, real or fictional?
Oprah
