Who was Joe Pilates???

Joseph Hubertus Pilates was born in Moenchengladbach, Germany in on December 8, 1880.
He suffered from a range of debilitating conditions throughout his childhood including, rickets, asthma, and rheumatic fever. Determined to overcome his poor physical health, he devoted himself to the task of becoming as fit and strong as was humanly possible.

This determination was characteristic of Pilates' spirited and forceful personality. His early fierce reaction to illness would inform all his future enterprises.

In his youth, Pilates studied and became proficient at numerous sports and fitness activities, including skiing, gymnastics, diving, and bodybuilding.
By the time he was 14 years old, he was in such good shape that he was able to work as a model for anatomical charts. In 1912, Pilates moved from Germany to England where he earned a living in a wide variety of jobs that required him to be in peak physical condition. He worked as a boxer, circus performer, and self defense trainer of English detectives.

When World War I broke out, Pilates was interned because of his nationality.
He was held in camps in Lancaster and the isle of Man. While there he acted as a physician to the other men. It seemed a natural step for him eventually to take responsibility for the health of the other interns and he began training them in physical fitness.

It was then that he first improved making fitness equipment, attaching springs to the walls above the beds so that patients could exercise while lying down.