About Reiner Grootenhuis

Soon after, he felt the need to apply his psychology degree in a different way. He sold the school after a year and embarked on a long and successful corporate career in PR, market research, and marketing, earning an MBA while working — yet never losing his connection to martial arts.

During this time, Reiner got married, had two children, and felt a growing desire to return to the world of movement. This led him to discover Pilates in the early 2000s. Once inspired, Pilates became a permanent passion. He immersed himself in the method and its history, completing full training as a Pilates trainer for mat and apparatus at the Body Arts & Science International (BASI) institute.

In 2011, with the goal of deepening and sharing knowledge, Reiner founded the Pilates-Contrology-Forum on Facebook, which now has over 12,000 instructors worldwide. He also runs the Pilates-Contrology-Marketplace, a non-profit platform for used Pilates equipment with more than 21,000 members.

In 2012, he opened his studio Pilates-Powers in Tönisvorst, just 25 km from Joseph Pilates’ birthplace, Mönchengladbach. Over the years, he expanded its space, equipment, and services, launching his own studio training program in 2014.

Reiner’s deep interest in the history and evolution of Pilates led to strong international collaborations. In 2014, Kathy Corey appointed him to the Board of the Pilates Heritage Congress in Mönchengladbach. In 2019, she further appointed him as Vice President of the Congress. Since 2016, Reiner has studied closely with Kathy Corey to understand the intricacies of the teaching methods of Joseph Pilates’ direct students. A personal milestone was his appointment as Pilates Master Teacher by Kathy Corey in July 2019.

From 2018 to 2023, Reiner served as a member of the Certification Committee of the German Pilates Federation, chairing the committee from 2020 onwards.

He has authored and co-authored several highly regarded training manuals, including:

• Cadillac Part 1 and 2 (German, English, Korean)
• Reformer Part 1 (Traditional Exercises) and Part 2 (Modern Exercises) (German, English, Korean)
• Wunda Chair (German)
• Arm Chair (German, English)
• A Biography of Carola Trier (German, English)
• The Pilates Foot Corrector and Toe Corrector (co-authored with Kathy Corey)