EX- MODEL OPENS 4TH FITNESS CENTER
Entrepreneur combines passions to open four local fitness venues.
Jacquelyn Quesada doesn’t do anything halfway.
Not when she was a competitive athlete growing up in Parkland.
Not when she was a 5-foot, 10-inch runway model in Miami as a teen and as a college student in Los Angeles.
And not now — as one of
Palm Beach County’s top fitness entrepreneurs.
With the opening earlier this year in West Palm Beach’s Warehouse District of Studios Etc. (a dual Labarre and cycling studio), that brings to four the number of fitness facilities Quesada owns and operates in Palm Beach and West Palm Beach. Her three Palm Beach facilities are Labarre, Momentim Cycle and Labarre Pilates.
“These studios were founded on my belief that a supportive, progressive and inspiring environment is critical to helping clients achieve their fitness goals,” said Quesada of the intimate spaces that she personally designed.
Lifelong passion for fitness
Quesada, 32, said she’s always understood — even as a youth — the importance of being physically fit.
“I didn’t start training hard as a teenager because I was a model,” she explained. “I was an athlete before I was a model.”
She competed in tennis, soccer, volleyball and cheerleading; she also lifted weights, cycled and prioritized eating healthfully — long before her peers did.
“I was the one who was always reading food labels,” she recalled.
After graduating from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High, Quesada continued her modeling career while studying at the University of California at Los Angeles.
That’s also when she was introduced to two forms of fitness training — Labarre
and Pilates — that she immediately found as spiritually and emotionally enriching as they were physically beneficial.
(Labarre training includes many of the body-sculpting exercises that ballet dancers do, often with the barre helping one maintain balance, as well as yoga-inspired postures and poses; Pilates is a non-impact form of exercise that emphasizes stretching, flexibilitiy, lengthening of muscles, core strength and balance.)
Quesada entered the corporate world in Los Angeles after earning her degree from UCLA.
“But I missed my family, so I moved back seven years ago,” she said.
Once back in
South Florida, she supplemented her business acumen by studying interior design.
In 2013, she merged her passions for fitness and decor with the acquisition of her first fitness studio: Labarre. She followed these with Momentīm Cycle in 2015 and Labarre Pilates in 2017.
The decor style inside all of Quesada’s facilities is chic and minimalist.
“I went with clean, monochromatic looks that emphasize different textures,” she explained. “With the Labarre and Pilates spaces, I was trying to create light, airy little beach houses, whereas for the cycle studio I wanted that to be darker because you’ll be sweating so much.”
She intentionally eschews labeling any of her hour-long classes — which are offered seven days a week — “beginner,” “intermediate,” or “advanced” because she wants “everyone of all ability and fitness levels to feel welcome and encouraged.”
What’s more, the classes are intimate enough that every participant can receive personal attention from either Quesada or one of her instructors.
(In addition to overseeing the four facilities, Quesada teaches classes six days a week — and promises: “No two are ever the same.”)
She’s developed quite the loyal following.
“Most of our clients come at least three times a week and many are here five to six times per week.”
Count Haydee Levitt of West Palm Beach as a devotee.
“My first barre class three years ago challenged me in a way that I had never experienced, and I was grateful for the lively music and inspiring, knowledgeable instructor for keeping me going,” said Levitt. “While I consider myself a fit, active individual, Studios Etc.’s barre class brought attention to muscles I had not worked in a long time. But what I like most about all of Jacquelyn’s studios is that she has created a wonderful community where I feel supported and encouraged to be my best.”
Sally Ann Nisberg of Palm Beach echoed Levitt’s sentiments:
“Every person who steps into a Studios Etc. class or private session is valued and embraced as an individual. The classes are fun and inspiring. Jacquelyn, with her extraordinary energy and compassion, has built a wellness community for which I’m so grateful.”
“We stress to everyone that wellness and beauty come from the inside out,” said Quesada.
It’s a message that more and more local fitness aficionados are getting from her every day.