Women Who Mean Business | Tina Cloutier

Twisted Studio 

“What do you want to be when you grow up? ‘I’m going to be an entrepreneur.’ That was always my answer. I always wanted to own my own business,” Tina Cloutier, owner of Twisted Studio, recalled.

With a background in oil field sales, Cloutier developed thick skin and confidence. “Being a woman in business wasn’t scary to me,” Cloutier admitted. A flexible schedule and a staff of twelve certified instructors allows Cloutier to have a balance between her professional life and home life as a wife and mother.

After struggling with a health issue that resulted in surgery, Cloutier was unable to exercise for a year. Over this time, her body had atrophied. She wanted to get back to working out, but couldn’t lift weights and run anymore. Looking for something with more health benefits, she discovered the Pilates Reformer and Cloutier knew she found her workout. The immediate visible and mental results were incredible and she wanted to know more. She was inspired by researching Joseph Pilates who developed the reformer in the early 1900’s to help bedridden war veterans. “It was a way of getting them walking again. So, they actually went from being bed bound to walking with this machine. On the other end of the spectrum, it is used by professional athletes. I was totally inspired and my passion began,” Cloutier explained.

After purchasing Twisted Fitness last summer, Cloutier immediately faced the challenge of keeping the doors open during the Covid-19 pandemic. While having a prior plan to expand and rebrand as Twisted Studio, she had to remain focused on keeping her instructors and clients safe. This year, she is moving forward and is planning to add more classes such as TRX to the extensive list of classes the studio already offers, including Spin, Pilates Reformer and Mat, Bootybarre, Zumba and Yoga. Additionally, the studio recently earned an invitation to the Better Business Bureau as an accredited member.

 Since attending training last year to become a reformer instructor herself, Cloutier realized how much she enjoys teaching classes. She explained “I wasn’t expecting the gratification that I get out of it. But to see how important a workout is for people’s mental and physical health, I’m grateful to have the opportunity to help other people just as I had been helped throughout my journey to health. What I do is a labor of love.” •