About Us
Our Company Is Deeply Personal.
Pilates Lineage Is Us. It Is You.
Our focus is to facilitate the connection between the brilliant design of the human body and the timeless engineering of Joe’s apparatus; to celebrate the synergy between teachers and students of the Pilates Method and the mechanics/artistry of your equipment. Fascinated by the fact that the Pilates tree can trace its roots directly back to Joe and yet its branches continue to grow skyward, we set out to explore the dynamism of Joe’s classical design as it exists in today’s world.
Our mission is simple: to build strong, well-constructed, beautiful apparatus and accessory pieces with both a reverence for their history and an eye toward their brightest expression. We are committed to breathing new life into long-archived, classical pieces that haven’t been on the market since Joe himself built them. All of our pieces are handmade and assembled in the U.S.A.
Additionally, it is our wish and desire to spark dialogue within our vibrant Pilates community, to connect over our shared core principles, to offer technical support and to continue being students of both the Pilates Method as well as of the business.
We are so happy you found us and look forward to our continuing collaboration. Past, present, future. Breathe, think, move. Pilates Lineage. It’s where you’re from.
Behind Pilates Lineage
About Russell
Russell Soder had no idea that a chance encounter with a talented, fellow actor in a Los Angeles theatre company would lead to a lifelong passion for Pilates apparatus.
North Hollywood, circa 2004 - in an ever evolving professional landscape, Russell hooked up with Mikael Salazar who had a thriving business - you've probably heard of it - The Pilates Guy. Russell worked with Mikael, a masterful technician and class act, servicing and maintaining Pilates equipment up and down the west coast. For the next 5 years, Russell learned just about all there is to know about the apparatus from a technical standpoint - from construction to component function, for every major manufacturer.
Upon relocating to New York in 2009, Russell established Pilates Guy East with mentor, Mikael. After servicing many clients in the tri-state area and greater northeast region - as well as touring with theatre work and starting a family - Russell joined the team at Gratz Industries as Sales Manager in early 2013. By 2014, he had been named Technical Director and after a wonderful three years working with a great staff and fellow management team, Russell moved his growing family from Philadelphia to New England.
After much research, determination and the support of his dear friends in the Pilates community, Russell and his lovely wife Angela created Pilates Lineage in 2016. They look forward to serving this special family of teachers and students and in so doing, honoring our deeply-rooted history, offering support for our thriving future.
About Angela
Actor and audiobook narrator Angela Goethals discovered Pilates by chance after wandering into a mat class at the YMCA in Hollywood, CA over 15 years ago. Instantly hooked, she rushed out and bought Brooke Siler’s The Pilates Body and continued to throw herself into any/all group classes available, deepening her practice with dynamic, inspiring teachers Geoffrey Rhue, Erica Davis-Marsh and Tannis Kobrinsky.
In the fall of 2008, Angela embarked on a Pilates Teacher Certification Program through Long Beach Dance Conditioning and had the great honor of studying directly under the masterful Marie-José Blom.
After leading a largely nomadic, artist-life for many years, Angela is thrilled to be settled in New England, mom of two beautiful daughters and collaborating with her best friend (and husband) as Creative Director at Pilates Lineage. Working on a project of this magnitude, one that ignites a shared passion for and curiosity about the past while emboldening excitement for the future is a dream. Angela is pleased and humbled to offer a bridge between the images and poetry of our lineage as Pilates practitioners and the business of building the apparatus Joe imagined.