ALLAN MENEZES
Pilates Pioneer and Master Teacher

Allan Menezes was born and finished his schooling in Harare, Zimbabwe. He was a school record holder and represented his school and province in various track and field events. After school he went to the Albion, NY, USA as an exchange student where he broke school records in track and field and came 3rd in the Western New York State Cahmpionships. Menezes then went to England to complete courses and worked in the Tourism Industry. While at college he was Captain of the Volleybal and Basketball teams. He then went on to Canada to complete a Business Degree at Brock University in Ontario and was captain of the University Rugby Team.
While studying in Canada, Allan injured his back in a rugby game - a deliberate kick to the lower back. The injury was so severe that he lay in a hospital bed for ten days and only allowed liquids for nourishment. The diagnosis at the time was a slipped disc. X-rays showed no abnormalities and no scans were taken. His own conclusion was that the muscles on the lower left of the spinal column had been so badly ruptured that any pressure on that side caused extreme pain in the area. For the following two years Menezes attended almost every different practitioner he could think of, who would have some hope of alleviating the pain. He then returned to England in 1981 to complete a Masters Degree at the University of Surrey in Guildford.

Allan first discovered Pilates in London in 1982 while completing his thesis for his Masters Degree. Allan's father one day handed him an introductory voucher for this 'new' method that was being taught in a small, basement studio. Little did he know that the method was 70 years new! He loved what pilates was able to achieve for his back pain and requested to become an instructor and was accepted. After several months at the first studio he moved on to the Alan Herdman Studios where he had some of the best grounding in the Method he had ever encountered. Alan Herdman is one of the Master Teachers of the Method who introduced Pilates into the UK.

Menezes attended two hour classes every day for two years, seven days a week. After six weeks his back pain disappeared! He became an instant convert. Regular sessions followed for the next two to three years and the back pain has not returned to this day, except for a brief instance in the late 90s while on a 12k run and a lot of sitting at a desk writing his book, which was to become a bestseller. A scan at that time was conducted on the lower back for the first time and an old herniated disc was seen on the images!

The one drawback in his training, was that Menezes' original instructors had very little anatomical or athletic knowledge or training having come from a ballet background. They could not explain the whys and wherefores of muscle mechanics and its application to Menezes as an ex-athlete. Allan then devised my own routines for improving my squash, volleyball, etc. and programs for other fitness enthusiasts. These proved to be popular as more exertion was required and the routines became hard work.

It was in 1986 that Menezes then established the first Pilates studio in the southern hemisphere with the Body Control Pilates Studios in Sydney, Australia, using Athletic Pilates. (There is no connection with any other studios with the same, or similar, names outside Australia). In 1994, after setting up 2 more studios, he established the first true franchise of a Pilates studio.

In 1996 Allan founded the Pilates Institute of Australasia. This was established to cater for the growing demand for quality training and to provide accredited workshops and courses in the Pilates Method.
Menezes was also a founding member of the Institute for the Pilates Method of Santa Fé, New Mexico, USA, (now the PhysicalMind Institute) and was one of two non-Americans on its Advisory Board.

In 1999 Allan wrote the bestseller, "The Complete Guide to the Pilates Method". As the demand for Pilates continued to grow, he felt this will be an invaluable text for those wishing to reduce those niggling aches and pains and for those wishing to become familiar with the basics steps in sensible body maintenance and even those embarking on a career in the growing Pilates industry. This book is a basis of, not only perfection in movement, but also a requirement for the next step into exercising for physical rehabilitation. The book was used by the Institute for the Pilates Method and the Pilates Institute (UK) (no connection) as a Guide for their students. The book was reprinted in the USA in 2000 and in a second edition in 2004. It is available on-line from the Pilates Institute as are the two books Jo Pilates wrote, compiled into one volume, "Pilates - His Complete Works" by the Institute.

Allan and the Pilates Institute has also produced 13 DVD and video titles on the Pilates method, the largest outside Northern America. Some of these titles have also been reproduced in the USA, Germany and other countries.

Menezes also trained in New York in the Gyrotonic Method with Matt Aversi of Gyrotonic Corp USA and pioneered this method into Australia in 1998.
The Body Control Pilates Studio in North Sydney has this equipment.

Allan has also trained instructors from around the world and conducts courses in Denmark, Singapore and New Zealand. Those who have already trained in Pilates around the world in other styles have found Allan's teaching still a challenge physically, and also mentally as his approach is so mechanically different and innovative, that they have to change what they have been taught. He was invited to present papers at a Sports Medecine Conference in May 2007 in Gothenburg, Sweden.

Menezes has also worked with WeightWatchers Australia to produce a Pilates DVD and has trained the gym staff in Menezes Pilates at the Hilton Maldives Spa and Resort.

Allan has also created many new movements and exercises, including the Menezes Position - a revolutionary new idea in greater abdominal connection.
Menezes' innovative style is such a common sense approach for todays sedentary population and growing back and neck pain market, that the style of Pilates he has now created is so different from the rest of the world, he has decided to name it THE MENEZES METHOD.
A new book, "The MENEZES METHOD - A New Era in Pilates " will be available in late 2008.

Allan lives in Sydney, Australia and has two daughters, Analiese and Monique.

Gyrotonic is a registered Trademark of the Gyrotonic Corp USA