Discovering the Fountain of Youth

When a 50-year-old lawyer named David Freeman first tried Pilates 21 years ago, he had no idea it would heal a debilitating back injury, lead him to a new career and transform his life.

- Anne Marie O'Connor

Pilates Style: I know you live in Fort Lauderdale now, but you grew up in New York, right?

David Freeman: Yes, I was born in the Bronx in 1945 and moved to Westchester County, NY. I attended Hobart College and Georgetown Law School, graduating in 1969. I moved back to Westchester and practiced law in New York for over 40 years, then moved to Florida in 2000.

PS: How did you discover Pilates?

David: I have always been athletic and eventually, I ended up injuring my back. By my late 40s, it had gotten really bad, and I was advised to have surgery. Pilates was my last shot before surgery. I went to a teacher named Carol Baker, whom I later found out had trained with Romana Kryzanowska.

PS: Did you see results immediately?

David: Not immediately. Carol had to modify the exercises because of my pain level, so the improvement was gradual. But as soon as the pain went down and I could start working harder, my body started changing. They told me when I first started that I’d feel better in 10 sessions, look better in 20 and have a new body in 30— and they were right. Twenty-one years later, I have no back problems and never had surgery.

PS: How did you end up going through Romana’s teacher-training program?

David: Carol saw that I was excited about what Pilates had done for me and that I wanted to make it a part of my life. She told me to see Romana at Drago’s in NYC. She explained that Romana had been trained by Joseph Pilates and taught with him.