If you talk to any Pilates girlie in Sydney, you’ll quickly discover they want to train at one place: Body by Berner. The Bondi studio opened in May last year, but has quickly become Sydney’s go-to workout spot. There’s two main reasons for this: the first is the studio itself, which is less exercise focused and more like walking into your über stylish friend’s house, complete with bright paintings, Assouline coffee table books, and recessed wall with Pilates equipment displayed like art. The other is Body by Berner’s founder Bernadette Sukkar (née Fahey), whose unique approach to pilates and wicked sense of humour will get you through even the toughest of workouts.
Bernadette spent a decade working in fashion PR in New York when she hit burnout. She returned to Queensland, meditatedon her next move, and decided to get her Pilates certification. So she moved to Sydney, powered through her training, and just six months later was teaching classes. Not long after …