Joseph Pilates was born near Düsseldorf, Germany in 1880. Very little is known about his early life, but according to various biographies, he appears to have been a frail child, suffering from asthma, rickets and rheumatic fever. His drive and determination to overcome these ailments led him to become a competent gymnast, diver and skier.

In 1912 Pilates lived in England working as a circus performer, boxer and self-defense instructor. During World War I, he was interned with other German nationals and it was during this time that he further developed his technique of physical fitness, designed for a confined space, by teaching his fellow internees. During the latter part of the War, he served as an orderly in a hospital on the Isle of Man where he began working with patients who where unable to walk. It was here that the inspiration for his famous piece of equipment the "Cadillac" was born, as he attached springs to the hospital beds to help support the patients' limbs while working with them.

After the War, he returned to Germany where he trained the police in Hamburg and worked with others such as Rudolph von Laban, the innovative modern dance pioneer.

Pilates immigrated to the USA in the early 1920's opening a 'body-conditioning studio' with his wife Clara in New York City in 1926. The studio featured the apparatus that he designed to enhance his rehabilitation work. It soon became very popular with the dance community, offering dancers a chance to improve their technique or recover from injuries. Very quickly he became the best-kept secret in New York. Word of mouth traveled and everyone came to Joe's - from dance legends Ruth St. Denis, Ted Shawn, Jerome Robbins, George Balanchine and Martha Graham to actor Jose Ferrer and author Christopher Isherwood.

In 1932 he published a booklet entitled "Your Health" and in 1945 "Return to Controllogy". Through these writings and his students, his Method was passed on after his death in 1967 at the age of 87. Pilates always felt that his work was fifty years ahead of its time.