Business Profile Written by Holly Stupak
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Where Music ement Inspires Mov
Christine and Pat and the ir son Nico Photo by Kylene Cleaver
Paola and Frank Fusaro
hile some people spend years planning their dream wedding, Christine DeFilippis spent years planning her dream fitness studio. She taught her first fitness class at age 16 and has spent decades in the fitness industry. In 2018 her dream came true when she and her husband Pat opened Pop Fit Studio in Havertown. Since then, she’s been on a mission to inspire joyful movement and make her clients not only feel good about their workouts, but feel good about themselves and their bodies. Located in Havertown above Applebee’s restaurant on West Chester Pike, Pop Fit Studio offers a variety of fun and inclusive fitness classes. The 6,000 square-foot facility includes two large studios, a dedicated barre and TRX (total body resistance exercise) studio as well as a large studio where they offer cardio dance, trampoline, strength training, boxing and an exclusive BungeeWorkout TM. Aside from in-studio classes, Pop Fit Studio also offers live-streamed classes and an on-demand website with recorded workouts. What sets Pop Fit Studio apart from other gyms is their fun approach and shame-free atmosphere. Christine and her staff have created a variety of classes that incorporate fun and motivating music. “Music is the driving force in our classes,” said Christine. “When you find something you love you don’t think of it as a chore or obligation. You get up every day excited to make it a part of your day, and your life.”
The fitness programs at Pop Fit Studio are unique because they are Health At Every Size (HAES) aligned. They specialize in helping people make peace with food, enjoy exercise and reclaim the energy and time they lost due to diet and weight cycling. Christine said that she herself struggled with eating disorders and body dysmorphia over the years while she was trying to maintain the look of a fitness instructor. “I was told that I didn’t have the right body,” she said. “There is a lot of toxic diet culture that bombards us with messaging that we need to be smaller and thinner to be healthy and it’s just not true.” As a HAES-aligned fitness professional, Christine now aims to make fitness more inclusive and help others to practice body neutrality. She wants clients to know that health and fitness doesn’t have a look, and she wants to change the industry from a weight-centered industry to a behavior-focused one and help other fitness professionals take a weight-neutral approach. “I knew I wasn’t alone and that many people struggled with this messaging. That’s why I was inspired to disrupt the fitness industry,” she explained. Christine’s career in fitness began back when she was a student at Upper Darby High School. At age 16 she began working at a local gym and taught aerobics. After high school, she went on to Temple University where she studied Journalism, continued to teach aerobics and was a member of Temple’s dance team. For many years Christine continued to teach fitness classes but considered it more of a hobby. It wasn’t until 2011 that she decided to start her own fitness education program and consulted with gyms across the country. But, ultimately she knew she wanted a studio to call her own.
The Team at Pop Fit Studio Photo by Active Image Media 16 Marple Friends & Neighbors / Bringing People Together
During this time, Christine and her husband Pat were enjoying life as a young married couple living and working in Philadelphia. Although they considered themselves “city
