How FÔLD is Redefining the Pilates Landscape

How FÔLD is Redefining the Pilates Landscape

Founded in London in 2024 by Matt Harras, Tom McClelland and Paul Stimpson, FÔLD set out to do something the Pilates world hadn't quite managed yet: make pilates feel genuinely welcoming and accessible.

Reformer Pilates has never been more popular. Forecasted to rank as one of the top fitness trends in the UK and Europe, it's moved well beyond the preserve of dancers and elite athletes. More people than ever are discovering what a reformer can do for their body. But here's the thing. 

Enter FÔLD. Best known for its Original FÔLD Reformer with Easi-Fold™ and now, TÔWER - the unique tower pilates attachment designed for its foldable bed turning it into a 3in1 solution. 

Founded in London in 2024 by Matt Harras, Tom McClelland and Paul Stimpson, FÔLD set out to do something the Pilates world hadn't quite managed yet: make pilates feel genuinely welcoming and accessible. Not beige. Not aspirational in a way that excludes. Real.

In just two years, FÔLD has been trusted by over 3,000 homes and 175+ studio locations, and built a community of thousands of app members. It's the kind of growth that gets attention: FÔLD was named in Athletech News' Startups to Watch 2025–26 and has been featured across The Times, Women's Health, HELLO! and SheerLuxe.

But the numbers only tell part of the story.

The Innovation Behind It

At the heart of FÔLD's hardware is its hero product: the Original FÔLD Reformer with Easi-Fôld™ — a studio-quality reformer bed with a patented spring-assisted folding mechanism that means it actually works in a real home. But the Easi-Fôld™ didn't come from a boardroom. It came from listening.

"At FÔLD, we're on a mission to remove the barriers that life throws your way and make exercise accessible and inclusive for all," says Co-Founder Matt Harras. "We saw an opportunity to introduce a reformer Pilates bed that seamlessly fits into your home, helping you balance work, family, and fitness without sacrificing space. The FÔLD bed and companion app offers a practical alternative to traditional, often costly studio-based workouts that can be intimidating for beginners and sometimes perceived as elitist."

The Easi-Fôld™ system addresses a real friction point: studio-quality equipment tends to be heavy, and heavy means hard to fold. The spring-assisted mechanism makes setting up or storing the reformer effortless — it locks upright for smart storage and comes finished in premium maple or red oak wood with a choice of mocha, vanilla, chocolate or black upholstery. It's designed to live in your home, not hide from it.

The latest chapter in that innovation story is TÔWER — FÔLD's newest launch and its most ambitious product yet. A Pilates tower attachment designed exclusively for the foldable reformer, TÔWER transforms the bed into a true 3-in-1 training system: mat, reformer, tower. Full tower Pilates functionality — the kind you'd only find in premium studios — now available at home and in space conscious studios.

"We knew that if we were going to introduce a tower, it had to be purpose built for a foldable reformer, not adapted as an afterthought," says Co-Founder Tom McClelland. "The result is something that feels seamless — it expands what you can do, while still respecting space, design and how people actually use their environment."

Co-Founder Matt Harras is quick to dispel a common myth: "There is a common misconception that tower Pilates is a more advanced version of the mat or the reformer. It's not — it's a complementary sidestep within Pilates. And now, it's part of the FÔLD ecosystem."

Built Around Community

What separates FÔLD from the field isn't just the design led product — it's who they build for. When it came to evolving the brand's creative direction, FÔLD partnered with multi-award-winning sports creative agency MATTA to put the camera on the people who'd actually built the brand: its community. Not models. Not staged shoots. Real people, in real homes, moving in real bodies.

The result was a campaign that resonated precisely because it reflected what reformer Pilates actually looks like when you strip away the filter.

"When you're not a stereotypical pilates princess, the space can feel a little bit intimidating," says Shomi, a FÔLD community member. "Fortunately I learnt that that isn't the case. It's for everyone."

Liam, a FÔLD app user, echoes the point: "Classes were mostly female spaces, and as a Black guy, I felt I stood out. There is still a stigma around men doing Pilates — it doesn't always feel inclusive. That's why FÔLD feels so different."

That ethos runs through everything FÔLD does: the product, the app, the events, and increasingly, the studio partnerships.

Coming to the OM Yoga Show

This autumn, FÔLD brings all of it — the beds, the energy, and the ethos — to the OM Yoga Show. With classes running throughout the day, the FÔLD Reformer Zone is open to everyone: seasoned practitioners curious to try the equipment, and complete beginners stepping onto a reformer for the very first time.

It's the brand's mission made physical: making it more accessible to everyone. 

Classes are first-come, first-served — the schedule will be published ahead of the show. If you want a spot, get there early. These beds fill up fast.

Find out more at foldreformer.com