The Art of Making Pilates Equipment

By Suzanne Diffine

                 Eight years ago, David Rosencrans became the managing partner at the New York based company called Gratz Industries, embarking on a career path that would plunge him into the world of fitness.  Known by Pilates instructors all over the world for their premier Pilates equipment, Gratz Industries' primary business is industrial design work and the fabrication of furniture, architectural metal and sculpture.  With a background in art, design and fabrication, Rosencrans was a natural to assume the helm of a company that developed prototypes for the most famous industrial designers of the 20th century.  Donald Deskey, who designed the interior of Radio City Music Hall and created the Tide bullseye logo, enlisted their assistance in many of his projects.  So, too, did Raymond Lowey whose Coca-Cola machines and Lucky Strike cigarette logo are iconic American images.  Gratz also worked with distinguished sculptors like Sol Lewitt, Isamu Noguchi and Robert Raushenberg.

So how does a company highly respected in aesthetic circles like these develop a specialized line of exercise equipment?  Well, the answer is clear the minute you set eyes on a piece of Gratz apparatus.  It is a work of art, carefully crafted and meticulously finished.  Lie on a Gratz reformer and you will feel the sturdy construction and brilliant engineering.

                This is just what Romana Kryzanowska had in mind when she approached Donald Gratz in the late 1960s.  As  Joseph Pilates prot�g� and heir to his vast body of work, Kryzanowska wanted Gratz to reproduce existing equipment designed by Pilates and originally built by his brother.  As an engineer, Donald Gratz was intrigued by the project and charmed by the diminutive woman with a great vision.  So began a friendship that lasted a life-time and a business association that continues today.  Originally called Treitel-Gratz, the company was formed at an inauspicious time-1929.  Until the 1970s, they were located in Manhattan, later moving to Long Island City, where they remain today.  Among the 25 employees are metal craftsmen, some of whom have been with the company for over 40 years.  These artisans remember producing the early  apparatus, which found its home at the Pilates studio in Henri Bendell's department store in Manhattan.  Now Gratz equipment is sold all over the world!

                When David Rosencrans came on the scene eight  years ago, his only knowledge of Pilates was a late night encounter with Mari Winsor on QVC infomericals.  But as any good businessman would, he immediately set out to learn all he could about the company's products.  The first step was a class at True Pilates, 50 W. 57th Street in Manhattan.  Plagued by injuries from high school sports, he soon regained range of motion in his shoulder, which had been frozen for many years.  More astonishing was the mind/body connection he achieved.  "Nobody talks enough about this," says Rosencrans, "I was surprised to discover an increased awareness of my body, my posture, and enhanced self-esteem."  Donald Gratz's wife, Roberta, is also a devotee of Pilates and was personally trained by Romana, following a  disabling car accident in the 1980s and  she continues to take classes at True Pilates in New York, as well as at Joe's Place with  instructor Larry Gibas when she is at her home in New Orleans.

                Rosencrans next step was to initiate a global marketing/branding campaign, highlighting Gratz's commitment to Joseph Pilates authentic designs: He invented it. We make it.  This slogan is superimposed on an archival Getty photograph of Joe on a Cadillac.  Rosencrans insists, "We are not the Pilates geniuses.  We just use the specs that Romana and Donald developed from Pilates original apparatus."

The company is doing its part, as well, to protect the environment.  Gratz apparatus is designed to last forever.  They recently reupholstered equipment from S.U.N.Y. Purchase, built in the 1970s, when Romana developed a program there.  Their aluminum frames are made of 60% recycled, post-consumer material and wooden reformers are constructed of  North American maple.  The vinyl upholstery has some recycled content, as does the non-toxic, medical grade, foam padding.  Leather straps are a by-product of the cattle industry, but vegans have the option of selecting canvas straps.

                Gratz's success has largely to do with the fact that they stick to what they do well- manufacturing.  The company initiates and supports educational events by Romana's Pilates, as well as independent, non-aligned groups interested in classical Pilates.  But they have no intention of developing a certification program for Pilates instructors or providing continuing education.  They just want to continue making the best apparatus in the world - a legacy Rosencrans hopes to leave to his grandchildren some day.

David Rosencrans attended the American Academy of Dramatic Arts and traveled through Europe, Asia, and North Africa, eventually living in Stockholm, Sweden, studying design and playing for Sigtuna basketball team.  In the 1980s, hereturned  to New York, working as an actor/bartender, apprenticing with master stone carver Renee Lavaggi at the School of Visual Arts

and achieving a black belt at Seido Karate.  In the 1990s, he continued his fine arts education at the Arts Students' League in New York, studying metal work, sculpture and lithography.  Rosencrans opened a design /build business in Tribeca, designing furniture, lighting products,  and commercial interiors for restaurants, including Cafe Tabac in New York's East Village.  Since 2000, he has worked  as an interior  designer and project manager for architectural firms and general contractors, supervising and building  residential and commercial projects, including the restoration of the Eldridge Street Synagogue, where he was  introduced to Roberta Gratz.  In 2006, became the managing partner at Gratz Industries, developing corporate design projects and initiating the global marketing of the Gratz Pilates brand.  He continues to study Pilates at True Pilates New York. David has been married to his wife, Michele, for 28 years.  They have 3 children and one grandchild.

Davidr@gratzindustries.com

 718-361-7774

13-06 Queens Plaza South

Long Island City, NY  11101