Announcing the 2020 Mindbody Visionary Award Winners

As 2020 winds to a close (finally!), it’s a great time to reflect on the achievements and accomplishments you’ve managed, despite the challenges the year has thrown your way. Many of you have done amazing things and soared to new heights—because you (or one of your customers) told us in our 2020 Visionary Awards program. 

The Mindbody Visionary Awards recognize the achievements of the wellness, beauty, and fitness businesses that use a Mindbody product. This year we decided to celebrate the stories of determination, empathy, and kindness that powered your business throughout 2020 in four different categories, each designed to recognize one of Mindbody’s core values. 

When we opened nominations in October, we hoped to hear from 1000 businesses—you surprised us by hitting that number within the first day. By the end of the nomination period, we received over 8000 stories from around the world. As we read each submission, we celebrated the grit, determination, ingenuity, and chutzpah each of you showed, whether it was for building a virtual fitness plan, doing distance reiki healings, or delivering hair dye kits.  

Selecting the winners was hard—but we are so excited to share the winners of the 2020 Visionary Awards with you. 

Audaciously Achieving (Fitness)

This category recognizes the grit and creativity it's taken to deliver high-quality fitness experiences this year. From online classes and virtual community development to outdoor workouts and equipment rental, we’re celebrating all the ways you’ve been a champion of change. 

Winners: 

Tiny Buddha Yoga, Ann Arbor, Michigan 

When Tiny Buddha closed, the studio never stopped teaching, moving online the next day. Once Michigan allowed for outdoor classes, Tiny Buddha erected a tent outdoors to keep students safe from the sun, and later introduced workout pods to mitigate risk once the studio could have indoor classes again. 

Complete Pilates, London, UK 

With a customer base rooted in physiotherapy, Complete Pilates needed to find a solution to help its customers manage pain while they were unable to come to the studio. To do this, Complete Pilates did intro sessions to help older clientele figure out how to stream fitness and worked with a physio clinic to be able to help those who were in pain during lockdown and could not stream classes. 

Fitness Playground, Sydney, AU 

Fitness Playground prioritized communication with its members to keep them active during lockdown. When the lockdown was lifted in Sydney, the gym built a guide for returning customers called Play It Safe and built a library of nearly 200 on-demand classes for those who didn’t feel ready to return yet. 

Barre & Soul, Boston, MA 

Realizing that virtual fitness would be a reality for its studios, the New England-based Barre & Soul realized that it needed to build a way of measuring the sentiment of its members and staff across all of its locations. To address this, the studio built a sentiment tracking survey that is still being used 9 months later. 

Consciously Evolving (Beauty and Wellness)

It takes a lot to safely deliver personal services like massage, grooming, salon, and wellness appointments. This category celebrates the ways that businesses balanced safety and business acumen this year.

Solei & Co Day Spa, Auburn, WA 

When the government restricted what services could be offered at spas, Solei & Co Day Spa’s owner turned into an activist and immediately contacted the Washington Governor’s office. Her activism turned into an invitation to sit on a committee of small business owners offering advice to the Governor. 

Bodywise Massage, San Rafael, CA 

Every time a new challenge presented itself, Bodywise Massage found a solution. When the business originally closed, the wellness studio offered distance reiki energy healings. Then, when only outdoor massages were allowed, the business renovated its courtyard to create a private treatment oasis. 

Paula Cliffin Skin, Cleveland, AU 

Government lockdown turned Paula Cliffin Skin into a skincare product distribution center. Cliffin’s living room became a warehouse as she packed and shipped products to her customers, even when her business was closed. 

Stretch Source, Boonton, NJ 

Realizing that the bodies of essential workers would be hurting during the pandemic, Stretch Source donated wellness programs in their support, in addition to donations to community food banks and small businesses, worth over $15,000 of charitable giving. 

Committed to Wellness: Accessibility and Diversity

2020 has shown us the importance of wellness and we want to honor the businesses that have made a commitment to ensuring access to it for everyone. We’re celebrating the businesses who created inclusive communities, supported underserved populations, and found ways to bring fitness, beauty, and wellness services to all—whether it was in-person or virtually. 

Magnolia Yoga, New Orleans, LA 

Magnolia Yoga is the first Black-owned yoga studio in New Orleans and has built a clientele of mostly Black women doing yoga for the first time. The studio also developed a Roll Call Yoga for deputies and law enforcement leaders in the New Orleans Sheriff’s Department, encouraging them to start their shifts with a yoga program. 

The Pearl Day Spa, Eugene, OR 

From the spa manager reaching out to community leaders to educate staff on creating safe and inclusive space for BIPOC and trans/gender non-conforming individuals to offering free chair massage to evacuees from Oregon's fires this summer, Pearl Day Spa went above and beyond to reach members of their community this year. 

SW3AT Sauna, Jersey City, NJ 

SW3AT Sauna is Black-, LGBTQ-, Latinx-, and active military-owned—and the owners of New Jersey’s first infrared sauna made sure to give back to those communities in 2020, including free and reduced cost sauna sessions and delivering meals to those serving on the USNS Comfort while it was stationed in New York City during the pandemic. 

Humble & Helpful: Community Choice

The relationship between a wellness business and its customers is special—every day, the industry is part of the lives of millions of people. So, we thought, why not give people a chance to recognize their favorite gyms, studios, salons, barbershops, and wellness businesses?

HAUM Nashville, Nashville, TN 

HAUM Nashville was nominated by one of their members who shared: “Her services have brought me back home to myself. And the sound therapy sessions are offered pro bono to nurses during the pandemic which I appreciate as a public health worker.” 

Adapt Functional Movement Center, Carlsbad, CA 

Adapt specializes in movement and rehabilitation. Member Jennifer nominated them by sharing “Because of Adapt, I now live more independently and have made friends with others in a similar situation as myself. My quality of life has skyrocketed into happiness and deep satisfaction, all thanks to Adapt.” 

Salon Ten Ten, Toronto, Canada 

According to the customer that nominated Salon Ten Ten, owner “Hilary provided home delivery of hair colour/root touch up kits complete with instructions (including standing outside in the cold and providing as much detail as the client needed to get optimal results.)” 

Industry Icon Award

In addition to our 2020 Visionary Awards, Mindbody also awarded Physique 57 with the 2020 Industry Icon Award for differentiating themselves from other businesses in a profound way. Read the press release.