ABOUT ANDRE
I’m Andre Rivera, a New York City–based Pilates instructor and personal trainer with more than 10 years of coaching experience. Pilates and strength training are central to my own life and the way I coach. I work with complete beginners through experienced movers, helping people build strength, move with confidence, and feel more capable in everyday life. Wherever you’re starting, we start there.
FROM DANCE TO COACHING
Born and raised in Southern California, I’ve been strength training since high school. That passion deepened at UC Irvine, where I earned two BFAs in Dance Performance and Dance Choreography, performed works by Donald McKayle and Lar Lubovitch, and spent two years in McKayle’s Etude Ensemble.
I discovered Pilates through my dance training and while managing a back injury. Used alongside strength training, it gave me a more complete understanding of how the body builds control, support, and capacity. I completed comprehensive Pilates training through Studio du Corps under Diane Diefenderfer, with training across all Pilates apparatus. I later completed additional Pilates bridge training with The Space Pilates.
I moved to New York City in 2017 and joined Equinox, where I worked as a Senior Pilates Instructor and taught Group Fitness. There I was recognized among the company’s top-performing Pilates instructors for four consecutive years. I’ve spent the past six years developing my independent practice, working with clients whose goals, backgrounds, and starting points vary widely.
HOW I COACH
I coach through an athletic lens, but that doesn’t mean every client is an athlete—or that every session needs to feel like a boot camp.
I’m interested in building strength, mobility, balance, coordination, stability, and confidence over time. Some clients work with me entirely in Pilates. Others want to build muscle, learn to lift, or return to exercise after time away. When it supports the goal, I bring principles from one discipline into the other.
I’m not trying to fit everyone into the same workout. I want to understand what you’re working toward, explain what we’re doing and why, and help you become increasingly capable. I take the work seriously. We don’t have to take ourselves seriously every minute of the hour.
BUILD CAPACITY, DONT JUST COMPLETE EXERCISES.
10+ YEARS COACHING
450+ HOUR COMPREHENSIVE PILATES
Comprehensive Pilates certification through Studio du Corps under Diane Diefenderfer, certified to teach on all Pilates apparatus. Training grounded in classical Pilates, including Ron Fletcher–influenced variations, while my teaching also incorporates contemporary exercises and progressions.
ISSA CERTIFIED PERSONAL TRAINER
ISSA Certified Personal Trainer with education in client assessment, individualized program design, exercise technique, progressive resistance, and goal-based training. Additional coursework in Strength & Conditioning supports programs built to develop strength, muscle, confidence with weights, and capacity for everyday life.
EQUINOX MILESTONES
Senior Pilates and Group Fitness instructor, Equinox+ content contributor, and company-wide top-performing Pilates instructor for four consecutive years.
ISSA CORRECTIVE EXERCISE SPECIALIST
ISSA credential focused on movement assessment, common compensations, exercise selection, and adapting fitness programs around individual needs and limitations.
professional dance training
Two BFAs from the University of California, Irvine: Dance Performance and Dance Choreography. My dance background informs the precision, movement awareness, coordination, and communication I bring to coaching.
PRE + POSTNATAL TRAINING
Completed specialized training in exercise programming for medically cleared prenatal and postpartum clients, with attention to breathing, core function, strength, stability, and appropriate modifications.