Carrying Community Into Every Chapter

After high school, Matlock attended the University of Georgia, and wherever she moved, fitness moved with her.

“From that point on it was a non-negotiable for me, and that I carried into different chapters of my life when I would move to other towns.”

When she relocated to Nashville in September 2020, she didn’t know anyone. The city, and the world, were in the middle of COVID-19 shutdowns.

I was, of course, looking for that community in places where things didn’t look nearly the same as they had before,” Matlock said.

Group fitness looked different. Studios were operating at limited capacity and some were entirely virtual.

Still, she made it her mission.

“It was kind of my goal when I moved here during that time to join as many gyms as I could and meet as many people as I could,” she said.

What started as a search for connection turned into a career pivot.

She began working front desk at a studio where she felt especially rooted. Teaching, however, was never part of her plan.

“I had never, ever envisioned myself as somebody who would teach fitness because I had struggled with my self confidence from a young age.”

Then came a moment that changed everything.

“One day, the owner of a studio was like, ‘I think you should go through training!” she said. I was like, ‘Me? Are you talking to me? Are you sure?”

It wasn’t a thought she needed to have with herself beforehand. She took a leap of faith and dove in.

“It’s the best thing that really ever happened to me!” Matlock expressed. “It’s taken over my entire life, and it’s something that I never looked back from once.”

What began as a job at the front desk evolved into instructor roles, lead instructor responsibilities, training new teachers, managing studios, and ultimately laid the foundation for what was next to come.

“It’s been about half a decade now and greatest decision I ever made.”

Discovering Pilates

Before Pilates, Matlock’s fitness background was rooted in high-intensity interval training. But when Pilates studios began gaining popularity in Nashville (and the world), she stepped into something entirely new.

“The low impact and control style of the movement really just did something for me,” she said.

“I feel like for the first time I was able to be really fully present in a movement and see how it was responding to it,” she added.

For someone who once associated movement with self-criticism, this was transformative and here to stay. Progress felt measurable, tangible and earned.

“I was actually hitting peaks and getting stronger and able to use the machines and the props in ways that I couldn’t quite before,” Matlock said. “I think that sparking that self confidence factor was something that was really major because it wasn’t something I hadn’t seen before with other types of movement.”

Even more importantly, Pilates quieted the anxiety she often felt in new fitness environments.

“This was the 1st style of workout that I felt that anxiety kind of disappear.”

In a room that could feel intimate and technical, she found presence instead of pressure.

What she did next with that feeling is changing the Nashville game.

Soon Launching DRIP Studio

In a city where Pilates studios are rapidly multiplying, launching a new concept requires clarity.

Matlock believes differentiation isn’t just about format, it’s about feeling, and she wants to bring that to Music City.

“One of the biggest ways that you can do that is through the way that you make people feel as a client,” she said. “Whether that’s through your branding, whether it’s the way that they feel every time they step in your doors, whether it’s what they take away from your classes.”

DRIP, the highly anticipated hot mat Pilates and Strength studio is currently under construction in the SoBro neighborhood.

Unlike many studios, DRIP will offer classical, cardio, and strength formats and will intentionally combine Pilates and strength in a single, focused experience.

Programming will be strategic, allowing members to know exactly what muscle groups they’re targeting.

“For me, as a client myself, I really enjoy going somewhere and knowing what muscles I’m burning out, and that way I can plan my workouts throughout the week,” she explained.

The studio will also prioritize gender-neutral branding in a space often perceived as female-dominated.

“People tend to think it is more female focused and I would love to throw that stigma out the door,” she laughed as she recounts her own husband getting in on Pilates himself.

Her mission? To recreate the electric, waitlisted, community-driven magic that defined early boutique fitness, but within a technical Pilates framework.

“I am trying to breed a ground where all of those things can exist and live together for a client.”

DRIP is currently on track for a May opening, with founding memberships launching soon.

Nashville Fit’s Best Pilates Instructor

Winning Nashville Fit’s Best Pilates Instructor award once is an honor. Winning twice is something else entirely.

“It was, obviously, insane and extremely humbling to have won a 2nd time!”

But for Matlock, the award isn’t about personal validation. It’s about trust.

“I’m just so grateful that, A, I am able to be a part of a fitness community as great as the one here in Nashville, and B, to have clients that trust me and continue to come back to me as an instructor,” she said.

She sees it as confirmation that the long hours, early mornings, and emotional investment matter, and she is not stopping now.

“It’s just a great reminder and I’m really grateful and appreciative that I have clients who love me and appreciate the same for me as I do for them,” she added.

Life Outside the Studio

Although it sounds like she is never not working, Matlock does step away from her day-to-day hustle to keep fitness alove in other ways.

Even with a studio launch underway, Matlock remains deeply embedded in Nashville’s fitness scene. She continues to take classes across the city, believing instructors should always remain students.

Outside of structured workouts, she and her husband stay active with their three dogs, including two German Shorthaired Pointers.

“We walk them and run them all day, every day,” she laughed.  “We take them to the park and spend time outside every single day, which is a non-negotiable. Whether it’s 10 degrees or whether it’s 110 degrees, w are outside, sunup or sundown.”

From neighborhood walks in Sylvan Park to lifting together intentionally each day, movement remains woven into every part of her life.

“We try to spend some intentional time together every day by lifting together as well. So that’s typically our routine.”

Building More Than a Workout

If there is one thread running through Mackenzie Matlock’s story, it’s this: fitness is about people.

“I want to put all of the things together that I’ve learned and provide something that stands out as the best in the industry,” she said.

Ultimately, she hopes to become a “household name and a piece of people’s day” that they can hold onto whereever their jounrey takes them.

She mentioned she will show up for you “However, whenever.”

From a teenage girl searching for confidence to a studio owner building space for others to find theirs, her journey has come full circle.

And when DRIP opens its doors this spring, it won’t just be another Pilates studio.

It will be a home.

Follow Matlock on Instagram and stay connected on DRIP’s website to follow updates, studio opening events and more.

We will definitely see you there!