FITNESS TRAINER FINDS HEALTH CAN BE KEY TO WEALTH.

Byline: Jennifer Parsons Staff Writer

Jackie Potter thought she'd be on stage in front of the camera - not behind it training the stars.

But what began 10 years ago as a fitness class for a then 19-year-old professional dancer has evolved into a full-time career in the $10.6 billion fitness industry.

Potter has instructed some of Hollywood's highest-paid celebrities on the principals of the Pilates regimen, including Valerie Bertinelli, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Patrick Swayze and Vanessa Williams.

``At this time, with the aging of the baby boomers, people are very aware of keeping their bodies at a certain level of health and fitness, and they're aware that the biggest component to anti-aging is exercise,'' said Potter, owner of Pilates Fitness sites in Woodland Hills and Sierra Madre.

Pilates is based on a series of exercises - including a combination of moves found in yoga, dance and strength-training exercise - meant to increase flexibility, tone the body, create definition and elongate the muscles.

For the past three years there has been an increased trend in those participating in alternative fitness techniques such as Pilates, yoga and tai chi.

Already, 75 percent of health clubs offer yoga, 40 percent offer tai chi and 25 percent offer Pilates, according to the Boston-based International Health, Racquet & Sportsclub Association, a nonprofit group that represents 3,600 of the almost 17,000 health clubs nationwide.

``The number of health clubs that offer Pilates would have been 5 percent two to three years ago, so it has jumped significantly and I bet it is going to continue to climb,'' said Bill Howland, a spokesman for the association.

``Americans are incredibly goal-oriented and time conscious and Pilates manages to have a foot in both worlds,'' he said. ``It's alternative, but it's incredibly time-effective and you get a great core body workout in one session.''

But when Potter began Pilates Fitness in Pasadena in 1993 with an initial investment of $25,000, it was a challenge because the newly emerging alternative exercise had not yet caught on.

At first, Potter was only charging $40 for a one-hour session in her 800- square-foot facility.

Although she attempted to advertise, Potter said the best marketing tool was referrals from her clients, with whom she had begun forming personal relationships.

``In this business, it's really from word of mouth,'' said Potter, 29, of Bel-Air. ``People have to really trust you. They have to see the changes in their friends and girlfriends to decide if it's something they want to do.''

In 1992, a physical therapist in Century City referred actor Swayze to Potter, and her career with the Hollywood glitterati took off.

``People look at what celebrities do and they know that they are doing the best thing out there, so it's pretty convincing,'' she said.

In 1997, Potter moved her studio - which now grosses up to $100,000 annually - to Sierra Madre, where she, along with her three other trainers, charge $600 for 10 one-hour sessions to a list of about 100 middle- to upper-class clients.

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Photo:

Pilates Fitness owner Jackie Potter, left, shows client Maiquel Alejo an exercise movement at her Sierra Madre studio.

Walt Mancini/Staff Photographer