Kennyth Montes de Oca and Matthew Cunningham met when Ken was walking face and Matt was working a sewing machine. Coming up in the ballroom scene together, they were always serving glamour.
These days, Kennyth and Matthew are still up to their old tricks, except they’ve traded in their ballroom gowns for sleek workout tanks–at least most of the time. The happy (and recently married!) couple are co-founders of Ken Pilates, a thriving pilates studio with two locations in Hoboken, New Jersey, and a third spot opening up this fall in Chelsea.
The current exercise de jour, pilates is everywhere right now. But studios they often cater to a… let’s just say caucasian clientele. When Kennyth started teaching classes in Manhattan’s ritzy Upper East Side, he remembers being locked out of studios by people working at the front desk.
“They would think I was going to rob them,” he tells Queerty. “I’m the reason people are coming here!”
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Sick of suffering indignities, Kennyth opened up his space so he could make his own rules. Ken Pilates started in the spare bedroom of his two-bedroom apartment, a configuration that tested the couple’s flexibility in every possible way.
“We had to throw everything back there,” Matthew says. “Including me!”
Now with 15 employees, Ken Pilates is a powerhouse. Everything, from the look to the music, is 100% Kennyth: loud, proud and strong.
“We still get a few [complaints],” adds Matthew. “Oh, I heard a word! I’m bothered!”
Kennyth, meanwhile, is not.
“I don’t think I should start my morning with [that word],’” he says, mimicking a complaint. “I’m like, ‘Girl, you don’t got one?! We’re saying it from a place of empowerment.”
In between punchy lyrics, Queerty recently caught up with Kennyth and Matthew for a whirlwind of a conversation. Here’s what they had to say…
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QUEERTY: You guys are life partners, business partners. You do everything together! How did you meet?
MATTHEW: … Which time?
KENNYTH: He had a boyfriend, we were on Grindr. Time went by, and no man had ever ghosted me. But this little twink—at the time, he was the twinkiest of them all, which was not my type—I was like, “You wanna ghost me? Great.” Then fast forward two years later—I’m telling my side of the story, I was mad!—we were walking out of the bar. He’s so excited to see me and acted like nothing happened. He was like, “KEN!” I was like, “Oh my God. Get out.” Then I guess he was back in town. He started showing up to my pilates class in the shortest little shorts. I was like, “Great, OK. Now what?” The rest is history!
MATTHEW: My side is, I was 21. I just wanted to have a good time! But then I met Ken for the first time and was so attracted to him, just the way he spoke to me and treated me. I was like, “There’s something good here.” But at the time, I had a man. I was like, “I don’t like this. I’ve gotta get out.” I ghosted for a while, because I was diagnosed with HIV. I was in and out of the hospital, and just not focused on that. I moved back to Arkansas for a little bit with my family. They helped rebuild my confidence and got me back to a place where I was like, “I’m me again.” So I moved back to Hoboken and remembered I met this very sexy man who teaches Pilates. We went on a date, and I was like, “There are so many things here that I want to keep.”
What are the most rewarding and challenging aspects of running Ken Pilates together?
KENNYTH: A lot of the things that we do are so concept-based. Then when it finally goes out there, it even surprises me. We’re talking about it, and now it’s here. Just making things come through, and making something else that others can enjoy. I also really like mentoring. I think of my staff as my babies. I see a part of me in them. I try to handpick them. I do an apprenticeship program. But together, just seeing things coming to full realization. That creative energy we’ve had since our ballroom days, it was fun: he’s making dresses, he’s doing this. People were like, “Oh, a wedding is going to be the most stressful thing.” I’m like, “Girl, it was just another event! It was the best night of my life, but it was just another one. We like to work together.
MATTHEW: It’s finding of separation, of togetherness, of what we do together. What we don’t. It’s a constant conversation, because there are so many things we’re doing. But I think the reward of it, we have a vision, and we love to see it come together. I’m so, so excited for our [New York studio]. The light at the tunnel is what keeps us going.
It’s hard to get that separation as a couple…
KENNYTH: We could be in the dark room talking about work!
MATTHEW: We’re looking at the sconces on the wall. Look at that HVAC unit!
KENNYTH: It’s like, “We’ve gotta stop! We’re bringing the vibes down!”
What’s the key to staying flexible?
KENNYTH: I would say consistency. I’m nowhere near as flexible as I used to be, because I was dancing full-time. Also, being flexible mentally. You need to be open to the fact that your body is not the same as my body, and how do you work with what you’ve got. The body is made to move.
When you’re not in the studio, what do you like to do for fun?
MATTHEW: Lots of things! Something we always return to is live theater. Ken has a background in dance. I have a day job on top of all this. I work as a software engineer for Music Theatre International. I really love being able to go and see things. It’s also where one of the few times where you’re all-present. It’s not something where you get to see it again. Once the show is over, it’s over. Having that active presence is so nice for us.
KENNYTH: Whenever I see things live, especially live dance, it feels like time stops. We’re in a place now, a lot of our staff, they’re all dancers. I pick them. They’re performing all of the time. Whenever I go and watch their shows, I’m like a proud parent every time. We’re rooting for everyone!
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