Find Your Strength
Writer / Renée Larr Photographer / Jennifer Morris
For Shelby Tibbles, bringing JETSET Pilates to Fishers and Carmel means much more than opening a fitness studio. She returns home, starts a new chapter and seizes the chance to build something with her family, aiming to make it a lasting part of the community.
Tibbles grew up in Fishers and watched the community evolve into the vibrant, active city it is today. Now, she returns to the place she knows best as the owner of JETSET Pilates Fishers and Carmel. She brings her passion for fitness, her background in medical sales and her drive to create an experience that goes beyond a traditional workout.
“Bringing JETSET to Fishers is incredibly meaningful because it’s where I grew up,” Tibbles says. “I’m so excited to build something here that my family can be proud of, and that can become a part of the community for years to come.”
JETSET Pilates delivers a modern, elevated approach to reformer Pilates. The studio combines intentional movement and full-body strength training with the energy of a boutique fitness experience. Instructors lead 50-minute signature classes that build strength and mobility while challenging participants with controlled, purposeful movements.
But Tibbles sees the workout itself as only part of the appeal.
“What makes the experience especially unique is the energy in the room,” she says. “We pair the workout with DJ-curated playlists, so every class feels fresh, motivating and a little different.”
Pilates, music, design and community form the heart of the JETSET concept. Instead of simply walking into a studio, completing a workout and heading home, clients step into an energetic, welcoming, fun environment.
“JETSET really blends the best of boutique fitness, modern Pilates and community,” Tibbles says. “You aren’t just coming in to exercise; you’re coming in for an experience.”
After spending a decade in medical sales, specifically with products related to burn surgery, Tibbles decided to bring JETSET to Fishers and Carmel. Although her career gave her valuable experience, she realized she wanted a change and wanted to build a business with her husband, Kyle.
Fitness has always played a natural role in their lives. Both Shelby and Kyle competed as Division I athletes, and they have woven health, wellness and competition into their relationship and lifestyle.
“When we discovered JETSET, it felt like the perfect intersection of our passion for wellness, our entrepreneurial goals and our desire to create something meaningful for our family and our community,” Tibbles says.
The opportunity to bring the concept back to her hometown made the decision even more personal. She says Fishers felt like a natural fit for the brand. The community emphasizes health, wellness, family and an active lifestyle, which closely aligns with what JETSET represents.
“There is such a strong emphasis here on health, wellness, family and an active lifestyle, which aligns perfectly with what JETSET represents,” she says.
JETSET Pilates Fishers and Carmel plans to open this fall, and Tibbles and her team look forward to joining a community with a strong wellness culture. Her husband joins her on the ownership team, and General Manager Brooke oversees operations at both the Fishers and Carmel locations. Tibbles says Brooke is essential to the business, especially given her fitness and retail background.
“She has been such a huge asset with her fitness and retail background and has truly become part of our family as we grow this business from the ground up,” Tibbles says.
That sense of family matters to Tibbles, especially as she builds a business she hopes will last in the community.
For many new clients, the reformer can seem intimidating at first. Tibbles works to eliminate that hesitation. She says to prospective clients: You don’t have to be an experienced Pilates enthusiast to belong at JETSET.
“We never want someone to look at a reformer and think, ‘I can’t do that,’” she says.
JETSET welcomes everyone, from longtime Pilates participants to first-timers. The studio also offers fundamental classes for those who want extra time to get familiar with the equipment and movements. NASM-certified instructors provide modifications and progressions throughout each class. This approach lets participants adjust exercises based on their fitness level, abilities and goals.
Newcomers to Pilates might need modifications, while experienced participants may seek more challenge. Both groups can take the same class and work toward their own goals.
“We want clients to focus on their own progress rather than comparing themselves to the person next to them,” Tibbles says.
That philosophy matters in an environment that can otherwise feel intimidating to someone new to boutique fitness. While the atmosphere at JETSET is intentionally energetic, Tibbles says that energy should never come at the expense of comfort.
“When someone walks into their first class, they can expect to be welcomed, challenged and probably have a lot more fun than they anticipated,” she says.
Instructors will introduce beginners to the reformer and guide them through the movements, helping them build confidence from the beginning. The goal is for clients to leave knowing they accomplished something, regardless of their experience level. While the physical benefits of Pilates are central to the JETSET experience, Tibbles believes the mental and emotional benefits of taking time for yourself are equally important.
Modern life can make carving out even 50 minutes feel difficult, particularly for people balancing careers, families and other responsibilities. Tibbles wants JETSET to provide a dedicated period of time when clients can put everything else aside.
“I want JETSET to be the 50 minutes in their day where they get to focus on themselves,” she says.
Ideally, clients will leave class feeling physically challenged but mentally refreshed.
“I hope they leave feeling stronger, energized and proud of themselves,” she says.
That emphasis on the overall experience is reflected in everything from the studio’s design to its music and instructors. The environment is intended to feel elevated without feeling exclusive and energetic without being intimidating.
“It should also feel like an experience and a fun part of your day,” Tibbles says.
Perhaps the most important piece of Tibbles’ vision is the word “community.” As a locally owned business, she wants JETSET to feel connected to Fishers rather than simply located in Fishers. That means creating relationships with members, instructors, local businesses and organizations.
“We want people to know their instructors, recognize the people taking the class beside them and feel like they belong,” she says.
Events and opportunities to connect outside of regular classes will be part of that effort, as will partnerships with other local businesses and organizations. For Tibbles, community doesn’t happen automatically when people share a workout space. It needs to be intentionally cultivated. She wants members to develop relationships with one another and to feel that familiar sense of connection when they walk through the doors.
That vision also reflects what initially attracted her to the boutique fitness model: the opportunity to combine an effective workout with an experience people genuinely enjoy.
“We want JETSET Fishers and Carmel to be more than a fitness studio. We want it to be a place people genuinely love coming to,” she says.
Tibbles’ decision to open JETSET in Fishers and Carmel carries particular meaning. She is not simply choosing a promising market for a new business. She is returning to the community where her own story began.
After years spent building a career in medical sales and developing a life with Kyle, she now has the opportunity to create something that brings together many of the things that have shaped her: athletics, wellness, entrepreneurship, family and community.
That makes the Fishers and Carmel location more than another expansion for the JETSET brand. For Tibbles, it represents the chance to give something back to the place that helped shape her.
She hopes residents will see the studio as an accessible addition to the city’s already thriving wellness scene, a place where experienced Pilates enthusiasts can continue challenging themselves, and newcomers can discover a new form of fitness without feeling out of place.
Above all, she wants people to walk through the doors without preconceived notions about who Pilates is for or what they need to do.
“Don’t be intimidated by Pilates or the reformer,” she says. “If you’ve never done it before, you are exactly the kind of person we want to welcome through our doors.”
That welcoming philosophy may ultimately define Tibbles’ vision for JETSET Pilates Fishers and Carmel. The workouts will be challenging. The music will be energetic. The studio will be polished and elevated. But at its core, the goal is remarkably simple: to give people a place where they can become stronger, take a break from the demands of everyday life and feel connected to the people around them.
For Tibbles, it is also the beginning of something deeply personal. She is building a business with her husband, alongside a team that has quickly become family, in the community where she grew up. And as JETSET prepares to open its doors this fall, she is looking beyond the first class or the first year.
She is thinking about what the studio can become, and the role it can play in Fishers and Carmel for years to come.
“Bringing JETSET to Fishers is incredibly meaningful because it’s where I grew up,” she says. “We want JETSET Fishers and Carmel to be more than a fitness studio. We want it to be a place people genuinely love coming to.”
For more information, visit jetsetpilates.com/in/fishers.
