Tori Clapham lost her 'dream job' in a day. Then she built a $4M empire from the wreckage.

Tori Clapham was working at MTV, doing exactly what she thought she had always wanted: a creative role in the heart of the industry, surrounded by shoots, talent, and the buzz of something exciting.

And then, without warning, it was gone.

But even in that devastation, a seed had already been planted; one that would grow into something she could never have imagined.

Watch: The five-step framework for career pivoting. Post continues after video.

After finishing school in Far North Queensland, Tori followed "what everyone else was doing" and moved away for university.

"I started a Bachelor of Arts with a bit of writing and journalism and drama," Tori told Sarah Davidson on Mamamia's Pivot Club podcast.

Then, she decided to apply to a New York film school on a whim.

"I never for a minute thought that I would get accepted," she said.

Then one hungover morning, after a night spent crying over her high school breakup, the email arrived: she had been accepted.

"I called my mum and she said, 'Well, I guess you've got to go then.' And I moved to New York City when I was 19. I look back now, and I think that was ballsy. I just didn't even think about it."

New York was intoxicating.

"Oh my god, it was like a lot of fun," Tori said. "A lot of honing my craft."

She also fostered an incredible group of friends from all over the world, including many filmmakers and producers.

When the course ended, she returned to Australia, choosing Sydney over her hometown.

"I was ready to move home… I was still very young, and I really didn't realise how much I would miss natural beauty and fresh air."

In Sydney, she pursued her dream of acting at NIDA (National Institute of Dramatic Art) while working at a wine bar to support herself.

That same bar would introduce her to her husband and, eventually, to MTV.

Tori with her husband Chris. Image: Instagram/@toriclapham

MTV was a thrill.

"It was so cool to get an experience of, instead of being the talent, organising shoots and helping cast and working with producers… it was a blast. I couldn't have loved it more," she said.

But the dream job didn't last. The creative department was made redundant.

"I have to tell you, I was so devastated. I was so shook," Tori told Pivot Club.

The redundancy could have been an ending. Instead, it became the beginning of something new.

While working at MTV, Tori had completed a Pilates certification, inspired by years of weekend sessions with her mother.

"I grew up doing Pilates with my mum… It was our special thing to do together on a Saturday… I thought, 'Oh, bloody hell, I'll just do it,'" she said.

She started small: colleagues in the office, lying on the carpet for lunchtime sessions.

"They were my first clients… and they were the ones who started calling me Peaches," she said.

The nickname stuck.

From there, she took semi-private sessions in her Bondi apartment, shoving the coffee table into a corner to make room.

People showed up in the cold, wet, dark Sydney winter at 5 a.m., just to work out with her.

"It was a really validating moment where I thought, 'Well, they're coming for a reason… they're getting a lot out of this,'" Tori said.

The demand grew, and so did the vision.

She found a "shoe-box" studio on Bondi Road and, with help from her parents and friends, scraped the letters off the windows, installed lights, and crammed in eight mats where maybe six would fit.

That little studio was the birth of Peaches Pilates.

From the start, Peaches stood out against the "sterile and intimidating" fitness spaces of the time.

"There wasn't a huge number of Pilates studios in Bondi 10 years ago," Tori explained.

"I just wanted to create a warm space that pulled my creativity in, and had colour and had a bit of a tongue-and-cheek vibe."

As things kicked off, Tori's husband, Chris, eventually joined Peaches, alongside their other businesss partner at the time, Beck Chidiac.

From the start, being able to balance business and personal life has been important to Tori, who shares two children with Chris.

"We look after our staff. I also want to look after my marriage and my ability to be a good mum," she said.

Tori in a Peaches Pilates studio. Image: Instagram/@toriclapham

Ten years later, Peaches is ten studios strong, generates $4 million a year, and has an app used in 54 countries.

Tori says the most important measure of success isn't the revenue or the expansion, it's the people.

"We have this community, we have this family, we really want to make people feel awesome, which is an internal tagline: MPFA."

Even with success, Tori stays grounded.

"I did work hard for it, but it doesn't mean that it's not a privilege," she said. "I feel so lucky for every person who has come and been a part of the journey."

Feature Image: Instagram/@toriclapham.