Callan Pinckney – The Callanetics Guru

Posted Jun 18, 2008

Callan Pinckney is an American fitness professional and born in 1939 as Barbara Biffinger Pfeiffer Pinckney. Callan, whose exercise regime, now known as Callanetics, became a very popular fad in the mid-1980s. According to a Time magazine profile from March 1986, Pinckney is a ninth-generation descendant of one of the founding families of the state of South Carolina. Callan was born and raised in Savannah, Georgia in the midst of old Southern opulence. She was also born with physical deformities of her spine and legs which required her to wear steel braces for seven years. She rebelled against the constraints of her social background, and left the United States without completing her college degree for what would become an eleven-year trek around the world.

Upon Callans return in 1972, and faced with more health problems, she developed an exercise regime based on ballet lessons that she had taken as a child. The success of these encouraged her to proselytize her techniques among her friends and eventually to write a book called Callanetics. Although slow to take off, Pinckney's persistence paid off and book sales soared on the back of appearances on the daytime TV circuit, notably on shows hosted by Oprah Winfrey, Sally Jessy Raphael and Phil Donahue. The book went on to become a major bestseller in the fitness genre and spawned a popular video as well.

Make sure you checkout our selection of Callanetics Books and Callanetics DVD's.

5 Comments so far
  1. pat April 27, 2009 1:09 pm

    Where in southern ontario can i fine someone who teach callanetics.

  2. jennie October 6, 2009 3:18 pm

    where can I find someone who teaches in San Diego,Ca.

  3. Attracta January 12, 2010 11:44 pm

    Is there a callenitics teacher in long island ,ny or the surronding areas.Please let me know as I would be interested in taking a class.

  4. Colette February 5, 2010 12:39 pm

    I used to do Callanetics way back when. I thought I needed to pull out my video tape and try again to attempt to help my 71 year old butt look better. The video was off and on so I recently ordered the dvd of 10 years younger in ten hours. I just completed my 6th hour and already I can see that my body has better tone. I have done yoga, body flow, body pump but mostly don’t like to exercise at all. I think Callanetics is probably the most intense fitness workout and the best. Thank you. I wondered how Callan Pinckney looked after all these years. She is a year younger than I am. Colette

  5. Dee February 19, 2010 12:35 pm

    I just started Callanetics (first hr.) I got a huge headeache doing the stomach segment, am I doing something wrong? everything else was fine.

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