On Intention & Ambition: Sydney Dumler
The first thing that caught my eye about Forza wasn’t the workout, it was the brand. The luxury aesthetic, the intentional design, and the fact that the founder, Sydney Dumler, was only 26 and had already created a presence that most brands take years to build. My 2025 goal was to not only find community, but also to deepen my relationship with health & wellness.
After my first class, I was hooked not just on the workout itself but on the experience. Over the next eight months, I found myself going five to seven times a week. The more I went and the longer I kept up with them on socials, the more I noticed the intricacies of the brand: the curated merch, the signature scents in their candles and perfumes, the Hamptons retreat, the beautifully edited shop carrying pieces well beyond activewear. At first glance, these elements felt unrelated, but I soon saw how seamlessly they worked together to reinforce the luxury world Sydney was building. When asked about the inspiration behind cultivating a full lifestyle brand beyond pilates, she shared, “It wasn’t intentional, but wellness is a holistic thing.” and that she “wanted to differentiate herself and aim to emulate the feeling people have when they leave Forza.”
When I finally sat down with Sydney at the end of September, she was warm, thoughtful, and incredibly grounded. She spoke about how every job she’d had before Forza prepared her for this and how she’s constantly pulling skills from each chapter of her life to strengthen the brand she’s building now. One of my biggest takeaways was when I asked her how she started. Her answer was simple: “I just did it. I just got started.”
She explained that the things she didn’t know, she simply figured out along the way. It struck me how often fear or procrastination delays what we’re capable of. Starting, even imperfectly, is the differentiator.
The second pattern I noticed, both from following the brand and talking with her, is her sense of urgency. Sydney moves fast, yet with clear intention. Forza is approaching its two-year mark and has accomplished what takes many brands a multitude years to build.
We also talked about her newest venture, Forza Digital, a content-driven hub across Fitness, Lifestyle, and Health & Beauty. I subscribed soon after the launch, and what stood out immediately was the curation. Nothing feels like “content for content’s sake.” In a world overflowing with noise, I’ve found myself gravitating toward creators who actually care about quality. The content Forza digital produces, does this beautifully, thoughtfully, and intentionally. She even built an entire ShopMy ecosystem that gathers every product mentioned across posts. As someone who loves beauty, fashion, and wellness but doesn’t always know what to buy, it feels genuinely valuable. When asked about the inspiration behind Forza digital she explained that she kept hearing the same requests from out-of-town visitors of the studio to open one in their cities. Being a small business, she knew it would probably take years to reach all of those markets, so Forza Digital was born. A platform that “embodied the Forza lifestyle in a tangible and accessible way” combined with “ a way to immerse into the Forza World wherever you are”.
My final takeaway is the one that continues to impress me: the level of detail Sydney brings to everything she touches. And that kind of care, though often overlooked or underappreciated, is one of the strongest traits I see in exceptional founders.
If you want to follow Sydney’s journey or keep up with Forza’s evolution, you can find her at @sydneydumler, @forzapilates, and @forzadigitalworld.
