Episode 6: Andrea Fairweather, Charles Farrugio and Jennifer Deluca
🎙️What Do a GMA Makeup Artist, Interior Designer & Pilates Studio Owner Have in Common? Dance.
The Discipline That Changed Everything + From Dance to Decades of Success
A GMA makeup artist, an interior designer, and a Pilates studio owner walk into a room—and they all credit their 30-year careers to one thing: the discipline of dance. In this conversation, Andrea Fairweather (mobile beauty pioneer & GMA’s go-to makeup artist), Charles Farruggio (interior designer & marathon runner), and Jennifer DeLuca (second-generation Pilates studio owner) reveal how the discipline they learned in a high school dance studio became the foundation of their entrepreneurship, artistry, and personal growth.
💃 From Jennifer admitting she still wants to cartwheel down the halls of the Time Warner building…
🏃 To Charles turning marathons into art, memory, and service…
💄 To Andrea redefining beauty on her own terms…
…you’ll hear how the discipline, creativity, and transformation we found in dance still fuel everything we do today – and how passion, boundaries, and purpose sustain a career for decades.
Part 1: The Discipline That Changed Everything
Part 2: From Dance to Decades of Success
About the Guests
Andrea Fairweather — Mobile Beauty Pioneer & GMA’s Go-To Makeup Artist
Andrea Fairweather went from trained dancer and actor to entrepreneur, celebrity makeup artist, and patented inventor. Her journey trailblazed the mobile beauty industry. Her artistic foundation and critical thinking helped develop her patented color-coded beauty system which guides the creation of her celebrity-based makeup designs. As the founder of Fairweather Faces and the lead makeup artist for Good Morning America, Andrea has redefined beauty on her own terms for nearly three decades.
Charles Farruggio — Interior Designer, Marathon Runner & Creative Force
Charles Farruggio is a native New Yorker, first-generation Italian-American, and energetic creative currently living in New York City with his husband of almost 30 years. Enrolled in ballet classes at age nine, he danced his way through the High School for Performing Arts and the School of American Ballet, which led to dancing professionally with the Pacific Northwest Ballet in Seattle in the early 90s.
Upon his retirement from dance, followed by a three-year stint as a flight attendant, Charles made his formal career transition by attending Parsons School of Design and graduating with a BFA in Interior Design. Before graduating, he landed a position at Starwood Hotels & Resorts, entering the world of hospitality design. After over ten years of experience working with design icons, Charles established his namesake firm in 2009, where his focus has extended beyond hospitality to include residences for select high-profile clients.
Interspersed with his interior design projects, he has served as an adjunct professor at the New York School of Interior Design and owned a retail lifestyle shop in upstate New York. He recently returned to the skies as an Italian-speaking international flight attendant, fulfilling his penchant for travel and performance.
This fall, Charles will run his fourteenth New York City marathon. Partly driven by staying in shape, his primary motivation is his commitment to fundraising for the American Cancer Society. In his rare quiet moments, he focuses on his paintings—portraits attempting to capture layers of complex emotions in a single moment. Painting is his meditation, rejuvenation, and catharsis.
Jennifer DeLuca — Second-Generation Pilates Teacher & Founder of BodyTonic Pilates
Jennifer DeLuca is a second-generation Pilates teacher who established BodyTonic Pilates Gymnasium in Brooklyn in 1999 after building a practice out of her home in Park Slope. For over 25 years, Jennifer has created a welcoming space where movement, discipline, and community intersect. She is a mother to two young adults and continues to bring the same energy, curiosity, and commitment to her studio that she first discovered in the dance studio.
Key Takeaway
The Power of the Pivot: What made Andrea, Charles, and Jennifer excel in dance carried over into their success in completely different fields. The discipline, creativity, resilience, and work ethic they developed as dancers became the foundation for building businesses that have lasted nearly three decades. Their story proves that the skills you develop in one area of your life can become your secret superpower in another.
In This Episode, You’ll Discover:
✨ How the discipline learned in a high school dance studio translates into decades of entrepreneurial success
✨ Why creativity and discipline aren’t opposites—they’re partners
✨ How dance training builds endurance, resilience, and the ability to overcome obstacles
✨ Charles’s journey from professional ballet dancer to interior designer and marathon runner raising funds for cancer research
✨ Andrea’s path from dancer to celebrity makeup artist and patented inventor who trailblazed the mobile beauty industry
✨ Jennifer’s story of building BodyTonic Pilates from her Park Slope home into a thriving Brooklyn studio
✨Why the skills that make you successful in one area can become your foundation in another
Breakthrough Lessons
The Power of Discipline and Redefinition
The thread connecting Andrea, Charles, and Jennifer isn’t just dance — it’s what dance taught them: how to show up, adapt, and create meaning in motion.
When life shifts, the same discipline that drives performance can also sustain purpose. The real breakthrough isn’t in changing direction — it’s in carrying your craft, resilience, and curiosity into whatever comes next.
Whether you’re a creative, entrepreneur, or leader, remember: the discipline you honed in one chapter might just be the bridge to your next success
Quote Highlight
Jennifer DeLuca on auditioning for the High School of Performing Arts:
“I could feel the energy in the room. I felt aligned—like I was in a space
where I was meant to be.”
Episode Chapters
Part 1: The Discipline That Changed Everything
00:00 — Introduction and Setting the Scene
00:55 — Meet the Guests
02:55 — Our Earliest Dance Memories
07:38 — Lessons from Dance: Discipline and Endurance
17:07 — How Creativity Meets Discipline
20:42 — Overcoming Obstacles: Personal and Out of Your Hands
22:59 — The Marathon Mindset
24:59 — Running for a Cause: Fundraising for Cancer
26:36 — The Art of Reinvention: Andrea’s Beauty Empire
33:53 — When Community Called: How Jennifer Built BodyTonic Pilates
Part 2: From Dance to Decades of Success
00:00 — Introduction
00:56 — When Pilates Called: Jennifer’s Leap from Corporate to Community
03:10 — BodyTonic’s Staying Power: Structure, Teachers, and Client Care
06:00 — Travel, Culture & Curiosity: Charles on Design Inspiration
09:45 — Andrea’s Pinch-Me Moment: The Essence 55th Anniversary Cover Shoot
12:35 — Pilates for Wimps: Breaking Barriers for Beginners
22:43 — Andrea on Boundaries and Longevity
30:15 — Longevity Lessons and How They’ve Lasted Nearly 30 Years
39:25 — That Moment When Everything Clicked
46:20 — Quotes That Shape Their Lives
Resources & Links
Ready for Your Breakthrough?
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📖 The Story Reset Method Workbook
Rewrite the stories holding you back and design your next chapter.
👉 Learn More: https://offers.thisistbc.com/the-story-reset-method
More from The Breakthrough Collective
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Connect with Andrea Fairweather
Website: www.FairweatherFaces.com
Instagram: @FairweatherFacesTBK
Connect with Charles Farruggio
Website: www.CharlesFarruggio.com
Connect with Jennifer DeLuca
Website: www.Body-Tonic.com
Instagram: @BodyTonicPilates
💙 Support a Great Cause
Charles Farruggio invites you to support the American Cancer Society through his
Charlie’s Angels marathon team: https://bit.ly/CharliesAngelsDonation
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Sources: Guest bio and photo provided by Andrea, Charles, and Jennifer; episode
content from The Breakthrough Collective Episode 6.
