Ruth Zukerman began teaching spin classes in Manhattan in 1996.[4] In 2006, she introduced her clients Elizabeth Cutler, a real estate agent, and Julie Rice, a talent manager for Benny Medina's Handprint Entertainment, to each other over lunch, where the three women decided to start the brand that would become SoulCycle.[5][6][7][8]
SoulCycle opened its first studio in 2006 on the Upper West Side in Manhattan, and later expanded to several other locations in Manhattan.[6]
In 2009, Zukerman left SoulCycle. In 2010, with Jay Galuzzo and David Seldin, she founded Flywheel Sports, a competitor to SoulCycle.[9][10]
The studios originally featured a stationary Schwinn Bicycle Company bike with a chain drive typically used in the bigger gyms.[12] In 2012, SoulCycle had Villency design a custom bike with a "split seat" model, designed to be more comfortable.[13]
In July 2015, SoulCycle filed to raise $100 million in an initial public offering at a valuation of around $900 million. The company paused the process in 2016. In a May 2018 filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission the IPO was cancelled, citing "market conditions."[17][18]
In 2017, SoulCycle introduced its Next Generation Bike, which featured an aluminum frame, a carbon fiber belt, and electromagnetic resistance.[19]
In March 2017, SoulCycle opened its first studio outside of the United States on King Street West in Toronto.[20] Following its success in the Canadian market, the company opened a second studio in Toronto and another in Vancouver.[21]
In October 2017, the company diversified by opening its first non-cycling-based studio, SoulAnnex, in Manhattan's Flatiron District. The studio incorporated elements of yoga and strength training.[22] In February 2018, the studio permanently closed after a class action lawsuit by local residents due to noise pollution.[23][24][25]
In October 2018, Whelan announced that SoulCycle would begin operations in the United Kingdom, with a studio slated to open in London the following year.[27]
In June 2018, SoulCycle created a media division.[28] In July 2018, SoulCycle and Equinox launched a talent agency to represent their fitness instructors, with William Morris Endeavor in an advisory role.[29][30]
In October 2018, SoulCycle partnered with Apple Music, making available instructor-curated playlists and motivational audio. It also launched live concerts during SoulCycle classes.[31]
In July 2019, the company launched SoulBeat, allowing riders to track performance metrics such as distance, power, and cadence via the SoulCycle mobile app following class.[32]
In March 2020, SoulCycle closed all of its then 99 studios due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[1] As a result of accelerated consumer demand for at-home fitness options,[34] the company lost market share to Peloton, a firm offering stationary bikes used to stream at-home spin classes.[1]
While SoulCycle had announced a $2,500 bike for purchase in August 2019 in partnership with Variis, it only began shipping in May 2020, six months later than initially planned.[1][35] It was available across the United States in October 2020.[36] In 2020 was renamed Equinox+ and began to offer added exercise methods via the Equinox+ app.[37]
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, in March 2020, SoulCycle enacted furloughs and pay cuts for many employees and in April 2020, it began laying off 5%-10% of its staff.[38][39] In July 2020, the company closed its King Street studio in Toronto. In an email sent to local customers, SoulCycle cited pandemic-related financial difficulties as reasons for the location's abrupt closure.[40] Additional studios that were permanently closed after the COVID shutdowns in 2021 include San Jose, San Mateo, Calabasas, Culver City, Malibu, Union Square, W60th, Scarsdale, Memorial, and Beacon Hill.
In August 2019, reports that SoulCycle investor and former majority owner Stephen M. Ross would be hosting a planned fundraiser for the Donald Trump 2020 presidential campaign prompted a spokesperson to distance the company from the event.[41][42][43] It also led to boycott threats.[1]
In November 2020, SoulCycle employees and customers alleged that several of the company's instructors had made racist and homophobic remarks and fat shaming comments toward other staff and customers, and that the company refused to take action.[44]
In 2022, the company closed its Toronto studio, which was at the time its last Canadian location.[46]
Exercise physiology
In a 2011 article in the Los Angeles Times, certified strength and conditioning specialist James Fell approved of the company's theatrical approach to entertain and motivate its customers, saying he encourages "the importance of finding an exercise you love and embracing it with fervor." However, Fell gave the company "a failing grade for exercise physiology and biomechanics" and pointed out that the co-founders do not have certification in any type of exercise.[47]
Popular culture
SoulCycle was prominently featured in the 2018 film I Feel Pretty.[48]
Related Research Articles
Indoor cycling, often called spinning, is a form of exercise with classes focusing on endurance, strength, intervals, high intensity and recovery, and involves using a special stationary exercise bicycle with a weighted flywheel in a classroom setting. When people took cycling indoors in the late 19th century, whether for reasons of weather or convenience, technology created faster, more compact and efficient machines over time. The first iterations of the stationary bike ranged from the vertical Gymnasticon to regular bicycles on rollers.
Spinning is a brand of indoor bicycles and indoor cycling instruction classes distributed and licensed by the American health and fitness company Mad Dogg Athletics. Launched in 1993, the brand has become a popular term for indoor bicycles and indoor cycling fitness classes in the United States and worldwide.
Eric Scot Villency is an American businessman. He serves as the CEO of Villency Design Group, an interior and product design firm.
Equinox Holdings, Inc. is an American luxury fitness company and health club headquartered in New York City, New York. The company operates more than 300 club facilities in major cities in the United States, as well as in London, Toronto, and Vancouver in Canada.
Physique 57 is a global fitness and media company headquartered in New York City with studios and proprietary and third party digital platforms. It has corporate-owned and franchised studios in the US, the United Arab Emirates, India, and Thailand.
The Beachbody Company, which is now Bodi, is a publicly traded American fitness and health company based in El Segundo, California. It operates the brands Beachbody On Demand, Team Beachbody, MYXfitness and Openfit. The company also sells dietary supplements such as Shakeology and Beachbar through direct response infomercials and multi-level marketing via independent Team Beachbody "coaches" who serve as sales consultants. In 2023, the company changed its name to BODi.
Motivate LLC is a company based in New York City that services bicycle sharing systems and other urban services in North America.
ClassPass is an American company operating a subscription platform for fitness. Founded in 2013, it was acquired by Mindbody Inc in 2021.
Orangetheory Fitness (OTF) is an American boutique fitness studio franchise based in Boca Raton, Florida. The first studio was established in Fort Lauderdale, Florida in 2010 by founder, Ellen Latham. The classes are one hour long and involve two groups, one on the treadmills and the other group working with weights or on rowers. Since its founding in 2010, the chain has expanded, surpassing $1 billion in systemwide sales in 2018, with over one million members in 2020. As of 2023, Orangetheory Fitness has over 1,500 studios throughout 50 US states and 24 countries.
Zwift is a massively multiplayer online cycling and running physical training program that enables users to interact, train, and compete in a virtual world.
Melanie Whelan is an American businesswoman who currently serves as a managing director of the investment firm Summit Partners.
Julie Rice in an entrepreneur, investor and co-founder of SoulCycle, a New York City-based fitness company that offers indoor cycling workout classes.
Ruth Zukerman is co-founder of indoor cycling businesses SoulCycle and Flywheel Sports. She is also the author of Riding High: How I Kissed SoulCycle Goodbye, Co-Founded Flywheel, and Built the Life I Always Wanted, her memoir.
Peloton Interactive, Inc. is an American exercise equipment and media company based in New York City. The company's products are stationary bicycles, treadmills, and indoor rowers equipped with Internet-connected touch screens that stream live and on-demand fitness classes through a subscription service. The equipment includes built-in sensors that track metrics such as power output, providing users with real-time feedback on their performance and leaderboard rankings to compete with other users.
Bethany Christine Meyers is an American fitness and lifestyle entrepreneur. They are the founder and chief executive officer of be.come, an exercise fitness program and mobile application.
F45 Training is an Australian franchiser and operator of fitness centers based in Austin, Texas. It has around 1,600 studios in over 60 countries across Australia/Oceania, North America, South America, Asia, Europe and Africa. The fitness franchise was launched in 2011 by Adam Gilchrist and Rob Deutsche. It was ranked the fastest growing fitness franchise in the US in 2021, one of the fastest globally. It has around 1,600 studios worldwide, including approximately 240 studios in Australia and about 1,000 studios in North America as of 2024.
Barry's is a boutique fitness brand offering high-intensity interval workouts consisting of alternating sessions of cardio and strength training. The company was founded in Los Angeles in 1998. Barry’s currently has more than 70 studios spread across 16 countries, with the majority in the United States.
Fitness, formerly Activity, is an exercise tracking companion app by Apple Inc. available on iPhones running iOS 8.2 or above for users with a connected Apple Watch, later expanding to all iPhones regardless of Watch connectivity with the release of iOS 16. The application displays a summary view of user's recorded workouts from the Apple Watch or supported third-party apps and exercise equipment, as well as acting as the home for all Apple Fitness+ content.
Christine D’Ercole is a Masters World Champion track cyclist, Peloton fitness instructor, and public speaker.
Jenn Sherman is an American fitness instructor who was the very first cycling instructor hired at Peloton Interactive.
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