Episode 2: SoulCycle takes off in New York City and The Hamptons, with celebrities like Kelly Ripa & Katie Couric becoming superfans. Co-founder Julie Rice's muse Janet Fitzgerald moves to Manhattan to work with budding talent. A beloved 22 year-old party-girl instructor Clare Veronica Walsh tragically dies on Christmas Day. A "wreck the studio" party signifies the end of the 72nd Street era as SoulCycle grows. Follow @jessxnyc on Instagram Watch episode 2 on YouTube _____ Executive Producer & Host: Jess Rothschild Editing & Sound Design: Caitlin Whyte Theme Song & Original Music Composer: Elizabeth Ziff Additional music: Liah Alonso "One of Us" performed by: BETTY Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Who were the original instructors at SoulCycle?
I asked her to characterize the three founders.
So Julie, in my experience of her, was very straightforward, sometimes kind of curt, sometimes loving and nurturing, but in a strict bad cop kind of way, if need be. And Elizabeth was very crunchy granola, very like... Oh, my gosh, you're here. Let's hug. And I was like, wait, what do you need me to do? I'm trying to be helpful. No, let's just talk for a second. How are you?
And it was just like such yin and yang. And I guess that's why they work so well together. I felt like, Julie, I could never be fast enough. And for Elizabeth, I needed her to be faster.
And what was Ruth like?
She was an instructor. She was like on a pedestal. And it was weird.
In the very beginning, you would actually sign up for class using MindBodyOnline. MindBodyOnline is a generic site where you can sign up for all sorts of classes, yoga, Pilates, gyms, and SoulCycle was just lumped in with the hundreds across New York City. The SoulCycle website was extremely primitive, with barely the logo and the address. Again, this is spring of 2006.
Lululemon wasn't open yet, and we're still a year away from the very first iPhone release in June of 2007. And an app for signups? Well, that wouldn't be built until 2015.
For me personally, my biggest lesson at SoulCycle is that's where I learned how to run a business. I worked in so many different departments. I ran a studio. I started from the bottom, started from the bottom, now I'm here. I worked at a front desk. I was a manager. I worked in the corporate office. I worked in multiple different roles in the corporate office. I was there for almost eight years.
And when I left there, like I literally knew how to run a business. It did feel like a lot of times we were like playing business in the beginning. I feel like I got an MBA.
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