SoulCycle's CEO on why the cult indoor cycling class is 'very different' from others in London

At last, Manhattan’s favourite spinning studio is opening its doors in London. Better late than never, says Katie Strick 
SoulCycle

Melanie Whelan, CEO of cult New York-born spin studio SoulCycle, is just putting the finishing touches in place at her latest outpost: a Polaroid wall, grapefruit-scented candles and an amethyst stone behind the bike on the podium. They “bless” it before each class.

This particular crystal, known for its healing properties, has been christened Winston — a fitting name for the brand’s first studio in the UK. In fact, the shiny new London site — just along from Liberty on Soho’s Great Marlborough Street — is SoulCycle’s first outside North America and, naturally, there’s been quite the hype.

The boss: Melanie Whelan of SoulCycle 
Daniel Hambury/@stellapicsltd

Since its birth 13 years ago, the celebrity-favourite spin chain has grown to more than 90 studios across the US and Canada (22 in New York alone) and garnered a famously A-list following thanks to its dark studios and spiritual LA vibe. Beyoncé, Lady Gaga and Michelle Obama are among the 20,000 daily riders.

Doors to the new Soho studio open on Friday and Whelan, 41, is in the capital to celebrate. She flew in from the brand’s shiny HQ in New York’s West Village this morning and tells me over a turmeric “happiness” smoothie how SoulCycle is about much more than just fitness.

“People come for the workout — it’s 45 minutes, it’s efficient, and it’s a great cardiovascular full-body workout — but what they really stay for is the community and the connection that they find in the lobby.” The fact that 25 per cent of classes sell out in the first three minutes is testament to that.

Whelan believes the brand was “born at the right time”. When it launched in 2006 “there were yoga and dance studios” but SoulCycle conceived of the idea of a “boutique” fitness studio that does one thing well. Now London has a whole wave of its own, from Kobox (boxing) and Engine Room (rowing) to Psycle, Boom Cycle and 1Rebel for indoor cycling.

So why the wait to bring SoulCycle to London? “It’s something we’ve had our eye on for quite some time,” says Whelan, who met her Australian husband on a visit to the capital in 2005. The mother-of-two often checks into Psycle or Boom Cycle when she’s in the UK but insists that SoulCycle remains “something very different”.

Phones are banned — you can charge them in the lockers while you ride — and for Whelan there’s an “emotional” layer that sets her workouts apart.

She talks of “casting” classes like they’re stage shows (instructors are hand-picked via an audition process she calls “American Idol on a bike”) and workouts are designed to be a spiritual journey as well as physical — riders regularly end up in tears.

Will this work in London, where Brits tend to be rather more reserved? Whelan laughs and says she is “absolutely aware” of the cultural nuances: in fact, that’s what makes SoulCycle unique.

“Houston, Texas, is very different to Palo Alto, California. They have different music tastes, a different type of rider, different traffic patterns”, so each studio is bespoke.

London, being a “city of villages”, lends itself to this neighbourhood vibe well, Whelan continues. She hopes Soho’s central location will attract a “wide demographic” of riders and plans to open two more locations here “shortly”.

Soho’s instructor pool will be a mix of US trainers and Brits who are currently training in the US and the studio will differ from American outposts on certain details: namely, more showers and lockers, a food-and-drink offering (a Good Life Eatery bar serving juice shots, acai bowls and protein peanut butter cups) and a plastic-free initiative.

Whelan shows me around the bright lobby with SoulCycle’s signature sunshine-yellow logo and branded sports bras, leggings and water bottles. The chain launched its own in-house apparel line, Soul by SoulCycle, in January.

Studios also sell a range of beauty products from CBD oils to rose quartz rollers, and last year Whelan announced a music activation, Sound by SoulCycle, offering live cycling concerts for more than 500 riders. Whelan is planning the first London concert later this year.

It’s all part of SoulCycle’s aim to build a community of “connectors”, says Whelan. “People who want to be part of a community, who want to be the best version of themselves and have a bend towards experiences — whether it’s music, dancing or choreography.”

She rides four or five times a week herself and spends as much time as she can on the studio floor.

“You’ll learn more about the business standing at the front desk for three minutes in the morning than you would in the office all day long.”

The Polaroid wall is a SoulCycle feature. “We ask all our teams and riders to send Polaroids in so you’ve got this living, breathing artefact of the community,” Whelan smiles, saying she’d love to get new mother the Duchess of Sussex in for a ride (she has two kids herself and insists the classes are perfect for post-natal women).

“We have 92 Polaroid walls around the US, then the studios send us one or two photos every quarter and we put them on the macro Polaroid wall we have in HQ.” Soon she’ll have Soho’s selfies to add to the wall, too.

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