“Why did you start City Cycle?”
That is the question that I get asked most often. I truly love when people ask me this because it takes me back to when my passion for City Cycle and everything I wanted to build for my career began.
Rewind to a couple of years ago, I was 24 years old and working your typical 9-5 office job. I dreaded going to work every day and I was feeling unfulfilled to say the least. I felt like everyone was putting on this, I am smarter than you façade. Instead of uplifting and encouraging one another, people were just one upping each other through fancy words on all-staff emails and spending the bulk of their day on Instagram. Needless to say, I quit that job real quick and was on the hunt for a new career with purpose.
I have always been someone who enjoys working out – not in an, endorphin high, I love my body kind of way. More like a, I partied all spring break long and I have to be in a bathing suit next month kind of way. I enjoyed the social aspect part of it more than the actual working out, but always found time for it anyway. When I first found indoor cycling though, I loved it right away. It was different than just going to the gym and barely breaking a sweat on the elliptical.
The time went by fast, you got to listen to loud music and most importantly, my body responded to it.
It was probably 4 years ago that I really became addicted to indoor cycling. I had my favorite studios that I would go to maybe 4 or 5 times a week. Obviously, that’s more than the average person has time for (or can afford), but I was obsessed. I started to notice a trend that was going on in these classes. There were women that would come in sports bras and sit in the front row and yell or sing to the music. and the instructor would shout out their name during class. After class they would stay and talk with the staff. Even though I was coming to the classes more often than these other people – I wasn’t being seen. I felt like just because I sat in the back, didn’t have my shirt off or wasn’t the best rider – I wasn’t included. I had been riding at this studio for over a year and not a single person on the staff knew my name.
Once I recognized the vibe, I couldn’t help but focus on this negativity every time I was there. Then it started to realize how ass backward their business model was. A place that is selling fitness, empowerment, and euphoria – is making me feel insecure. A place where you are supposed to come to improve your body, made me feel insecure for not being “fit.” I knew other women had to feel the same way. It was in the following weeks that I thought, I should start my own studio.
I would talk to my mom about it, but I never took action. Then I would go back and take another class. I started to notice every little detail – how the staff greeted me, how they treated first time riders, how the instructor interacted with people and I couldn’t help but think – I could do this so much better.
In my opinion, there are two types of entrepreneurs. The first is someone who is so good at something or is so passionate about something – they created a business out of it. Then there is someone who is seeking out a service or a business that they can’t find, so they create their own. I consider myself one of the lucky ones that checked both of these boxes!
So finally I sat down and I calculated how many people were in each class, how many bikes they had, and how full their classes were to see what their revenue was. These sweaty, exclusive, name not knowers were making well over 1 million dollars in revenue every year. That’s when I dropped everything and committed to making cycling not just a passion, but a career.
Before I even had applied for a business license or let alone came up with the name City Cycle, I sat down in my apartment and scribbled this down. You can find a more polished version on our website, (www.citycycleseattle.com) but this was the original.
Who: An indoor cycling boutique that is fueled by music and connection.
What: The rhythm is a tool that inspires us, motivates us, and allows us to let loose. Lights are down low and music is turned up loud. No rules, just sweat.
Why: Connection
