Is SoulCycle, once furiously trendy, out of control?
The cult fitness brand, which made its name by turning instructors into superstars and counting celebrities like Beyoncé, David Beckham and Madonna as fans, is holding back some of its top revenue.
In August, the company, which has struggled during the pandemic, announced that he would it will close 20 of its 82 studios across the country and lay off 75 employees.
Now, we hear, some beloved instructors are taking pay cuts and cutting their classes.
“Someone who earns $300 per class now has a base of $100. And you get paid a few extra bucks for every rider that shows up,” says one source. “Others have had their classes cut from 12 classes to 3 [per week].”
A 2020 item of Vox reported that at one point star instructor Stacey Griffith could earn $800 per class and had 15 classes a week. Instructors also received bonuses for selling out classes and received tips and expensive gifts from riders.
Popular teacher instructor Janet Fitzgerald, who also taught aspiring instructors the ropes, posted on instagram this month that his position as director of training has been dissolved. He has been left with only three classes on the schedule, much to the dismay of his followers.
“Total shock. What kind of shit is this,” said one. “This is absolute madness,” said another.
The charm of the super instructor was a driving force in the early days of the brand. Billionaires, fashionistas, and the most powerful guys in town would battle it out on waiting lists to get into their favorite class.
2013 New York magazine article he said, “the strength of the brand lies in the personality and charisma of the person at the podium, and in carefully matching that person with their audience.”
One Soul devotee explains, “With Soul and how the business model was built, the teachers feel very separate from the corporation… It’s actually the teachers who create the environment for the students.”
Another source says, “These instructors were supposed to be like the next reality stars.” The spinner also joked, “It was like you had to know Michelle Obama’s cell number to get a spot at Vicky’s at 6:15 a.m. [class] or whatever.”
A Soul spokesperson tells us, “Our instructor compensation policy is based on performance metrics that will result in some seeing a raise, particularly our newest talent. We are moving toward a more equitable and sustainable pay scale model where we will continue to offer a premium compared to our competitive set while protecting the long-term health of our business.”
in a longer time interview with yahooEvelyn Webster, CEO, explained, “We have to look at our operating costs. Reset our instructor’s compensation… We had an imbalance in the pay spectrum. There were some instructors that we were paying a significant premium to…and others that weren’t at the bottom of the market.”
The executive added: “We have rock star instructors, the best in the world and we will continue to pay a premium to the market. What we’re trying to do is rebalance that plan to some extent. Reduce the premium among our most experienced instructors and educate others.”
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