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Continue with Recommended Cookies, Your email address will not be published. Ruth Zukerman is the co-founder of SoulCycle and Flywheel, both wildly successful companies that innovated the studio cycling movement. Ruth's mailing address filed with the SEC is C/O F45 TRAINING HOLDINGS INC., 3601 SOUTH CONGRESS AVENUE, BUILDING E, AUSTIN, TX, 78704 . Here I am after creating two businesses, and the truth is I feel like I have to keep creating. Mike: What was going through your mind as the next step personally and then professionally it seems like would follow later? And what I ended up doing is I ended up with two partners who were very much like my mother. Ruth Zukerman: Well, it had major repercussions for me because growing up with a mother like that, your self-esteem is not going to be very high. That was the start of SoulCycle in 2006. Now, she's coaching fellow spin enthusiasts and living nearby. And so she clearly was a fan of mine, a big rider in my class and clearly recognized my passion for it. Ruth Zukerman: The night before we opened? I love that book. There was something about dancing that just made me feel great. Mike: Can you talk a little bit more about partnership? And the truth is I used a lot of qualities that are typically attached to women, and empathy is certainly one of them. What was that process like of actually identifying a new market audience where there wasnt one already? In this View From The Top episode, the CEO of the Dallas Mavericks shares why it takes a diverse and inclusive workplace culture to get things done. Is there something wrong with me? She looked at me and said, Why would you ever think there was something wrong with you? Her mother is a co-founder of Flywheel Sports, an indoor cycling business; she is . If we have to focus on numbers, we might compromise that mindful component, and thats so important to me. They just begged me, Just get on the bike, and just go in there by yourself and work with it and see what you think.. Mike: Thats a nice transition into the industry as a whole. What were the learnings there from doing it yourself and not raising capital? And what Ive learned is that I think of it as a muscle because it fortunately gets built every time we have a setback or every time we feel like weve failed at something. And every winter was it, your mother would write a card saying, Heres to a better year next year?. Ruth Zukerman net worth 931 Thousand Millions of dollars 79% Net worth score Disclamer: Ruth Zukerman net worth displayed here are calculated based on a combination social factors. The business was built around one cookie that they came up with. A lot of us dont really know that we have permission to really feel for ourselves. Obviously, I wont go into the details, but theres a patent lawsuit going on against Flywheel from Peloton. And she kind of yelled to me as I was walking out, and she said, Okay, well just promise me that whatever other offers you get, will you come back to me? Flywheel has filed for bankruptcy. That way, I didnt even have to push myself and could take the easy way out. Mike: Thank you, Ruth. That was the start of Flywheel which opened in 2010. Eventually, the partnership didnt work out. And I do feel that there will always be room for the group fitness part of the fitness industry. Some of our partners may process your data as a part of their legitimate business interest without asking for consent. I love it for its beauty and the feeling of escape during all seasons. So I was wondering for people who maybe havent tried it yet or even for people who have, how would you describe what therapy or other types of mental fitness helped you change or come to realize? Sometimes I think about the fact that my two cofounders of SoulCycle are two women who I didnt know for a long time. But also, we have a lot of business school students in the audience now. Flywheel was acquired. After her 1996 divorce, the former dancer and aerobics instructor felt lost and took to the Spin bike. I love to reinforce for people that those are the moments where we get stronger, because failing is part of life. "Ruth Zukerman is an inspiration. And the truth is, my two cofounders were similar to each other, but very different from me. When I started SoulCycle and Flywheel, those were the days of people taking six spin classes a week. Where was the tension ultimately in terms of thinking about growth, what you all wanted? Stanford GSBs View From The Top is the deans premier speaker series. And that was when I found spinning. It just showed me the importance of confidence and believing in myself and believing in my ideas, that my mother really didnt know everything. The health, wellness and fitness guru from New York City, has been a leading fitness instructor on the East Coast for the past 30 years. Her stuff works huh! And I feel that the business took on a lot of their personality. I was at Flywheel through the acquisition in 2014, and I left in 2018. So that was really what I drew upon the most in terms of my leadership style. Theyre coming twice a week. The New York Sports Club owner announced plans in January to buy Flywheel, but it scrapped the deal in April as COVID-19 roiled the industry and shut down gyms around the country. Mike: Can you walk us through that transition of leaving Soul? Im sure youve all read about it, and its part of the reason for their success. I really need to figure out myself first before that falls into place. So hes actually done a great job of doing that. Because Ill top that offer, and we really want you to be here as just an instructor. And I dont even think I turned around, and I left. In 2006, Ruth co-founded the first exclusive indoor cycling studio in New York City, and is widely credited as the driving force behind the surge in indoor cyclings popularity in New York and beyond. Eventually they did, obviously. on 25 August 2022, trading 915,000 units of FXLV stock currently worth $2,406,450. It was an escape. In December 2018, Zukerman left Flywheel Sports to explore other opportunities. Weve all had a lot of challenges growing up and in our adult life. Presenter: Please join me in welcoming Ruth Zukerman to the GSB. And I dont even think I answered, and I turned around and started walking out. And very quickly I realized everybody has trauma. If I looked at myself at 42, I never in a million years thought I would start my own business. I saw what it did for me, and I so believed in it that I just wanted to share my experience with everyone else. Mike: In your story, theres so much grit and perseverance that I think explains a lot of where you were able to get to. And is that okay for a brand to fill that void? Thank you. Ruth pioneered the boutique fitness industry by creating the "studio" with a pay per class structure, modeling them after the dance studios she would frequent when she was pursuing her dance career. It would be very hard to build any kind of confidence. And I remember probably a year ago the dissolution happened in 2007. A second source added, "It was disgusting that he was with Ruth while Elizabeth was in rehab." We heard this a lot, but I lived it and its so true that everything we do in our life and everything that creates this path that we take contributes to where we land. Mike: As a quick time out to that, I love how in business school we do cases and courses and six-month learning programs to try to have a light bulb moment that you got getting on a bike one day. And its interesting; I believe a lot in kind of trickle-down theory and that the aura that you create in your business has a lot to do with whos at the top and the founders. But theres also a business nugget where they felt that you could actually grow the business by attracting folks who otherwise wouldnt be cyclers or spin-goers. And the applause is also for each other and for encouraging the community. She lives in New York with her two daughters. What did you learn from that bootstrapping experience? The boutique industry is really not very accessible to everyone. They can either affirm or deny if that might be the right answer. After studying dance in college and teaching fitness classes in New York City, she ended up co-founding two indoor cycling studios, SoulCycle and Flywheel.Now, as Creative Director at Flywheel, she teaches sold out weekly cycling classes. It felt like an experience for me. You described overcoming challenges like the relationship with your mother that often get overlooked when we talk about the typical type of challenges here in Silicon Valley or in leadership or entrepreneurship. Ruth Zukerman: Uh-oh. I think the reality is thats not accessible just based on different income levels. And every day I walked in to teach class, I would have to look at both of them. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); I remember that story I heard in Ruths narrative. Is there anything youd want to make sure you get out if theres one thing folks can take home? This new venture, however, didnt come without its own uncertainties and challenges, which Zukerman overcame through persistence and a newfound sense of confidence. And I dont have the answers actually. She is currently Flywheel's Creative Director and continues to teach several sold-out classes every week nationwide. With SoulCycle and Flywheel, I was in a classroom last week that had a very interesting discussion around the place in society for brands that make you feel a certain way. Mike: But I took the liberty to make a version two of that game just because youre here, and I thought it might be fun. Thanks so much for your time. Im leaving. What do you mean youre leaving? And one of my SoulCycle cofounders looked at me and said, Where are you going? And I looked at her like she has three heads. Sometimes when you get too personal, the business part can be compromised, and you just get too much into the weeds. After attempting to make it as a . You want everyone to be as motivated as you are as a founder. Ruth Zukerman: No, because that question brought this to mind. When I was approached about this idea of opening SoulCycle, I was more than ready and the opportunity was right. Give a guess. Ruth Zukerman, co-founder of Soulcycle and Flywheel, joins 'Squawk on the Street' to discuss the rise of virtual workouts and how the pandemic could solidify the approach long term. And the reality was it was still very early in the industry, and there were no other boutique businesses at that point. Ruth Zukerman: [Laughs] Thanks for that perspective. And I found it very intriguing. Again, no judgment here. Ruth pioneered the boutique fitness industry by creating the "studio" with a specific, highly curated offering and a pay per class structure, modeling them after the dance studios she would frequent when she was pursuing her dance career. And again, at that moment, I had no idea what a huge part my experience with dance would play in my future career. "Flywheel had a presence at the Sag Harbor Gym for several summers during our early years," says Zukerman. r**** Mike: Plato. What was it like struggling through that version of success that wasnt your own? Lets go to questions. I love to share that with people and its a big theme in my book because its so easy to want to throw in the towel when we get to these very low moments when things dont pan out. At the end of the day, thats what we all want. But they have built a huge community at Peloton. Mike: Going into Flywheel, youre now at a point where youve pioneered spinning and spin classes and that sense of community, and youve built a brand around it once. The fitness company was in business for 10 years and once had 40 studios across the United States. I thought I was good. I was taking classes six days a week and eventually the people at the Reebok club on the Upper West Side where I took these classes said to me, Would you like to audition to be an instructor? And I thought, oh my god, that would be amazing. I really hadnt done that kind of exploration. It was literally my dream to do this. And that wouldnt have happened if I didnt seek out a therapist. Nice. Ruth Zukerman is the co-founder of SoulCycle and Flywheel, both wildly successful companies that innovated the studio cycling movement. Ruth Zukerman: Clearly Im not giving them any credit. A question I have is around something you mentioned earlier. And we learn an enormous amount with every decision we make along the way. Its an amazing story about beating the odds and persevering. And taking a moment and understanding that and acknowledging that is huge. And they were two people that my kneejerk was to defer to them, to really let them overpower me and to not have a voice. It was an idea I had dreamed about, but never had the capital, and she did. So, again, customer service is huge. Mike: I bet you Plato would have liked that though if that counts for something. So I think there will be both. It was almost like a mini reinvention every time I took a class. Whats inspiring to me about their business, is despite their tremendous growth, their product is just as good as when they started. And through dance classes, I learned so much about music and different genres of music. Besides that, I love Splits59 and Lululemons Align Leggings. And I dont know if I subconsciously knew that I really shouldnt go that route. I decided at a pretty young age that I wanted to become a professional dancer. Ruth Zukerman: I mean, it was part generational I would say for my mother. A certified indoor cycling instructor, Ruth has taught indoor cycling at both full-service fitness centers and dedicated cycling studios. And we might get to that later. And so that was one of the motivating forces in my getting to where I got to with this concept of spinning. Ruth is the author of Riding High: How I Kissed SoulCycle Goodbye, Founded Flywheel, and Built the Life I Always Wanted. There was a reason why I was there. Ruth Zukerman is the cofounder of SoulCycle and Flywheel and the author of Riding High: How I Kissed SoulCycle Goodbye, Founded Flywheel, and Built the Life I Always Wanted. And I find it interesting to myself that it took me a long time after divorce to really settle into a relationship with a man. Leibson: How do you avoid burnout, whether it be with your personal fitness regime or entrepreneurship? Thats only when the reinvention can happen. I'm among the legions of Flywheel fans who make Ruth's class part of our regular . And so Im going to talk about the positive part first, which is, again, making everyone feel important, making our maintenance person feel as important as someone on the executive leadership team. I think a lot of us, an ideal state would be to go to [Spain], [unintelligible] core power [berries] a few times a week, Peloton at home. A direct effect of this accomplishment is the fact that he has now become one of the richest persons on the entire planet. Mike: Here you are taking people out of their basement stationary bike and bringing them to their neighborhood gym and giving them a sense of real in-person community. Ruth is the author of Riding High: How I Kissed SoulCycle Goodbye, Founded Flywheel, and Built the Life I Always Wanted. I knew how to move to music. And I thought, I dont know. Mike: Walk us through that, because today, spinning is do we have any SoulCycle fans? Its just always reminding myself of the importance of the mental component as well as the physical. I mean, that was a life-changing moment for me. An example of data being processed may be a unique identifier stored in a cookie. Inhale intention, exhale expectation.. This is how I gear my mind. . It worked. This is important. What was it like even in a household in your relationship with your mother trying to fit into someone elses definition of success on such a personal context? SoulCycle was acquired. She asked me, and in two minutes I said yes. I actually was just going to talk about the lawsuit, but I better not. A podcast that I love thats actually done by a friend of mine is called The Shrink Next Door. Its an unbelievable story. A few years later, she left that partnership and co-founded spin studio chain Flywheel. Opinions expressed by Forbes Contributors are their own. And I used to see these spin classes going on. And I said, Where am I going? Duh. Ruth Zukerman Net Worth What's Ruth Zukerman's mailing address? Ruth Zukerman: No, because I knew that despite the negativity and the trauma, I learned a lot. That was something. I recently spoke with Zukerman about lessons shes learned personally and professionally about resilience and reinvention, her advice on co-founding relationships, and what shes up to now. So when I look back and look back at my leadership style, I think, Well, what was my leadership style, and where did it come from? The truth is my biggest experience was being a mom. You talked about how important it was to help your clients feel noticed and important and like theyre a part of a community. This seems, as you described, somewhat happenstance as you were approached by one of the cofounders. I was actually really impressed and surprised by it. She recently authored Riding High: How I Kissed SoulCycle Goodbye, Co-Founded Flywheel, and Built the Life I. Zukerman: The most recent book that really inspired me was Tara Westovers Educated. People are not coming to spin class six days a week. After studying dance in college and teaching fitness classes in New York City, she ended up co-founding two indoor cycling studios, SoulCycle and Flywheel.Now, as Creative Director at Flywheel, she teaches sold out weekly cycling classes. One of my Flywheel co-founders had been taking my classes at SoulCycle and decided he wanted to get in on this kind of business and came up with this great new innovation and approached me and I had confidence at that point to know, Yes, I can help these people and create this new method.. var _Hasync=_Hasync||[];_Hasync.push(['Histats.start','1,4553220,4,511,95,18,00000000']);_Hasync.push(['Histats.fasi','1']);_Hasync.push(['Histats.track_hits','']);(function(){var hs=document.createElement('script');hs.type='text/javascript';hs.async=true;hs.src=('//s10.histats.com/js15_as.js');(document.getElementsByTagName('head')[0]||document.getElementsByTagName('body')[0]).appendChild(hs);})(); Ruth Zukerman is one of the most popular faces on the globe. Yeah. And within the first session, I was asked to describe my marriage, and I did. I think theres something to be said for putting off having a family to a certain degree, because its so important to go through your own evolution, building self confidence, and achieving some degree of success before you start a family. Mike: Have you ever done a class for 600 people? I got out there, and here I was now a single mom of two girls in high school, not in a very strong position financially. And so I looked at how I raised my children and what my style was in raising my children. Ruth Zukerman used her heartache-at the death of her father, the end of her marriage, and the dissolution of her first business partnership with SoulCycle, as the inspiration to reinvent herself. Flywheel co-founder Ruth Zuckerman says the answer is absolutely-- and there's a formula to make it worth your while. I think we have a few from the audience. Why wouldnt you feel that anger today? And it was one of the hardest decisions I ever made, and I did it for two years. Cycling for success: Flywheel Co-Founder on future of boutique studios October 2, 2018, 11:02 AM Ruth Zukerman, co-founder of flywheel and soul cycle, tells us what it took to get to the top of . Ruth Zukerman is the original co-founder of SoulCycle and Flywheel, both wildly successful companies that innovated the studio cycling movement . Ruth Zukerman: Yes. After failing at a professional dancing career, she picked herself up and reinvented herself as a force in the fitness industry. I highly recommend it. Its a human need that will never go away. But there was like a prestige about going to SoulCycle. Because I think we tend to glorify entrepreneurship as its a no-brainer, must do, dont look back. Here are some highlights from our conversation: Hayley Leibson: For Forbes readers that haven't yet read your book, can you please give an overview of your background? But, no, theres a lawsuit going on. Wealth Milestones. Very quickly after I started taking classes there, the owner asked me if Id be interested in teaching because my dance background showed through. Her stuff works huh! 1 Early life; 2 SoulCycle; 3 Flywheel Sports; 4 References; . Obviously, that was a huge learning lesson for me, a huge light bulb moment for me. Student Question: Hi, Im Jen. I became addicted to it. Meet Co-founder and Creative Director at Flywheel Sports, Ruth Zukerman. I think people will always need this human connection that I just spoke about. Weve all been through traumas, you know? We all experience stress at different levels and some days are better than others. For the entire time I was at SoulCycle and Flywheel, we never advertised once. This results in overall changes to the body, in burning fat and losing . Vargas went to rehab for . Get premium, high resolution news photos at Getty Images Holly Rilinger, Ruth Zukerman attend the Flywheel VIP Ride With Special Guests Laird Hamilton And Gabrielle Reece Led By Ruth Zukerman And Holly Rilinger at Flywheel East Hampton on August 8, 2016 in. Ruth Zukerman: Im going to give you two anecdotes on that. Little did she know, she basically created a monster in that I just took to it immediately. [Laughs] And it happened right away. June 26, 2020 | by Jenny Luna So no, I didnt regret it at all. So that was a big scratch-my-head moment. At 51, she co-founded a new business, the highly successful Flywheel, and built the life she'd always dreamed of. I started teaching different genres of exercise. So what a formula for success in our businesses. All of my parents' friends were physicians in the medical community. Health and wellness is an 80 billion dollar industry. With the amount of choices out there which you just spoke about, its very different. Ruth Zukerman: 26:29 Her experience was in selling real estate, so she had-Julie Roehm: 26:32 A little bit. Student Question: Hi. Ruth is a single mother of twins Kate & Rachel, 21. Back to my mother, she was a difficult woman. Zukerman left SoulCycle in 2009 and started Flywheel the following year. Now on every corner in any neighborhood, especially places like Palo Alto and elsewhere, but a lot of metro cities now, you have a million different options. Mike: I appreciate the vulnerability because thats not often a takeaway that people would want to share. She pioneered the boutique fitness industry by creating a pay-per-class structure and offering a more dedicated genre of group fitness, emphasizing customer service and quality experiences. There werent the SoulCycles and other brands out there. And I thought, well maybe you should only go into business with someone you do know for a long time. We were about including everyone, every shape, size and color. And so I went back to her, and I said, Okay, well I got this offer, and then sure enough, she topped the offer very generously, and I decided to do it. Originally a dancer with a strong passion for music, Ruth choreographs her classes and makes the music integral to the movement. Ruth Zukerman is co-founder of indoor cycling businesses SoulCycle and Flywheel Sports . Her wisdom has been featured on several articles on the huffpost, she has written more than a dozen blog entries dating from 2011, titles include Kids and Exercise, Love Thy Self, Inside and Out,, Stressed Out? Can I see a raise of hands of anyone who saw the Saturday Night Live SoulCycle parody? Very often, reinvention follows the resilience-building phase that we go through. Ruth Zukerman: This type of business is honestly so word-of-mouth. But now, there are so many choices; I call it exercise snacking. Sheila shares an early investor with Interos, Nick Beim! Contents. Prior to becoming a certified indoor cycling instructor, she attended school at nearby Mount Holyoke College. Early life [ edit] Zukerman grew up in Roslyn, New York to a family of Polish, Russian, and German-Jewish heritage. Why were those the right times to start companies and were there any learnings from timing in your life? I think I would answer that by, again, going back to the empathy piece. I mean, we signed the lease, and it was after we signed the lease that the landlord said, Oh, by the way, no signage. And we thought, Oh my god. Leibson: Do you have any favorite books, podcasts, or blogs you would recommend? uth Zukerman is the queen of spin. Leibson: What led to you start SoulCycle and Flywheel? Interestingly, when I started Flywheel with two men, the dynamic was completely different. I still get really upset and angry when I think about it. You described some of them. And so both personalities worked, but they were just very different. Meet Co-founder and Creative Director at Flywheel Sports, Ruth Zukerman. Ruth Zukerman- Elizabeth Vargas husband Marc Cohns Affair, Pam Baker Cocker: Singer Joe Cockers Wife, Melinda Trucks Allman Brothers Butch Trucks Wife, Armstead Edwards: Patti LaBelles Ex- Husband, Teodoro Nguema Obiang Mangue- Porsha Williams New Rich Boyfriend, Jeffrey Corzine- New Jersey Gov. And a big reason people come to programs like View from the Top is were about to go in a lot of different ways. Mike: Right after this, meet in the quad. Its like my church. Was there a moment where you did look back and you think, Im now caring for a family solely on my shoulders. And that really started my ball rolling in terms of not only leaving the marriage, but starting to really learn about who I am and who I was. Theres no reason to continue down a career path that isnt making us happy. I believe [unintelligible] as an instructor for Soul, which must have been weird. Mike: Right before meeting the would be founder of Flywheel, was there a moment? Ruth pioneered the boutique fitness industry by creating the "studio" with a pay per class structure, modeling them after the dance studios she would frequent when she was pursuing her dance career. I got off the bike at the end of the class and felt empowered and felt that I could really conquer my day and the challenges that presented themselves. But we put so much pressure on ourselves in thinking that we should know the answer, and we dont. So it really meant I would have to go back to one of the big box gyms and teach classes for 40 bucks a class. Ruth Zukerman: It was so spot-on by the way. We had personalized cubby holes, and we saw who was coming to class ahead of time and had their shoes waiting for them. Look, we certainly know in this day and age of living the most efficient life we can and technology and everything going digital, we need to connect more than ever. To view the purposes they believe they have legitimate interest for, or to object to this data processing use the vendor list link below. It was kind of a floor-to-ceiling glass room, dark, room was full, the sound of the wheels, club music blaring. Its in our culture of society. Im a first-year MBA student. Student Question: My name is Laura, also an MBA-1. flywheel ruth zukerman net worthhorse heaven hills road conditionshorse heaven hills road conditions Its so therapeutic and amazing. And it wasnt until therapy in fact, my first therapy session ever where I sat down and my motivation was my father was dying, and I had no idea how I was going to go on with that. Ruth Zukerman attends FLYWHEEL INAUGURAL RIDE at Sag Harbor on May 29, 2010 in New York City. Multiple sources apparently have confirmed that the two first hooked up when Elizabeth was in rehab and have continued to see each other after she was released. Since then, Ive been doing speaking engagements around my book, Riding High, and figuring out whats next for me. Spinning Together Passion, Purpose And Success: How Flywheel Cofounder Ruth Zukerman Found Her Path Rob Dube Senior Contributor Opinions expressed by Forbes She compiled the best ideas she had for growing SoulCycle and used them to instead build. Theres no question that people are waiting longer these days. Ruth Zukerman: Wait. She said I was getting a belly. In her View From The Top conversation at Stanford GSB, Zukerman discussed all this and more with Michael Lewis, MBA 20. That was also a set of circumstances. I have to say one thing first. We want to share them with everybody else. A source told us the affair came to light when Cohn and Zukerman were spotted dining together at a restaurant just after Vargas left rehab. Its to be able to grow and scale and not compromise your product. But what I learned was it really helps to know yourself when it comes to picking partners. The instructor puts a lot into it, especially when youre going into a boutique experience. And its very amusing to me because John modeled the Peloton bike after the Flywheel bike. And we want to live long lives, and kind of this is how to do it. Last one. I believe a lot of the reasons that went into my decision to get married at age 26 were probably not the right reasons. I have to take a deep breath before this answer.