Peloton Lil Jon Class Pulled Then Returns
466: Peloton Lil Jon Class Pulled Then Returns
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What We Covered:
Peloton has removed a Lil Jon class from the platform with no official explanation. We break down which class disappeared, what the community noticed, and what might be behind the removal.
Also covered in Episode 466:
- AI-generated music was spotted in an Ally Love barre class — and the community has thoughts
- Peloton stock added to the S&P SmallCap 600
- Peloton is recruiting employees on Reddit
- Peloton subtly rebrands the TS60
- Peloton and Global Running Day
- CTO Francis Shanahan on finishing the Cocodona 250
- Becs Gentry pivots to Trail Training
- Jess Sims leads a rare 60-minute Walk-Run class
- Sam Yo making media rounds to promote his new book
- Christin D’Ercole updates on her book
- Zacharias rumored to appear in Antoni Porowski’s new travel series
- Rebecca Kennedy teams up with Dr. Jaime for a live event
- Ash Pryor to speak at NAMICon 2026
- Kristin McGee teaching at Bryant Park Yoga Festival
- Latest Artists Series features The Prodigy
- Peloton adds more HYROX content
- Christian Vande Velde back with a new Real Route
- Aditi Shah scenic meditation
- Peloton’s new posture program
- Peloton gearing up for Pride Month
- Peloton Birthdays: Jess King (5/29), Irene Scholz (6/3), Rad Lopez (6/4)
- TCO Top 5 and listener-recommended classes
The Clip Out is the longest-running independent Peloton podcast. New episodes every Friday. Hosted by Crystal O’Keefe and Tom O’Keefe theclipout.com Instagram: @clipoutcrystal
Transcript:
Crystal: Welcome to the Clip Out Podcast, episode 466. This is Crystal O’Keefe.
Tom: And this is Tom O’Keefe. So getting ready for our little trip. We talk about big trips, we’re taking a little trip.
Crystal: Yes, yo. That’s what they say to Sam on his g- rides.
Tom: Oh, I see. If you say so.
Crystal: I do.
Tom: If you say, yo. Um, we are, uh, gonna drive up to Chicago-
Crystal: Yeah
Tom: to see the, uh, [00:01:00] Sam Yo book tour stops- Yeah … as, uh, that’s as close as things typically get to us.
Crystal: Yeah, it is. So- It is as close as things get to us, so- I
Tom: would say if you’re in the Chicago area, you should get a ticket and come say hi, but by the time you hear this-
Crystal: It will be too late …
Tom: it will have already occurred.
Crystal: That is true.
Tom: So, um-
Crystal: I guess we could have said that earlier, huh?
Tom: Yeah.
Crystal: But, uh- I’m
Tom: sure we would drive ticket sales.
Crystal: You know it. I just, like, five of them.
Tom: I’m just, I’m just concerned that, you know, House of Blue Chicago could not handle the influx-
Crystal: Right …
Tom: if we were to have announced that ahead of time. It’s
Crystal: better that we didn’t.
Tom: Yeah, so-
Crystal: Yeah, just to be on the safe side.
Tom: Yeah. It’s just… Oh.
Crystal: Oh.
Tom: It’d be like if Taylor Swift-
Crystal: It’s Jo, it’s just
Tom: the
Crystal: same …
Tom: tried to, tried to play a little club.
Crystal: Just like that.
Tom: Just like that. But, uh, but anyway, so that’s, uh… So if, if you would like a full recap, we’ll talk about that on Patreon.
Crystal: Yes.
Tom: So we’ll- Yes
go, we’ll do a deep dive [00:02:00] into what we saw at the book tour and, I don’t… I would say our travels, but it’s literally a car ride up there and a car ride back. Mm-hmm. I don’t know that that portion will be all that interesting, so
Crystal: we probably- Well, that may be true. Um, yeah, we probably won’t do a ton of that.
We’ll probably just talk about the actual event. But we do have a lot coming up in the next few weeks. Like, there’s a lot going on.
Tom: There is. A lot of stuff, extra stuff for the podcast-
Crystal: Mm-hmm …
Tom: that you don’t normally get, so-
Crystal: I- it’s true … um. Should, should we tell anybody any of those things now, or should we make them wait?
Tom: I say we make them wait.
Crystal: Oh.
Tom: They can anticipate, and then when it happens, they can decide
Crystal: if it was important or not. Well, there’s something that’s happening at the end of this interview, we sh- or this inter- this episode that we should- Okay … let people know.
Tom: Then I think we can go ahead and tell them.
Crystal: Oh, okay.
Tom: Yes.
Crystal: Phew. All right.
Tom: So…
Crystal: So…
Tom: Let ’em know.
Crystal: I’ve been working on this interview for- Long time.
Tom: Yeah.
Crystal: Years. Years in the making.
Tom: Yeah.
Crystal: Kristin McGee.
Tom: Kristin [00:03:00] McGee. You probably already know ’cause it’s in the title or the show notes or something but yeah, we’re gonna talk to Kristin McGee, see what she’s been up to-
Crystal: Mm-hmm
Tom: since, uh, since she moved on from Peloton.
Crystal: Yeah. Uh, she’s, yeah, it’s, this is… I’ve been very excited about this interview, and it’s just really lovely to touch base with her. But, uh, you will get to hear all of the things, what she’s been up to, where she is, what she’s got coming up.
Tom: Yeah.
Crystal: Lots of exciting, cool things.
Tom: So you just have to plow through this part of the show first.
Crystal: Then you can get- And then you
Tom: can get to that …
Crystal: you can get to Kristin.
Tom: But you gotta wait.
Crystal: Yeah.
Tom: Don’t, don’t skip ahead. Before we get to that, what, pray tell, do you have in store for people?
Crystal: Man, oh man, a lot of music stuff. Uh- A lot of
Tom: music stuff
Crystal: in general, we’re just gonna have a discussion about… We’re going… we haven’t revisited music rates in a while.
Tom: Yeah.
Crystal: So we’re gonna do that, but as a part of that discussion, there have been classes that have been removed. There have been classes that have had music changed. There has been discussion [00:04:00]about whether or not the music changes are AI music.
Um, and so we’re gonna t- get into all of those things. Uh, we’re also gonna talk about the latest Peloton stock update- Mm-hmm … which is good news.
Tom: What?
Crystal: I know.
Tom: It’s- What is it, 2019?
Crystal: It’s been a bit.
Tom: Yeah.
Crystal: It’s been a bit. Um, also Peloton’s latest recruiting tool, not to mention a rebrand of a very successful class-
Tom: Mm-hmm
Crystal: type, um, that we are gonna be talking about. And, uh, we’re also gonna be talking about where Peloton will be for Global Running Day. We’ve also got a very cool story about the Peloton chief technology offer- officer.
Tom: Yeah.
Crystal: He did a very cool thing. He
Tom: did.
Crystal: Uh, and then of course we have lots of instructors in the news.
Uh, huge changes for Bex Gentry, I mean, really big change. Yeah. This is huge. Um, and kind of, uh, there was a little bit of a, what do you wanna ca- like a [00:05:00] reveal of where her head’s been at, um, for a long time now. Um, not to mention, uh, there is, there’s some classes that have been not very seldom s- they haven’t been seen on the platform very often.
We’re going to be seeing some new ones.
Tom: Okay.
Crystal: And, uh, and then of course, where all the instructors are gonna be. We have a few highlights of that. Um, and, uh, there’s a lot of things to cover in that regard. We also have some artist series updates and, and we’re gonna cover some content as well.
Tom: Okay. Well, before we get to all that shameless plugs, don’t forget we’re available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, iHeart, TuneIn.
Wherever you find a podcast, you can find us. While you are there, be sure and follow us so you never miss an episode. I’ll wait.
Crystal: Click it.
Tom: Also, leave us a review. I won’t wait for that. I’ll just trust you.
Crystal: Okay.
Tom: I’ll just trust you- Okay … to do it. Uh, you can also, uh, if you want to support the show- With no monetary commitment.
You can do that just by sharing an episode or a story, what have you, just on your social media channel, [00:06:00] whether that’s Instagram, Facebook, what have you. Just be like, “Hey, I listen to this. You should, too.” Uh, you can also, if you would like to support us with more than just sweat equity, you may do so at patreon.com/theclipout while you’re there.
Or no, I already did the while we’re- you’re there. I’m on, I’m stuck in a loop.
Crystal: Oh, no.
Tom: It’ll just be 90 minutes of me just doing shameless plugs.
Crystal: Oh,
Tom: no. Uh, it’s p- patreon.com/theclipout. Five bucks a month, you get ad-free episodes. You get early episodes. You get tons of bonus content this week over on the bonus episode.
Things we will discuss that you won’t wanna miss: of course, our Samio Chicago book tour stop recap. We’ll get into that. Um, wait, you’re not supposed to ice an injury now? Wait, what? That’s, that’s what science is saying. Oh, no. So we’ll talk about that. The perfect amount of sleep, also science has determined.
It’s been a busy week for science. They’ve also determined the perfect amount of sleep. Talk to you about that.
Crystal: Okay.
Tom: And then we’ll talk about a sna- a snafu that [00:07:00] could have potentially stopped you from taking a Christine ride, or- … encouraged you to take a s- a Christine ride, and then found out maybe you shouldn’t have.
Crystal: So- Saddest part was that she gaslit herself during the actual ride. So we gotta talk about that,
Tom: too. Okay. Well, that sounds fascinating as well. Yeah. So, and of course, other stuff about i- instructors and things we just didn’t have time to get to in this episode. So, um, that’s all waiting for you over on the Patreon.
So you can also, uh, check us out on the YouTube, youtube.com/theclipout, and of course, sign up for our newsletter where you will get a mostly weekly recap with all the links and whatnot to remind you that we exist. So there’s all that. Let’s dig in, shall we?
Crystal: We shall.
Tom: okay, music.
Crystal: Music.
Tom: So we will start with Little John. Uh, he had a class that was removed.
Crystal: Yeah.
Tom: And then reinstated.
Crystal: Yeah, it’s [00:08:00] weird. Now, Peloton has removed classes many to many times.
Tom: For sure.
Crystal: And every great once in a while they’ll remove one, make some changes to it, and put it back. More recently with the music changes we have been seeing this.
But this was a little bit different- Yeah … for a couple of reasons. One, this was the Little John run. Um, and this was kind of… This was a very, like, pumped up run at the time. Uh, it- people have referred to it as the greatest class on the platform. Um, it was with Alex Touissant. Mm-hmm. Like, that’s who taught it.
Tom: Right.
Crystal: But other instructors were in the class. Like Ash Prior was there, Dennis Morton was there. Uh, of course, Little John was there.
Tom: Right.
Crystal: And- So it’s
Tom: very high profile …
Crystal: very high profile. Um, apparently Dennis was twerking. Um, it was a whole thing.
Tom: Yeah.
Crystal: And, um, so when they removed it people went nuts.
But one of the things that was weird before they moved it was they had already changed some of the [00:09:00] songs- Mm-hmm … that were in the song playlist.
Tom: Okay.
Crystal: Now, what’s weird about that, in addition to it just being something we’re trying to wrap our heads around that Peloton’s been doing lately, the bike class that’s also Little John that has a very similar playlist, some of those songs have not been changed out.
Okay?
Tom: Mm-hmm.
Crystal: Make of that what you will.
Tom: Yeah.
Crystal: Then, and it’s been up for, like, a year. This is not something that, like, they realized, oops, somebody showed their panties, let’s take it down. R- r- right. You know, that’s not what this is.
Tom: Yeah.
Crystal: Um, the other interesting thing was that when they put it back, it went from being a 30-minute run-
Tom: Mm-hmm
Crystal: to a 20-minute run, and the playlist had changed, but most importantly, never seen this before, Peloton put a, a warning, a disclaimer- A
Tom: disclaimer …
Crystal: at the beginning of the class that was like, “Vibe check. This has changed since [00:10:00] th- this is different than the original 30-minute run.”
Tom: Like how on, uh, TV when they would show a theatrical movie, like, “This movie has been modified from its original theatrical release.”
Crystal: That is, that is exactly what this was, only it was written in Gen Z. And it’s just interesting because-
Tom: You know, it’s probably ’cause whoever wrote it wasn’t alive-
Crystal: Oh, totally … to
Tom: see those disclaimers. No,
Crystal: totally.
Tom: I- So, like, they thought they invented something.
Crystal: No, I don’t think that. I just meant that it was modern, it was more modern language.
Right. That’s all I was getting at. ‘Cause it started with the words vibe check. Yeah. And thinking they didn’t do that on TV in 1970. Right. Um, so that was, that all was just weird, interesting. People were so upset about it that it was gone.
Tom: Right.
Crystal: And then there, people just… Here’s the thing. People don’t read articles anymore.
They see a headline-
Tom: Right …
Crystal: and they just assume they already know all the things. Yeah. On… Okay, so the whole reason we wrote this article, ’cause we did an [00:11:00] article about this, the whole reason we started looking into this is because people on Reddit were throwing a huge fit, and in that fit, everybody made the assumption that it’s about licensing, which maybe it is, maybe it isn’t.
Tom: Yeah.
Crystal: So one of the things that has come up through… I’ve been investigating this, but it’s, like, low-key- Mm-hmm … because I can’t say a lot because the person who sent this to me, um, asked that I not reveal the name of the publisher- Right … in question. But there is a publisher that has significantly changed their contracting standards and their publishing rates recently, like, by a lot, and it’s affecting the entire industry.
So this person- is kind of thinking, well, maybe the artists that we’re seeing be switched out might be on this publishing house because the rates went [00:12:00] up so much.
Tom: Right.
Crystal: Um, through some of the checking we have done, that does appear to be the case. But, here’s the thing. Little John is not one of the publish- not- he is not in this publishing company.
Tom: Right.
Crystal: But it could be that some of his songs were co-written by people who are- Right … represented by this publishing company. Yeah, and
Tom: especially in hip hop, a lot of times if you look at the credited authors in the publishing, it can be six, eight people because each person writes a different verse or, you know, one guy made the beats.
It’s, uh, there can be a lot of names on a hip hop song.
Crystal: Yeah, and we know Little John is okay with Peloton using it ’cause he was there.
Tom: Right.
Crystal: Right? So we know that. And, um, the other weird part is, again, the cycling content is unchanged.
Tom: Yeah.
Crystal: So all of these things just raise a lot of questions, but then in the middle of all of this happening, [00:13:00] uh, there’s another issue that came up this week, and that is AI music.
Tom: Yes.
Crystal: But it’s not AI music.
Tom: I mean, it is and it isn’t.
Crystal: Well, define AI music then.
Tom: That’s the problem.
Crystal: Right?
Tom: Yeah.
Crystal: Um, okay. I do not consider it AI music. When I hear AI music, I am talking AI made it start to finish.
Tom: Right.
Crystal: Okay? That is what I consider AI music, and there are AI artists out there that is what it is.
Tom: There’s not even a, a real human being- Mm-mm … that exists as that name.
Crystal: It’s- Only- Yeah … only the person who did the prompt- Right … to create the music exists. Nothing else exists-
Tom: Yeah …
Crystal: as a person. So that’s what I call AI music. Yeah. Okay? And, um, what’s actually happening is that some of the classes that have been replaced are royalty-free music.
Now, you might remember a couple of weeks ago that Peloton issued an official statement, and they talked specifically about their floor blase- based classes had been- Mm-hmm … some of [00:14:00] this music had been swapped out. Right. They did not, um, talk about cycling, they did not talk about running, but they did talk about these floor-based classes changing, and this is where Dream comes in.
Right. D-R-E-E-M. So-
Tom: All lowercase letters.
Crystal: It is all lowercase. ‘Cause
Tom: there are multiple artists if you Google it that go by Dream.
Crystal: Yes.
Tom: Both versions of the spelling.
Crystal: You were lucky enough to go down this rabbit hole for me- Yes … because I was too busy writing a different article. And, uh, the interesting thing about Dream is that it is a real human being writing this
Tom: music.
It appears to be, yeah.
Crystal: But, but- Dream is, there’s at least three songs on the platform that are known to be Dream… They’re, they’re labeled as Dream songs.
Tom: Right.
Crystal: Now, Dream is actually represented by, what’s the name of the company?
Tom: Epidemic Sound.
Crystal: Epidemic Sound. Now, Epidemic Sound has been, they’ve been around for, like, 20 years.
This is not a new company. [00:15:00] But they are known for having AI tools, a tool suite, for artists to use.
Tom: And Epidemic Sound’s business model appears to be that you pay them a standard fee and it- For
Crystal: licensing …
Tom: for licensing, and it gives you access to all of their music for no additional royalties. So, so there is money changing hands, but it’s not royalties in the traditional sense.
And I, I will also say, looking at the Dream music, which is also available on Spotify, um, and the type of music we’re just, that I think you’re seeing under this royalty-free umbrella is gonna be more of the, uh Lo-fi, relaxing lo-fi hip-hop beats to r- or to what? Lo-fi hip-hop beats to relax/study to. Um, and s-
Crystal: AKA synth music.
Tom: Yeah. And so-
Crystal: With light vocals.
Tom: Yeah. And so some of those artists, if you find them on Spotify when they’re AI, they might have- [00:16:00] Hundreds … hundreds of songs. Dream does not. You know, he has a lot, but he seems to put out about 15 to 20 songs a year, which is not nothing, but it doesn’t-
Crystal: But it, it matches a human output of-
Tom: It do- yeah, it doesn’t give the vibe of someone who’s just, like, created a program that just churns out stuff over and over again, um, which you see a lot in the world of this type of music and, like, the light jazz that’s just designed to be ambient sound like you’re at a spa.
Crystal: Yes. This goes into, you’re bringing in another aspect of it, which is the Spotify partnership. Yeah. And the Spotify partnership, Spotify has been, uh, they definitely have had a lot of people giving them side eye because AI is generating these playlists, and some of th- not all of them, but some of these playlists we’re talking about, this, this jazz, easy listening, study beats, whatever.
Tom: Yeah.
Crystal: And, um, when they are creating it, they are purposely focusing on songs that [00:17:00] are royalty-free because then Spotify is making more money per song, right? Right. So it’s advantageous for them to do that. So then the question becomes is part of this Peloton-Spotify partnership that just popped up, does this have something to do with it?
Right. Um, and maybe. Maybe that’s the case. I don’t know. But I just wanna go back to Dream for a second. Mm-hmm. There’s th- the… Tell me who they are represented by again.
Tom: Ep- Epidemic Sound.
Crystal: Epidemic Sound says in their website they are not AI music. They represent humans- Right … making music. They use tools for things like, uh, searching and tagging and creating-
Tom: A- adjusting the length of the song so- Yes
it fits a hyper-specific… Like, you’ve already made the video portion, and you need a song that’s exactly four minutes and 17 seconds.
Crystal: And so they’ll help you make changes with that. So that is different, again, in my mind- Right … than, quote-unquote, “AI music,” which is there is no [00:18:00] person, there’s nobody creating it.
It is a prompt. It is, it is all done behind the scenes in AI’s nebulous little world. Yeah. That is, that is what- I think is different about these two things. Therefore, Peloton is adding royalty-free music, and they are swapping out these classes. But, um, that’s not the same as AI music, and it’s easy to conflate the two things.
Yeah. Uh, especially because it tends to be songs you’ve never heard of. They’re unfamiliar.
Tom: And it also tends to be focused, at least thus far, on classes where you don’t- you’re not going to that class for the music necessarily. It’s not-
Crystal: Not in the same way you would cycling-
Tom: Right …
Crystal: or running. Yeah. Yeah.
It’s a very different… it’s there, but it’s more- Nobody- … it’s more background rather than foreground.
Tom: Nobody leaves the spa having discovered a new artist.
Crystal: I mean, I, I’m sure there are exceptions-
Tom: I’m, yeah … because- I’m sure someone has somewhere, but fine … I
Crystal: saw somebody already complain about us saying this- Yeah
so yes, there are.
Tom: Yeah. But, but first off, you’re weird. [00:19:00] I say that as someone who’s weird in other ways.
Crystal: Yeah.
Tom: You’re weird in this way. ‘Cause all of that music sounds the same. Like, I, you know? But and I know people say the same thing about metal or hip hop or what have you, but, but, uh, y- yeah, it’s just so designed to not be listened to.
Crystal: Again, it’s background music- Yeah … not foreground music, as opposed to a, a really catchy pop song-
Tom: Right …
Crystal: that is definitely supposed to be foreground music and not background music. Yeah. They’re two very different things. And, um, so right now, Peloton has only made changes to classes that tend to be m- swapping these specific royalty-free songs out- Yeah
specifically in classes that are more background music driven than foreground music driven.
Tom: And they also seem to be doing it where it’s not an entire class of that.
Crystal: No.
Tom: It’s like it’s just sprinkled in to kind of, I, you gotta assume bring down the costs.
Crystal: Yeah. I will say, though, um, there are people [00:20:00] that, like, it just doesn’t match the rest of the class.
So when they’re swapping it out, it feels noticeable to people- Mm-hmm … because it’s different. Sure. It’s, it’s such a contrast th- than what else is being played on the playlist. Gotcha. Um, now the other concern that I have is that, the great Redditors think- … that you should just vote down the music on these, like, if you spot ’em.
First of all- You need to go and make sure you’re actually right because these people are all calling it AI music- Right … and it’s not AI music. It’s royalty-free music, which is a different thing. So that’s number one. Number two, if you are spotting it and it’s bothering you, keep in mind there are four different ratings that happen on each of these classes, and none of us have any ideas how much it could affect the instructor’s compensation by being perceived as having bad music-
Tom: Right
Crystal: in their class.
Tom: Yeah.
Crystal: So, you know, there are people that are like, “Well, but the, I’m only rating the music bad, I’m not rating the instructor bad.” Well, you don’t really [00:21:00] know. You, you, you assume- Right … that it’s not affecting, but you don’t actually know.
Tom: Yeah.
Crystal: That’s a pretty big risk for one of your favorite instructors.
Yeah. So I’m just throwing that out there.
Tom: For sure.
Crystal: Um, I don’t know. It’s a really long way from where we were back in the day when we had no licensing for anything and Peloton had to go to court- Yeah … and pay a shit ton of money to make everything right.
Tom: Yeah.
Crystal: But let’s also keep in mind how much better this is than the generic radio that’s on Tonal, and I love Tonal.
Tom: Right, yeah.
Crystal: Or- Um, there’s also- …
Tom: what you’re gonna get on other fitness platforms.
Crystal: So BODi, like apparently, because I would never. Not Jennifer Jacobs ruined BODi for me. Yeah. And it’s an MLM, so I’m out- Yeah … in multiple ways. But if you are doing BODi, no shame to you, it’s just my feelings. They apparently will play o- original music one time, and then after that it’s all just canned music.
Gotcha. It’s just canned, all of it. Um, and I know for, [00:22:00] um, gosh, I’m totally blanking on the name. It’s like Aspire or something like that, but it starts with an A, and they look like they’re on their last leg. Like, they haven’t made new classes in months.
Tom: Yeah.
Crystal: And people are really upset with them. It’s all, it’s all music that is canned.
There is, the, it’s very limited. Even Hydrow is pretty limited.
Tom: Yeah.
Crystal: Um, so I, I’m not saying therefore have no expectations with Peloton. I’m just saying that Peloton does have to watch their costs. We want Peloton to stay around, right? Right. Like the, everybody agrees, well, I hope everyone listening to this podcast agrees, we want Peloton to stay around.
And if you want Peloton to stay around, you might have to make some trades.
Tom: Yeah.
Crystal: Some concessions. Like, it’s not gonna be your favorite artist in a meditation class, and that’s every time. Right. And that’s just the way it is.
Tom: Yeah.
Crystal: Personally, I’m okay with that, but also I will completely be transparent and say music is not as big of a deal- Right
to me as it is most people.
Tom: And I [00:23:00] also understand people might be okay with it, but then have concerns about, mission creep. Absolutely. That if this gets accepted, it, you just start to slowly s- see it seep in to other modalities or the proportion increases, you know?
Crystal: I think that is a very fair point.
Yeah. And I think it’s a fair concern. And I do think that’s where the community can hold them accountable, and I think it does Peloton a disservice for them not to be more transparent about the changes they’re making. Yeah. However No matter how transparent they are or how minute the changes are, I also know they get shit.
It does- Mm-hmm … I mean, I see just when I post about it- Right … ’cause it’s not me making these decisions- Yeah. But- … how shitty people get … but
Tom: they yell at you like you’re them.
Crystal: Some people do.
Tom: Some people do, yeah. But, and you know what? It, uh, just to wrap this up, maybe where we started discussing the disclaimer, maybe that’s a little baby step towards-
Crystal: It could be
some transparency. I’m curious if we will see this in more classes. Yeah. Because a lot of classes have come back [00:24:00] with these new music, the n- new music in them, and we’re not seeing that disclaimer.
Tom: Right.
Crystal: At least that’s, this is the first I’ve heard of it. So I think that would be lovely. I think people would appreciate that if that were the case.
Tom: Absolutely. Well, coming up after this, we’re gonna get back to more Peloton stuff. We’re gonna talk about the, uh, the interesting stock thing that happened to them that was actually good. We’re gonna talk about new ways that they’re looking to hire people and some class rebrands. So stick around.
Tom: so Peloton’s stock has been added to the S&P Small Cap 600.
Crystal: It’s true. And the internet responded positively. They surged 7% after this was changed. Awesome. Um, and, uh, it’s effective officially on May 27th.
Tom: Mm-hmm.
Crystal: So tomorrow. Tomorrow. Wednesday.
Tom: Yeah.
Crystal: And, um, yeah, we’re recording on Tuesday, by the way.
Um, and, uh, I thought that was really interesting. Apparently, historically, they have done well. This small cap has done well. [00:25:00] Mm-hmm. And it’s been a long time since, um, anybody besides private holders or, like, some mutual funds, you know, maybe a company here and there was, like, excited about having Peloton holdings.
Right. We haven’t seen this for a while. Yeah. So just in general, I feel like this is all really good news.
Tom: Awesome.
Crystal: Yeah.
Tom: Peloton has been recruiting employees over on the Reddit.
Crystal: Yeah.
Tom: For the… Now this is for, uh- The stores . Upcoming micro stores.
Crystal: It is. The
Tom: pop-up stores, whatever they’re calling them.
Crystal: It is. Well, and you know what? It has now been deleted. So isn’t that interesting?
Tom: I wonder if somebody got out ahead of themselves.
Crystal: Well, listen, it’s been posted on LinkedIn.
Tom: Uh-huh.
Crystal: But LinkedIn is an official place to look for people to hire. Right. And an expected place Peloton has done many times. This is the first time any of us have seen the, a hiring notification on Reddit.
Tom: Yeah.
Crystal: So maybe it’s not that they got out ahead of the hiring, but maybe they got out ahe- they weren’t supposed to be posting other places other than LinkedIn.
Tom: That’s [00:26:00] what I meant.
Crystal: They gotta- I was just clarifying Yeah. Not everybody might take it that way. For
Tom: sure, yeah. So- Or maybe they had so many people apply-
that they’re good now.
Crystal: You never know. And they
Tom: took it down.
Crystal: Yeah. You never know. I see somebody said here, uh, it’s illegal to post a job in some of these states without the compensation listed. That could be why too. Ah. Because when you do it on LinkedIn, you have official job notifications for each city.
Tom: Okay.
Crystal: Um, and so when you’d have to do the whole process, like if you say I’m gonna post one in Chicago- Right … it’ll lead you through- Illinois, Illinois’
Tom: employment laws are a little different than… Yeah.
Crystal: Yeah, yeah. Fascinating. So maybe. I don’t know. Um, somebody said it’s a glitch though, so who knows? Um, anyway, this was deleted, but there are several, uh, different cities that are hiring for micro stores.
We have an article out about that. It was out from when the earnings call last came up, but it lists out all the cities- Yeah … that we expect Peloton- It’s like eight
Tom: or nine of them.
Crystal: Mm-hmm.
Tom: Yeah.
Crystal: Yeah. So that’s the next wave that we are gonna see micro stores in.
Tom: So Peloton has rebranded [00:27:00] the TS60 class.
Crystal: Yes. Instead of TS60, it is now Total Strength 60. Um- And, or, or just known as Total
Tom: Strength I was gonna say, I don’t think it’s a 60, right? It’s just Total Strength, ’cause-
Crystal: Well, that was part of the note, that maybe it’s being called Total Strength so that, without the number behind it, so that they can add different durations Gives
Tom: them some flexibility
Crystal: But the counter to that was it’s still like that in the collection.
Yeah Except, except now it’s called Total Strength 60- Gotcha … instead of just Total Strength. So maybe that’s what’s happening- … and they haven’t removed the 60.
Tom: Yeah
Crystal: Certainly could be.
Tom: They forgot. Yeah They change it in one place and not another.
Crystal: But it, it had said TS 60.
Tom: Yeah
Crystal: So I, I don’t know. It also could be exactly what the person thinks, that they are going to, you know, leave this open for more durations.
People sure ask for it all the time, so that wouldn’t shock me.
Tom: Although if there’s a Total Strength 60 and a Total Strength 45, you gotta think the 45 is only partial strength. [00:28:00] It’s 15 minutes less. They can’t both be total. I mean, that’s just math.
Crystal: So they are gonna take the number out. They have to take the number out if they include these other-
Tom: Yeah
Crystal: amounts. That’s, that’s the point
Tom: Just saying, logically speaking.
Crystal: I know, but that’s my… All I’m saying is there’s still a collection with the number 60 on it. Yeah So I think it’s getting ahead to say they’re, they’re definitely adding different time frames to this. For
Tom: sure.
Crystal: Maybe they are.
Tom: Maybe you’ll see different collections based on time.
Crystal: I mean, okay, listen, that’s possible, but just today I was looking through the collections because I was looking for Nico’s five-year celebration collection.
Tom: Uh-huh.
Crystal: And now they’ve moved all of the instructor celebration greatest hits, if you will, all the way down to the bottom, and it’s a huge list. And now that list is alphabetized mostly.
Mostly.
Tom: Oh, goodness.
Crystal: Yeah. Collections are kind of a hot mess- Yeah … at Peloton. They [00:29:00] really, that needs to be overhauled. I’m sure they know that. I’m sure they’re aware of that, but good Lord, I hear complaints about it daily.
Tom: It’s like when you’re alphabetizing your movies. It’s like you’re doing everything alphabetical by title, and then all of a sudden you’re like, “Well, wait, do I lump all the Marvel movies together?
And then do I do them sequentially, or do I still do them alphabetically? Or, and then what do I file the Marvel movies under? Do I file them-” Marvel. “… under Marvel?” Yeah. Do I file them under Iron Man, Avengers? I don’t know.
Crystal: Marvel.
Tom: It’s a lot to take in.
Crystal: It is.
Tom: It’s a-
Crystal: Ah.
Tom: Then- It’s a lot of stress on a nerd.
Crystal: #nerdlife.
Tom: Yeah. So, Peloton has, things going on for Global Running Day.
Crystal: They do. Multiple things happening, but- You
Tom: can’t run the globe in a day …
Crystal: fun thing is- That’s just impossible … they’re going to be doing a run in Toronto. We don’t see a lot of events in Canada. Yeah. Think we might have even mentioned this last week, but it’s gonna be a 5K.
Peloton instructors are going to be there, and they’re going to get to do a run together. There’s also gonna be one in New York City. Hoping we’re gonna [00:30:00] see one in London as well, all on Global Running Day, and then it truly will be global. How cool is that?
Tom: That’s very cool. Hot take. W- oh, you’re already skeptical of me.
Mm. Look at that face.
Crystal: Mm. Mm.
Tom: Oh, the YouTubers. They’re so lucky to see the little, the little sour faces you give me. I’m so
Crystal: lucky you think that’s cute.
Tom: Yeah. Okay, hot take.
Crystal: Okay.
Tom: I think people that live in countries that use the metric system should have to measure the length of their marathons in miles.
It only seems fair.
Crystal: Well, they’re going the same distance either way.
Tom: It just doesn’t seem fair- … that we’re like, “5K, what’s that, we’re gonna… What’s that mean really?” Like-
Crystal: 3.2.
Tom: Yeah. And you gotta, now you gotta g- do math. Like-
Crystal: Just start at the start line and finish at the finish line. That’s all you gotta worry about.
Although, I recently saw a half-marathon where this chick took a left turn instead of a right turn.
Tom: Oh, she must be a NASCAR fan.
Crystal: And she literally did a marathon on accident. See? Whoopsie. Whoops. The only person, and still did a great time.
Tom: See, that’s-
Crystal: She got, [00:31:00] like, crazy time for a marathon.
Tom: That’s why it’s important to know those things.
It
Crystal: is.
Tom: Speaking of marathons, uh, Peloton’s chief technology officer, Francis Shanahan, uh, was talking over on the LinkedIn, ’cause I think he was, uh, in a Wall Street Journal call- journal article About finishing the Cocodona 250. That’s two… that’s not, uh, that’s not metric. That’s miles.
Crystal: That’s true. He, uh, he said that he had running, hiking, climbing, and tumbling across 250 miles and almost 40,000 feet of elevation.
Tom: Are you supposed to tumble or did something happen?
Crystal: I don’t know. I didn’t ask because it was on LinkedIn. I’ve never heard of a marathon
Tom: where there was tumbling. So I’m just like, “Is everything okay there,
Crystal: Francis?”
Well, I guess if it’s 40,000 feet of elevation, there’s gonna be moments you might stumble up- Whoops … or down the mountain.
Tom: Yeah.
Crystal: Um, and I loved this, that he said… I thought this was so sweet and so, so, like, normal person of him. [00:32:00] Yeah. That he said that he was so grateful for Peloton’s own Aditi Shah. Mm-hmm.
Because her meditations are how he got through it. 113 hours.
Tom: Whoa.
Crystal: Like, that’s crazy. 250 miles over 113 hours.
Tom: That’s crazy.
Crystal: It is crazy. I mean, I was exhausted at the end of my very slow, arduous seven-hour marathon.
Tom: Yeah.
Crystal: 250 miles, I don’t even- You- I don’t know that I’d make it back
Tom: You’d still be there.
Crystal: I would. Yeah. I would.
Tom: It’d be like when I went golfing, if there wasn’t a, if there wasn’t a maximum number of strokes per hole-
Crystal: You would still be out
Tom: there in- I would still be there to this day. Special message to the Cocodona 250.
Crystal: Yeah.
Tom: It’s actually 253.3 miles.
So you were some lying sons of bitches. And I, I feel-
Crystal: Does it really say that somewhere? It’s two-
Tom: That they’re lying sons of bitches?
Crystal: No, that it’s- Oh … [00:33:00] 23.50-
Tom: It does. I w- ’cause I was reading this article, ’cause with the notes I didn’t really fully understand it, so I-
Crystal: It’s 253 miles?
Tom: That’s what it said. And I was just…
And I’m just going by what it said, like, and I don’t know if it was in his post or the Wall Street Journal ver- version but, uh… And I was just, I was shocked and appalled- … that there is an extra 3.3 miles and you don’t put it in the name.
Crystal: Yeah.
Tom: Now that’s what needs a disclaimer.
Crystal: It- that’s true.
Tom: And, and also, if you ran 253 miles, then you get to say it.
Crystal: Co- it’s the Cocodona 253.4.
Tom: Yes. It’s not… That- that’s like, “Uh, 250, eh, it’s close enough.” “We’ll just call it the 250 ’cause it sounds better.” I don’t care how it sounds. “I ran 253 miles- … and you’re gonna give me every damn one of them.”
Crystal: Well-
Tom: Every one of
Crystal: them … I also need to point out that Francis actually ran this back in 2024.
Tom: Yeah.
Crystal: But the Wall Street Journal is covering [00:34:00] it now, which is why we’re talking about it now, ’cause he first ran it- Which is why print is dead … that’s why we’re… Well, we’re just now- It’s been two years … reading about it.
Tom: It’s been two years, Wall Street Journal.
Crystal: And it’s shaped his approach as chief techn- tech, blah, chief technology officer at Peloton, so I’m sure she’s weaving all that in, not just the 250 miles.
Tom: Okay.
Crystal: So. Okay. Anyway, I know it’s, well, long overdue, but, uh, congrats, Francis. Well
Tom: done, Francis. This is probably more important to you than the medal-
Crystal: I’m sure it is …
Tom: is us talking about it right now.
Crystal: He’s gonna go home and throw the medal away.
Tom: Probably.
Crystal: He’s gonna be like, “They mentioned me on The Clip Out.”
He’ll
Tom: print out a transcript- … of the section and he’ll-
Crystal: That’s going up on the wall now … and
Tom: he’ll frame that on the wall-
Crystal: Yeah …
Tom: hanging on the wall.
Crystal: Totally. Yeah. That’s happening. I mean, we’re outshining Wall Street Journal for sure.
Tom: For sure. And he’s gonna cross out where it says 250.
Crystal: And he’s gonna put 253.-
253 …4.
Tom: Yes.
Crystal: Okay.
[00:35:00]
Tom: bex Gentry No longer running on roads
Crystal: I mean-
Tom: She’s now trail training.
Crystal: Okay, so there’s a lot here.
Tom: There’s a lot to unpack.
Crystal: There is. A- apparently they haven’t been doing the Set the Pace podcast, or if they have, Becs has been away ’cause she’s been trail running.
Tom: Okay. Okay?
Crystal: So that’s the first
Tom: thing. They get, they don’t get reception out there.
Crystal: That’s right, they don’t. Yeah. They actually probably don’t. Um, now recently she did the Canyons 50K.
Tom: Mm-hmm.
Crystal: And, uh, so she was talking about that story, but she was talking about how she pivoted to trail racing because apparently running seven marathons in seven days burned her out of road running. She had nothing left.
She said… I mean, can you imagine? First of all, she trained for that for, like, a freaking year.
Tom: Yeah.
Crystal: And then did it, and then she was like, “I don’t wanna run on the road anymore.” “I just, I got nothing.” She just wasn’t feeling running. She wasn’t [00:36:00] enjoying it.
Tom: Yeah.
Crystal: She said she really had to push through some classes.
Like, really, like, she was not feeling it- Yeah … when she was doing those classes. How much must that suck?
Tom: Yeah.
Crystal: When that’s your job.
Tom: When that’s your job, and, like, it’s your, it’s-
Crystal: Your livelihood … it’s, it’s
Tom: kinda like every aspect of your life,
Crystal: right? Yeah, yeah. And I, so I think this was kind of a big reveal because she has been talking here and there, she’s made comments in classes and things like, “I don’t know if I can do it, I’m really nervous about it,” yada, yada.
So, so I think she was talking about the long distances of trails, trail running that she was doing- Mm-hmm … but also just the fact that she was moving to trail running.
Tom: Right.
Crystal: But I think somebody somewhere along the way either suggested or she had the idea all by herself that, like, “Maybe if I change it up I’ll grow to love it again,” and it worked.
Which is really cool
Tom: And, and maybe a, a good lesson for all of us.
Crystal: For real. For real, yeah. Yeah. I think, I think that there is something very important there to remember.
Tom: I, I wonder if this might lead to [00:37:00] new class types. I don’t know how you do trail training on a, on a treadmill, but if there’s a way to figure it out, I bet you she can.
Crystal: Well, you never know. We might get some we might get some hike running instead. Yeah. So instead of it being, like, lower inclines, now we’re going up, up, up.
Tom: They sell you, uh, branches to slap you in the face- … as you’re running. And,
Crystal: uh,
Tom: also- I’ll have to stand there while you’re on the treadmill and slap you in the face
Crystal: with a- They, they also sell a special, um, mixture that you can put on your tread so that when you’re running really fast you, like, slide through it like it’s mud.
Tom: It’s bumpy.
Crystal: Yeah, and you just slide down to the bottom- Yeah … of your tread and fall.
Tom: Doesn’t sound dangerous at all.
Crystal: No.
Tom: Yeah.
Crystal: I’m sure it’ll be fine.
Tom: Uh, Jess Sims has a rare 60-minute walk/run class for people.
Crystal: She’s only done four of these. Now, it’s a 60-minute class. That’s the important part.
Tom: Right.
Crystal: But she’s only done four of these.
There’s only four of them on the platform. She may have done more that have been purged.
Tom: Yeah.
Crystal: But there are only four on the platform.
Tom: Okay.
Crystal: So this is rare. This is a good moment. Take this walk plus run. You don’t know when you’re getting another [00:38:00] 60-minute- Okay … from Jess Sims.
Tom: And they could swap it out for a 40-minute run-
Crystal: You just never know
Tom: because she charged them more money for a 60.
Crystal: She could have.
Tom: Yeah. Uh, Sam Yo making the media rounds to support his new book.
Crystal: He is. He had kind of a kickoff to the kickoff of the tour. Uh, so he hit some news outlets. I mean, and when I say that, like, big things. He, he did some really big stuff.
There was an event on May 17th at PSNY, and, uh, the event was actually moderated by Dennis Morton.
Tom: Oh, cool.
Crystal: But even cooler than that, there was a fireside chat, an audience Q&A, and a set of mindful practices. Here’s the fun part. He’s apparently staying, he was staying with Dennis while he was in-
New York City. How cute is that?
Tom: That’s adorable.
Crystal: I just think that is adorable. Yeah. Um, and so he also went, he spoke at the Women’s Wear Daily Beauty CEO Summit on May 13th [00:39:00] in Palm Beach, and, uh, he talked about his book. Uh, and of course, there’s also all kinds of tour dates, so San Francisco, Denver, Chicago, Washington, D.C.,
New York, and Boston. So going back to what does the night involve- Mm-hmm … because it’s not just signing a book.
Tom: Right.
Crystal: It’s a whole evening. And he said, “Think part…” This is an exclusive- Ooh … from Sam Yow. Not verbally, but he wrote it to me. Yes. So I’m taking it.
Tom: Well, if he had done speech-to-text, it could be verbal.
Crystal: That’s true. Yeah. That’s true. Uh, he said, “Think part mindfulness experience, part conversation, part mini TED Talk, something designed to leave you with more than a signed copy of a book. Not an interview, something deeper.” And of course, VIP ticket holders are also gonna get a dedicated meet and greet, that they’re gonna have real time with Sam to connect, talk, and have their books personalized.
But Sam is hoping that beyond the VIP experience, that there will be ways to engage with people more throughout the evening so the connection does [00:40:00] not stay confined to one tier of ticket. So we’re gonna have a guest moderator at each stop along the way.
Tom: Mm-hmm.
Crystal: In Chicago, Christine D’Ericole will be there.
How cool is that?
Tom: Very cool.
Crystal: And we’ll find out who the other moderators were very soon, I’m sure.
Tom: Awesome. Well, speaking of Christine, she gave us an update on her new book in one of the, her classes.
Crystal: She did. She announced that her book is done. It is now complete. Uh, so hopefully that means we’ll see it in about a year or so.
These things take forever. They do. That is not anything Christine- Yeah … is doing wrong. It’s- I just wanna be really clear about that … the publishing
Tom: process is slow. Zacharias is rumored to be appearing, and-
Crystal: I, uh, we gotta, we gotta use a different word than rumored.
Tom: Okay. We are asking ourselves-
Crystal: Is it possible?
Tom: could we be seeing him in Antoni Porowski’s, I don’t know who that is-
Crystal: His boyfriend …
Tom: new travel show?
Crystal: Okay. So apparently his boyfriend is a [00:41:00] big damn deal.
Tom: Okay.
Crystal: Not in a world we know, but we are in Missouri.
Tom: Okay.
Crystal: Um, but apparently this guy is a big deal. Okay. In the travel, like in just the entertainment world in general.
Gotcha. Okay? So this Antoni he has a brand new show coming out and it’s gonna be traveling around the world, and he’s gonna do like all these kind of like hidden gem things- Okay … in cities that… Like, he’s might go to London, which isn’t a very hidden gem, right? But he might do things in London- Right
that you don’t get to see.
Tom: Right. He’s not just gonna ride the Ferris wheel and get his picture taken in a telephone booth.
Crystal: Exa-
Tom: Yeah.
Crystal: Exactly. Yeah. I mean, we don’t think so anyway. Um, but there have been multiple posts lately, uh, where the couple together is getting buzz about how they travel the world together.
Uh, they’re always shirtless and showing their, his and his abs.
Tom: Gotcha.
Crystal: Uh, and they’re, they’re kind of too perfect to be realistic. Like, it’s not fair that much beauty [00:42:00] is- … in one couple, okay?
Tom: Which is why I’m here. Trust, to bring down the curve.
Crystal: I mean, neither of us are touching- … what they got going on. Um, but anyway, so the thought was could he, with all these travels coming up, be showing up in this new series?
And- I mean,
Tom: if the show’s about him traveling, it seems, stands to reason-
Crystal: Maybe …
Tom: that his partner’s there.
Crystal: Exactly.
Tom: Yeah.
Crystal: So, um, you know, I should pull up the Instagram and tell you what the name of it is.
Best of the World with Antoni Porowski, and, uh, it premieres Saturday, June 7th. And of course, they’ve been traveling. You know you have to do all these things- Right … ahead of time.
Tom: Yeah.
Crystal: Also worth noting, it’s on National Geographic, also part of Disney+.
Tom: Right.
Crystal: Peloton has a partnership with Disney. I’m just saying.
Tom: All the synergistic stars are aligning.
Crystal: If, if they missed out on this opportunity, that was stupid.
Tom: Yes. [00:43:00]
Crystal: That’s-
Tom: How unlike Peloton to miss out on an opportunity.
Crystal: Well, you know, I would say maybe Disney was the stupid one here.
Tom: Okay. All right. That’s fair. They’ve done stupid things before. They released Mars Needs Moms.
Crystal: That’s true. That should not have happened.
Tom: Rebecca Kennedy has teamed up with Dr. Jamie for a live event.
Crystal: Yeah, Jamie Schehr, uh, Dr. Jamie Schehr, and it’s important to note that Jamie Schehr is, like, Peloton’s nutritionist on their little board that they have.
Tom: Okay.
Crystal: Um, I call it their little board just because it has an official name, and I don’t remember-
what that official name is. So you went
Tom: with little board.
Crystal: Yeah, it seemed- Okay … super condescending and not at all what I was going for. But, um, yeah, they have a board, and it’s, like, all kinds, it’s all kinds of people who are experts in their field, and Dr. Jamie is Peloton’s nutrition expert. Gotcha. And, uh, so Rebecca Kennedy and Dr.
Jamie have been working on things, but now they’re talking about… No, they’re not talking about, [00:44:00] they are doing their first live event taking place in Connecticut on June 12th, and it looks like there’s going to be more to come.
Tom: Okay. Uh, Ash Pryor’s gonna speak at NAMICon?
Crystal: NAMICon.
Tom: NAMICon 2026.
Crystal: Yes, and, uh, I know this was not on our list, but that’s because it was late-breaking information.
Uh-huh. Apparently Chelsea Jackson Roberts will be there as well.
Tom: Okay.
Crystal: She will also be speaking, and, uh, this all takes place in Atlanta.
Tom: And this is about mental health.
Crystal: It is, yes, because-
Tom: For people who aren’t familiar …
Crystal: it, NAMI is National Alliance of Mental Illness.
Tom: Okay.
Crystal: Or something. Maybe- Something like-
there’s an institute in there instead of illness.
Tom: Yeah.
Crystal: Don’t know.
Tom: Okay. Uh, and then finally, this week’s interview.
Crystal: Yes.
Tom: Kristin McGee will be teaching at the Bryant Park Yoga Festival.
Crystal: Yes, and we’ve talked about some of our other instructors that will be there, but Kristin was gonna be later in the run.
We just found out about that, so wanted to make sure we included it.
Tom: [00:45:00] Absolutely. Coming up after this, we’re gonna talk about the latest Artist Series, and we’re gonna hit content so you know all the classes that are out there for you to take. So stick around.
Tom: the latest artist series features Prodigy.
Crystal: It does, but I should also say that’s kind of like the main June artist.
Tom: Mm-hmm.
Crystal: There are other … We don’t know why, but there are other artists that were featured that for whatever reason didn’t get on our list today, but they, they are, uh, and I can’t find them.
Tom: I wonder if, uh, Jess King, who loves the EDM- Mm-hmm
as we all know, if she’s excited about Prodigy or if Prodigy is, like, so popular in the world of EDM that she, that it’s just like, “Ugh.”
Crystal: I don’t know anything about Prodigy. Uh- Like, I mean, I’ve, I’ve heard the name, but the- Well, I
Tom: mean, that was back when it was called electronica from, in the ’90s.
Crystal: So, like, is there a song I would know?[00:46:00]
Tom: ‘Cause- “Smack My Bitch Up”.
Crystal: Oh, I do remember that song.
Tom: Yeah. And before people get upset, don’t worry, it’s not about domestic abuse, it’s about heroin.
Crystal: I mean-
Tom: So everything’s okay.
Crystal: Uh, there are also, um, Brandi Carlile is also coming up this month, and Robyn. Um, and Robyn and I believe Brandi Carlile are gonna overlap with Pride Month.
Tom: Gotcha.
Crystal: Okay.
Tom: Okay, it is time for the TCO top five. You have told us your favorite classes, and now here they are. Number one, your favorite strength class
Tom: Wait, we’re interrupting the TCO Top Five. We have breaking news now. We do. This will have been around for a while by the time you hear it, but it’s breaking news for us. It’s happening right now. Peloton has a new CFO.
Crystal: They do. Uh, it is Siddharth, um, but he’s also known as Sid-
Tom: Okay …
Crystal: Thakur. His position will be [00:47:00] effective on June 22nd. He is an accomplished finance leader with a deep foundation as institutional investor. Uh, he is going to be overseeing global finance for Peloton as well as corporate strategy.
And, uh, he will help Peloton maintain its disciplined financial approach while also pursuing broader market opportunities across fitness and wellness. He, uh, most recently was at Rent the Runway, so he was CFO there. Okay. Now he’s gonna be CFO here. Um, he also was there for three full years, and he led a significant financial and operational transformation that reset the company’s balance sheet and drove a return to top-line revenue and subscriber growth.
Go Sid.
Tom: Yeah.
Crystal: Let’s do it. Well- We’re ready …
Tom: congrats to him.
Crystal: Absolutely.
Tom: We now return you to the TCO Top Five already in progress.
Tom: And that’s your unstackable. So turning to-
Crystal: No, no, no …
Tom: what? It was in progress. It happened the whole time we were talking about [00:48:00] that.
Crystal: Okay.
Tom: Okay, number one, you already know this one. It’s your favorite strength class.
Crystal: It’s Rebecca Kennedy teaching a 30-minute glutes and leg strength. Kate Govnik said, “I loved Rebecca’s legs and strength glutes class from April 30th. The energy was so fun, and the dance breaks in between reps was perfect.
I left sweaty and feeling like I got a great leg workout while still having fun and laughing.”
Tom: Okay. Uh, number two, your favorite walk run.
Crystal: Okay, this was taught by Logan Aldridge. It was a 30-minute and it aired on May 25th. Courtney Stroud had to say, “I loved Logan’s walk plus run from today. American themed with excellent programming and message.
For those of you looking for Memorial Day classes, here is an example.” There
Tom: you go. Uh, number three, your favorite ride.
Crystal: This was taught by Jess King on May 22nd. It was a 30-minute deep house ride. Tiffany Cortez said, “I was genuinely surprised when she said it’s time for the descending recovery. I felt like we were halfway through.[00:49:00]
She programmed it perfectly that I was totally immersed in the ride. I will be taking more of her house rides.”
Tom: Uh, number four, your favorite HIIT ride.
Crystal: This was taught by Emma Lovewell. It was a 30-minute HIIT ride, and it was taught on May 27th. Kristen Vaccaro said that she loved the playlist and this class really pushed her.
Tom: And finally, your unstackable. It is a HIIT run.
Crystal: It is taught by Robin Arzon.
Tom: She does not appear to have yellow on, but it’s
Crystal: still unstackable. Well, I believe that belt-
Tom: Oh, is the belt yellow?
Crystal: Yeah, I’m pretty sure.
Tom: Ah.
Crystal: And, uh- Sneaky … I know. And it was a 30-minute HIIT run. Uh, and Laura Hobbs said, “Here’s your unstackable.
Robin Arzon’s 30-minute HIIT class from 5/18, designed to be more of a sprint interval training class. It pushed me to run faster than I ever thought possible. I feel like a badass.”
Tom: Well, good for you.
Crystal: Yeah, very much.
Tom: Peloton is gearing up for Pride Month
Crystal: We’re gonna have so many classes in [00:50:00] June. I love all these classes. I love Pride. I love that people get into this and have fun. I’m hoping, maybe, we’ll see some Peloton apparel. We haven’t seen any Pride apparel- Oh, okay
in a long time. Uh, but there are going to be… Camila is gonna be teaching classes. We’re gonna have a Brandi Carlile class, or two, or eight. We will also have classes with Marcel Dinkins, Maddie Maggiacomo, Mariana Fernandez, all going to be teaching Pride classes. And that’s just what we know. Those are the ones we know so far.
We’re gonna see even more coming up.
Tom: Uh, Peloton has added even more Hyrox content for you.
Crystal: They have, yeah. Two interesting, uh, things came up here. Uh, five different classes on the schedule that are all live this week for Hyrox. There’s a recovery flow, there’s a full body strength, uh, there’s a full body stretch, a shakeout ride, and a shakeout run just in time for Hyrox New York.
Tom: Awesome.
Crystal: There’s also these two very cool Hyrox events that are happening- Mm-hmm … [00:51:00] live at Pier 76 Hudson Rever- River Park. Okay. Um, Pier 76. Excuse me. I, uh, don’t know anything about Peloton. Uh- Just kidding. I don’t… I, I thought that the Hudson River was separate from the pier, but apparently it’s Hudson Rivers Pier 76.
Tom: Ah, I see.
Crystal: Okay, so-
Tom: I guess that makes sense. That’s where the pier… But the pier could also be on an ocean, so yeah.
Crystal: Well, we went to Pier 39- Yeah … that one time, so I don’t know.
Tom: Who knows?
Crystal: It’s surrounded by, like, Manhattan’s surrounded by water, right? Yeah So-
Tom: It’s an island and all.
Crystal: Exactly. Uh, but these, uh, there are going to be two events on June 2nd.
Uh, they’re going to have working sessions open to all fitness level. No race registration, you just show up and move.
Tom: Okay. Uh, Christian Vanderveldt is back with a new real route.
Crystal: Yes. This one takes place in his hometown, his home area, Blue Ridge Parkway.
Tom: And then finally, uh, Peloton has a new posture program.
Crystal: Yeah, and [00:52:00] look at this, taught by the Germans.
Tom: Oh.
Crystal: And I say that, I’m excited for them, because so many times they don’t get to do something first. Right. This is the first posture program Peloton has had, and the German contingent is leading the way, and I am so excited for them. That’s very cool. We’re gonna have…
It’s gonna be seven days. There’s going to be 11 classes, and, uh, you’re going to have several different instructors that are going to be available, teaching you about posture.
Tom: We have not one, not two, but three birthdays this week. Goodness. First up, Jess King on May 29th.
Crystal: Ah.
Tom: She wraps up our May birthdays. Leads us into June. It’s already June. Irene Scholz on June 3rd.
Crystal: Who’s no longer a Peloton
Tom: instructor. Yes. And then, uh, on June 4th, Rad Lopez.
Crystal: Well, happy birthday to Jess, Irene, and Rad.
Tom: Yes. So, uh, we would normally wrap up here, but we will not- … because we’re gonna talk [00:53:00] to Kristin McGee.
So here she is.
Speaker 3: Joining us today via the magic of Zoom tube, it’s Krista McGee. Hey, how’s it going?
Speaker 5: Excellent. Thank you so much for having me.
Speaker 6: Thank you for- Oh my gosh …
Speaker 3: doing this. This has been a long time coming.
Speaker 5: It’s been a long time coming, finally.
Speaker 6: I know. Start, tell us all the things. What have you been up to? What’s going on?
Speaker 5: Okay. Well, first of all, I love how you’ve always been so supportive and amazing since my days at Peloton. You are always just so wonderful and commenting and just incredible and supportive to everyone. And also I love that you’re supportive to all brands. Like, you’re very encompassing and inclusive. So I also love the fact that you not only have Peloton, but you also have Tonal.
And I also wanna hear your story because who was it that was telling me that, like, Tonal has changed your life? I don’t know if that’s true or not, but anyways. So six years at Peloton, amazing. Absolutely loved it. You know, the whole, I don’t know if you know this backstory of how it all [00:54:00] started. I was, I had done a campaign with Robin in 2015.
She and I were both working for C9 by Target. It was Champions Brand at Target. She and myself and a Dallas, and there’s one other guy who was there with us. He was amazing as well. We did this big campaign, and three years later I reached out to Robin because I had noticed Colleen Seidman h- was doing yoga on some yoga classes on the Peloton app.
So I said, “Hey, Robin, would you be interested in doing more yoga?” And at first she was like, “Oh, I don’t think so.” And then she said, “Yeah, come on in and audition.” So I auditioned in that June, May and June of 2018. Was the first yoga hire in 2018 of July, like, the o- official. I think Colleen was more just contracted.
And then Anna came on, and then Aditi came on, and the three of us launched, and the rest was history because it was such a wild ride to see just how we started, because it was so different when we first started. The treadmill and yoga were in a different space. Cycling was on 23rd Street. Yeah. Then the pandemic hit, and then that’s right [00:55:00] when the big super studio was opening, and then we moved to that gorgeous super studio in Hudson Yards, and you just had such an amazing time.
And so then in 2024- Things were, like, shifting in my own personal relationship and with my three young boys that I was raising full-time, and there was a few contract negotiations, and it was just… I was trying to make it work, but it just became difficult to. And so as hard a decision as it was, I was like, “Okay, I’m just gonna put my family first.
I’m gonna pivot and figure out what I can do, you know, with my boy- like, for my boys, first and foremost, and then see what happens next.” So, and, and l- my relationship at Peloton, unfortunately, not my relationships there, because I still am in touch with all the instructors and love everyone there, and the students, but, um, was under a year non-compete, and kind of sat out and was waiting to figure out what to do next, and that’s when Tonal had approached me.
And I said, you know, “I have this year non-compete.” They’re like, “That’s okay. You could start with us in August of [00:56:00] 2025.” And mine ended in June of 2025. And in the meantime, I just started writing on Substack because I knew I could write and start sharing things. And so then that evolved into people asking me to create content, so I started my ma- my app, my movement app, just to be able to continue to create classes that people were asking me for And I wrote the book.
So I actually wrote two books. One was Somatic Exercises, and the other is the Treat Yourself philosophy, which I need to make sure I get you copies of both. So when, when we’re done, I’ll make sure I send them.
Speaker 6: You are so sweet. Um, I,
Speaker 5: I have- I was warned that was way too long.
Speaker 6: No, it’s not too long. You’ve done a lo- I mean, I can’t believe that it’s been, first of all, two years since you left Peloton.
I know. That’s crazy. Um, I wanna go back for just a second. You said that was a really hard decision, and I… We all could see that it was a hard decision. Like, we could see through your posts and the things that you were doing- Mm-hmm … how difficult it was. And, like, I’m sure that you have heard from people like me being like, “We miss [00:57:00] you.
We want you to come back.” I know. But are you, now that time has passed and you’re doing all these other things, are you feeling like this was the right thing for your family? Was that the right call?
Speaker 5: Definitely think so. There are so many moments where I’m like, “Oh, I just miss that energy.” Having the music was always so fun for me because I love music.
I grew up in a musical family, and playlisting and being able to move to the music was so amazing. And obviously the community and the people you meet and the, the widespread impact you can have. I’ll hear from people all over the world, “My kids do your classes. My son meditates with you at night. You got me through pregnancy.
You got me through death. You got me through divorce. You got…” You know, that kind of stuff is just incredible. Um, I do think as far as being a single m- a full-time single mom in New York City and trying to raise my boys fully there independently, it would’ve just been so much for me. Um, I do have the most incredible nanny.
She’s incredible. But, um, [00:58:00] I just think it would’ve been so stressful. And so ultimately having… being able to get my boys to nature, um, get out, not have to live full-time in the city- And then also to spread my wings in a new way is very challenging because when you’re in a job and you get really comfortable with it, and it’s, like for me it’s very easy to like playlist and make a cool class and get on camera.
I just, I love it, right? But it became very like routine, and so now that I have to do all these new things on my own, it’s really testing my brain. It’s making me learn new skills, learn, you know, even just uploading classes and Uscreen and learning how to build my own app and all of those kind of things.
I think it’s really good for my brain. It’s gotten me to think outside the box and actually have to myself in new ways. Like, like we talk about on Peloton, you know, stepping outside of your comfort zone and learning new things. So I think that’s been really good for me. It’s hard because you don’t have that kind of mission or company underneath you, but it [00:59:00] is also very rewarding and freeing because unlike driving a giant like ship that takes a long time to get somewhere, if you’re in like a little Skidoo or a little speedboat, you can pivot really quickly.
So you can learn and pivot and adjust, and I can create classes really quickly for people that ask for specific things. Oh. And then also having Tonal is a godsend because they are such an amazing company to work for, and it gives me that city fix because I go into the city to work for them. And I find that that’s just, it’s such, it’s nice ’cause it’s still a bit of a smaller company, and so everyone just feels like we’re in that phase of building together and really, um, collaborative, and everyone’s super kind and supportive.
Speaker 6: I know. And then the
Speaker 5: whole machine. I- Like it gets, I get such
Speaker 6: great benefits from- I love Tonal. It’s amazing, and I love the Pilates content that you have added. Thank you. The strength content you have added. It has been great. The program that you had with the, uh, Pilates and the strength combined, that [01:00:00] was amazing.
Amazing. Thank you. I know. And that’s a
Speaker 5: really good combo, the two Pilates, two strength every week.
Speaker 6: Yeah. I feel like for my starting to mid-40s, late 40s, it feels really nice for my body to be able to do that.
Speaker 3: So how familiar ha- were you with Tonal prior to going to work there?
Speaker 5: That’s a very good question.
I had seen and heard of it, but I hadn’t really spent much time on the machine working out with it. And my first experience, remember we went through that whole Tonal, um, the training lab, the pop-up lab? Yes. They had flown me to teach just some regular in-person yoga classes, but not on Tonal, which I thought was fine because it was in person.
It wasn’t related to anything, but I was s- it was actually, I was still under the non-compete, and Pelotons like, “No, no, no, you can’t do that.” So I was like, “Okay, sorry, sorry, sorry.” Um, so but I did get to experience the equipment then, and I was like, “Wow, this is such cool equipment. I love it.” And so I was fortunate enough that they held [01:01:00] out and waited for me to end my non-compete, and then it was even better timing because they said, “Hey, guess what?
We’re not just gonna bring you in for strength, but we’re actually developing these loops that you can put on Tonal and make it like a reformer. So now we’re, we’ll do Pilates with you.” So
Speaker 6: You are blowing my mind …
Speaker 5: crazy. That was like a blessing in disguise, ’cause it was better, I think, for us to launch when we had all of that too.
Speaker 6: Okay. The way I imagined it happened was that you guys had it all planned out way in advance and you knew all about the Pilates stuff-
Speaker 5: Oh my gosh. Isn’t that cool? … way
Speaker 6: in advance.
Speaker 5: I wish.
Speaker 6: Yes.
Speaker 5: No, I mean, there was kind of talks about it, but none of that had been. They were just developing the loops, and that’s also why it took so long for people to get their loops.
I don’t know if that- See, the way I- Right … the
Speaker 3: way I imagined it- … was Kristen walked in and was like, “If there’s not Pilates, I am walking.” Doing
Speaker 5: it. “I’m out of here.”
Speaker 3: And they said- That’s funny … “Yes, ma’am. We’re on it.”
Speaker 6: So-
Speaker 5: I love that …
Speaker 6: [01:02:00] how often do you go in and film content for Tonal now?
Speaker 5: Just about every other month, sometimes almost once a month if it’s a little more regular or if there’s things that are being planned.
But for now, it’s almost an every other month, um, routine, and then I’ll go in and we shoot a lot in one week because I’m only there for a limited time. So I’m fortunate they’ll let me do it that way. But I’ll, you know, shoot maybe five, six classes in a day. And here’s a secret. I don’t know if I’m allowed to tell this or not, but maybe I am.
But we don’t put, like, my full strength mode on for every class. Oh. Because if I did have to lift 100% and teach six classes in a row, you’d be pretty dead. So they can adjust it- Got it … so that it’s… Well, it’s even on Tonal you can even do that, right? It
Speaker 3: is. It is, yeah. Yeah, you go
Speaker 6: to
Speaker 3: recovery mode.
Speaker 5: Yeah.
Yeah. Recovery mode. So it’s kind of like I’m lifting in recovery mode when I’m filming.
Speaker 6: That makes a lot of
Speaker 3: sense. It makes- And I’ve noticed that with other instructors on Tonal. Yes. Yeah,
Speaker 6: you’re
Speaker 3: not
Speaker 6: alone.
Speaker 3: Okay. That, like, they’ll, the camera will pivot, and you can see what weight they’re on, and I’m [01:03:00] just like, “There’s no way Joe Rodonis lifts, like, three more pounds than I do.”
Like, that’s just-
Speaker 5: You’re like, “No, he’s gotta be lifting
Speaker 3: more.” This, mathematically, that makes no sense.
Speaker 6: I know. Yeah. And sometimes Kendall’s, Kendall Wood, her, her, when she does… I always notice this with glute bridges, for whatever reason, the hip thrusters where she has the barbell- Yes … and it’s, it’s on max.
And then you’ll see five minutes later it’s no longer on max, and you’re like, “What? What is happening?”
Speaker 5: That’s funny.
Speaker 6: Oh, that’s great. I’ve-
Speaker 3: But, but yeah, it, it makes total sense. It’s no different than when, like, a bike instructor at Peloton, they’re not using the full resistance-
Speaker 5: True.
Speaker 3: If they- … at every class
have to do
Speaker 5: that many classes.
Speaker 3: Yeah, like it’s just not realistic. Yeah.
Speaker 6: It’s not. And you wouldn’t… we wouldn’t want you guys to rip up your bodies like that. We want you to be healthy and keep doing this for a long time.
Speaker 5: Well, and that’s why I truly do love Tonal, because it feels like it’s, it’s the type of workouts you can do forever, and it intuitively works with your body and s- [01:04:00] calibrates for you.
And so I think it’s, it’s for our, like you were saying, still in my age and phase of life, it’s so great for longevity, bone density, muscle mass, endurance, strength, all of those things.
Speaker 6: It is.
Speaker 5: And you- And I love that we are able to do some of the off Tonal, the yoga, the Pilates. I just did a kids class that went really well for the Star Wars/Mandalorian collaboration, so that was fun.
Speaker 3: Oh, fun. So the most important question, did you get to meet Grogu?
Speaker 5: No, I wish. Couldn’t that have been amazing?
Speaker 6: Okay. I didn’t know that Grogu was a separate character. I thought Grogu was simply Baby Yoda. In my head, this whole time he’s just been Baby Yoda, and Tom crushed my, uh, all of my knowledge. I’m like, you’re
Speaker 3: married to a nerd.
I know. How did you not- How did you not know? … dig this up through Oscar? Honestly, though, I think that’s why they call the movie The Mandalorian and Grogu, because so many people are still, like, Baby Yoda and, and- Um- … so I think they’re trying to stop that. [01:05:00]
Speaker 6: Well, I think you’re probably right. Yeah. But, um, okay, so to get back to this, though, so you’re doing Tonal, you’re doing your app.
Your app has been out, gosh, how many months now?
Speaker 5: Almost… Let’s think. That was maybe September or
Speaker 6: Oct- Okay …
Speaker 5: because I also needed to, like, wait out my Peloton and then start filming content and then find a provi- like, label. I didn’t do an own- my own custom-made app, which would’ve been very expensive, and I just wanted to test it out at first and also kind of see where that goes, right?
It’s very nice, again, to be able to create my own content and have my own content out there. Um, but I wasn’t… At the time, I also didn’t know that I’d be working for Tonal. So it’s a lot of… It’s, like, always kind of, I feel like when you’re an entrepreneur, you’re just kind of trying things out, seeing what sticks, also diversifying- Yeah
right? So that you have a lot of different kind of income resources and ways to provide for your family.
Speaker 6: For sure, but it all takes time. So I mean- Sure … you know, yes, you were doing [01:06:00]all of these things in the background. Like, people didn’t know about Tonal for the longest time, ’cause you couldn’t tell anybody.
And then y- you know, you couldn’t tell everybody about your app before it’s ready to go. So, like, how hard is that to juggle all of those things as a single mom? It’s like you still gotta take care of the kids.
Speaker 5: S- I know. It’s very… It’s… It takes a village. And so I’m lucky when I have all of the support, like friends, family members that will come and help.
Like, people who will help me, that’s amazing. I don’t think I could do it without all of that support. And then I think it’s a lot that, I mean, I’m gonna say s- this is gonna sound silly, but I think it’s that I l- rely on my meditation practice so much that I never have stopped this twice daily meditation since 2021-ish maybe, 22.
I just find that being able to meditate every morning first thing and then having that midday break really helps me stay just focused, relaxed, positive, because it’s so easy for our brains to spiral into the what-ifs, and if this doesn’t work, and how am I gonna provide, [01:07:00] and oh my gosh. And so I think that having this baseline kind of stress reducer that can really help me stay sane and balanced and level-headed is really helpful.
Because at the end of the day too, um, I was watching someone the other day who was talking about just being delusionally optimistic and how it’s very important. Um, at the end of the day, if you just keep thinking it’s, it’ll all work out. No matter what I end up doing or how it ends up, you know, going, which way I, I really start to find my direction, it will all work out
Speaker 6: I love that.
I really struggle with that. So I’m like, “I hear you. My brain rejects it, but I hear you, and I know that it’s important.”
Speaker 5: Mm-hmm. And my boys are very wonderful kids. I am very blessed. They- They
Speaker 6: seem like it …
Speaker 5: they’re so helpful and- … great, and, you know, not to say that they never fight, but they’re pretty dang good kids.
They’re, they’re very respect, like respect, they respect people, they’re kind to people. [01:08:00] Um, they help me out, so I think that’s good.
Speaker 3: How old are they?
Speaker 5: I have 12-year-old and 9-year-old twins.
Speaker 3: Okay.
Speaker 5: Oh. All boys.
Speaker 3: I was like, 12-year-old and 9-year-old twin- I was like, that’s a long labor. And then, oh, okay, that makes more sense.
That’s the- Yep … 9-year-olds that are twins. That’s plural. Yes. Okay. So, um, do they, do they do yoga? Do they meditate, or is that just dumb mom stuff?
Speaker 5: You know, I think that Robert, one of my twins especially, he’ll come in sometimes when I’m sitting and wanna sit with me and close his eyes. I think he feels that nervous system regulation just from sitting next to me.
And then they all have the mantras that I share with them. Oftentimes we share those peace begins with me, magic fingers, peaceful fingers. Um, we try and… Like, it was funny because so- his teacher had said something to him that really upset him, and I just reminded him that we all have bad days and, you know, it’s probably s- she was maybe having a bad day.
You have to remember that she’s human. And my friend, I [01:09:00] guess, he was telling her that story. She’s like, “I can’t believe how like much he is.” And she’s like, “I would’ve been like, ‘Oh man, that teacher, I’m gonna go…'” You know? And she’s like, “Here you are telling him like, give her some grace because everyone has bad days.'”
And, you know, it’s like things like that. So it’s funny, like I d- I don’t even realize sometimes, and I’m just, it’s what’s coming from me, right? But, um, they’ll, they used to do a lot more yoga with me. Unfortunately, they’re not doing as much of the yoga these days, but they do ninja, like climbing wall and rock climbing stuff and hanging from bars.
And as a matter of fact, you know, one of mine took first place, so he’s got like regional competition for ninja. And then my older son and my younger boys, they all play tennis and ski, so they all are athletic. But yoga, maybe they’ll get back into it. I think it’d be fun at some point to really, reintroduce them.
Speaker 6: Yeah. It’s nice that you don’t push them, though. Like, I feel like when you have, with kids, it’s like no matter what their parents do, the kid is just so, like, over it. It doesn’t [01:10:00] matter. Yeah. So it’s like- That’s true … if you push that, it makes it worse. But exactly- They’ll circle back …
Speaker 5: when they ask me about it and want to do it themselves, that’s when it…
Yes, exactly
Speaker 6: Yeah. So what else is going on? Are you… Do you feel like you have all the things lined up and you can just, like, breathe and enjoy the making the classes, the doing the Tonal, or are there still things you’re working on?
Speaker 5: That’s a good question. I think I’m always, my personality is always to be trying to make things that much better or do, you know, do, uh, just like so much more than I want to.
The app members will ask me for specific classes, and I wanna do, like prenatal Pilates for one, and I wanna do menopause this for another, and yoga for bad back, and like there’s just so many things I wanna shoot. So for me, it’s hard to, like hone in and focus in and just get strategic. But having like a ma- and a calendar and an outline has been helpful.
And that Tonal’s actually wonderful because it is very mapped out. It’s like, [01:11:00] “These classes you’re gonna teach when you come. This is what you need to choreograph or fill in.” Um, much easier when you have someone who’s in production and can lay it out for you, and you just show up and perform. At home, it’s, uh, much harder.
First you have to get motivated, you have to find the time and the energy and make sure your lighting looks right. And then once you’re done filming, then you have to edit it yourself and upload it and tag it and describe it. So it’s a little bit harder. I think that I’m still trying to figure out. Yeah.
That- And really get to a better rhythm of a content calendar on my own. And then you have the whole- That’s a
Speaker 6: lot of
Speaker 5: work … social media beast, which-
Speaker 6: Amen.
Speaker 5: If there’s one thing I could give up, it would be social media. But
Speaker 6: it’s like- I agree.
Speaker 5: Yeah.
Speaker 6: You should-
Speaker 5: It’s not all so bad … you’re- Look it, this is how we meet, this is how people meet and connect, and it’s really wonderful in that respect, but you can also get kinda sucked in to the, right, the scrolling, or kinda the doomsland of like, “Wow, why is my stuff not resonating right now?”
Or, “People [01:12:00] aren’t finding me.” But I think it’s maybe just a lot of people are feeling that way
Speaker 6: More segmented it gets, the harder it is for you to be found, for any one person to be found. True. And there, there are all these unspoken rules, you know? Don’t… You need to post a lot, but don’t post too much, and don’t do this kind of thing, and then, and it’s, and they’re changing it every day.
They, I literally, they literally change it every day. So it’s hard to keep up with.
Speaker 5: Mm-hmm. It really is. I know, I feel you too. There would be, like, a time where, “No, don’t post that many in feed. Oh no, post all the time. Post twice a day. Post every day.” You know, you’re like, “Okay, I don’t know what to do.”
Speaker 3: Depends on
Speaker 6: the day.
Speaker 3: So my recommendation, what I’ve found to be very effective, is one who will do all that.
Speaker 5: Exactly.
Speaker 3: That’s what I’ve
Speaker 5: found. Very smart. Yes.
Speaker 6: Well, that’s, that is one way to make that happen, yes.
Speaker 3: Yeah.
Speaker 5: I’ve seen my next husband, and he’s going to be, like, a social media guru. I’ll let him take care of it [01:13:00] all.
Speaker 6: Oh, that’s
Speaker 5: funny. He may be a cameraman and a producer and… No, I’m kidding.
Speaker 6: Too funny. So what part of the country, if you’re comfortable saying, are you living in now?
Speaker 5: So we moved out of New York, and a lot of my… I grew up in Sun Valley, Idaho. I mean, in Pocatello, Idaho, which is very near Sun Valley.
So a lot of my family is, like, in the Sun Valley, Southeastern Idaho area. So when I first just felt like I couldn’t live in New York anymore, I just went there to kind of be with family and have that support. And so we’re still kind of figuring it out exactly where we wanna, like, end. You know, there’s a part of me that still wonders now that I’m back at Tonal if will we wanna move back to New York City.
Like, now that I have maybe a cushion, and a, all these different, you know, job opportunities and stuff, or would we wanna be closer to New York City? Um, always are, they love being around family, and they love nature, but they’re, they also, one of them’s a total, like, musician and talented actor. He was in the, at the, he performed in an opera.
Wow. And so, [01:14:00] you know, I could see him going to LaGuardia High maybe, or… So it’s, it’s kind of, I think we’re a little bit in this, like, let’s see where we definitely wanna end up and settle, but it’s nice in the short term to have family.
Speaker 6: For sure. Yeah. That’s,
Speaker 5: yeah. All my cousins, my brothers, aunts, uncles, grandparents, all of that, and that’s been so nice for the kids.
And it’s neat to see them with, before the, like, they really as, able to see their relatives as much or as close.
Speaker 6: Yeah. It’s not a short trip, and when- Yeah … you’re busy, it’s hard to coordinate all that, so I, I totally get that. My- It’s crap … my family only lives a couple hours away, and they’re not as close as- Oh, you’re so lucky.
It’s still not as much as I, I wish that my kids could’ve grown up more around, the family when they were younger- Yes … you know? But it is what it is, so. And how old are
Speaker 5: your kids now?
Speaker 6: Well, uh, the youngest is 19, and I know, I know, it’s crazy, and Brian’s 21. He’ll be 22 in August, so. Oh my gosh. Yeah.
Speaker 5: [01:15:00] That’s amazing.
Speaker 6: Yeah. Uh, and they, they’re both in college, so that’s a fun experience too. We are empty nesters, so that’s been weird.
Speaker 5: That’s a, that’s a whole different thing. Wow.
Speaker 6: Yes. Yeah. It’s
Speaker 3: funny how quickly you get used to it though.
Speaker 6: It is.
Speaker 3: Yeah. ‘Cause then they come home, and you’re just like, “It’s great to have you home, but, um, we have our own routine now.”
Speaker 6: Yeah, it’s kind of weird. I wanted to circle back around to you had said something at the beginning about Tom’s Tonal journey. So you heard about Tom’s Tonal journey from someone?
Speaker 5: I remember told me that someone said that Tom lost a lot of weight and got, found Tonal and was just like, “You’re a rock star.
That’s awesome.”
Speaker 3: Well, yeah, when we first interviewed the founder of Tonal, they, they were kind enough to do this one, that we, that… And so it showed up and I was just like, “Well, this is interesting.” And so I messed around with it and, uh, and which I hate [01:16:00] exercise and, uh, and I guess it’s been, what?
Six years? Six and a half years. Yeah. Yeah. And, uh, I can say, honestly, I still do. Absolutely no joy whatsoever. When people talk about the dopamine and like the… I none of it. Like, it’s, it is just boring and I can’t stand it. But, uh, but I like the results and, and so, um, so I, I just kinda power through.
But, um, but yeah, I started messing with the Tonal and then I st- I st- I st- we started working with, with MetPro, that kinda t- teach you how to eat better and, uh, their plan was you need to exercise. And I was like, “Well, once I start dropping this weight, like, I gotta let people know that I’ve been exercising.
I can’t…” I had been doing it in secret. I hadn’t told anybody. Crystal knew, but like publicly. And so I was just like, “Well, I guess I, I gotta tell people because it’s not fair for me to make people think I’m losing weight just through diet. Like, that’s- Right … mean to people.” And so, um, so yeah, I had to come [01:17:00] out as a, as someone who exercises.
Speaker 6: So- Yeah, but he lost 70 pounds and he’s gained so much muscle. Wow. I know. Yeah. I know. It’s crazy. Cool. If you look back on our, like, our wedding pictures and, like, he, he weighed the same amount on our wedding day as he does now, and it’s like he looks so much thinner now because he has changed his composition- Yeah
of his body so
Speaker 5: much. Body composition, yes. That’s incredible.
Speaker 6: It is.
Speaker 3: Yeah. Yeah, I honestly, I think right now- Being the same weight as our wedding day, I think I probably look about 20 pounds lighter if you were to guess. It’s-
Speaker 5: So what are some of your favorite programs? Do you do programs?
Do you do classes? Do you-
Speaker 3: So I only do programs.
Speaker 5: Okay.
Speaker 3: And as I go about it and I feel like if I have to go down and pick some… I say down ’cause ours is in the basement. Perfect. If I have to go down, if I have to go downstairs to pick something, I’ll get distracted and then I’ll just be like, “Eh,” and I’ll leave.
So, like, I’m always in a program and just go down and I [01:18:00] hit next. And so, um, I, I just kinda just drift from program to program. Right now I’m doing- Okay … Extreme Accumulation I think. I
Speaker 6: believe that is correct, yes.
Speaker 3: Yeah. I
Speaker 5: take it, I should do a program. I’ll, I’ll check one out. Tell me which one
Speaker 3: you
Speaker 5: guys take.
Yeah.
Speaker 3: Um, I can’t remember the names ’cause I just, I pick one-
Speaker 5: Go
Speaker 3: down and do them … yeah, and I go down and do them. And so, like, almost always do a four-week program ’cause I- Okay … so I don’t have… ‘Cause this is four weeks, so I don’t have to think about it. And so I’ve done all the 12-week programs. Great. So I’ve done, I’ve done the 12 weeks to jacked and then what’s the other one that’s 12 weeks?
Oh,
Speaker 6: 12 Weeks Unleashed or something like
Speaker 3: that? Something like that. And then-
Speaker 5: That keeps you very consistent.
Speaker 3: Yeah. And so I’m like, I’m like five times a week.
Speaker 5: Okay.
Speaker 3: Yeah. Yeah. Pretty
Speaker 6: consistent.
Speaker 3: Yeah. So.
Speaker 6: He does a great job.
Speaker 5: Awesome. I
Speaker 3: love
Speaker 5: it.
Speaker 6: Do you… And now for a while there at Peloton, I remember you, you ran a [01:19:00]marathon.
Are you still incorporating running into your routine?
Speaker 5: Well, my, I’d say my main buckets, and that’s what’s on my app, is the Flow Sculpt Connect. So flow, a lot of my yoga. The sculpt, that’s m- a lot of Pilates. Some strength. I’ve been adding some strength workouts to my app that people love, some heavier strength workouts.
And then the connection is that mind-body connection, the meditation, the breathwork. And then as far as cardio, so yes, I ran that marathon. In 2024, the London Marathon, that kicked my butt. I loved it, and I loved having a goal to train for. But running for me isn’t an incredible exercise on a daily basis.
I don’t have an ACL in my right knee. I blew it out skiing years ago. And I’ve noticed that, like, hiking, a lot of walking, walking on an incline, sometimes I jump on this little rebounder that I have. Um, cycling with my boys, we go on bike rides. I go rollerblading with my other son, and I ski. So I’m noticing that a lot of just these, like, daily movement activities have been better for me.[01:20:00]
I don’t know if you notice that as well. Like in perimenopause, menopause, the higher intensity stuff isn’t as great on my body. And I find that if I lean into strength and just these great walks, I feel really good.
Speaker 6: Yeah, it’s like, um, it’s kind of frustrating ’cause I feel like I get tired more easily.
Like the recovery doesn’t come as easily as it used to. Exactly.
Speaker 5: Exactly. Yeah.
Speaker 6: Yep. Yeah. It’s kind of annoying.
Speaker 5: Have you tried creatine?
Speaker 6: S- I have. I do. I take the creatine… I only take it on days that I work out.
Speaker 5: Does it help out there, not really?
Speaker 6: It d- I do think it does. How is that? I just think that the problem is that I only take it on days that I actually work out.
And so because- Sure … I mix it in with my pre-workout, I do all the things in one drink. And so- Yeah … so then because of that, if I’m not working out, I don’t take it. So then I think that there’s… I think it’s, I think I could be more consistent is what I’m trying to say.
Speaker 5: Okay. Okay. It’s the one supplement I found that I think might be doing something.
Again, it’s hard to tell with supplements ’cause there’s, there’s so many of them and it’s like which one is [01:21:00] actually doing its thing? But I haven’t- It… Yeah … been surprised with creatine.
Speaker 6: I love the fact that creatine has had the most studies done. Yeah. So like, and it’s been proven that it does work, so I don’t feel weird about taking creatine at all.
Speaker 3: See, when you talk about your recovery aspect, this is the advantage of not starting to work out until you’re like in your 50s is because I have no, uh, healthy activity to compare it to, so. Yeah, so you’re like, “
Speaker 5: I don’t know how I recovered when
Speaker 3: I was young.” I’m like, yeah, it’s not like, man, I was, uh, 25, I could do…
No, I have no idea. So like I’m only getting better.
Speaker 5: Love it
Speaker 3: Well, I guess, uh, we wanna be respectful of your time, so before we let you go, is there anything that you wanna talk about that we haven’t gotten to yet?
Speaker 5: Oh, one other thing is the book, The Treat Yourself Philosophy, that I wrote. Yes. I decided to send one to you, but the, just had.
So the acronym is Truly Realizing Everything is Already There, and it’s about tapping into what we have inside of [01:22:00] us that to feed ourselves with things that are going to bring us joy, and giving ourselves a treat every day, and not thinking of treat in a negative way. So often I think we think of a treat like a piece of chocolate, a, you know, cake, ice cream.
You know, it’s like all these like food treats, which are great, and you can incorporate those. But to get people to think outside the box and to create a 30-day treat sheet. So every day for 30 days you have to treat yourself to something different, and you have to think outside the box. You know, so it’s not just physical treats, but there’s mental treats, and emotional treats, and spiritual treats, and you can use your five senses.
There’s things that help our hearing, our vision, our sense of smell, our taste, um, our feel, right? Even just the treat of like maybe I wrap myself in a cozy blanket tonight, or I’m gonna turn on some classical music when I walk in the door, or I’m gonna light a candle that smells really good. Like, so it could be little treats like that.
Um, and so I just go through this whole idea of like how can you treat yourself better? Where can you treat yourself better? You know, what other kind of treats can [01:23:00] you incorporate that aren’t just… Like for me, physical is an easy one. I’m always gonna do a yoga class or to, you know, but can I actually sit and read a book, or do a crossword puzzle, or maybe go paint, you know, these mental things or these other kind of stimulations that are like s- ways to stimulate ourselves that we might not be doing enough of.
And at the end of the day, you’ll just go through your day sometimes without doing anything for yourself, because it’s so easy to put yourself last, and it’s so easy to just like, and everything else. Or to get into the habit of the same thing over and over again. Like I, you know, I use that analogy of it used to be just like a glass of wine at night, because, oh, I can’t wait for a glass of wine.
And then I stopped drinking wine, and I’m like, wait, there’s so many other things I can do to treat myself, you know? So it’s, it’s, it’s a fun book, and I like that, um, that I can still continue to write and kind of share a different part of me.
Speaker 6: I have to ask, what inspired you to write that book?
Speaker 5: Oh, my little sign-off that I always give to the reminding yourself that everything you could possibly ever want, have, or need is right here inside of you.[01:24:00]
Oh. I always said that at the end of my Peloton classes and in my other yoga classes prior to Peloton. And so I think it’s this reminder of, you know, when you tap into yourself and really discover yourself more and more, then you actually give yourself these really cool treats and find joy in every day.
Speaker 6: Wow. That’s really nice. I love how you wrapped- Yeah … all the things together. Wow. That’s- Dude … really cool.
Speaker 5: You could do this for a living. That’s such a good compliment. I really am so glad we finally made this work.
Speaker 6: Oh, so am I. It’s, what a treat. Likewise. Yes. Ha, it’s a treat. Ha. Look at that. I treated myself.
Speaker 5: Yeah. I see. I love it. And then you have to look at some of those tasks that you think are chores, but then you’re like, “Oh, no, I’m gonna treat myself to folding the laundry,” ’cause isn’t it so nice to have like- clean drawers and like, you know, just little things. You reframe how you see things, so.
Speaker 6: I do love that.
Speaker 5: Awesome. Thank you.
Speaker 3: Thank you so much for… Oh, get… What’s that you cut out?
Speaker 5: Are you in New Jersey?
Speaker 6: No, we’re in [01:25:00] Missouri. No,
Speaker 3: we’re in St.
Speaker 5: Louis. St. Louis. I never realized, lived.
Speaker 3: Okay.
Speaker 6: Yeah. Yeah. Where- I wish I could pop into the studio.
Speaker 5: St. Louis?
Speaker 6: Yep, we’re in St. Louis. Yeah.
Speaker 5: Interesting. My brother went to SLU.
Speaker 6: I got my MBA from SLU.
Speaker 5: So did she. No way. Way. And one of my, my very first boyfriends from Pocatello, Idaho, Mark Owens, he went to St. Louis University too. That’s cool.
Speaker 6: So fun.
Speaker 5: I love it. Very
Speaker 6: cool.
Speaker 5: Okay. You
Speaker 3: probably thought Jersey because of our accents.
Speaker 6: Yeah.
Speaker 5: Not Jersey. I always thought Jersey for some reason, but.
Speaker 6: It’s, yeah, who knows?
Speaker 3: Yeah. Well, thank- Well, thank
Speaker 5: you so much …
Speaker 3: thank you so much. And before we let you go, in, on the outside chance that people don’t know, remind them where they can find you and all the things.
Speaker 5: The best place is my website, kristinmcgee.com. It’s Kristin with an I at the end. And/or Instagram, Kristin McGee.
You can easily follow me there, and then message me and find all of my other channels as well.
Speaker 6: Wonderful. Thank you. Well, thank you so much. I [01:26:00] really appreciate it.
Speaker 5: Thank you.
Tom: . So that brings this episode to a close. It was so nice to talk to Kristin.
Crystal: It was.
Tom: It was very nice of her- She’s
Crystal: delightful …
Tom: to take time out of her day to, uh, deign to speak to us.
And we have more interesting interviews in the not too distant future. So, uh, we will just leave it there. So until next time, where can people find you?
Crystal: People can find me on, uh, Facebook at facebook.com/kristindokeefe. They can find me on Threads, Instagram, Blue Sky, and the Peloton leaderboard @flipoutkristal.
Tom: And you can find me on Threads and Blue Sky @tommckeefejr, or on Facebook at facebook.com/tommckeefe. You can find the show online at facebook.com/theclipout. While you’re there, like the page, join the group, and of course, don’t forget our Patreon. Five bucks a month, all sorts of bonus content, early episodes, ad-free episodes, and we like you a little extra.
So that’s it for this one. Thanks for tuning in, and until next time, keep pedaling.
Crystal: And running.
Tom: And rowing.
Crystal: Bye.
Tom: Bye.
[01:27:00]
The Clip Out is an independent Peloton news site with reporting, analysis, and community insights. We deliver breaking updates, feature reporting, and expert context on the stories driving the community and the industry.
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About the Author: Crystal OKeefe
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