Peloton Milestone Badges Get a Makeover & New Targets

467: Peloton Milestone Badges Get a Makeover & New Targets

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What We Covered:

Peloton milestone badges were expanded from 5,000 to 10,000.  A fire at Penn Station forced the cancellation of Peloton’s New York Studio (PSNY) classes, leaving members scrambling and raising questions about studio contingency planning. We break down what happened and what Peloton communicated to riders.

Also covered this week:

• Peloton Milestone Badges have a fresh new look and updated targets — here’s what changed and what it means for your progress tracking
• The Top 50 Music Countdown classes are back — a fan-favorite format returns
• Apple Health sync is causing issues with Legend status for some members
• Peloton CEO Peter Steren is set to appear at the Baird 2026 Global Consumer Technology & Services Conference
• Peloton instructor Sam Yo hits the USA Today Bestsellers list — a huge milestone
• Peloton instructor Callie Gullickson is back on the schedule
• Peloton instructor Tunde Oyeneyin walks the runway at Miami Swim Week
• Peloton instructor Alex Toussaint partners with Mercedes at Eastside Golf during U.S. Open week
• Peloton instructors Logan Aldridge, Andy Speer, and Robin Arzon compete at HYROX
• Peloton celebrates Pride Month, Global Running Day, and British Summer Fest
• Scenic France classes are coming, plus Tim Robards 2-for-1 classes
• Peloton instructor Joslyn Thompson Rule’s June split program and Kirsten Ferguson’s long-awaited 60-minute hike
• Peloton birthdays: Cody Rigsby (6/8) and Assal Arian (6/9)
• 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 467. This is Crystal O’Keefe.

Tom: And this is Tom O’Keefe, recovering from our Chicago trip. It’s crazy how much-

Crystal: One day?

Tom: One… We just drove up there and back. Like-

Crystal: I feel recovered from that, but I feel like life is just really lifing right now. Like, there’s just a lot going on-

Tom: Yeah

Crystal: in general.

Tom: Yeah.

Crystal: And, uh, [00:01:00] so yeah.

Tom: But it was definitely worth it. We had fun seeing Sam.

Crystal: It was so nice to see Sam. Yeah. What a treat, and to see Christine, who was there moderating.

Tom: Yes.

Crystal: And she did a wonderful job. Uh, we talked about it in depth in our, um- Pre-trip, yeah … bonus episode last week. So if you, if you wanna hear all the details, definitely make sure you check that out.

Um, but the… It was a great event, and it was really cool to see Sam get to have his moment. Like, he’s- he’s so excited and thrilled about all of this. Yeah. And I think he’s a… It feels very surreal for him right now.

Tom: For sure.

Crystal: And it’s so nice to see somebody so humble and sweet do so well, and, and like watch them in real time be like, “I did that?”

Tom: Yeah.

Crystal: It’s, it’s really cute. It’s really cute. Yeah. And like, you know, ’cause like it’s not as much fun when it’s somebody who’s like, “I’m so awesome.”

Tom: Right.

Crystal: [00:02:00] Yeah.

Tom: Absolutely.

But yeah, so hopefully one day I will be fully recovered from the drive up and back. These- It’s five hours each way, so that was…

And I did the driving.

Crystal: I feel like that’s not really what took you out. I think what took you out is the fact that you worked on Sunday from 7:00 AM-

Tom: Oh, I forgot about that …

Crystal: till 11:00 PM.

Tom: Yeah.

Crystal: I feel like that’s might, that might be what you’re actually recovering from.

Tom: Hmm, that makes more sense. The one-two punch.

Crystal: Yeah. It really was- Yeah … the one-two punch. Yeah. Uh, so I do think that’s more of what’s going on here than just the drive to Chicago.

Tom: I used to be able to do that.

Crystal: Well-

Tom: What, what happened?

Crystal: Uh, you turned- You turned 50.

Tom: Five.

Ah.

Crystal: Oh.

Tom: I- It’s sad to look back on 50. Like, ah.

Crystal: Ah, 50.

Tom: I was just a pup. So what, pray tell, do you have in store for [00:03:00] people this week?

Crystal: Well, we’re gonna talk about the fire that happened underneath Peloton Studios. Yes. Uh, we are gonna talk about these really cool badges getting a fresh look.

Tom: Yeah.

Crystal: Uh, we are also going to talk about, um, a very big deal in London with Peloton- Yes

restoring classes on Sunday. This is huge deal.

Tom: Yes.

Crystal: Um, and then we’re, we’re actually not sure what caused it, but all of a sudden people got tons and tons of points on Club Peloton. So we’re gonna talk about that. Uh, Peloton’s Irish exit, I mean, that is appropriate on so many levels.

Tom: Thank you.

Crystal: Uh, I love that.

That was

Tom: my- Love that … that was my little addition to that story.

Crystal: Yeah. And then, uh, we just had, Peter Stern was just at the Baird 20- 2026 Global Consumer Tech Services conference. I haven’t watched the recording- Yeah … so I don’t have much to say other than to say that it happened. It

Tom: occurred.

Crystal: Um, and then [00:04:00] Peloton hiring data scientists, and boy do people have a lot to say.

Tom: Oh, goodness.

Crystal: I… People are so people-y, you know? Um, and then- I

Tom: have noticed.

Crystal: And then, uh, we also have tons of news about instructors. Sam Yo not only has his book, but he had big news about his book. Mm-hmm. Not to mention Callie Gullickson, when she’s gonna be back on the schedule, what TuneDay was a part of this week, Alex Touissant, what he was up to, not to mention who all was involved at HYROX.

And we have tons of content to get into and make sure that we highlight as well.

Tom: Awesome. Well, before-

Crystal: Oh, wait.

Tom: Oh.

Crystal: We also have a special tease at the end that I forgot- Oh, that’s right … completely about, ’cause this will be airing on June 5th.

Tom: Yes.

Crystal: And, uh, I know we recorded it a little bit ago.

Tom: We did.

Crystal: So, uh- I was-

not top of mind …

Tom: I was still awake back then.

Crystal: Right.

Tom: I was young- … and not run down.

Crystal: So do you wanna talk about what that’s gonna

Tom: be? Sure. Uh, the Spin Wars [00:05:00] documentary that’s coming out, and, uh, we sat down with the, um, producer, director of that documentary.

Crystal: And, and we got to watch it

Tom: ahead of time. And we got…

They were kind enough. We did not have to go to Tribeca, ’cause it has not occurred yet.

Crystal: Yes.

Tom: Um, but they were kind enough to send us a review link. My movie review credentials finally- Finally

Crystal: paid off …

Tom: finally benefit the Clip Out, nine years in. So I appreciate your patience, Crystal. Uh, it’s, uh, all coming to fruition-

your master plan. And, uh, but they were kind enough to send us a, a screener link, so we actually got to see the movie.

Crystal: Yeah.

Tom: Uh, it’s really good.

Crystal: Uh, we’re not… B- d- d- d- Not allowed to say yet.

Tom: Oh.

Crystal: We’re still under-

Tom: Embargoed?

Crystal: We’re still embargoed. Oh, sorry. We’re embargoed till June 9th.

Tom: It’s okay.

Does that fix it?

Crystal: I think you’re just not supposed to say too much. Okay. You know, we’re not supposed to give any, any- Gotcha … you know. So we can’t talk review in this- [00:06:00] Yes … interview, and we don’t talk review in this interview. Um, but, uh, it’s w- th- the whole… Like, guys. This story, woo. Okay, that’s all I can say.

Yeah. Um, but, uh, having the interview and hearing how Phil got involved in this whole thing-

Tom: Yeah …

Crystal: and how, how the, the documentary and, like, his perspective on it is fabulous. It’s just, it’s great.

Tom: Yeah, like, it’s not super Peloton focused. It is in that-

Crystal: The documentary is not …

Tom: right, in that the documentary covers what led up to the creation of Peloton, and you get some Peloton the last 30 minutes.

But, um, but if you wanna kinda see where Spin was at that- That led to the creation of Peloton. Think of it as like a prequel-

Crystal: Mm-hmm …

Tom: to the existence of Peloton, and it is a fascinating story. It’s along the lines of like even if you don’t care about that stuff or you [00:07:00] think you don’t care about that stuff, it’s, um, it’s a fascinating story, just the drama that unfolds.

In the same way that, like, the Lisa Frank documentary was fascinating. Yeah, totally. Right? Like, it’s like I don’t really care about Trapper Keepers with unicorns on them.

Crystal: I do.

Tom: But-

Crystal: They’re dear to my heart.

Tom: No, I totally get it. Like- But,

Crystal: but I, I get what you’re saying,

Tom: yeah … I’ve got the boy version of those things, right?

Crystal: You don’t, you don’t have to be involved- Yeah … to know, like or to enjoy it and enjoy the story and how it unfolds. And it… And you will have some very strong feelings- Yeah … when you watch it. And, um, and especially when you know who Marian is and you know her part in Peloton, which we will talk more about.

Yeah.

Um, so we’re gonna have to kinda do this in stages. So today’s stage will be giving you a little preview into the entire interview. The entire interview is an hour long.

Tom: Right.

Crystal: And, uh, I, one of my favorite interviews we’ve ever done. Yeah. I, I, I really enjoyed it. Um, so you’re gonna get a, like a 15-minute sneak peek today.

Tom: Yeah.

Crystal: And, [00:08:00] uh, then while we are on vacation, on June 19th, you are gonna get the full thing uncut, and that is going to be our episode for the week because I’m not gonna record- Yes … that week, which I’m real excited about.

Tom: And if you’re not, then I’m not.

Crystal: Okay.

Tom: I decided to take a stand.

Crystal: That’s

Tom: true. The, the- That’s

Crystal: good, babe

Tom: our corporate overlords approached us.

Crystal: Yeah.

Tom: Approached me-

Crystal: Yeah …

Tom: behind the scenes- Yeah … and said, “I know Crystal’s gonna be out that week.” Right. “But what do you think about just doing one by yourself?” And I said Absolutely not.

Crystal: Wow.

Tom: Yeah.

Crystal: Way to… I really appreciate that, babe. Yeah. Like, you were really right there with me.

Tom: I am. I am. So you are welcome.

Crystal: Thank

Tom: you. But yeah, so, uh, uh, in two weeks you will get the full interview. Uh, tickets are available now. We’ll also mention that at the end, uh, if you- Mm.

Crystal: And I highly recommend that you go. Yeah. Like, if you… Like guys, I, I can’t express this enough. If you are in the New York area or anywhere close to it- Yeah

that you can, like, get in by train-

Tom: I believe they call it the tri-state area …

Crystal: the [00:09:00] tri-state area.

Tom: Yeah.

Crystal: If you are in the tri-state area, I, I cannot recommend enough that you go to this because there is no guarantee that this is ever gonna be seen outside of Tribeca Film Festival.

Tom: Right. Like, not everything gets acquired and so-

Crystal: No, I mean, and we hope it does.

Yeah. We hope it does because, like, it’s good and, and people need to see it. But what, what I can tell you is that the tickets are very affordable- Mm-hmm … and, uh, they are still open. And a little birdie told me that there’s gonna be some special guests on, uh, opening night, June 9th.

Oh.

S- and tickets are still available.

They were yesterday.

Right.

So, um, I… Just, like, go. Do yourself a favor and, and get the ticket. Like, just, just get the ticket and go. They are very affordable. And then also tell me all about it because I can’t be there.

Tom: Yeah.

Crystal: So- So- Let me live vicariously through you.

Tom: Yes. So, uh, okay. Now-

Crystal: Oh, phew. Sorry

Tom: before we get to all the rest of it, shameless plugs, don’t forget we’re available on Apple Podcast- Oh, yeah … Spotify, iHeartTune, and wherever you find a podcast you can find us. While you’re there, follow us, maybe leave a review. [00:10:00] Uh, you can also, uh, uh, find us on Patreon if you would like to support us with more than your ears.

We would love that, and we appreciate those who do greatly. Uh, but you get things for your money.

Crystal: Yeah.

Tom: It is not just a donation. You get ad-free episodes, you get early episodes, and every week a bonus episode where we talk about all the things that we didn’t have time to get to in the main episode. This week we’re gonna talk about a new way to look at calories.

Crystal: Okay.

Tom: That, uh, some… A new study- Hmm … a small study, but a new study that reveals that, uh, maybe, uh, people process calories differently.

Crystal: Hmm.

Tom: They have thoughts as to why.

Crystal: Okay.

Tom: Okay?

Crystal: Okay.

Tom: Uh, a stack glitch- … that is affecting people.

Crystal: Yes.

Tom: And, uh, Ally Love in Germany talking about the rebuild.

Crystal: Yeah.

Tom: So, uh, that’s, and more is all awaiting you over in the [00:11:00] Patreon- See-

for a paltry $5 a month.

Crystal: You didn’t put in the one that I suggested, I sent to you yesterday via text?

Tom: Oh, I have not added that one yet.

Crystal: Okay. Okay. All right.

Tom: Well, well we can a- what, what was it again? Remind me.

Crystal: I don’t know. That was yesterday. I just know

Tom: that- Look, I just wanna mock you for forgetting, but I don’t remember either.

Crystal: Exactly.

Tom: This is a window into our marriage right here. That’s the real reason people tune in. “Is everything okay over there?” Everything is great over here. So, so anyway, there’s all that. Let’s dig in, shall we?

Crystal: We shall.

Tom: for years, over a decade, Peloton has lit a fire under its members.

And finally, New York City returned the favor.

Crystal: Wow. Well, I guess that is true. Uh, sorta. Um, yeah, so there was a fire at, i- in the [00:12:00]Amtrak station, um, overnight, so Thursday into early Friday morning- Yeah … this past week. And, uh, because the train stations are underground-

Tom: Right …

Crystal: in the New York area- Right … they call it the subway.

Tom: Oh, oh, ooh. I- You are like a local.

Crystal: I know.

Tom: I feel like-

Crystal: And honestly, to tell the truth- Feel like I- … I don’t know that this actually is technically the subway, because it’s the train station, and they, they do call them different things. Yes. Because there’s the subway, which only f- is, like, for New York area.

Tom: Right.

Crystal: And then there’s the trains.

Tom: Which branches out.

Crystal: Into, like, they have, like, Lear and… I mean, people who are, like, from New York are like, “Shut up.”

Tom: Yes.

Crystal: You are st- I- You’re

Tom: butchering

Crystal: this. I’m, a- and I know that. I was just saying that technically this was a train.

Tom: You’re like, “I know I’m probably wrong.

Please don’t yell at

Crystal: me.” It’s technically not a subway. But regardless, uh, both of those take place underground, and because of that, where the fire occurred, all the smoke came up into the studio, and it was [00:13:00]impossible for anyone to work in there, let alone work out in there. Right. And so they had to wait for the smoke to clear.

When they first reported it in the morning, they were hoping they were gonna be able to do classes, like, later on in the day.

Tom: Right.

Crystal: But it turned out they had to cancel classes for the entire day, which is a real bummer.

Tom: Yeah.

Crystal: Um-

Tom: I wonder how much apparel they just had to pitch.

Crystal: I know, right? And what are they gonna do with it?

Like, will they just pitch it, or will they try to, like, you know, sell it for real cheap, or-

Tom: Yeah. It’s probably not worth the effort.

Crystal: You know what I mean? Will the, will the employees take it home and, like, try to sell it on eBay? Yeah. I don’t know.

Tom: Find it a foster.

Crystal: Yeah.

Tom: Yeah.

Crystal: Yeah. Um, and then one of the, the casualties of this- Mm-hmm

there were no actual casualties within Peloton-

Tom: Which is why we can be so lighthearted.

Crystal: Yes, that’s why. Yeah. Um, but, uh, one, one of the casualties was that, uh, Rad Lopez had a brand-new 60, first time ever teaching a 60-minute strength class.

Tom: Yeah. [00:14:00] Nope.

Crystal: Canceled. Um, and you know, it’s a… Listen, it is so… I’m glad everybody was safe, and I’m glad that they made the decision.

It was the right call- Yeah … to, like, close the studios. For sure. In fact, I think some of the studios were still closed throughout the weekend. They couldn’t do some of the classes- Mm-hmm … in, in the yoga studio and stuff. Um, but, uh, it was a real bummer because people who come in from out of town y- you plan on these classes, and- Yeah, you build-

you know, sometimes you make an entire trip about going to Peloton. For sure. And then to have that happen is just such a bummer. Like, it’s no one’s fault. It’s not like, it’s not like there’s anybody to be mad at. It’s just a bummer if that’s, if that’s you. Yeah. You know? And that sucks.

Tom: And, uh, Rad should have just taught that from his apartment like COVID.

Crystal: Just go back to COVID times?

Tom: Yeah. Come on, Rad. Get it together. And also

moving forward in yoga, uh, downward dog, now downward Dalmatian.

Crystal: Oh. Wow.

Tom: You’re welcome. This is what I bring to the show. [00:15:00] So there you go.

Crystal: Oh.

Tom: Moving along.

Crystal: Yes. Yes, we are.

Tom: Milestone badges get a fresh look, and new targets.

Crystal: Uh, they do, and, uh, it’s interesting because the badges have lasted… I mean, these badges have been around forever, right? Um- They’re very

Tom: durable …

Crystal: and, uh, they all of a sudden increased them to not 5,000, not 2,000. They increased them to 10,000. People have been asking for this for years.

Tom: Sure.

Crystal: Um, do you remember Laura Pug?

Tom: Yeah, that’s, that’s exactly what I was thinking. I was like, “I feel like this is Laura Pug’s fault.”

Crystal: Well, but not really, because if it was for Laura Pug, it’d probably be 20,000.

Tom: Yeah, that’s true.

Crystal: She’s probably- I mean, she hit 10,000 years ago.

Tom: That’s fair.

Crystal: Years ago. This past week, we, when we were in Chicago, we ran into Nancy Nielsen.

Mm-hmm. And, uh, she- Packers fan is her leaderboard, and, uh, I’m sure she’ll be very excited [00:16:00] I remembered that. And, uh, so Nancy was mentioning to me she had just had her 6,000th ride, and she was so excited, and we chatted about that. And then she messages me, and she’s like, “Did you see this? Like, I didn’t get a badge the other day when I did the ride, but since then, they’ve added rides.”

Yeah. Like, they’ve added new badges. So yeah, now they go all the way up to 10,000, which for most people is plenty. Uh, I was pretty depressed by how gray, uh- … my area is. Uh, and- I

Tom: feel like that every time I look in the mirror

Crystal: And, um, they also did that for all modalities, so you have up to 10,000 across strength, uh, yoga, running, it, all of it.

Right. It’s not just for cycling. Um, in addition to that change, they also, uh, added a whole bunch of badges for streaks. So now you can go up to, I think it’s, like, seven or eight years. Maybe it’s eight, eight or nine years that you go up to having a streak. Okay. So you used to [00:17:00] not get badges past, like, two years, and now- So for

Tom: people who like to run naked.

Crystal: Y- yes, it’s that. It… Exactly. Exactly. Um, but people who have these really long streaks, they were super bummed because they weren’t getting new badges every time they hit a new- For sure … milestone. Yeah, that would be frustrating. And so, yeah. So, like, now finally the badges have caught up with people who have these amazing streaks.

Tom: For most people. I’m sure there are still people out there that are way past it

Crystal: that are just like- Oh yeah, of course. Of course … “This isn’t

Tom: fair.”

Crystal: Yeah, absolutely. And then there’s all the people who’ve lost their streaks recently- Yeah … because they used-

Tom: Oh, yeah …

Crystal: yeah, they, like, synced it through Garmin, or maybe they synced it through, um, something else and then found out it doesn’t count and then lost their streak.

Tom: Here’s my message for those of you who have streaks way beyond this or deserve badges way beyond this

Crystal: Okay

Tom: You’re immortal. You’ve, you’ve worked out so many times

Crystal: You’re just gonna live forever

Tom: You’ve done it

Crystal: [00:18:00] Yeah.

Tom: You’ve made it

Crystal: That’s it. You-

Tom: You’re immortal

Crystal: You beat the thing

Tom: Yeah, so-

Crystal: I do have to say-

that’s your badge … I, I had a person comment, and I was hesitant to mention this because I think, I don’t know, this is, this is a lot. Yeah. This is not something I would bother to do.

Tom: Mm-hmm.

Crystal: But I’m just gonna throw it out there in case somebody hasn’t thought of it.

Tom: Okay.

Crystal: You can go into your phone and reset the date to the date that your streak ended.

Play a class. It will reset your streak, and then you can put your phone back to its normal procedure, and now your streak is restored, voila.

Tom: But you will always know that you didn’t really have that streak.

Crystal: Well, no, I’m talking about for people who did have the streak.

Tom: Oh, I see. This is a life

Crystal: hack for people- I would never encourage people to- Okay

like, that’s just… Like- Yes … what is wrong with you that you need- Yeah … to do that? Like, I don’t even understand what, what- Yeah …

Tom: like- But [00:19:00] they’re out there

Crystal: I know they are.

Tom: They’re out there.

Crystal: And-

Tom: Hey, man, I lost, like, a four-year streak on Tonal-

Crystal: I know you did …

Tom: when, and I’m just like, “Well, that’s just what happened.

That’s the- Right … reality of the situation.”

Crystal: But, like, you truly didn’t work out-

Tom: Yeah …

Crystal: because we were on vacation.

Tom: Well, right,

Crystal: no. So I’m saying this is for people who did work out. Who, who

Tom: did, but the sync somehow screwed it up. Yes, yes. There, there is a fix, but only utilize this-

Crystal: Well, it’s just- … if you

Tom: truly deserve

Crystal: it

I also need to say that, like, I have done this going forward on my phone before, and it jacks with your calendar and other things. Yeah. So, like, look- There’s

Tom: a price to pay …

Crystal: and I, I am not responsible for anything that goes wrong in your calendar because my calendar is like my Bible. Mm. I can’t live without it, so if you, if you mess something up doing this, I do not wanna hear about it.

Yeah. It is your… You are taking your own risk.

Tom: Go get a burner phone like you’re in the mob. Like it’s The Wire. Wow. Reset the time on your pager.

Crystal: What year was that show?

Tom: The Wire?

Crystal: Yeah.

Tom: I think it was, like… It’s the early 2000s.

Crystal: Okay.

Tom: Yeah.

Crystal: And yeah, I guess they still would’ve had pagers.

Tom: Well, if I remember [00:20:00] right on the show pagers were already kind of antiquated, but that’s why they were using them.

Crystal: Oh, okay, to get around.

Tom: To get- Yeah … ’cause it was, ’cause they knew that the cops weren’t paying as much attention to pagers anymore as they were- Gotcha … mobile phones, so they- Gotcha … yeah.

Crystal: Okay.

Tom: But it’s been a minute since I’ve watched The Wire, so. Just a minute.

Crystal: Just a minute.

Tom: Yeah. Good news for those of you over in the UK or those planning to travel thereof.

Crystal: Yeah.

Tom: Uh, PSL has restored Sunday classes. They’ve heard your demands. You threw tea in their harbor, and we know how they react to that. And you got it.

Crystal: You, it’s really, it’s… You know, what I love about Peloton is that they listen to their members. You know, I, honestly, I didn’t think this was gonna happen.

Yeah, I, I didn’t- Like, I, I was a naysayer. I was like- They

Tom: were like, “We saw the data, and you, you-” “You

Crystal: guys weren’t showing up.” “

Tom: You can say it all you want that you’ll show up, but you weren’t.” Yeah. “And so we’re not gonna.”

Crystal: Yeah.

Tom: So yeah, I’m a little surprised as well.

Crystal: I, [00:21:00] I, I really am. But, but I will say that, um, I feel like this will invigorate people’s, you know, trips to-

Tom: Yeah

Crystal: London and to be able to do it. So what they had done, for those of you who are like, “What are you talking about?” ‘Cause if you’ve never been to London and you’re not taking London classes, maybe you’re not even noticing that this happened. Right. But what had happened was they had taken S- live Sunday classes off the schedule, and not only did they take them off the schedule, they, like, replaced them with these, like, foyer classes.

And so you could go in and take, like, a prerecorded class together with your friends in the foyer of, like, a strength or something like that. Right. And, um, people were just like, “Dude.” Like, it was really ill-received.

Tom: It was like whatever the British version of a sad trombone is.

Crystal: Yeah. Um, and then they also are, are putting some classes in.

So now they’re gonna have live classes on Monday, Tuesday, and Friday, Saturday, Sunday. So that’s huge. Member classes are gonna be able to be booked Friday through [00:22:00] Sunday. Also huge. They’re still keeping their studio-led run clubs, their community run clubs, and they are still keeping the foyer classes because people, some people still enjoy those.

Some people liked

Tom: them,

Crystal: so. So all of those are being kept, which is great.

Tom: Awesome.

Crystal: Yeah.

Tom: Well, coming up after this, we’re gonna talk, uh, legend status and things that could be affecting it or that did affect it. Uh, we’ll talk about Peloton’s Irish goodbye, more news for the UK, and we’ll keep you up to date on where the CEO has been.

So stick around.

Tom: The Apple Health sync has been affecting people’s Legend status, and I presume other statuses as well.

Crystal: Well, we don’t actually know that it’s Apple Health that did it. It, it’s- Oh, okay … completely, we are just kind of guessing. Sure. That, that’s one thought. But I will say I have debunked that already because people have reached out and said, “I don’t, I don’t have Apple Health, so it, it c- like I don’t even have an Apple phone.”

Right. So it couldn’t be that. [00:23:00] But, um, just to give you an example of how much things changed, okay? So just last week I had 232 points to go until I reached Legend status.

Tom: You are already a legend to me.

Crystal: Thank you, babe.

Tom: That’s just-

Crystal: Or as they, they say now, what is it? This. You do this. I

Tom: don’t

Crystal: know. You’re not supposed to do this anymore though, because if you do this, they can, now AI can take your fingerprints.

Tom: Oh.

Crystal: That’s a whole separate story.

Tom: Oh, I, right.

Crystal: Um, but at any rate, um, so I was 232 points away from Legend status, and then- I got a message from Katie Norris, and she said, “I just became a legend, and I just checked yours, and so did you.” And I was like, “Wait, what?” Uh, she’s like, “Yeah, I had a bunch of points added.

They just came from nowhere, and, and I think yours did, too.” So I, I pulled up my account, and sure enough, now I’m 5,000 points over legend. And, uh, so I kind of looked-

Tom: So now she’s mad there isn’t a higher status.

Crystal: No, not at all.

Tom: She’s like, “I wanna be super legend.”

Crystal: No, not at all. [00:24:00] I’m not that person. Uh, they’re out there, though.

Um, so but I started looking through, because it tells you how you got points. So I started looking through it. There’s nothing that stands out.

Tom: Yeah.

Crystal: I can’t tell what they… Like, it… I, I don’t know what they did. Yeah. I can’t figure it out. And the reason we jumped to Apple Health was that because recently activities had started to sync and continue your streak- Mm-hmm

right, we thought maybe, you know, that had changed- Yeah … what was going on. It’s

Tom: a logical place to land.

Crystal: Right, but then what doesn’t make sense with that is that it, it seems to be lots and lots of points, and it seems to be for everyone, and it, it goes back. Like, if I look back now, I would have become legend back in January.

So there’s no way to tell where these points came from.

Tom: Right.

Crystal: So I, I don’t know what’s going on. I don’t know if it’s, like, you go all the way back in time and, and it’s activities that I didn’t get properly credited for at the beginning- Right … or I, I don’t know what it is. I, I [00:25:00] just, I really don’t know.

But, uh, I thought the whole thing was just kind of fascinating.

Tom: It would be interesting to see if it’s affecting people who have been around longer disproportionately. Like, because that, that does make me wonder if it- Mm … wasn’t scraping back far enough.

Crystal: But some people were, like, legend years and years ago.

Right. So I don’t, I don’t think it’s that.

Tom: But maybe they… Well, I thought maybe those people had done enough to where even if that stuff dropped off- … there was so much of a cushion-

Crystal: Yeah, that’s possible …

Tom: that, that they were fine. You know?

Crystal: Yeah. May- maybe. Yeah. I don’t, I don’t know. Hmm. But it’s, uh, it’s kind of fascinating.

So if you are, you know, curious about this, go check out your points. You can do it by just going into your profile- Yeah … clicking on where the gem is, and then, and then clicking on new points available, and then it’ll give you a breakdown. Um, it, it’s also good to know for people who are looking for sales because your, your discount goes up 5% on apparel every time you increase.

Oh dear. So now-

Tom: Oh, no …

Crystal: I get 25% [00:26:00] off, and it stacks with any sale items. So.

Just saying.

Tom: This would probably be a good time to remind people about our Patreon.

For just $86 a

Crystal: month You two

Tom: Can buy leggings for Crystal. That is not where the money goes.

Crystal: That is not where the money goes. It goes to our writers.

Tom: Yeah. So, uh, Peloton is exiting Ireland.

Crystal: Yeah. I’ll be honest, I completely forgot this was a thing.

Tom: Yeah.

Crystal: I totally forgot we entered the business- … in Ireland.

Tom: And we can say we ’cause we own, like, three shares of stock.

Crystal: Yeah. And, uh, you know, I just kinda do that all the time anyway. But, uh, yeah, there was a Cork office that started to get wound up, you know? Yeah. They started to do all the things, and, um, they were… They actually started to put this back toget- put this together in, like, I don’t know, [00:27:00] 2021, and they were looking at the time for office space up to 700 workers in Cork.

So they never increased, like, that never came to fruition. And, and so actually there hasn’t been a Peloton presence in Ireland for four years.

Tom: Oh.

Crystal: Um, but they officially took it off the register- Gotcha … so, like, it’s an official exit now.

Tom: Oh, I see.

Crystal: So it, it really, like… It’s really funny the things that people find interesting or will click on because- Yeah

uh, this article got a ridiculous amount of clicks. Yeah. And I thought that was fascinating because they never really did anything in Ireland. Right. They haven’t been there for four years, so it’s kind of a nothing burger. Right. But so many people read it, and I think, I think there’s just so many people that are just kind of, like, worried all the time that Peloton- Yeah

is gonna go under, that any sign of that they kinda glob onto. But, uh, it’s, it’s kind of… I don’t know. The whole thing’s just interesting to me. Yeah. And so.

Hmm.

Tom: [00:28:00] So, uh, CEO Peter Stern will be appearing at the Baird 2026 Global Consumer Technology Services Conference. Oh my word.

Crystal: Well, as I mentioned earlier, this has already taken place.

Tom: Gotcha.

Crystal: Um, but I haven’t listened to the recording. It just took place yesterday. It’s not like it was- Okay … extremely far in the past. Yes. Uh, there will be… You can get the wi- the replay on their inter- on their website if you would like to listen to it. At some point, I have no idea when, I will, uh, do the, the thing where you can listen and record it and get the transcript and all that- Yeah

good stuff. Until then, uh, I don’t have much to say about it. But, you know, there’s usually some interesting things that come out of this. There’s usually some, some insight, uh, and Peter Stern seems to say a lot, so It would not surprise me.

Tom: So thank you to that Peter Stern.

Crystal: Yeah. Yeah. Wouldn’t surprise me if there’s something interesting to hear here.

Tom: peloton is [00:29:00] looking for data scientists, or I think specifically one data scientist, but you would presumably have to look at multiple of them in order to find the one, not unlike dating.

Crystal: That’s true. I’d say that’s for every position that you would hire for- Yeah

for a company. Uh, and it’s, uh, this particular data scientist position would be focused on habit formation and engagement analytics. So specifically trying to create members for life. And what I find hilarious about this is every single person that felt the need to comment and say something to the effect of, “It’s real simple, Peloton.

You don’t need a data scientist. All you need to do is blah, blah, blah.” Now, the interesting thing about this is every single one of those people had a different blah, blah, blah. And I’m like, “So maybe-“

Tom: Maybe it’s not quite as simple-

Crystal: Maybe …

Tom: as you think.

Crystal: Exactly. Yeah. Exactly. Yeah. And, uh, there [00:30:00] were multiple people that said, “Fix your live class schedule,” but what does fix your live class schedule mean?

Right. It’s- Like, that’s so, that’s so unique to each person and each time zone that you live in.

Right.

I’m so tired of hearing about the West Coast people. Like, it’s been an issue for years. I’m not saying they don’t actually have an issue. Right. But, like, trust me, it’s no better in Central Time Zone. Yeah.

There’s, there’s really nothing to take. It’s just, it depends on what your lifestyle is and whether or not you want to change your lifestyle to be on this live schedule. The, uh, the days of having eight bike classes a day or 14 bike classes a day are over.

Tom: Yeah.

Crystal: I don’t know that they’ll ever change that.

I don’t know that they want to change that. Yeah. I don’t know that the instructors specifically want to change that.

Tom: And we’ve seen for years that, like, people who love live classes love them and they’re very vocal. Mm-hmm. But from a data standpoint, people take the on-demand.

Crystal: They do. So- I mean, you can, you can check yourself if you don’t believe that.

Go and look how many people are on a live class and then go look at that same class later and see how many people have taken it since then. Yeah. Huge [00:31:00] difference.

Tom: Yeah.

Crystal: Huge. And it doesn’t really matter what class it is either. No. So yeah. Uh, anyway, I just kind of found that fascinating because this got so much interaction.

Most of the people were just saying how dumb it was that Peloton was taking the time and money to put into this when they could be putting that time and money into more live classes or more whatever they thought that- Yeah … Peloton should be spending their money on.

Tom: Whatever their pet project would be.

Crystal: Exactly. Yeah. So it was amusing to me.

Tom: sam Yeo made the USA Today bestsellers list.

Crystal: He did, and I have to say it was a pretty special moment- Yeah … because when, when he found out about it, we were in Chicago and, uh, Christine was, again, moderating the event, and she was handed a note and, uh, she was like, “Oh, guys. Sam. Sam. Be prepared to clap, everybody.”

And, uh, and then she was like, “No, really. Be prepared to clap. This is big.” And…

Tom: I’m like, Christine, it doesn’t take a [00:32:00] lot of preparation to clap. I

Crystal: was like, what do you want me to do? Like, what- Like, put my hands in clap position? Yeah. Like, I don’t, I don’t know how to- … ready myself. I

Tom: mean, I could pretty much clap at a moment’s notice, unless I’m holding a beverage.

Crystal: Plus, I’m a woo girl, so even if I’m clapping- Mm-hmm, yeah … I’m gonna woo.

Tom: It really was discriminatory against the woo girls-

Crystal: I mean, I think a little bit- … to

Tom: focus solely on the clapping.

Crystal: Yeah, I, I feel like this was an appropriate woo. Yeah. You know? And, uh, so they, they, she announced that he had become a USA Today bestseller.

He was on the list. And the way that he just sat there in shock- Yeah … he was stunned. He was so stunned. And it like… I think the man is so sleep-deprived from- He had been in four different cities in four different days. Yeah. Multiple time zones, of course. And, uh, he was like, “Wait, what? Really? Are you sure?”

He was like, “Are you sure this is happening?” And Christine stood up to give him a hug, and he was just so stunned. It was really cool to see that moment and how thrilled he was once it, like, started to sink in- [00:33:00] Right … that it was real. Yeah. Congrats to Sam.

Tom: He’s like, “Let me update my LinkedIn.” Gotta…

They can’t take that back.

Crystal: They can’t.

Tom: You only gotta do it once.

Crystal: I need to do my review of the, uh, the night, because there were some, some fun moments there, and it’s, it was a special time. And there’s also some, some… We got some ex- possibly exclusive news, too. Yeah. So gotta share that as well.

Tom: For sure.

Callie Gullickson back on the schedule?

Crystal: She is, yeah. Um, so not only is she gonna be officially back on the schedule, but then keep in mind that because she lives in Miami, she’s, that also means she’s coming to New York to teach classes, so that’s happening in June. So we will see… Those of you who are, are Callie fans, you will see her on the schedule soon, and if you’re trying to take a class with her, now is the time to do that.

Tom: Tunde took part in Miami Swim Week.

Crystal: She did. And so a few things happened here. There was [00:34:00] her Coffee and Chill appearance- Mm-hmm … that we talked about last week. But she also walked the runway with other stars such as Lizzo. Uh- Beautiful … and that’s pretty cool.

Yeah.

Um, and then, uh, funny enough, because Alex was also in Miami, he was in the crowd.

Alex Dusanne- Mm-hmm … was there to, uh, cheer her on and put that on his socials, too. So Tunde is really having a moment, and it’s really lovely to see how much she’s enjoying it.

Tom: For sure. Uh, speaking of Alex, he partnered up with Mercedes at Eastside Golf during US Open week. This got very sportsy for me.

Crystal: Uh, well, and it was in Miami, so this is where all the stuff happened- Sure … at once. Um, and-

Tom: I believe it’s pronounced Miami.

Crystal: Who knew that he played golf? I’ve never seen him talk about it. Yeah. I’ve never seen him post about it. So, like, we had to do an article about it, ’cause we were like, “This man plays golf?”

Yeah. “Since when?” Like, what other s- what other hobbies does he have that we [00:35:00] don’t know about?

Tom: Stamp collecting.

Crystal: Let’s stalk him and find out. I’m kidding. Nobody stalk him.

Tom: Yeah.

Crystal: Uh, but anyway, so it was a big Peloton week in Miami this week.

Tom: For sure. So another Hyrox is coming up, or it came up, and lots of people from the Peloton shared universe were there.

Crystal: Yes. Uh, there were. Uh, so of course Peloton instructors are teaching Hyrox now, so there are- Yes … several Hyrox instructors. Robin was there. Logan was there. Um, and darn it, who was the other person? Andy Speer. Andy Speer, thank you, uh, was also there, and they were all competing. Um, I believe… This isn’t a full list.

I’m pretty sure Marcel Dinkins also did it. Oh, okay. And I wanna say there might have even been another person. I know for a fact, though, Mariana was there cheering everyone on, because that woman- … shows up for everybody in her life. It’s, it’s impressive-

Tom: Yeah …

Crystal: because the Peloton [00:36:00] crew does a lot.

Tom: They do.

Crystal: So for her to show up for everybody’s things, they, they better show up for her at her shit, because-

she sure shows up for them.

Tom: That she does.

Crystal: Uh, but anyway, uh, what a great time that everybody appeared to have. And I know there were a lot of Peloton community members also taking place in the Hyrox, some for the first time. And they had, of course, Hyrox, special Hyrox events. If anybody has any memories of that that you would like to share, I would love to hear about how those events went as well.

Tom: Coming up after this, we’re gonna talk content, all the classes that you should be paying attention to so you don’t miss a thing, so stick around.

Tom: it is time for the TCO Top Five. You have told us your favorite classes, and now we will agree. First up, your favorite multi-instructor ride.

Crystal: Okay, so this was the 45-minute British Summer Fest Move as One [00:37:00] class, uh, specifically the cycling class, ’cause there were multiple of them- Gotcha

But what’s really cool about this is that for the first time ever, uh, Susie Chan was off the tread and on the bike.

Tom: Oh.

Crystal: And, uh, that was very cool. Also, John Hosking was also on the bike. Now, he has done- Heard, heard

of

Crystal: him. He… Met him.

Yeah.

Uh, he has done a couple of bike classes, but, um, the feedback was amazing.

Marissa Zook said, “I love the British Summer Fest Move as One ride. I don’t often take 45-minute cycling classes, but this one was approachable and flew by. Plus, I loved having multiple instructors. I occasionally take walking classes on my walking pad, so it was fun to see some of the tread instructors I don’t normally take classes with.”

I love that.

Tom: That’s the whole point.

Crystal: But multiple people did nominate this class. Apparently, it was a winner. I have to say, the Brits by far, by far do these, uh, multiple instructor classes so well. They really seem to enjoy each other, and it comes across- Yeah … [00:38:00] very well over camera. So I, I highly recommend that you take this class.

Tom: Uh, number two, your favorite reflection ride.

Crystal: So this was also on 5:30. It was the, uh, 30-minute reflection ride taught by Christine, and, um, this is really cool. Robin Luthy said that she enjoyed the reflection ride from the past weekend stacked with her 10 mental, 10-minute mental health recovery ride.

Her reflec- reflection ride was insightful, and she shares about her recent experience moderating Sam Yo’s book signing- Mm-hmm … in Chicago. So I, I need to take that class, just because I want to relive that night a little bit. Yeah. And, uh, that’s, that’s really cool to have her chat about that.

Tom: And I really hope Robin Luthy’s leaderboard name is I Love Luthy.

Crystal: Well, that would be amazing. Yeah. I don’t, I don’t actually know. I think she’s told me, ’cause she’s, she has actually just recently been added to our Tipster list.

Tom: Oh.

Crystal: She is on the prowl for tips, and, uh, so I, I don’t know [00:39:00] Robin very well yet. My guess is she’s told me her leaderboard name, and I- … can’t remember.

But if not, I want to hear it.

Tom: Number three, your favorite power zone ride.

Crystal: Okay, so this was taught by Christian, uh, Van de Velde, and it was also taught on May 30th. It was a big day for classes- Yeah … May 30th. So 60 minutes, uh, Wendy McKinney Gibbs says, “This class was tough, but just when you’re ready to slump he busts out Shipping Up to Boston by the Dropkick Murphys.”

“Super fun class that went by quickly and was a great workout.” You don’t hear a lot about the Dropkick Murphys. Yeah. So I just enjoy that anybody includes them anywhere.

Tom: Uh, number four, your favorite birthday ride.

Crystal: So Benny Adami celebrated his birthday this week, and in classic Benny style, also taught this on May 30th.

Like I said, it was a big day for classes.

Tom: Yeah, everybody’s trying to sneak it in for the end of the month- … to get paid.

Crystal: I don’t think that’s how it works.

Tom: I… That’s totally how it works.

Crystal: Well, he had a schlager ride. It was with [00:40:00] all of his Confetti Riders. They all came in to celebrate his birthday, and he knocked it out of the park with both rides singing You’ve Got a Friend in Me in German.

And letting us know he is our number one fan forever. Both rides, ’cause he also had a disco ride just before that, both rides Benny brings the studio energy that we have come to know and love for h- from him, and that was submitted by Sparkly813. But Jesse K. also loved this class, and, uh, said that celebrating his birthday with the Confetti Riders was such a special experience, and Benny’s live singing performance gave me the goosebumps.

Tom: And then finally, number five, the class so difficult you dare not stack it. We call it an unstackable. It’s a climb ride.

Crystal: It’s a climb ride with Olivia. This was taught on 5/28 and submitted, nominated by Oliver Long. He said that he has to call out Olivia’s climb ride for an absolute brutal workout. This [00:41:00]is one of those rides that felt pure Peloton and reminded me why I fell in love with the platform.

A glorious playlist and nothing but motivation from Olivia with the space to grow towards the summit. One to go back to and race yourself, but definitely not for a few days after.

Tom: taking a look at this week at Peloton, we’ve got Brandi Carlile classes.

Crystal: Yeah, so, uh, she… There’s going to be a couple of different classes. We’re kicking off Pride with it being Pride Month. Mm-hmm. So this is kind of a mixture of Artist Series, but also Pride, and, uh, this one is going to be specifically taught by Mariana Fernandez.

There’s a 30-minute yoga flow, and, uh, that’s going to be all Brandi Carlile music. There’s also gonna be a walk with Maddie on June 4th, and that’s all gonna be Brandi Carlile as well. There’s also going to be a live DJ ride with Cody on June 5th, um, and that is going to be a live DJ class, that’s not Brandi Carlile, but just Pride in general.

Tom: Gotcha.

Crystal: Uh, so lots [00:42:00] to look forward to in June.

Tom: And there is bunches of stuff for Pride.

Crystal: There is. There is a ton of stuff coming up for Pride.

Um, there are classes that we know that are going to be on demand, but there are also classes coming up that will be live throughout the, the month. Mm-hmm. We’re gonna have, uh, a Chappell Roan barre class. Uh, that’s going to be, um, on June 3rd, so by the time you’re hearing this, it’ll be out, 5:30 PM. And then Cherrow, taught by Katie Wong, is going to be that day as well.

Um, not to mention, there are encore classes coming up from past years that we will see on the schedule. There’s also a special invite-only Pride class that’s coming up, uh, as a yoga flow with instructor Zakarias Nedjetski, and that is going to be in celebration of Pride Month. We don’t have a date or a time for that yet.

Uh, it’s not open for general registration, uh, but we will keep you updated when we find out more. [00:43:00] Um, so lots to look forward to for Pride Month, and I’m hoping… There’s also a very special, beautiful new Pride badge for this year.

Tom: Oh, cool.

Crystal: It’s really pretty. I’m hopeful that might mean maybe we’ll get some Pride clothes.

Ah. We haven’t had a collection in years.

Tom: Yeah.

Crystal: But the fact that it’s June 3rd and we haven’t seen anything says probably not, but I was hopeful.

Tom: Yeah.

Crystal: So…

Tom: Uh, we talked about it earlier, but all the British Summer Fest classes are live.

Crystal: Yeah, so not only the cool ride that showed up in the TCO Top Five this week, but there, there’s more.

Uh, there’s going to be

A two for one strength that has Ben and Jocelyn. And actually, I’m pretty sure somebody told me this was, there’s more than just Ben and Jocelyn in the strength. Um, and then there’s a Jer- there’s a stretch with Jermaine, and then, um, we already talked about the cycling. But yeah, I think I’m almost positive the two for one British Summer Fest strength also had two other instructors that hopped in [00:44:00]halfway through.

I’m pretty sure. Somebody told me that. Uh, I don’t know. I haven’t taken those classes yet, but-

Tom: You can’t take them all.

Crystal: I cannot. I cannot. Imagine how

Tom: sore you’d

Crystal: be. Imagine. I would probably be in a lot better shape. Maybe I should take them all. Maybe that should be my goal. Take all of the Peloton classes.

Tom: That seems dangerous.

Crystal: It does.

Tom: Yeah.

Crystal: Also impossible.

Tom: Yes. Uh, scenic France classes are coming.

Crystal: This is really fun. So Katie and Emma, uh, s- have been posting a lot about how they were going to the south of France together. And, um, so there was a bunch of pictures and behind the scene content that came up, and we have no idea how to interpret that other than it’s going to be scenic content.

Tom: Right.

Crystal: Uh, so the view looks amazing. The posts look amazing. And it looks like it’s going to be a, a vineyard area. There’s, there’s lots of vineyards taking place in all these images. Maybe they just had a lot to drink.

Tom: Yeah.

Crystal: We don’t know. Um, but, uh, we also saw that there [00:45:00] was an injury that took place. Um- Oh.

Uh, and it also says that here in this article, I didn’t write this one, that there are strength classes, like a floor-based strength class, and there appears to be two shoots, at least two shoots per instructor because there were outfit changes- Ah … according to what the instructors shared. Um, not to mention Katie left before Emma, uh, and the whole crew moved hotels and location, uh, so maybe there’s more than one location.

Hmm. There’s a lot, there’s a lot we don’t know yet, um, but we are excited to find out.

Tom: Peloton is celebrating Global Running Day with classes at PSNY and PSL.

Crystal: Oh, and more.

So there’s also going to be one in Australia and one in Toronto. Oh. So four events across the globe on Global Running Day- Truly- … which is appropriate …

Tom: global.

Crystal: It’s, I think that’s really cool.

Tom: Yeah. [00:46:00]

Crystal: Uh, they’re all 5Ks, and they are all things that you can do, uh, uh, different paces. Different paces so you can, whatever, whoever you are, whatever speed you are, there’s a place for you.

Tom: They gotcha.

Crystal: They got you. . But I thought that was really cool, four different locations- Yeah, for sure … all at the same time. I’ve been wanting Peloton to do this for years- Yeah

so it’s really cool to see it finally happen.

Tom: Tim Robards has some two-for-one classes.

Crystal: He does. You might remember that when we first announced that Tim Robards was going to be a guest instructor, that they were recording all of the content, and then it was going to be released over time. Mm-hmm. Uh, so we are still seeing that get released.

These are not new classes, but they’re new to us- New to us … because they just got- But yeah … uh, they just got released. So there’s a class with, uh, Susie and Tim as a running class, and then there’s one with Jermaine, and they are doing strength together. So if you haven’t gotten a chance to take those classes, now’s your time.

Tom: Uh, Jocelyn Thompson Rule has a June split program for you.

Crystal: Yes, uh, as again, we have talked about, she is [00:47:00] every month this year putting together a split based on the previous month’s classes. So she laid out in Instagram what June is gonna look like based on May’s classes. So if you’re looking for some strength programming, Jocelyn has you covered.

Tom: Awesome. And then, uh, finally, Kirsten Ferguson’s latest 60-minute hike is upon us at long last.

Crystal: It- yes. Uh, I believe this is only the fourth one she’s ever done. I mean, it’s pretty small. Yeah. 60-minute hike is very small window of opportunity. But, uh, this is going, took place on June 1st, 60 minutes. People were really excited about it, and, um, I have heard nothing but great things about this specific class.

Six times. The 60-minute hike has only aired six times- Oh, wow … since it launched in 2024, and Kirsten has led more of them than any other instructor.

Tom: Interesting.

Crystal: Yeah.

Tom: we’ve got two [00:48:00] birthdays for you this week. Uh, Cody Rigsby on June 8th and Asal Arian on June 9th, so happy birthday to both of you.

Crystal: Happy birthday.

Tom: And now your sneak peek at Spin Wars, just a little 10-minute snippet.

Crystal: 15.

Tom: 15, sorry, it was supposed to be 10, and I failed. I forgot. Uh, but uh, 15-minute snippet Of our interview with the director of Spin Wars, and you will get the full interview with all of its fascinating history nuggets in two weeks.

So here you go.

Tom 2: So joining us today via the magic of ZoomTube is Philip Byron. He’s a five-time Emmy Award winning producer, which is only six more than I’ve won. And the, and the director behind the upcoming documentary Spin Wars. He’s currently the head of original content at Shadow Lion. Phil spent nearly a decade [00:49:00] at the Spring Hill company producing over 50 projects for networks like HBO, Netflix, Disney Plus.

Also, the producer of the Broadway hit Titanique. Phil, welcome to the show. Phil or Philip?

Phil Byron: Phil. Thank you for asking.

Tom 2: Phil, okay. Yeah. Yeah. I know, I hate when people call me Thomas.

Crystal 2: Or-

Phil Byron: Yeah …

Crystal 2: at least nobody calls you Tommy.

Tom 2: Except for my

Crystal 2: sister.

Phil Byron: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah Philip if you’re angry with me, I guess, um-

Crystal 2: Okay.

Okay.

Phil Byron: Yeah. Well, thank you. No, it, it, it is my name, and it just looks nicer typed out than Phil. But yeah, so you can call me, you can call me Phil.

Crystal 2: Okay.

Phil Byron: And thank

Crystal 2: you for the

Phil Byron: lovely- Well, thanks for being here … the lovely intro.

Crystal 2: Well, it’s so exciting to have you here and to get to know you. You know, as a person who has watched the Peloton community grow, even without all the backdrop of the Flywheel, without SoulCycle, there has been so much drama within just the Peloton world.

And, and I know there’s been a lot. I knew there was a lot with [00:50:00] SoulCycle and Flywheel. So when I saw that you were making this documentary, I was so excited to watch this. Like, this is, this is like, I have been waiting for this moment for years to- … see this, this play out. And I have always thought it’s fascinating because Marian is the, the person who did all the content at Peloton.

So I was really, like, a little nervous, like, where is this gonna go, and is this gonna make Peloton look bad? But let’s start back at the beginning. What made you think, “This is a great story. I wanna tell this story”?

Phil Byron: Yeah, I love it. So- We have to go back to 2020, where a executive, Naomi Wright, who worked on my team at SpringHill, came into one of our development meetings and was like, “Should we do a SoulCycle documentary?”

Like, the WeWork documentary had just come out. Uh, there was gonna be one about HQ Trivia that was coming out. And, you know, all these kind of business rise and fall nostalgia content plays were [00:51:00] happening. So fun fact, uh, I used to moonlight as an indoor cycling instructor, uh- Oh … which we can get into.

Yes. So I used to teach before work, um, at 6:15 in the morning. You know, would just come into work like, “I’ve already had my whole day going. I’ve already taught a class. Like, let’s go.” And so when she brought this up, I, I said, “Well, do you know about Ruth Zukerman?” Uh, ’cause I always thought that story of Ruth being a co-founder of SoulCycle, but then kind of getting, you know, erased from the, the narrative in the press was just crazy to me.

And so, you know, called Ruth, and she very willingly was down to do it, and then we really, like, got into it. And that’s then when we, uh, you know, talked to Marian, who… You know, I think the two of them really represent what I’ve been calling, like, the [00:52:00] godmothers of indoor cycling. And I know there’s a lot of people who did it before them, and it’s, it was happening in gyms all over.

One thing we talk about in the doc is, like, you’re incentivized to bring people in. And so I think because I had a full-time job, I never got, like, in it, in it. But yeah, you’d see… Like, I would see, like, the person teaching after me, like, be like, “Tom, why were you not in class yesterday?” And I’m like- … “This is intense.

Like, making Tom feel bad.” Like, but it’s, you know. I don’t know how the pay structure works at Peloton, but, you know, it, we did… Ag- Another thing that not, is not in the doc, um, at Flywheel, it was all about these tiers. And I feel like I can say this, ’cause they no longer exist. R-I-P. Be what they do. ‘Cause I love, I love Flywheel.

Yeah. Um, they would do tiers of if you had 1 to 17 people, you got paid this much. [00:53:00] If you had- Oh … 18 to 34 people… i’ll just tell you all what the… I don’t know if this was for everybody, but this is what it was for. Here’s some exclusive-

Tom 2: Ooh …

Phil Byron: news. Ooh. I’m like, I don’t think there’s any problem with me sharing this.

But I do think it’s in- interesting to think about it from, like, the business standpoint. So if you had zero, zero, one person to 17, you got paid 40 bucks. 18 to 34, you got paid 100 bucks. So right there, that’s a pretty big increase.

Crystal 2: Yeah.

Phil Byron: And that was where, again, the incentivizing, if I looked and I had 17 people in my class, you better believe I was trying to find that 18th person.

Tom 2: Sure. Yeah. Yeah, ’cause I was thinking it was odd that it’s not prorated- Yeah … right? That it should be like, and you get, after 17 you get $3 for each additional

Phil Byron: person. Because- So that is what I heard SoulCycle started to do, is they started doing it- Oh, okay … per [00:54:00] bike. But I also, I have to look back at the transcripts of some of these interviews.

Like, I think it was like a, not as much as you’d think. It was like they got a base- Yeah … and then they got like 50 cents per bike or something.

Tom 2: Yeah, ’cause like if, yeah, if you’re at 17, you’re really incentivized to get that 18th.

Phil Byron: And then, and then 30-

Tom 2: But if you’re at 20, you’re not incentivized at all …

Phil Byron: 35 to sold out you got $200.

Crystal 2: Oh, wow.

Phil Byron: Which, to make $200 in an hour- Pretty freaking great. Yeah. Uh-

Crystal 2: Yeah …

Phil Byron: you know? And that was such an interesting thing to see of how are people getting people to come to their class, which is a lot about connection. And another thing that… I keep talking about stuff that’s not in the film. I mean, now I’m answering your question, Crystal, as we’re- Was about, you know, these companies started to kind of rise with Instagram- Right

and social media, and the fact that you could [00:55:00] slide into someone’s DMs, um, and be like… I mean, people would do this, be like, “You okay, Crystal? Haven’t seen you in class for a while.”

Crystal 2: They would do that- Yeah … to their clients? Like, the people… Oh my gosh.

Phil Byron: Oh, yeah. And that, I think, is this weird, are you doing that because you actually care about Crystal’s wellbeing?

Right Or are you doing that because it’s the difference of you getting 40 or $100?

Tom 2: You need that 19th bike.

Crystal 2: Yeah. Well, and then on the SoulCycle side, I don’t know if it was like this on the, the Flywheel side, but in the documentary you did talk about the fact that people who came in also, i- it was, they were kind of treated they were almost treated like they, they were celebrities and they wanted to be around those instructors and it was also a popularity contest.

The comment that was made was, like, it’s, you’re, if you’re not making them want to be you or have sex with [00:56:00] you, then you’re doing it wrong, or something like that. Was- If they

Phil Byron: don’t wanna be you or fuck you, you’re not doing it right.

Crystal 2: Was, was there that kind of vibe at Flywheel too? Sh- no. Because that is one thing Peloton is not.

Like, they’re-

Phil Byron: No.

Crystal 2: I’m not-

Phil Byron: No. I, I think f- I think Flywheel and Peloton were kind of similar types of people.

Crystal 2: That’s the gist I’ve always gotten. Okay.

Phil Byron: Yeah. Yeah. I… Because it was… You know, it’s funny ’cause Ruth was a part of both Soul and Flywheel, and then Marian, you know, was part of Flywheel for a moment, and Peloton.

And I think just the data piece it just m- that’s a different type of person. Like, if you wanna track your metrics and you wanna compete with yourself or with other people, I just think that that’s a different type of human than what SoulCycle’s thing was like unplug- It’s like- … and [00:57:00] like find the beat and get lost in the music.

And when I taught, I mean, again, and I’ve taken a lot of SoulCycle classes. And, you know, friends would be like, “I don’t, like I don’t wanna look at that tech pack and like have that in my face. Like, I just wanna get like lost and like cry to Coldplay.” And I’m like- … “Okay.” Like, I, I don’t… I think that’s just, again, it’s like a different thing.

And Cory, who’s in the doc, you know, worked at SoulCycle corporate and, and talks about that, about Peloton, you know, coming to market and everyone at SoulCycle like rolling their eyes at Peloton. Mm-hmm. Uh-huh. And being like, “Well, this is a different experience. It’s, it’s going for a different type of person.”

But that was something, you know, Ruth has always talked about is SoulCycle became this kind of like more exclusive thing. Like-

Crystal 2: Yeah …

Phil Byron: are you cool riding in the front row? You know, who’s allowed in the front row? Um, some [00:58:00] instructors had lists of who could be in the front row.

Crystal 2: What?

Phil Byron: Yep.

Crystal 2: No.

Phil Byron: And Flywheel was very much, you know, more of like inclusive, you know, come as you are- It’s, it’s so funny

and I think Peloton similar, is similar.

Crystal 2: I, I w- I saw Soul, SoulCycle for years because even, even here we had them in the middle of nowhere, and I never was attracted to their brand. I, it’s like so anti who I am, and like you can feel the exclusive, exclusive-ness that, well, you can feel it coming off of them.

In the same way you can like, you go into a mall and there used to be like Abercrombie & Fitch, you know, and you could just feel- Mm-hmm … that vibe coming off, and it’s like I, I’ve always just kind of rejected that sense. And so I had no interest in ever taking any of those classes, and that’s… It’s funny to me that they, that so many people were kind of like, “Oh, Peloton, what are you doing?”

Because that’s, I’ve always wanted to [00:59:00] be a, an athlete. I’ve always wanted to exercise on a regular basis and be part of this thing, and it wasn’t until Peloton came along that I actually felt included. I actually felt seen. I actually felt like, “Oh, they get it,” in a way that I never had at any other- Mm-hmm

gym, any other location. And so I just, I, I just, my body just rejects everything SoulCycle. Like everything in that movie, everything in the documentary was just ick toward them, just blah. A- at least after they became like that. But

Phil Byron: I wanna say for any listeners who maybe dabble or are also do SoulCycle, like it, again, like I, I, I think it tapped into something-

Crystal 2: Definitely

Phil Byron: very successfully that where people did everything I guess, Crystal, that you kind of rejected a lot of other people, you know, embraced and-

Crystal 2: Absolutely …

Phil Byron: I think what I also loved so much about Marian i- is her just ability To [01:00:00] kind of acknowledge the success they did in terms of marketing and, um, how she was, like, both annoyed by it, but also, like, good on you and, like, they figured it out.

And I think that takes, you know, a very humble, uh, human being to be able to kind of acknowledge and reflect that way on it. ‘Cause, you know, at that era, and I lived in New York City like 2009, ’10, and ’11. Like it, it was a thing, uh, to, to be, you know, bike four- … on a Saturday at 9:30. And, you know, when I moved out to LA and my first job out here where it was like this big open office floor plan, I remember everyone’s Outlook alarms going off on Mondays at 11:55.

It was wild to book SoulCycle. [01:01:00] And I’m new to this company and trying to meet people, and you better believe I went to a SoulCycle class with all the, like, fun, fit, cool girls at my company. And it, there- So there is something about the, again, the wanting to belong and feel seen, which is a big theme in the film, and I think the question becomes when you go in, do you- drink the Kool-Aid?

Do you lean in? Do you love the experience or do you not? And that is for you to decide what, where you- … where you find your- Yeah … your fitness experience.

Crystal 2: Where are you gonna land?

Phil Byron: Yeah.

Tom 2: Yeah. Well, Phil, thank you so much for taking time and talking to us a little extra long. This has been fascinating. So I- so just to recap, you’re at the Tribeca Film Festival, but w- we don’t know quite yet where this will land for those of us in flyover country.

Phil Byron: We, we do not know yet, but-

Tom 2: Okay …

Phil Byron: you [01:02:00] know.

Crystal 2: Crossing my fingers-

Phil Byron: Shout it out … it’s gonna go well. Cry out. Cross the fingers. Yeah. Cross the toes. But yes, it’ll be- Well, you’ll have to be sure- Since you said you have a lot of New York listeners, it- Yeah … it is June 9th, 10th, 12th and 13th. You can just get a ticket on the Tribeca website, and yeah, it’ll be a, it’ll be a fun time.

Crystal 2: Wonderful.

Tom 2: Awesome. And then whenever w- when it hits broader, thinking positive. Yes. Right. I learned that from o- one of the Peloton instructors.

Phil Byron: Yeah, yeah.

Tom 2: You’ll let us know so we can let people

Phil Byron: know. I will let you know. And I appreciate you all- Awesome … reaching out and even, like, talking about it early on.

I had, like, a few friends send me your episode where you talked about this when it was announced.

Crystal 2: So-

Phil Byron: So stoked …

Crystal 2: yeah … you just don’t

Phil Byron: even

Crystal 2: know.

Phil Byron: Yeah. And thank you for watching it, and yeah tell people ’cause I think-

Tom 2: And w- where- Yes … can they find you and/or the film on socials

Phil Byron: in case they wanna keep track?

The film is [01:03:00] Spin Wars Movie on Instagram. Got it. Uh, I, I am not on socials. I am on LinkedIn. You- Wanna add me on LinkedIn? You’re such a grown-up. I know. I was like- Such a very grown-up … I know. Yes, so please follow. That’s where the news will be posted as well. Um, we’re gonna start rolling out hopefully some more clips and things for people to see as we get closer to the festival.

Crystal 2: Wonderful. Awesome. Well, thank you so much. Yes.

Phil Byron: Of course.

Crystal 2: This has been

Phil Byron: lovely. Great to meet

Crystal 2: you all. It has. Thank you. Great to meet you too

Tom: So if you enjoyed that, and I don’t know how you couldn’t. That was a fascinating just him talking about how S- Soulfly and Flywheel instructors like-

Crystal: Soulfly?

Tom: Soulfly. Oh. That’s a heavy metal band. They were a spinoff of the band Sepultura, so our, our metal listeners will be, will understand exactly why my brain did that.

Okay. Okay. But, uh, um, in fact, the lead singer of Soulfly, uh, he had such a unique scream, they used him for the [01:04:00] scream of the mummy in the Brendan Fraser movie The Mummy. Oh. So that’s actually the lead singer of Sepultura/Soulfly doing those screams.

Crystal: Interesting.

Tom: Yeah. So, um, anyway, SoulCycle and, uh, Flysoul.

Crystal: Flywheel.

Tom: Sure. Flywheel and Schuster. For our Marx Brothers fans. Uh, it was fascinating to hear the thought process to how they made money and that when they would reach out to you, maybe it wasn’t as altruistic or concern driven as you might have thought.

Crystal: Yeah.

Tom: Um, and I guess that’s always true to some degree, but…

And it could be both.

Crystal: And I love that Phil had all of the experience of being an actual spin instructor- Yes … to bring to this documentary. Yeah. Uh, I thought that was really cool to, to hear his side of things, too. So, like, I feel like we got an extra behind the scenes. And there’s more to come, so. For

sure.

Definitely come back on June 19th and hear the whole thing. And hopefully you go get your tickets- Yes … if you are in the tri-state [01:05:00] area, because I’m telling you, this is a d- It’s worth seeing … it’s worth seeing, for sure. It’s a fun watch. Absolutely.

Tom: So, uh, anyway, that’s it for this one. Uh, until next week, where can people find you?

Crystal: People can find me on Facebook at facebook.com/crystaldokeefe. They can find me on BlueSky, Threads, Instagram, and the Peloton Leaderboard @clipoutcrystal.

Tom: And you can find me on BlueSky and Threads at tomokeefejr, or on Facebook at facebook.com/tomokeefe. Find the show online, facebook.com/theclipout.

While you’re there, like the page, join the group, and of course, don’t forget our Patreon. 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.

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