Soul Cycle

If Soul Cycle is a cult, then I’ve drank the Kool-Aid.

In just a few short years since its 2006 founding, Soul Cycle has grown into something extraordinarily rare: an exclusive luxury brand in the fitness world. It enjoys an obsessive, quasi-religious following within New York fashion- and entertainment-industry circles, counting among its devotees such power players as Mickey Drexler, Chelsea Clinton, Brooke Shields, and Katie Holmes. (…and now can service them on both coasts! Soul Cycle West Hollywood is up and spinning as of February 10th.)

For the many Soul Cycle faithful, it’s more than just a spin class; it’s a lifestyle. One that promotes seizing your day, taking no prisoners, and of dressing like a workout warrior. It’s a philosophy, a full-blown aesthetic. It has it’s own mantra, candle, and kick-ass clothing line.

So my question is: How did they do it? How do you build a fitness brand with fashion cachet?

I talked to co-founder/owner Julie Rice at her office in Tribeca (below)

For more info on Soul Cycle, go to

Listen to the interview here: