SoulCycle Co-Founder and Co-CEO Julie Rice and her partner Elizabeth Cutler are leading a fitness revolution. Their vision of a motivational 45-minute indoor-cycling workout combined with a chic branded environment came to life in 2006 in the rear lobby of an Upper West Side dance studio that Cutler found on Craigslist. Cutler and Rice run the day-to-day operations of SoulCycle, which has more than 1,100 employees across the United States. Currently, SoulCycle has opened 43 locations nationwide, with plans to open 60 studios worldwide by 2015. Prior to opening SoulCycle, Rice worked in the entertainment business where she discovered and developed talent for 15 years in Los Angeles. A graduate of the State University of New York at Binghamton, she majored in English and Theater. Julie lives in NYC with her husband Spencer and daughters who continue to inspire and feed her Soul on a daily basis.

Julie Rice. Chief Creative and Talent Officer and Co-Founder of SoulCycle

Disruption 1: Sweating is better, together. The conventional fitness experience is singular – you’re at the gym, headphones on, tuning everyone out. Julie was inspired by the community-oriented fitness scene she experienced while living in Los Angeles. As a result, rather than tuning out, SoulCycle members take in – everything from the energy in the room to the music boosting their adrenaline to the constant encouragement from the instructors. The only thing that’s singular is the sense of belonging, empowerment and togetherness.

Disruption 2: Clients are people, not customers. All SoulCycle employees are enrolled in an in-depth hospitality course. And all the executives at SoulCycle take shifts at the front desk to understand the business. So no matter your job title, you understand that cus-tomer service, not machines, is the key to SoulCycle’s success. And the ultimate form of customer service is empathy and personalization – understanding clients personally, remembering small things about them, knowing if they like their water ice-cold or room temperature – this can make somebody’s entire day.

Disruption 2: Clients are people, not customers.

Disruption 3: Create productions, not classes.

A dark room, candles, students packed closely together, all moving to the beat of the music and all led by a charismatic, empowering instructor. Just as a well-produced movie or play gives the audience an incredible, visceral experience, the SoulCycle experience is no different.

Disruption 4: SoulCycle is a career. Until SoulCycle, fitness professionals were cobbling together careers. They had to work at multiple gyms to make ends meet and certainly weren’t entitled to benefits. SoulCycle created an environment for lucrative careers – where employees can devote their full attention to the brand and their craft, ultimately becoming the best form of advertising SoulCycle has.

Disruption 5: Bring the outside in.

SoulCycle has discovered that some of the most talented instructors don’t come from the fitness world. No matter what the instructor’s back-ground is, the first question they ask is simple: is this

someone you’d want to spend 45 minutes with? Is this person charismatic, motivational and empow-ering? SoulCycle auditions 150 people for every 20 they hire. Once chosen, instructors are enrolled in an 8-week training program that includes everything from music appreciation to how to inspire people. The brand is constantly out in the world scouting, often in the most unexpected places.

Disruption 6: SoulCycle is an experience, not a place.

SoulCycle has gone to great lengths to create a holistic, multifaceted brand experience. From the ease of reserving a bike online, to the way

you’re greeted when you walk in the studio, to the empowering instructors,

down to the SoulCycle clothes you’re proud to wear. SoulCycle

is a multifaceted experience across multiple touch-points.

Disruption 7: A global brand that adapts to its surroundings.As SoulCycle expands nationally and soon, interna-tionally, the brand always recognizes the importance of the local community. The community that cycles in SOHO is different than the one on West 27th. While the brand ethos remains the same in each studio, other elements are tailored to the community, such as music, number of showers, and class times. SoulCycle recognizes the nuances of each community by getting to know that community inside out.

All of us are part of an unprecedented era of innovation. It’s a time of relentless determination to make things faster and simpler. Cheaper and smarter. There are certain people who are driving this era. They are not satisfied by keeping pace. They are setting it. They are Disruptors. These Disruptors are introducing new ways of thinking and connecting with people, with business and with the world. They believe in escaping conventions. And operate at the speed of culture. We are inviting these Disruptors into the halls of TBWA\CHIAT\DAY NY. To surprise us, create conversation and inspire our people to be Disruptors, too.

The Disruptor Series

JULIE RICE \ AUGUST, 2015