There's a whole neighborhood of the Internet dedicated to SoulCycle—worshipping it, trashing it, treating it as performance art. The typically 45-minute-long stationary-bike classes combine hard pedaling, weightlifting, house music, candles, and inspirational phrases: "Athlete. Legend. Warrior. Renegade. Rockstar. SoulCycle," reads one of the mantras on the studios' walls and merchandise. Classes are priced at $30 to $34 a pop and only happen at special SoulCycle studios in New York, New England, California, and, as of a couple of weeks ago, Washington, D.C.
Unwittingly or not, the fitness program is a pretty strong caricature of a particularly snark-inducing cultural stereotype: the coastal elite who has the time and money to upgrade him or herself to an exercise "warrior" rather than a humble "bike rider." Participants aren't just buying a better butt—they're buying the moral superiority that ostensibly comes with "working out" one's soul.
Read Full Article »