Cult of Body & Soul

Latest Episodes:

7. "Turn the Smile On" Jul 01, 2025

Show notes

Bonus episode. We follow three instructors’ careers at SoulCycle — in San Francisco, Los Angeles and New York City. Christina Aguilera surprises riders at her own theme class. An instructor is recruited after a life of crime, addiction and losing 100 pounds at Soul. While some charismatic instructors are paid $1K+ per class, others max out at $150.

Follow ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@jessxnyc⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ on Instagram

Watch all episodes on ⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠Live event July 9 in NYC w/ Janet Fitzgerald & Halle Becker!⁠⁠

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Executive Producer & Host: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Jess Rothschild⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Editing & Sound Design: Caitlin Whyte

Theme Song & Original Music Composer: Elizabeth Ziff

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6. "Boogeyman in the Corner" Jun 24, 2025

Show notes

Episode 6: Real Housewives of New York City star Sonja Morgan is banned from the studio. Barry's Bootcamp CEO attempts to poach SoulCycle instructors and is banned. Hard-charging instructor training directors use rough, sexual language to intimidate new recruits. A firehose of Soul gossip!

Follow ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@jessxnyc⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ on Instagram

Watch episode 6 on ⁠YouTube⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠Live event July 9 in NYC w/ Janet Fitzgerald & Halle Becker!⁠

_____

Executive Producer & Host: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Jess Rothschild⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Editing & Sound Design: Caitlin Whyte

Theme Song & Original Music Composer: Elizabeth Ziff

Additional music: ⁠⁠⁠⁠Liah Alonso⁠⁠⁠⁠

"Cinderella" performed by: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠BETTY⁠

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

5. "S*x With An Ex" Jun 17, 2025

Show notes

Episode 5: News leaks that Equinox Chairman Stephen Ross will hold a Trump fundraiser in the Hamptons. Instructors share their pay structures and how they were fired / why they quit. All of SoulCycle's goodwill and reputation for LGBT inclusivity is extinguished. Has anything come close to capturing the zeitgeist the way SoulCycle did?

Follow ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@jessxnyc⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ on Instagram

Watch episode 5 on YouTube ⁠⁠

Live event July 9 in NYC w/ Janet Fitzgerald & Halle Becker!

_____

Executive Producer & Host: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Jess Rothschild⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Editing & Sound Design: Caitlin Whyte

Theme Song & Original Music Composer: Elizabeth Ziff

Additional music: ⁠⁠⁠Liah Alonso⁠⁠⁠

"Wishing Well" performed by: ⁠⁠⁠⁠BETTY⁠

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

4. "You Create Monsters" Jun 10, 2025

Show notes

Episode 4: Instructors make headlines for s*x & cheating scandals with married riders. SoulCycle co-founders Julie Rice & Elizabeth Cutler resign, walking away with $90 Million each after selling the company to Equinox. The 2016 Presidential election and its aftermath causes a great divide at SoulCycle.

Follow ⁠⁠⁠⁠@jessxnyc⁠⁠⁠⁠ on Instagram

Watch episode 4 on YouTube⁠

⁠Live event July 9 in NYC w/ Janet Fitzgerald & Halle Becker!

_____

Executive Producer & Host: ⁠⁠⁠⁠Jess Rothschild⁠⁠⁠⁠

Editing & Sound Design: Caitlin Whyte

Theme Song & Original Music Composer: Elizabeth Ziff

Additional music: ⁠⁠Liah Alonso⁠⁠, Left on Red

"Gangway" performed by: ⁠⁠⁠BETTY⁠

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

3. "Noon on Monday" Jun 03, 2025

Show notes

Episode 3: The gate-kept details of SoulCycle’s instructor training program are revealed for the first time. Servers crash every Monday at Noon during sign-ups. Hurricane Sandy causes chaos when people cannot access classes. Cults of personality form between riders and instructors.

Follow ⁠⁠⁠@jessxnyc⁠⁠⁠ on Instagram

Watch episode 3 on YouTube

⁠Live event July 9 in NYC w/ Janet Fitzgerald & Halle Becker!

_____

Executive Producer & Host: ⁠⁠⁠Jess Rothschild⁠⁠⁠

Editing & Sound Design: Caitlin Whyte

Theme Song & Original Music Composer: Elizabeth Ziff

Additional music: ⁠Liah Alonso⁠, Left on Red

"Two Cherries" performed by: ⁠⁠BETTY⁠

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

2. "A Star Is Born" May 27, 2025

Show notes

Episode 2: SoulCycle takes off in New York City and The Hamptons, with celebrities like Kelly Ripa & Katie Couric becoming superfans. Co-founder Julie Rice's muse Janet Fitzgerald moves to Manhattan to work with budding talent. A beloved 22 year-old party-girl instructor Clare Veronica Walsh tragically dies on Christmas Day. A "wreck the studio" party signifies the end of the 72nd Street era as SoulCycle grows.

Follow ⁠⁠@jessxnyc⁠⁠ on Instagram

Watch episode 2 on YouTube

⁠Live event July 9 in NYC w/ Janet Fitzgerald & Halle Becker!

_____

Executive Producer & Host: ⁠⁠Jess Rothschild⁠⁠

Editing & Sound Design: Caitlin Whyte

Theme Song & Original Music Composer: Elizabeth Ziff

Additional music: Liah Alonso

"One of Us" performed by: ⁠BETTY⁠

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

1. "Made in LA" May 27, 2025

Show notes

Episode 1: Julie Rice, Elizabeth Cutler, and Ruth Zukerman co-found SoulCycle, but Zukerman was later iced out as an owner because she did not have proper legal protection in place. We trace SoulCycle's origin story back to the '90s Los Angeles spin craze before it revolutionized boutique fitness in New York City 2006.

Follow ⁠@jessxnyc⁠ on Instagram

Watch episode 1 on YouTube

_____

Executive Producer & Host: ⁠Jess Rothschild⁠

Editing & Sound Design: Caitlin Whyte

Theme Song & Original Music Composer: Elizabeth Ziff

"Naughty Nadia" performed by: BETTY

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

TRAILER - Cult of Body & Soul May 16, 2025

Show notes

“Cult of Body & Soul” is a docu-podcast series created & executive produed by Jess Rothschild which brings to life how the boutique indoor cycling (spinning) phenomenon SOULCYCLE captured the New York City fitness zeitgeist.

We will take you behind the curtain of the cult of personality that forms between instructor and rider, the elusive instructor training program, the untold story of how Julie Rice and Elizabeth Cutler founded the company and the political scandal that extinguished the public's good-will for the brand.

Featuring interviews with instructors, studio managers, front desk staff and corporate HQ employees.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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