This morning, our own Seth Weintraub traveled to Peloton HQ and participated in their first live studio class in over two years. Immediately after the 30-minute ride with Peloton instructor Robin Arzón was over, I interviewed Seth to see how it went!
What was it like to take the first live studio Peloton class in two years? Seth gives us the full scoop of how everything went and what it was like!
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First Peloton live studio class interview – transcript
* Transcript adjusted for clarity.
Colin: So, how did it go?
Seth: It was amazing. After two years of doing rides on the bike in my bedroom, it’s neat to be around other people.
Colin: Have you been to any of the rides [at Peloton HQ] before the pandemic?
Seth: No, I’ve never been to a live ride before. My wife got the Peloton in February of 2020… so, interesting timing there. The first few rides I did were on my screen but live in [the studio, but I was taking the class from home].
It is weird being here because I have my own routine I usually do in the morning. I’m wearing the clothes I slept in at home versus here. And then if I get hot, I’ll take off my shirt… obviously, that’s not something that happened here. Nobody would appreciate that I think.
Colin: So what’s, like, the whole process like? I know Peloton originally planned on having everyone come in only 15 minutes early and then last minute they extended it to 45 minutes. What was it like when you got there? Did you get shuttle right away to the room, or were allowed to check some other things out?
Seth: I don’t know if it’s going to be like this for everybody, because this was kind of a press and VIP thing… so 45 minutes beforehand it was a meet and greet.
None of the instructors were there. Then we went to the locker room. We got our stuff on. I brought my own shoes, but most people just rented shoes, which I don’t know, that’s not my scene, ha! We got in probably about 20 minutes before everything started. It was kind of like a live studio audience for a sitcom almost.
[In the sample clip, the instructor does the class intro.]
Seth: We talked among ourselves, adjusted the [Peloton] bike, logged into our user accounts, and stuff like that. You know, I was wondering if the studio was going to be cool enough. It was quite cold at the beginning and then, with 39 people in the room, it starts to warm up pretty quickly. I was kind of wondering what it was gonna be like. It got a little hot at the end.
Colin: Yeah, I noticed that Robin definitely seemed to be getting a little bit more sweaty than normal. [The Peloton instructors] have probably gotten used to being in that cold room by themselves without you guys heating the room up.
Seth: I’m used to having a fan on me too. So for me, it was pretty, pretty steamy. I had a bottle of water that was kind of lukewarm, so, probably should have prepared better for that with ice or something.
But it was fun! You guys will be happy to know that I beat everybody in the class by like 150 Jules or whatever.
Colin: Do you get a little class leader board?
Seth: You get a little class leader board where you can high-five people inside [the Peloton studio] and also outside of that [like those taking it at home live]. I wasn’t doing so much high-fiving inside, but I had my outside all riding with me, high-fiving.
They have a much smaller screen since, obviously, you don’t need the see the instructors on them since they are right in front of you. You basically have the metric stuff there. It was pretty cool. I’d like at some point to come back. It’s kind of weird. I’ve never been in spin class. Not once, ever. I’ve seen them at the gym I used to go to quite a bit. But it just never piqued my interest since I’m more of an outdoor biker.
So this was my first spin class [in person]. So it was pretty weird, and it was cool. It was a good group motivator.
Colin: What was the sound like? Was the music pretty loud?
Seth: It’s pretty loud. You know, you see the Peloton instructor turning the volume up and down when you’re at home, but it doesn’t really change the sound in your ears too much. There it gets really loud and sometimes gets quiet during cool downs. So in this case, Robin was really controlling the volume.
Colin: Is she on a mic too?
Seth: Yeah, she’s definitely on a mic. It’s weird because when riding at home, you can choose ‘more instructor’ or ‘more music,’ and I always pick more music and nothing changes. It’s kind of like when you are in a cheap airline and you hit the recline button. [You go back 1″] and think “did anything really happen there?” So it was interesting [to experience the bigger volume changes].
Colin: Interesting. Were you able to explore a little bit? See some of the other rooms, like the treadmill studio?
Seth: [The Peloton Tread studio] is pretty cool. It’s much bigger than the bike room and everybody’s more separated in a semicircle. It’s pretty cool. I am not a big tread guy, but it looked like a lot of fun.
Colin: Cool! Any gift shops or anything set up after they open up? Or like a lounge room?
Seth: There is a kind of snack bar and lounge. They have watermelon smoothie things and stuff. I mean, it’s kind of cool. You can see behind me the studio, and you can see that from the outside. I think this is going to eventually be public where you can go in and buy stuff.
Colin: Any Peloton instructors floating around?
Seth: I was kind of hoping to see more. I did see Adrian and Robin, and they are every bit as fit in real life as they seem. You could see, like, Robin’s abs from like 300 feet away. I don’t know how somebody gets that fit. It seems otherworldly. It’s like her job. It’s really cool. It’s really quite an experience.
I really encourage people who are coming to New York to sign up. It’s a lot of fun.
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