Ruth Zukerman

Ruth Zukerman is co-founder of indoor cycling businesses SoulCycle and Flywheel Sports.

She is also the author of Riding High: How I Kissed SoulCycle Goodbye, Co-Founded Flywheel, and Built the Life I Always Wanted, her memoir.

After a few years trying to find dance work in New York City, she realized she needed to shift gears.

[2] This experience was her first introduction to group fitness that led to her career, eventually leading her to take spin classes following a divorce.

Elizabeth Cutler, who was a member, proposed opening a boutique spin studio based on her method of teaching, asking her to be the face of the business.

“I did not do that and it cost me a lot.” [6] In 2009, Zukerman left SoulCycle to start Flywheel Sports with Jay Galluzzo and David Seldin.

[8] In 2020, Flywheel Sports filed for bankruptcy due to economic strains caused by the coronavirus pandemic and the two-year legal battle with Peloton over patent infringement.

[9] In 2018, Zukerman published a memoir entitled Riding High: How I Kissed SoulCycle Goodbye, Co-Founded Flywheel, and Built the Life I Always Wanted, in which she recounts her story of perseverance and reinvention.

[11] Common topics in her speaking engagements include her path to co-founding SoulCycle and Flywheel Sports, advice for women in business, resilience, and reinvention.