Peloton Cycle Bike's Innovative Approach to Exercise

Steve Adubato goes one-on-one with Co-Founder of Peloton, John Foley, about his vision for this unique at-home cycle bike and how his team was able to bring it to life and make it a household name.

6/16/17 #2054

Excerpt:

"Hi, I'm Steve Adubato. Welcome to the Tisch WNET Studio here in the heart of Lincoln Center. I want to welcome for the first time, John Foley, the Co-founder and CEO of a terrific operation... I don't want to be promoting because we don't do that at PBS. It's called Peloton. I know Peloton because I ride Peloton just about every other day. Peloton is? In my words? Yeah! Yeah in your... I'm not gonna plug! Go ahead. What is Peloton? Peloton, it's a fitness platform, fitness meets technology meets media interestingly Steve, where we stream live instructor lead group fitness classes to your home. So we made the Peloton bike that allows you to consume instructor lead, indoor cycling classes from home on the Peloton bike. So it's a... the best bike ever made, is what we say. And then a big tablet computer, four times bigger than a traditional tablet. It's waterproof, so you can sweat all over it. As you know Steve, you get pretty sweaty. Yes. Because you work pretty hard. But it's a coach... one of the... a world class coach instructing you through a 20, 30, 45 minute class, around great music with a whole community of riders that support you and challenge you and motivate you. So it's called Peloton. It's here in New York City as well, and we're having fun. Yeah the classes come out of New York City. What's fascinating about this, and you're picking up from some other stuff, you see it on Peloton. But I will tell you, as someone who participates, right? What I'm fascinated by is the personalities of some of the Peloton coaches. They are all, it seems to me, not just high energy and great athletes, but they really know how to engage people, pull them out, motivate them, and there are live classes, and then there are on demand classes, and some of the live classes I've been in, I don't even want to say what my name is, because they see your name on a computer without going into any more detail, I've been called out. Oh yeah. I've been called out like, "Hey, so and so, get moving!" You know, "You have to pick it up!" That's part of it? That's right. That's right. So it's interesting new interactive media, in a sense, where, to your point Steve, the instructor will look in the camera, break the fourth wall and say, "Steve A. in Short Hills, this is your 100th ride, you're gonna carry us up the hill." That's right. And actually look you in the eye effectively. In media terms, breaking the fourth wall. So it's like performance theater. You are part of the experience..."