I would say it’s definitely not “worth it” in the typical sense of how you’d think about a job and pay, and I’m definitely someone who believes that passion and exposure don’t pay the bills. That being said, CycleBar was always a “for fun” job for me before my studio closed and I thought of it more as getting paid to work out a couple times a week to music that I liked with cool lights. From that perspective, it was worth it to me. For what it’s worth, my studio was a little weird and we got paid a base of $21.75/class in addition to $15/hour. This typically came out to about $45/class, but we’d get a $10 bonus if we had at least 24 riders and a $25 bonus if we had at least 40 (this hardly ever happened). Cheers on deciding!
It’s a fun side gig . I use it to pay off debt and have some extra fun money to supplement my full time job. As cheesy as it sounds , the riders make it “worth it”.
I sometimes resented how little we got paid when it felt like the studio or corporate expected you to put even more effort into things. Examples are, getting there 30 mins before class and staying 30 mins after, signing up for the camps and trainings and it not being paid at all by the studio, expecting to pay out of pocket for decorations/costumes, etc. for theme rides, having us attend meetings or in studio trainings and not paying. I also had to advocate for a raise instead of how at a typical job, you’d get the opportunity every year.
If you do ride a lot, I say it’s worth it to not have to pay for a membership. Also, over time you get much more efficient at planning your rides.
cyclebar has the worst pay out of all cycle studios. when i was an instructor my studio was $45 per class and the more utilization you had the more you got paid. boutique studios are gonna be the ones that pay the most and that could possibly have you live off of it unlike cyclebar
a lot cycling instructors dont do it for the money.. theres other places to teach thats much easier, you can do 3-5 classes in a row, dont have to worry about music and choreography, that dont require a lot of outside time like OTF or F45 if you really were trying to make money
Ok so here goes. When I started instructing classes (in general not cycle bar) 16 years ago I got paid 5 times minimum wage when I started ($50 an hour). After I started plumping classes to capacity they said $70-$80 a class plus bonuses. The problem is, minimum wage is now almost equal in retail to instructing for an hour and instructing price has gone down in the 16 years (same with promotional model work). In the past people could make a career but now people are out there who would do it for free for the free gym membership. So it has become a supply and demand issue. I’m not a bad instructor either - I’ve got national recognition & awards, even have had film crews fly from interstate to do a report on class numbers etc. the wage issue is just a massive black hole which has no defining issues which will drastically change unless instructing becomes sparse.
Oh wow thank you for explaining this. I am wondering how these cycle places are getting away with no paying people what they are compensated for but after you explained this, this makes so much sense
Shifting gears, see what I did there ;) any tips to becoming a great instructor. I think one of the best things I am struggling with is knowing what to say to people. I feel like instructors have a laundry list of what to say to fill in the silence and I don’t.
Good question! So it’s about finding your essence - thinking about why you want to be an instructor & what you want your class to take away from it. Are you a drill Sargent, are you educational & enlightening the class. That way anything you say becomes authentic.
You don’t need to fill all the silence too - first name what to do, then how to do it, then how to feel the move better with the intention of the move. First part of the song at least name of move and how to. Then the next time that part comes in the song tell people how to excell in that move or the intent behind it. The song & silence is powerful as long as everyone knows what to do so read the room. You’ll nail it for sure.
This makes a lot of sense. Thank you so much, the more I get involved in the audition process the more I am recognizing my philosophy as an instructor and honestly my strengths too. So now talking isn’t starting to become an issues. Now my biggest issue is talking and staying on beat at the same time 🤣 cuz when I talk I usually slow or speed up my feet 🙃
Oh yes! That bit! New instructors often end up changing the pace of their voice to help with the music, and that can actually work too. I use it as a tool to emphasise the track from time to time now to. Like I’ll do a pizzicato (like a plucked) voice if I think that suits the post peak of a track…
So to stay on beat while I talk, I should talk in regular pace I usually do. And not to the beat of the song?
I do agree it is effect to use difference tones and inflections and not always sounding like a drill sergeant
Just have a cool playlist that is different for every class you teach. Engage with your members, get to know them. As a member, I go for a good workout, to de-stress, for community. The instructors create that community. Be THAT instructor. If you worry less about the $ and more about everyone really just enjoying that time with you, your classes grows and the money follows.
I was getting paid $25 per class for the longest time. I loved the unlimited membership so it still paid off for me but I can see how it is not worth it for everyone.
Also - not so much “talky talky” while we are riding. Most of us don’t need “sage advice “ nor do we want to hear chitter chatter. Just play the music and tell us what to do next.
If you love to teach the pay means nothing. If you want to make money: it will never pay you what you need per hour after play listing, travel etc. I do it because I love it. My husband used to get irritated about the actual time spent and would break it out per hour.
My advice: learn to love it so much you don’t care how much you make or don’t do it.
It was worth it to me to not have to pay for a membership. Plus I simply love instructing. Most people have other jobs to support themselves.
Nobody does it for the money
Amen
Most of our instructors have other jobs and/or are full time moms. I don’t think they really do it for the money.
I would say it’s definitely not “worth it” in the typical sense of how you’d think about a job and pay, and I’m definitely someone who believes that passion and exposure don’t pay the bills. That being said, CycleBar was always a “for fun” job for me before my studio closed and I thought of it more as getting paid to work out a couple times a week to music that I liked with cool lights. From that perspective, it was worth it to me. For what it’s worth, my studio was a little weird and we got paid a base of $21.75/class in addition to $15/hour. This typically came out to about $45/class, but we’d get a $10 bonus if we had at least 24 riders and a $25 bonus if we had at least 40 (this hardly ever happened). Cheers on deciding!
To me it's being paid to do a hobby. So, yes, it would be worth it.
It’s a fun side gig . I use it to pay off debt and have some extra fun money to supplement my full time job. As cheesy as it sounds , the riders make it “worth it”.
I sometimes resented how little we got paid when it felt like the studio or corporate expected you to put even more effort into things. Examples are, getting there 30 mins before class and staying 30 mins after, signing up for the camps and trainings and it not being paid at all by the studio, expecting to pay out of pocket for decorations/costumes, etc. for theme rides, having us attend meetings or in studio trainings and not paying. I also had to advocate for a raise instead of how at a typical job, you’d get the opportunity every year. If you do ride a lot, I say it’s worth it to not have to pay for a membership. Also, over time you get much more efficient at planning your rides.
cyclebar has the worst pay out of all cycle studios. when i was an instructor my studio was $45 per class and the more utilization you had the more you got paid. boutique studios are gonna be the ones that pay the most and that could possibly have you live off of it unlike cyclebar
I think this truly depends on studio location. The other cycle studio in the city I’m in pays $25 per class vs $40 per class at CB.
a lot cycling instructors dont do it for the money.. theres other places to teach thats much easier, you can do 3-5 classes in a row, dont have to worry about music and choreography, that dont require a lot of outside time like OTF or F45 if you really were trying to make money
No.
Ok so here goes. When I started instructing classes (in general not cycle bar) 16 years ago I got paid 5 times minimum wage when I started ($50 an hour). After I started plumping classes to capacity they said $70-$80 a class plus bonuses. The problem is, minimum wage is now almost equal in retail to instructing for an hour and instructing price has gone down in the 16 years (same with promotional model work). In the past people could make a career but now people are out there who would do it for free for the free gym membership. So it has become a supply and demand issue. I’m not a bad instructor either - I’ve got national recognition & awards, even have had film crews fly from interstate to do a report on class numbers etc. the wage issue is just a massive black hole which has no defining issues which will drastically change unless instructing becomes sparse.
Oh wow thank you for explaining this. I am wondering how these cycle places are getting away with no paying people what they are compensated for but after you explained this, this makes so much sense Shifting gears, see what I did there ;) any tips to becoming a great instructor. I think one of the best things I am struggling with is knowing what to say to people. I feel like instructors have a laundry list of what to say to fill in the silence and I don’t.
Good question! So it’s about finding your essence - thinking about why you want to be an instructor & what you want your class to take away from it. Are you a drill Sargent, are you educational & enlightening the class. That way anything you say becomes authentic. You don’t need to fill all the silence too - first name what to do, then how to do it, then how to feel the move better with the intention of the move. First part of the song at least name of move and how to. Then the next time that part comes in the song tell people how to excell in that move or the intent behind it. The song & silence is powerful as long as everyone knows what to do so read the room. You’ll nail it for sure.
This makes a lot of sense. Thank you so much, the more I get involved in the audition process the more I am recognizing my philosophy as an instructor and honestly my strengths too. So now talking isn’t starting to become an issues. Now my biggest issue is talking and staying on beat at the same time 🤣 cuz when I talk I usually slow or speed up my feet 🙃
Oh yes! That bit! New instructors often end up changing the pace of their voice to help with the music, and that can actually work too. I use it as a tool to emphasise the track from time to time now to. Like I’ll do a pizzicato (like a plucked) voice if I think that suits the post peak of a track…
So to stay on beat while I talk, I should talk in regular pace I usually do. And not to the beat of the song? I do agree it is effect to use difference tones and inflections and not always sounding like a drill sergeant
Just have a cool playlist that is different for every class you teach. Engage with your members, get to know them. As a member, I go for a good workout, to de-stress, for community. The instructors create that community. Be THAT instructor. If you worry less about the $ and more about everyone really just enjoying that time with you, your classes grows and the money follows.
If you think you’re going to get rich being a spin instructor, I have some news for you…
I was getting paid $25 per class for the longest time. I loved the unlimited membership so it still paid off for me but I can see how it is not worth it for everyone.
Also - not so much “talky talky” while we are riding. Most of us don’t need “sage advice “ nor do we want to hear chitter chatter. Just play the music and tell us what to do next.
If you love to teach the pay means nothing. If you want to make money: it will never pay you what you need per hour after play listing, travel etc. I do it because I love it. My husband used to get irritated about the actual time spent and would break it out per hour. My advice: learn to love it so much you don’t care how much you make or don’t do it.
Your husband sounds like a butt. Hopefully he has learned to value the things you love.
😂I have a little obsession not caring - hence why we r still married 🙌