I\u2019ve done over 3100 miles on my Peloton. As a public relations guy, 99.9% of my life is spent staring at a computer monitor, and thus being able to get out of my chair and onto the bike to burn for 45 minutes is very, very attractive to me. The product is endlessly sticky \u2013 continually interesting classes, achievements, competition (with yourself, I\u2019ll get to competing with others) and so many metrics to improve. I love it, the\u00a0EZPR\u00a0staff loves it, and the only people who don\u2019t seem to love it as much as we do are the people handling the PR.<\/p>\n
Okay, I take that back. They may\u00a0love<\/em>\u00a0it, but I\u2019m getting the distinct feeling I did back when I\u2019d deal with video games PR people \u2013 a great deal of talking, and not a lot of actual use or deep knowledge of the product. Now, an argument might be made that Peloton is quiet because of their IPO, but the truth is that their PR and marketing is lacking \u2013 it\u2019s vaguely focused, and\u00a0the most in-depth non-Wirecutter review of the bike I can find is over two years old. The Verge\u2019s\u00a0Peloton Tread review, again, is one of the few indepth pieces on what is now a multi-billion dollar fitness empire outside of enthusiast publications like Runner\u2019s World and \u201cTreadmillReviews\u201d which I\u2019m sure is a very trustworthy and not affiliate-driven outlet. The smattering of technology publications would be incredibly impressive if this wasn\u2019t the leading fitness brand out there.<\/p>\n I want to dig into why I think they\u2019re messing it up \u2013 and how to right this ship.<\/p>\n A TechCrunch story about the \u201c13 reasons why Peloton is a cult\u201d\u00a0made me groan a lot, if only because Josh Constine has actually used Peloton a decent amount \u2013 over 100 classes, albeit most of them are 15 minutes, come on dude.<\/p>\n The problem here is that Josh attributes reasons that Peloton is a great and successful product to things that aren\u2019t necessarily what makes it so good. Skipping a few of his choices (the shoes, the clips, I just can\u2019t man, I\u2019m sorry, I gotta move on with my life), there are a few extremely weird choices that are absolutely in line with Peloton\u2019s brand effort:<\/p>\n The Pavlovian Response \u2013 Your brain quickly begins to associate the sounds of Peloton with the glowing feeling of finishing a workout: The rip of the Velcro shoe straps, the click of clipping into the bike, but most of all the instructor catch-phrases. You get hooked on hearing the bubbling British accent of \u201cI\u2019mmmm Leeaannne Haaaaainsby\u201d as she introduces herself, Ben Alldis\u2019 infectious \u201cYou got 5, you got 4\u2026\u201d countdowns or Emma Lovewell reminding you to \u201cLive, learn, love well.\u201d That final \u201cnamaste\u201d followed by wiping down the bike and jumping in a cold shower forms a ritual you\u2019re inclined to repeat.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n My man, first off, where exactly did they say namaste on a ride? Maybe once? What catchphrases are we talking about here? \u201cYou\u2019ve got 5, you\u2019ve got 4,\u201d is called counting, it ain\u2019t a catchphrase!<\/p>\n Also, if I was Peloton I\u2019d be pissed off that Josh somehow missed actual catchphrases like \u201cthis isn\u2019t daycare\u201d from Alex Touissant or Matt Wilpers saying \u201cfast legs\u201d or Robin talking about hustlers, which is very funny if you think about hearing someone saying it unironically while riding a $2000 bike.<\/p>\n Or how about the fact that Josh says the network effect is\u00a0every friend that signs up makes you want to stay,<\/em>\u00a0versus the way that Peloton probably wants to keep people \u2013 the amount of hours you\u2019ve put in on the bike.<\/p>\n This isn\u2019t (just) bagging on Josh, who makes a good point about how it helps you feel less alone while working from home. The point is that the actual 13 reasons that Peloton is sticky \u2026aren\u2019t really clearly defined, and mostly come down to \u201cyou\u2019re stuck there, and sometimes your friends are on it.\u201d Why isn\u2019t there a Peloton person who says hey man, wanna talk to an instructor? Who in the world is TELLING THIS STORY?<\/p>\n How can someone who\u2019s put so much time into using your product define it as vaguely as how everyone at Twitter describes Twitter?<\/p>\n Google Peloton cult. If you\u2019re doing Peloton\u2019s PR, see that and think \u201cthis is great,\u201d I disagree and think it\u2019s very stupid to keep feeding this even more stupid fire. The \u201cPeloton cult\u201d idea is that everyone\u2019s part of a\u00a0tribe, meaning a group, so you can all ride at the same time and then argue on Facebook later for whatever reason. The actual social features of Peloton are so absolutely terrible \u2013 the video chat sucks, there\u2019s no real functionality with regards to having friends beyond being able to look at their profiles (there\u2019s not even an ongoing feed beyond \u201cthey did this this day\u201d) \u2013 so what the \u201ctribes\u201d are is Peloton outsourcing their own social networking.<\/p>\n But, more importantly, the idea of the \u201ccult\u201d is extremely off-putting for\u2026most people. The reason that people don\u2019t like spin classes is the idea that you\u2019re trapped in a room of judgmental, fit and sweaty assholes, and turning fitness into a spiritual goal ostracizes those who want to just have fun. Creating a culture<\/em>\u00a0is different to referring to your users as obsessed, stupid and easily-influenced cultists \u2013 and fueling a cult\u2019s existence is to say that those who are not part of it don\u2019t \u201cget\u201d the experience. It\u2019s exclusionary, boring and embarrassing.<\/p>\n Despite the fact that most people I know who have really gotten into Peloton weren\u2019t particular into fitness before, Peloton seems to cater to two groups:<\/p>\n The latter is a specific issue (not including those who cheat on the leaderboards) because it\u2019s what gets people to make the very boring \u201cBowflex but it\u2019s a bike\u201d joke. I\u2019m fine with people using the bike however they want to as long as it doesn\u2019t affect me, and you can absolutely do 500 classes but 95% of those are 5 minute warmups, fine, whatever, enjoy your life.<\/p>\n What Peloton is failing to do is actually pitch this as a product that\u00a0anyone can use to lose weight.<\/em>\u00a0Cycling is one of those rare ways to exercise that can help people who are fat, thin, muscly or skinny. It\u2019s great for that, and yet it\u2019s painfully apparent that the only instructor Peloton pitches with any effort is\u00a0Robin Arzon, their \u201cVP of fitness programming,\u201d who is a ripped, enthusiastic instructor who genuinely gives a great workout but\u2026embodies everything that anyone overweight is scared of. Loud. Present. Demanding. Exhausting.<\/p>\n Peloton does not seem to make much effort to pitch the bike (I\u2019m leaving the tread out of this) as something that can genuinely transform you. The cult of personality in instruction makes sense, but Peloton happens to have people like\u00a0triathlete Matt Wilpers, who handles most of the personalized power zone content on the bike. He\u2019s relaxed, encouraging, pushes you to give more but doesn\u2019t literally call you a baby (\u201cthis ain\u2019t daycare\u201d) or tell you you\u2019re not a hustler because you didn\u2019t hit an interval.<\/p>\n Sidenote: if you\u2019re gonna read that as me complaining that I\u2019m being pushed too hard, in my first year of cycling from zero fitness I did two 100 mile days, and my latest 45 minute PR was off an Alex Touissant class. Email me at shutupidontcare@edzitron.com if you\u2019d like to discuss further.<\/em><\/p>\n This may not mean much if you\u2019re someone who doesn\u2019t get discouraged about your physical appearance, or your physical ability, but right at the beginning I\u2019m glad I took classes with Denis Morton and Matt Wilpers \u2013 guys who I do not see particularly well-marketed by Peloton.<\/p>\n And I think it\u2019s because some part of their PR strategy is marketing to people who think they\u2019re capable of fitness, versus marketing to people that yes, they\u00a0are capable of fitness<\/em>.\u00a0<\/em>The closest Peloton gets is saying that there are 10 minute and 20 minute classes \u2013 which isn\u2019t really helpful if you are overweight and\/or unfit, and think that you\u2019re not going to be able to do anything because you\u2019re \u201cweak.\u201d<\/p>\n The Rah Rah persona of Peloton is digging strength out of people, but the way they tell the story is very much focused on those who just need a little push versus those who need to be educated that, yes, the big multi-billion dollar fitness company has something that can make them fit.<\/p>\n Put aside the obvious classist vibes of saying that the $2000 bike is the only way to get fit \u2013 a problem unto itself \u2013 and consider that the current marketing and PR efforts of Peloton are almost exclusively aimed at exclusivity for those who look good enough to get photographed on it.<\/p>\n The campaign should be actively going after reporters, after customers, after\u00a0anyone<\/em>\u00a0who has said \u201cah, you know, I don\u2019t think I could even do one class.\u201d Get them to do two. Tell them the right stories \u2013 that most people start off very small, that the gains are fast and furious and the success comes in a variety of ways. Convince people that they too are capable of being healthy, through their own industry, through following instructors that care about their success but also through their execution of a plan that doesn\u2019t require an hour at the gym.<\/p>\n Sell Peloton as a way of escaping the vulnerability of working out at the gym \u2013 where everyone can see you, where everyone seems stronger and better. Sell it as a way of working on yourself, by yourself, proving to yourself that you can do it, and yes, you are stronger than you think, without having to worry about someone walking over and bothering you.<\/p>\n If they can do that, they\u2019ll maybe have a chance of being the Apple of fitness.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" I\u2019ve done over 3100 miles on my Peloton. As a public relations guy, 99.9% of my life is spent staring … <\/p>\nThey tell their own story poorly<\/h3>\n
The Peloton \u201ccult\u201d isn\u2019t real, and catering to it sucks<\/h3>\n
They fail to cater to people who aren\u2019t fitness people<\/h3>\n
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They continue a cycle of judgment on appearance and acceptance<\/h3>\n