CEO John Foley officially launched Peloton back in 2012 with a Kickstarter campaign and hired his first instructor, New Jersey resident, Jenn Sherman in May 2013. Today, Peloton has 45 total instructors. Twenty of them are cycling instructors and yes, Sherman is still there.
But many of the “OG” Peloton members, as they like to call themselves, still reminisce about some of the earlier instructors. And while you’ll still find many of the original instructors on the leaderboard: Jen, Jess King (Jessica King in the early days), Christine D’Ercole, Hannah Corbin (aka Hannah Marie Corbin), there’s a hole in our hearts for some who have left.
Here’s where you’ll find all the former Peloton instructors these days:
1. Marion Berrian Roaman
Marion Berrian Roaman Bio and Peloton History:
- Marion left Flywheel to work at Peloton in 2014 but her Linkedin profile says she started there January of 2012.
- She is listed as the co-founder, chief content officer, head coach, and general manager of the Peloton New York Studio, Roaman left Peloton early on in May 2014.
What’s Marion Berrian Roaman up to today?
- In 2021, she started working for Swerve Fitness, another livestreaming spin class service, as their chief content officer. They work with gyms and other businesses. They say “all your space needs are bikes and a television screen.”
- Marion has two kids and a private account on Instagram.
2. Ella Kay
Ella Kay Bio and Peloton History:
- Back in 2014, Ella Kay was teaching at Peloton. Check out this clip of her promoting her Dave Matthew’s ride.
What’s Ella Kay up to today?
- There’s not much information online about Ella but it seems like she is back in her home state of Nebraska teaching yoga and other fitness classes, where she lives with her husband and kids.
3. Antonia DeSantis
Antonia DeSantis Bio and Peloton History:
- The first Peloton livestreamed instructor, she worked for Peloton from 2014 to 2015.
What’s Anonia DeSantis up to today?
- DeSantis lives in Chicago where she opened her own fitness studios.
- She has her own coaching program
- She is a certified fitness nutrition coach, boxing cycling, and pilates instructor.
- She’s also an iFit instructor which you may be familiar with as its an app that many popular treadmills use and other equipment.
4. Colleen Saidman Yee
Colleen Saidman Yee Bio and Peloton History:
- In 2015, Yee served as Peloton’s first yoga instructor in their early “Beyond the Ride” classes
- She is known as the “First Lady of Yoga”
Where is Colleen Saidman Yee today?
- She is still teaching yoga, traveling around to various studios
- She cofounded UZIT along with her husband Rodney Yee and others, a place where self-care workshops and community-care programs are held
- she also owns Yoga Shanti, an online and in-person yoga studio in Sag Harbor, New York, alongside her husband
5. Kim Fischer
Kim Fischer Bio and Peloton History:
- He worked at Peloton from 2015 to 2016
- Like other instructors including Jess King, Cody Rigsby, Emma Lovewell, and Ally Love (just to name a few), he was a professional dancer before Peloton, appearing in the show Fuerza Bruta
What’s Kim Fischer up to today?
- He currently a working actor, appearing off-Broadway and on various networks including HBO, Apple + and Netflix, including the TV show Blacklist.
6. Steph Nieman
Steph Nieman Bio and Peloton History:
- This former Barry’s Bootcamp (she was a founder), Flywheel, and SoulCycle instructor taught at Peloton as Head Coach from April 2014 to August 2015
What is Steph Nieman up to today?
- She moved to France in 2016 where she co-founded Let’s Ride Paris, one of the first cycling studios in Paris
- In 2019, she became the manager and founding trainer at Barry’s Bootcamp in Paris
- In 2020 when the Pandemic began, she started her own online training program called Team Steph
- In 2021, she moved to Milan, Italy and started working as a talent trainer for Technogym, a live and on-demand fitness studio
7. Nicole Meline
Nicole Meline Bio and Peloton History
- Nicole started working for Peloton in January of 2014
- Her last class was October 26, 2016. (Even though I started riding back then with the Peloton app, I don’t think I ever took one of her classes).
- Sadly her entire library of rides was purged in September of 2019.
- Known for her “warrior rides”
- Signature quote: “Sweat is the best confetti.”
- She left a void that still has not been filled: a soulful, spiritual cycling instructor
- If you liked Nicole, try Ally Love’s “Get Lifted” rides, Christine D’Ercole, or Denis Morton.
What’s Nicole Meline up to today?
- You can still take classes with Nicole through her website, Alter. She offers the following:
- Podcast of the same name with guided meditations
- Alter Together membership where you can take new classes and meditations ($398/year or $38/month). You can also rent select single classes for $8 to $10.
- Products like the Envision Planner
- Heartwood program, a mentorship
- Weighty, a 28 day meal plan and transformative course
- Retreats
8. Lisa Niren
Lisa Niren Bio and Peloton History:
- Lisa was head instructor at Peloton for over three and a half years from February 2014 to August 2017
What is Lisa Niren up to today?
- After leaving Peloton, she went to work as the chief content officer and head instructor at Studio, another virtual fitness studio that offers treadmill, elliptical, cycling, rowing, strength, boxing, and yoga classes.
- She now works as Vice President of Content and Head Instructor at FITURE, a fitness mirror and classes that helps with form, counts reps and more. It retails for $1495.
- Connect the Watts just did a great interview with her
9. Steven T. Little “Coach Little” or STL
Steven T. Little Bio and Peloton History:
- Prior to Peloton, Little was a Marine, Flywheel instructor and celebrity trainer
- Little was hired in April 2015 and became head coach
- Known for HR training (heart rate zone training).
- Peloton no longer offers these classes but now has Strive Scores which rely on your individualized heart rate
- Peloton still offers Power Zone Training classes based on your exerted output
- He left Peloton in July 2017
- He started working on a now-defunct fitness recommendation app called Blinked
- He also wanted to work on his marriage and do some personal growth.
- All of his classes were removed as part of a massive purge in June 2020
- Signature Peloton quote: “Check yourself before you wreck yourself.” (Related: 125 Peloton Instructor Quotes)
What’s Coach Steven T. Little up to today?
- Little recently got divorced. (There’s a great 2020 interview with him on the ClipOut).
- He sold real estate for a while in Naples, Florida (a carreer he had before Flywheel)
- It appears he’s currently living in Colorado
- He got into a bad car accident and shares his journey back to fitness on Instagram (where his bio reads “celebrity Fitness Trainer from NYC who CHUCKED IT IN FU#KIT BUCKET!” I mean, you gotta love him, right?
- He is an ambassador for Moskomoto, a motorcycle apparel and bike luggage company.
- He runs his own personal training business which includes coaching in nutrition and functional, strength, and cardio training. His website STL Fitness is no longer active.
Want to know more about the Peloton instructors? Check out these blog post all about their surprising careers before they came to Peloton and this one about Peloton Instructors and their dogs.
10. Jennifer Jacobs “JJ”
Jennifer Jacobs Bio and Peloton History
- Jennifer Jacobs grew up in California but lived in France for 10 years (I remember a lot of French spoken in her early rides)
- Prior to Peloton, she worked as a personal trainer in both California and France
- JJ was hired in March 2016
- I took her premiere ride. This was right around the time I started using the Peloton app and launched my blog
- This gorgeous instructor quickly became a fan favorite
- Known for her 80s rides (“Top Gun”)
- Her last ride was on June 21, 2019
- Although she announced she was leaving, her departure happened rapidly leaving fans to speculate why
- Along with Steven T. Little, her rides were purged from the class library in June 2020
- Signature Peloton quote: “Unleash your best self.”
What’s Jennifer Jacobs up to today?
- She continues to work on her own personal training business, the J Method, which she started back in 2005
- Still friends with many of the former instructors, you’ll often see them posing together on Instagram.
- Summer 2021, Jen was hired by Beachbody to do 20-minute strength and cardio workouts. See video below.
Scroll down to the bottom of this blog post to sign up for the weekly Friday Favorites email where I share my favorite classes of the week, newest blog posts, Peloton news and updates, a curated Kindle book deal list, and more.
11. Irene Scholz (now Irene Kraymer)
Irene Scholz Bio and Peloton History
- This Geman instructor joined the Peloton team in November of 2019
- Prior to Peloton, she owned her own gym in South Africa.
- She announced she was leaving in May 2021 on May 21st, 2021 and her last ride was May 2, 2021
- Although we’re not quite sure why she decided to leave, many speculate that the travel back and forth from her home in German to the London studio was too much
What’s Irene Scholz up to today?
- She announced her pregnancy in September 2021
- You can book training sessions with Irene, a “health specialist” through her website or Instagram
- Unlike the other instructors mentined in this blog post, you can still find Irene’s classes on demand (filter instructors and you’ll find her at the bottom of the list).
I’m including this helpful video by Irene (in English!) on how to set up your bike.
Update: Irene Kaymer (her married name) announced that she’s returning to Peloton to teach German strength and cycling classes in the spring of 2024.
There’s a lot to know about Peloton. If you’re new or have questions you need answering, you’ll want to check out this comprehensive post Peloton 101: Everything A New Rider Wants To Know (But Was Afraid To Ask).
TIP: Without having the Peloton Bike or Tread, it can be difficult to search in the app through thousands of classes to find specific and popular classes. That’s why I developed this list of fun themed classes.
To make it even easier, as a subscriber to the weekly Friday Favorites email, you will gain free access to all my downloadable checklists (Theme Rides, Broadway Rides, Movie & TV Soundtracks, Foam Rolling Classes, Explicit Rides, and more, featuring the most fun theme rides and fan favorites at the end of this post.
You can access this and all of my other checklists and files in my Resource Library.
Check out MyPurseStrings on Substack. Get the newest blog posts, my favorite finds, and read all new and past newsletters there.
12. Oliver Lee
Oliver Lee Bio and Peloton History
- This British Tread and Strength Peloton instructor is the only one here who seems to not have left of his own volition
- Lee joined Peloton in the summer of 2018
- With his tats and British accent and amazing runs, he quickly became a loved instructor
- All his content was removed by Peloton on April 28, 2020 with no explanation
- You can read more about his abrupt departure and rumors why here
- If you like Oliver’s classes, try Adrian Williams
What’s Oliver Lee up to today?
- Oliver moved back to the UK with his dog Charlee last year
- We can assume he’s back to personal training but he’s pretty quiet on social media these days. (If you know what he’s up to, comment below!)
13. Chase Tucker
Chase Tucker Bio and Peloton History
- Chase stayed with Peloton for just under 4 years, starting there in April 2018 and leaving in March 2022
- Prior to Peloton, he worked as a former PT and Barry’s Bootcamp instructor
- Chase was working on some of the Peloton Guide classes but it does not look like he was included when it was released in April 2022
What’s Chase Tucker up to today?
- As of March 2022, Chase now runs his own business, Chase Tucker Solutions, where he “helps tech leaders get unstuck” and accelerate their growth.
- He does not seem to be helping others with physical training these days, focusing more on mental health.
14. Daniel McKenna
I hate to add this one to the list but as of October 3, 2022, Daniel McKenna, aka “The Irish Yank” is no longer a Peloton employee.
There was some speculation for a couple of weeks as he hadn’t been on the schedule. He did previously injure his pec muscle but it doesn’t seem that was the reason for his departure.
Peloton finally made this statement in the Official Peloton Facebook Page:
Members,
“Daniel McKenna is no longer a Peloton instructor. His classes will remain in our library for Members to enjoy. We wish Daniel all the best in his next chapter.”
And that was it. No farewell run on the Tread. No last strength class.
Normally when an instructor leaves Peloton, they do get an opportunity to say goodbye and also announce it on their social media. So far there has been radio silence on Daniel’s part.
That was until October 11, 2022, when Daniel filed a $1.8 million lawsuit against Peloton and COO Jennifer Cotter, alleging wrongful termination, discrimination based upon his Irish accent and heritage, breach of contract, amongst other things. You can read the legal documents here.
The only other time Peloton did not give an instructor an opportunity to say goodbye was with Oliver.
Daniel was one of my favorites and I will miss him.
He now runs the Irish Yank Society workouts in New York City.
If you’re interested in becoming a certified personal trainer, follow my journey, and sign up for ISSA here.
Final Thoughts
Which instructor do you miss the most? Which current instructor would you hate to leave? Share your thoughts below. Reddit actually has a great list of current and former instructors.
For the Peloton fans in your life, check out this Ultimate Peloton Gift Guide blog post including Peloton-inspired products and exclusive My Purse Strings promo codes.
Related Peloton Posts:
Best Spin Bikes to Use with the Peloton App
10 Ways to Keep Your Peloton Streak Going
10 Tips to Choosing A Peloton Leaderboard Name Peloton
Michelle Platt is a content creator and certified personal trainer. Proving it’s never too late to reinvent yourself, she’s a former attorney and teacher who loves to do the research so you don’t have to. She takes a deep dive into each topic and writes about her wellness journey here. She loves trying out new workouts, fitness tips, healthy foods, and products to share with you. This native New Yorker recently made the move to the suburbs of Minneapolis, where she lives with her husband, two kids, and two dogs.