Peloton, it’s time for us to celebrate you. Everyone in this community has a unique reason to ride, run, lift or flow with us It’s hearing your stories and seeing your milestones that propels us forward, and we couldn’t be more excited to share just a few of our Members’ stories with the world. Because we all have our own reasons, but we all show up for each other. Share yours with us all month long on social media using #MyPelotonReason and meet a few of the real Members featured in our new commercial below.
Sedif T., Reading, Berkshire, UK.
Leaderboard Name: NeedCake
Big noisy family dinners, long meals joking and arguing around the table until long after dessert is finished? That’s at the heart of how Peloton UK Member Sedif T. spends her time. With five siblings, parents, a husband, kids, and in-laws who live with them for several months at a time, the whole extended family loves getting together, eating and enjoying each other's company. That love of entertaining also inspired her leaderboard name: NeedCake. “I like to bake it. I like to eat it. I like to feed it to people. So, cake!” says Sedif. “My family all love cake. My kids love a chocolate cake. My husband and myself enjoy a lemon drizzle cake, and my mother-in-law and father-in-law quite like a vanilla sponge. I think this week I've had cake about four times.”
If the theme music to Great British Bake-Off is playing in your head, we don’t blame you. But it’s not in her baking that Sedif hits her biggest challenges. Working as the chief pharmacist for a large healthcare organization, with several different hospitals and clinics around the UK, she’s keeping multiple pharmacies running, and describes her work as always keeping her learning. “The Peloton Bike certainly helps because it allows me to work out, and it gives me a bit of space,” says Sedif. “It allows me to spend more quality time with my children, or just in other things that I do, because I know that I'm getting my own time to work out and to expel some energy and actually also get fit as well, which I do enjoy.”
With over 350 rides, over 100 strength classes and nearing 100 yoga classes Sedif describes her favorite part of a Peloton class as “really, really weird. It's a weird, weird thing to explain. I'll be riding on the Peloton Bike thinking I'm going to die, because it is a very strenuous exercise. And then thinking I won't ever do it again. But I think there's an adrenaline burst that comes from it so as soon as I'm done, it's a case of, okay, now for the next one.”
The next adrenaline rush is probably in a class with Ben Alldis or Leanne Hainsby; she loves supporting the UK instructor team. The next high five on the leaderboard is probably from the #YesToYouCrew or the #PeloFoodies. And, we had to ask--what’s the next cake? Sedif recommends a lemon drizzle, and everyone’s invited.
Dmonn L, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Leaderboard Name: Grandpops73
“I'm the king and I run everything around here, I guess you could say,” says Peloton Member Dmonn L., laughing. “That's what I like to think anyway. The wife would probably think differently.”
Family means everything to Dmonn. From the time he was a kid, he knew that being a father was what he wanted to do with his life. So for the past 16 years, he’s been a full-time stay at home dad, running the calendar, making meals, coaching basketball and football teams. “I have never missed a game, and that's important to me,” he says. And now he’s bringing his passion for parenting to the next generation, caring for his little granddaughter, Carmella. “She's my everything. She's my princess. She's my queen. When she was born my whole life completely changed. I knew that I had to be around here for as long as I could for her. To be with her, to raise her, to nurture her. It was the greatest feeling in the world,” he says.
Several years ago, Dmonn was diagnosed with sleep apnea, and told he was pre-diabetic, and needed to make a lifestyle change to ensure he’d have more healthy years with his granddaughter. “I'd seen a lot of commercials for Peloton years ago, and I was just taken by it. I was just like, that's something that I think I can do. That's something that I would want to do. And we did it. It's the best purchase that I've ever made. I ride at least five times a week and I’ve been riding for a year and a half. I'm not on the CPAP anymore for sleep apnea, and I’m no longer pre-diabetic, so I'm pretty, pretty excited about that. Pretty happy, pretty proud of myself.”
Of course, it’s easier to get on and get riding when you have classes that excite you, and Dmonn loves a HIIT and Hills ride, especially with his favorite instructor, Robin Arzon. Artist rides are something he looks forward to and takes regularly as well, thanks to a lifelong passion for music. “I've been singing since I was five years old. I was in a boy band; we traveled all over the world. It was one of the best times of my life. I've opened up for so many major acts. I actually met my wife through music, and I still write music to this day. My kids are all heavily involved in music as well. Music plays a really big role in my life; I can't go a day without listening to it, so to have someone like Lil Wayne, one of the top artists in the industry right now, put his music in a Peloton ride is something huge. And that his music motivates me as well as many others.”
Dmonn just hit his 350th ride, supported by friends on the leaderboard that he’s made through Peloton that echo the community he’s always built around himself. “My favorite thing about it is the challenge of it. Every single ride, every class on there is super challenging. And it's convenient for me too, also being here in the house. I can get on whenever, no matter what time of day. I can get on it and do what I want to do, which is get healthy. Peloton makes it so that I can do that, so that I can focus on my health, focus on my strength, focus on my fitness, so that I can be around for her.”
Gus M., Pittsburgh, PA
Leaderboard Name: D1dad93
A native of South Florida, Gus arrived in Pittsburgh on a football scholarship to the University of Pittsburgh, where he had a lot of success up through his junior year. “Going into the season, I was preseason All-American, Outland Trophy Watch List, all the great accolades, and I ended up having a season-ending knee injury.” Although he bounced back from that injury to a massive senior year and entered the professional draft process, he ended up failing the physical after several successful professional workouts. “I sat back with my family, talked about all my injuries and that was kind of the end of my playing days. I was extremely blessed with the opportunity I had to play at that level, but I needed to get ready for the next phase in life.”
However, that competitive drive and love of athleticism didn’t just go away. “Am I a competitive person? Yeah, I mean, to a fault probably,” says Gus. “If I'm not keeping score, I lose interest, and I'm always comparing statistics or stats because I think competition brings the best out of everyone.” Gus struggled to find a way to stay healthy and find a way to exercise that he could really relate to. “I would go play basketball. I would go play golf, you name it. And my knee would swell up because of all my cartilage damage over the years.” Gus’ sister and his wife worked together to surprise him with a Bike on Christmas, and he’s been clipped in ever since. “Now, when I get on the Peloton Bike, I know, hey, there's a leaderboard. I know they're high-fiving me because they're trying to motivate me and give me that little edge I need. It makes me love the product and want to ride so much more because I'm all about tracking stats. And surprisingly, when I got on that bike and I was pushing hard, my knee has never felt better.”
Gus and a couple of former teammates have created a group and plan their rides together, challenging each other to get on the bike and compete. “One time, I had to leave early for work so we had a 5:30 AM ride. My wife was 32 weeks pregnant, my three and four year olds were sleeping, and one of my buddies video chatted me through the Peloton Bike screen. So I answered it and then we started going after it and I'm howling and yelling in my basement until I got the best of him. I came upstairs and everyone was awake, and my wife had the worst look on her face. So, yeah, I woke up everyone, but I got the PR!” And even on the road for work, he stays accountable, doing yoga and stretching and strength classes. “The Peloton App is fantastic, just so convenient and easy at keeping the commitment, keeping the discipline. There's no reason for me not to get 30 minutes in the hotel room or wherever I might be.”
Gus remembers a poster his high school football coach hung in their locker room that read TEAM: together everyone achieves more, and it’s a mindset he still believes in deeply. “When I think about a team, it's so important to motivate your peers, to be their support system. And what I love about Peloton so much is, it's there. In Peloton you create relationships, you create the leaderboard, you create the Tags, and when you're out there and your team is riding together, it makes you push that much harder not to let them down. Peloton is my team. We're better together. And we inspire one another.”
This content is for informational and educational purposes only and does not constitute individualized advice. It is not intended to replace professional medical evaluation, diagnosis, or treatment. Seek the advice of your physician for questions you may have regarding your health or a medical condition. If you are having a medical emergency, call your physician or 911 immediately.