#shessofly: Melanie Whelan

If you know me personally, you know that I am obsessed with working out, and not just because it lets me have an extra cookie after dinner (because that’s definitely how I justify it), but because it’s true what Elle Woods says: “Endorphins make you happy!” I won’t finish that quote because I’m neither married, nor is it relevant, but you get what I’m saying!

The thing I’ve missed most during the pandemic is boutique group fitness. There’s a teacher who is demanding, yet motivating, and a group of people who are directly or indirectly pushing you to work harder, sweat more, get stronger. Since it’s not only very icey in Chicago right now, but studios and gyms are closed, I’ve been relying on my spin bike at home for workouts, and that got me thinking about all the studios that might be struggling. The struggle might be financial, but the real struggle is for people like me (and I assume the owners and teachers) who thrive in that group fitness mentality- push a little more, hold a second longer, one more rep… WE did it!

Melanie Whelan is the focus of this week’s #shessofly feature, as the former CEO of SoulCycle, who led their IPO and continued the company’s vision of a sweaty, blood-pumping, music jamming atmosphere. She said “My role is to align the company around the vision of where SoulCycle is going to be, and then to make sure our team is rallied around the vision and that we have the resources that we need to accomplish what we want to. It's also the unsexy stuff, like the capital and the infrastructure and the process.”

She has a background in corporate fitness, as she previously worked for Equinox, doing business development and launching various programs, including their partnership with SoulCycle. Her favorite part of the job is being in the studios. Melanie starts her day with SoulCycle and Starbucks… honestly sounds betchy, but I LOVE IT! That’s how it should be in my opinion… a CEO should be on the ground of the operation sometimes, learning about the individual parts of the business and connecting with the people.

I’ll leave you with this final quote from Melanie: “SoulCycle is 45 minutes disconnected from tech, from everything around you; a time to get inspired, move your body physically, release endorphins.”

That said, it doesn’t have to be SoulCycle- it can be anything that makes you happy, gets you moving, or inspires you. Besides how totally awesome Melanie Whelan is, the real takeaway here is self care, doing things that make you happy, and taking time to disconnect so you can reconnect.