Think You Can’t Because Someone Else Already Did? Hello, Flywheel!

by Karen Elizaga | Posted: August 13th, 2010 | No Comments »

So many people have great ideas. But a big chunk of them (me included!) don’t do one thing toward turning those ideas into reality because someone else has been there, done that. And to be fair, maybe that someone else has done it super well! My experience at Flywheel Sports in Sag Harbor reminded me again that it’s action that separates the doers from the dreamers and that you can launch a new product, service or idea even if there are successful others that have come before you!

I love spinning and have always thought it would be a fun business prospect. Back in the mid-90′s when spinning hit the cooler gyms, I encouraged my brother to open up a spinning studio in Hawaii. I had the passion for and belief in it and maybe would have done it if it weren’t for two things (1) I lived in New York and (2) I was a brand spanking new lawyer. He didn’t. Excuses, excuses.

Since then, spinning has become totally mainstream and is in virtually every gym across the country. I’ve seen some amazing instructors in London, too. The point is, it’s everywhere. So when Soul Cycle came out in 2006, I thought, how could this be any different, and who would go there when our gyms that we already pay dues to already offer it? People came, and they came in droves. And I loved (and continue to love!) it! But that’s gotta be it, right? There couldn’t possibly be any more space for another spinning studio….

Ruth Zukerman thought not! Just over a year ago, a former celebrity instructor at Soul Cycle, Ruth, together with a partner, opened up a couple of spinning studios in Manhattan and then, just in time for last summer, she opened a third location in Sag Harbor! One might think, with so many fitness options in both Manhattan and the Hamptons, that yet another spinning studio would fall flat on its face. No way!

I was floored when I walked into the Sag Harbor studio to face 60 bikes, situated stadium style! My good friend Jen and I, guests of my dear friend Pam, sat in the last row. I abhor the last row in any fitness class, generally, but this was fantastic! I looked down over the rows (the class was packed!) in front of us to see our instructor, none other than Ruth Zukerman herself, killin’ it on her bike!

On top of the physical space, Flywheel offers up accoutrements that I’ve not seen in any other spinning class… mini computers on each bike with the torq and RPM read outs, capability of posting your progress on a monitor to check your pace against others’, and free use of bike shoes. Their bikes are also so new that the seats are of the new cushion-y ilk. I didn’t even need my gel seat!

Flywheel. Ruth Zukerman. Courage. Vision. She’s done what plenty have done (well!) before. And she’s doing it better! So yeah, there are people who’d been there, done that. But Ruth has proven there was opportunity for more!

What idea are you holding back on? Can you take some inspiration from Ruth? I definitely am! Let’s DO… forget the DID!