- Flywheel Sports is shutting down its indoor cycling and barre studios, sources close to the matter have told Insider.
- In recent days, several instructors have shared public social-media posts reflecting on their years of teaching at Flywheel Sports and thanking their "#FlyFam" and devoted class attendees.
- The fitness chain was founded in 2010 and had 42 studios in locations across the US at its height.
- In March, Flywheel Sports laid off 98% of its employees, due to the coronavirus pandemic's impact on in-person boutique fitness experiences.
- Representatives for Flywheel Sports did not respond to Insider's requests for comment on the status of the company and its studios.
- Visit Insider's homepage for more stories.
Instructors at the cycling studio chain Flywheel Sports saying their goodbyes to their devoted class attendees on social media — an ominous message that could signal the closures of remaining studios.
At its height, Flywheel Sports, which was founded in 2010, had 42 indoor cycling and barre studios around the United States, including locations in California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Washington state, and Washington, DC.
In March, the coronavirus pandemic caused boutique fitness studios around the US to temporarily close. That month, Flywheel Sports temporarily laid off 98% of its employees.
Now, many instructors and devoted riders appear to be finding out, largely through social media, that studios appear to be closing.
A source close to the matter told Insider that they received news that Flywheel Sports will close its remaining locations via an Instagram message from a friend who they said were employed at Flywheel Sports' corporate headquarters in New York City and was laid off on September 11.
The same source told Insider that some employees who were laid off on September 11 "posted individually on Instagram" to announce that Flywheel Sports would be closing.
The source added that "most instructors heard for the first time through someone else's posts."
A former Flywheel employee who said they were laid off in March, and spoke to Insider on the condition of anonymity, said that at the time company executives told laid-off staff they would be welcome to rejoin the company in the future.
A separate source close to the matter told Insider that Flywheel Sports members and class attendees have not received an official email from the company and have "found out through social-media posts from instructors" that their studios are closing.
Mike Piscadlo, Flywheel Sports' vice president of operations and people, told Insider in a LinkedIn message on Monday that he no longer works for the company and declined to provide further comment.
Representatives for Flywheel Sports did not respond to Insider's requests for comment on the status of the company and its studios.
In recent days, several Flywheel Sports instructors have shared public Instagram and Facebook posts tagging the official @FlywheelSports Instagram handle and using the hashtag #FlyFam to write about their journeys with the fitness studio.
At the time of writing, Flywheel Sports has not shared an announcement regarding studio closures on its official social-media pages.
However, some apparent Flywheel Sports class attendees have written on Twitter that their studio locations are closing.
And on Sunday, a Flywheel Sports location in New York City's Williamsburg, Brooklyn, neighborhood shared an Instagram post thanking its attendees for "the last three wonderful years."
"Every rider, instructor, manager, and studio coordinator played an important role in making our studio home. We will miss your smiles, your PR's, your running in last minute (thanks L train) and all the fun memories you have given us since we opened in April 2017," the post read.
The Instagram account for the Flywheel Sports location in Williamsburg also updated its account's bio description to say "2017 – 2020."
In August 2019, Flywheel Sports closed 11 of its locations due to mounting competition with at-home cycling products, such as the Peloton bike.
"We decided to take a look at our national footprint and close studios that were under-performing," a Flywheel spokesperson previously told Bloomberg of its 2019 studio closures.
Flywheel Sports was launched in 2010 by cofounders Jay Galluzzo, David Seldin, and Ruth Zukerman, who also co-founded the competitor studio chain SoulCycle.
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