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Break A Sweat: Building Magic On and Off the Bike with Julie Rice of SoulCycle
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In this episode of Breaking Precedent, host Leah Solivan sits down with Julie Rice, co-founder of SoulCycle and Peoplehood, to discuss how she helped redefine not just boutique fitness, but the modern experience of community. Julie shares how her background in theater and talent management laid the foundation for one of the most iconic wellness brands in the world. Together, they unpack the emotional blueprint behind SoulCycle’s five-part class design, the revolutionary decision to prioritize instructors as full-time talent, and the power of scaling human magic. With Peoplehood, Julie is channeling her obsession with connection into relational health designing group experiences that teach how to actively listen, support, and feel seen.
Guest Bio and Links:
Julie Rice is a serial entrepreneur and community-builder best known as the co-founder of SoulCycle and now Peoplehood, a platform for relational fitness and guided group conversation. Her work centers on designing experiences that build human connection at scale.
Listeners can learn more about Julie Rice through LinkedIn @julierice
Check out Julie’s latest venture Peoplehood, and learn more about Soulcycle
Show Notes:
- (0:00) Leah announces fall 2025 launch of Breaking Precedent!
- (4:30) Leah welcomes founder of Soulcycle, Julie Rice
- (5:00) How precedent breaking shows up for Julie
- (6:00) The intentionality behind building a fitness community
- (8:00) Love of theatre and connecting a stage to Soulcycle
- (14:00) Meeting Elizabeth, Julies business partner
- (16:00) The napkin math that started Soulcycle
- (20:00) Opening the Bridge Hamptons studio
- (20:45) “ It was always supposed to be something that helped you feel empowered, that made you feel like you could be more than you thought you could, that made you feel good in your body, that allowed you to want to communicate differently with support other people.” - J.R
- (23:00) What sets Soulcycle apart from other fitness classes and gorups
- (28:30) Scaling Soulcycle out of cultivating human experience
- (31:00) The number one most important investment - the instructors
- (32:30) The culture of ‘yes’ as a business principle
- (36:00) ”There is a simplicity in knowing people. That is really the biggest gift that people want.” - J.R
- (36:30) Why they never franchised SoulCycle
- (37:30) Partnering with Equinox - the pros and the tradeoffs
- (42:00) Julies’ emotional transition out of Soulcycle
- (44:00) Introducing Peoplehood - realtional health
- (47:00) The art of active listening
- (48:00) SoulCycle and Peoplehood - Are they a sunrise, tide, or rainbow
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Leah Solivan is the host of Breaking Precedent, a podcast that explores the stories of innovators who are pushing societal boundaries and setting new precedents in their fields. Leah is General Partner at Fuel Capital, where she invests in early-stage companies across consumer technology, hardware, education, marketplaces, and retail. Leah has 15 years of experience building and creating technology products that have reached millions of people around the globe. She started her career at IBM as an engineer in the software group, working on Lotus Notes and Domino. In 2008, Leah founded TaskRabbit, the leading on-demand service marketplace in the world.
Connect with Leah:
Website: breakingprecedent.com/
Instagram: @labunleashed
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