Where: SoulCycle, 103 Warren Street, New York, NY

I Have Witnessed a Form of Hero Worship: Laurie Worship

Well it certainly took me long enough (I signed into the SoulCycle site at the stroke of noon for three consecutive Mondays, and was waitlisted and ultimately rejected for Laurie’s class three times). But, I FINALLY made it to the big kahuna of Soul classes. On St. Patrick’s Day, no less, so I was in for an extra special show.

[Click here to review Laurie's class yourself, or check out her RateYourBurn profile here.]

On Laurie:

• She drank a full Guinness before class started. Then she drank another full Guinness WHILE RIDING THE BIKE. Allow me to quote: “Do not try this at home kids. This does not feel good going down.”
• She wore a green feather boa, shiny beads and a green bandana. Apparently St. Patty's is Laurie's "thing".
• So. We know that Laurie is irreverent. She’s also super confident. She was working her way around the room, turning up resistance, grabbing people's hands, generally pumping up the room.
• She did a sexy, grind-y, stripper-like dance against her bike (and incorporated her green props). She looked pretty good doing it too.

On the crowd:

• This crowd was PUMPED and being totally vocal about it. One man literally roared his approval for about 30 of the 45 minutes in class.
• There were two guys in the center of the front row who were staring at Laurie with a look of naked adoration on their faces throughout the entire ride. I would love for any guy I am dating to look at me that way, ever.

On the class:

• Laurie’s “I do what I want” attitude is the driving force behind the ride - it felt wild. We were pretty much going balls-to-the-wall the entire time with Laurie breezing around the room, encouraging people to turn up their resistance, hanging on their handlebars, generally acting like the queen of the ride.
• “Today we are going to ride with the energy with which we want to live.” This is Laurie’s mantra- she says it a lot. Including in this video, which should give you a general synopsis of Laurie’s teaching style (minus the Guinness and the screaming that was happening when I took her class).

• The music was (mostly) Irish-themed. I had no idea that U2 was so great to spin to, but you add a techno beat behind it and “It’s a Beautiful Day” could be about indoor cycling, for real. Minus the part about it being a beautiful day outside.

All-told:

It was a tough, solid class, but I think it's Laurie’s charisma and her knack for making her devotees feel special that's the real reason behind her popularity.

At one point Laurie said, “I love you, my riders. I think about you all the time. I dream about you. Everything I do is for you”. So it looks like the worship is mutual.

From the SoulCycle website: Laurie Cole brings us her motivational SOUL all the way from the West Coast. Born and bred in Los Angeles, her dance background combined with her unique sense of rhythm and diverse taste in music make each of her awesome classes a true cardio party! Her focus on form, and ability to push SoulCyclist's to their limits take her classes to a whole different level. Formerly a competitive gymnast and dancer, Laurie is a certified cycling instructor and has been teaching cycling for nine years. When she is not rocking-out on a bike, Laurie is also an actress with a background in Theater, Film and Television. Laurie resides in New York City with her pets Evie and Elvis.

Find out more about SoulCycle at www.soul-cycle.com 

Find Laurie on facebook 

Follow Laurie on twitter 

Read more about Laurie on US Magazine online and on a class review at ABC News website  

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