The Untold Truth Of These Peloton Instructors

While quarantine and the lockdowns have been difficult for countless reasons, they also opened the door for a whole new type of celebrity. TikTokers became A-listers, Dr. Anthony Fauci went from physician to internet crush, and big cat zoo owners shot to viral fame. But this list of new stars wouldn't be complete without the fitness instructors who helped millions of people get through some of the most challenging days. Over 30 instructors have become Peloton users' motivators, bright lights — and yes, even best friends — during an otherwise very dark time. Business Insider even declared that some Peloton users found that their "bike changed their lives and helped them to quit therapy." 

As more and more gyms closed, the Peloton community grew to over 3 million users and the instructors have become celebrities in their own right. One look at their social media pages and you'll see what we mean. Many of them have hundreds of thousands of followers, partner with huge brands, and have been featured by major outlets, including Vogue, ESPN, Today, Vanity Fair, and more. But the road to fitness fame and internet stardom hasn't always been easy for many of these instructors. As they've become more famous, Peloton instructors have revealed more about their backstories and personal lives. And so, we're going to dive into everything you need to know about your favorite teachers, as we uncover the untold truth of Peloton instructors.

Robin Arzón's fans know she's a Type-1 diabetic, a bestselling author, and that before Peloton, she was a corporate lawyer. What they might not know about, however, is the near death experience that led to swap fitness for litigation.

In May 2019, Arzón revealed to ESPN that in 2002, she and 40 others were held hostage at a wine bar in New York City. Arzón recalled being held at gunpoint and covered in kerosene as the perpetrator threatened them with a lighter and shot other patrons. Thankfully, police were able to intervene before the situation escalated any further. This traumatic experience is what got Arzón into fitness. She said, "That incident is the reason I started running, because I physically needed to run the trauma out."

A year later, Arzón competed in her first race, and immediately fell in love with the sport. While she struggled through this 10K, since then, she's run 26 marathons, "three 50-mile ultramarathons and one hundred-miler." According to her Instagram page, Arzón is now the head instructor at Peloton and a VP of the company. She's also amassed around 700,000 followers on IG, where she posts about health, fitness, and occasionally her husband Drew Butler (who proposed to her after only three days). And throughout Butler and Arzón's first pregnancy, she taught Peloton's first prenatal classes.

Peloton members love Alex Toussaint's Club Bangers rides and notoriously difficult classes, but like many of the other instructors, Toussaint's success wasn't overnight. In April 2020, he spoke to Military Families Magazine about how he uses the discipline he learned at military school to push Peloton riders. In the interview, he also revealed his journey to the Peloton stage.

He recalled a "weird, dark depression" after his car was stolen in college. Around this same time, Toussaint started working as a maintenance worker at Flywheel, another indoor cycling studio. After spending so much time cleaning the studio, Toussaint asked the owner if he could audition to be an instructor. When looking back, Toussaint said that it was his discipline from years of military school and his rhythm from being in marching band that made him a natural on the spin bike. He said, "I literally went from one week mopping floors to the next week teaching a class."

Now, Toussaint is a favorite Peloton instructor for many professional athletes like pro golfer Bubba Watson and NFL star Cam Newton. In May 2020, Toussaint even taught one of the pro-athlete filled Peloton races that aired live on ESPN. He told the outlet that, "I'm providing an athlete workout. I call it the 'this ain't daycare' kind of energy. We're not here to twiddle our thumbs."

While it's hard to believe when taking her Peloton classes now, Tunde Oyeneyin struggled with obesity while growing up. Oyeneyin is known in the Peloton community for her motivation, tough love, and ability to have necessary conversations about topics like the Black Lives Matter movement. Oyeneyin has these honest discussions both on and off the bike, but many of Oyeneyin's fans might not know about her own fitness journey.

Speaking with Today, Oyeneyin revealed that when she was 13, she weighed 200 pounds and wore a size 18. She recalled always being "the biggest girl" in class. Oyeneyin said her struggles with her weight stemmed from her parents' Nigerian culture, in which "food is such a focal point." But she hit a breaking point with her weight in middle school when a dress didn't come in her size, so her mom had to sew two dresses together.

Oyeneyin originally set out to lose weight, but over time, she "decided to focus on what [she] was gaining rather than losing." Among the things Oyeneyin has gained are friends, self confidence, and a new career (before spinning she was a makeup artist). But even Peloton didn't come easy to her at first. In December 2020, Oyeneyin told Vanity Fair that she didn't land the gig after her first audition. Eight months later, she got a second chance and "made sure the second time they couldn't say no."

While Peloton is headquartered in New York City and most of the classes are filmed at their NYC studio, the fitness giant also has studios overseas. Sam Yo is one of the Peloton instructors that teaches out of its London studios. And ever since Yo's first classes in November 2019, he's been beloved by the Peloton community.

While many of the Peloton instructors have interesting backstories, Yo's might take the cake. Why? Because Yo used to be a Buddhist monk in Thailand. Speaking with  People, Yo talked about his experience coming from a Thai family and being the first generation to grow up in England. Yo recalled taking Thai lessons from monks in London and found that monks helped him connect to his heritage. And eventually, Yo told People that he realized he needed to become a monk himself to fully understand his roots. 

So at 23, Yo put his life on hold and moved to a monastery in Thailand. He told People that he only planned on staying at the monastery for a month or so, but he ended up staying there for 10 months. After discovering a newfound love for a "routine lifestyle," Yo left the monastery for London, where he made fitness his new life goal. Yo's time as a monk sets him apart from all the other Peloton instructors. He told People that, "I've been told I'm very calm in the way I teach."

In October 2020, Peloton's Christine D'Ercole told Insider that she wanted to be a ballerina while she was growing up. Unfortunately, she faced repeated rejection because of her size. D'Ercole told the outlet, "My thighs were twice the size of all the other little girls. ... I was just bigger. I was too big." While this realization was heartbreaking at the time, D'Ercole is now a top fitness instructor and uses those same strong thighs to her advantage while teaching Peloton classes.

D'Ercole eventually traded ballet for acting, and became a bike messenger to make extra money. Interestingly enough, her side hustle became her passion when she realized she was a natural on the bike. D'Ercole felt like she found her purpose and left acting behind to pursue cycling.

D'Ercole went on to become a world and national track cycling champion (she's the only Peloton instructor with these accolades). D'Ercole also started teaching spin classes at Soul Cycle, but she never got comfortable there. In 2014, Peloton reached out and she found her perfect match. When inspiring others in her classes, D'Ercole said that she often taps back into the negative comments she received about her thighs in ballet class. The Peloton instructor said, "Self talk is about embracing where I am, not judging myself, and reminding myself that I am bigger than a smaller pair of pants."