One Year In Review
Mcycle’s most recent major milestone was the biggest yet.. their 1 year anniversary! The community celebrated with free smoothies, a private party for our M-100 Club and M-Unlimited members, and more Celsius than we could count. With one year under their belt, we are starting a blog to tell people their story and spread the message about the magic of Mcycle. To kick things off, we are recapping their first year - full of ups and downs.
Opening Day - Aug 2019
On August 24th, 2019 Mcycle studios officially opened. The opening day was the culmination of a year's worth of design, construction, and training — not to mention the years of brainstorming and incubation in the minds of Megan and Richmond. The pressure was high on opening day. Would the classes fill? Would the instructors produce? Would mentors and investors be satisfied? Would the vision and plan really work? Could Mcycle be the best version of itself?
Nerves aside, the first day could not have gone any smoother. The energy was high and classes were full. Megan taught an incredible class to start the morning and the rest of the instructors brought energy and excitement, even if they didn’t yet have the same polish. Popping the cork at the grand opening party that evening felt like a well-earned treat.
Compared to opening day, the first weeks were slow. In a studio with 48 bikes, eight to twelve people was the normal along with the occasional empty session. Of all the opening day instructors, only one had any prior teaching experience. But they trusted in their message and trusted the instructors to deliver both on the bike and in crafting their own personal brands to fill the studio. With that experience came a following of clients. The support and love felt from the community in such a short amount of time was a special experience.
As September, October, and November 2019 came, Mcycle started to really hit its stride. They discovered unique personalities with classes like Lindsay’s Trap Thursday, Megan’s Booty Builders, Champagne Sunday’s with Erin, and Benja’s Latin Lunes. Classes began to have more and more people in them and with that, the potential for fun grew. That fun continued in the locker rooms as relationships developed deeper and our community began to feel more and more like a family.
With growth comes challenges, and Mcycle wasn’t immune. As we rolled into 2020, the only words to describe the start of the new year are momentum, momentum, momentum! Big company challenges that everyone bought into. New riders were coming every day. They were selling out with 50 bikes in the studio on a regular basis. Trap Thursday was a hot ticket and weekends were always crazy, full classes. The energy in the room was through the roof! The instructor team solidified and truly became family. It became clear that the company values of mind, movement, and music had won over people and that our community was bigger than any one instructor.
Unforeseen Challenges - COVID Strikes
Like most of the world - the beginning of March sent us into a coma. The Coronavirus pandemic forced us to close our doors for two months. On top of that, the earthquakes in mid-March cracked multiple walls in the studio. For a moment, the state of Mcycle was pretty bleak. Mcycle had to pivot… and do it quickly. With that, Mcycle @ Home was born. In that time, it was incredible to see the MCycle community continue to flourish. Every day saw new posts of people completing rides in their living rooms and basements, or even picturesque outdoor locales. It was nice to know that there was a community all experiencing the same isolation but trying to keep the family alive.
Creating the class video format proved to be a bit of a challenge. Beyond the technicalities of recording a class -- finding the right angles, keeping things consistent, and publishing them on a secure page -- it proved a challenge for the instructors, many of whom worked without pay at that time, to give strong classes. The videos didn’t allow for much if any off-bike time, and any error in footwork and miss-step meant recording that section all over again. Not to mention trying to produce a high energy class in an empty room. It was important to stay connected with the community, yet still, deliver the premium quality classes the community has come to expect.
After two and a half months, the potential of opening started to seem real. After closely following the guidelines and recommendations, Mcycle made the bold step to reopen. With just 20 bikes in the room, they carefully braved into unknown territory. Due to the meticulous, open floor plan design, the facilities were easy to keep clean and seamlessly add additional procedures to make the studio COVID friendly.
Rebirth - New Focus, New Attitude
Since reopening, the studio has seen fluctuating growth. This is to be expected as news of the virus ebbs and flows. But overall, the feeling of family is stronger than ever. There is nothing like having something taken away to make you appreciate it all the more. Both the classes and the community themselves have flourished, and is stronger than ever. As Richmond stated at the anniversary party, “Mcycle is more than just a community. People live in neighborhoods and don’t know each other’s names, yet we call that a ‘community’. That is not Mcycle though. No, Mcycle has become a family. We know each other. We look after each other. We inspire one another. It is a chosen family.”
Going forward, Megan and Richmond are excited to continue to roll out the full vision of Mcycle. MVMT (movement) classes officially kicked off last weekend, and will soon be adding the MNDFL classes to complete the mantra - Mind, Movement, Music. (this is where the M of Mcycle comes from.) They are also actively working on opening studio number 2, where their love and dedication can continue to grow with the incredible people of SLC.
They also want to thank the Mcycle community for your continued support. “You are what makes Mcycle so special.” Cheers to overcoming anything thrown our way. The best is yet to come!