I’ve got a solid list of my top three Peloton instructors; Oliva Amato, Kendall Toole and Cody Rigsby. I like Sam Yo too. A former monk, his zen like presence makes me forget that I’m grasping for air as I pedal my brains out. I’m even an Alex Toussaint fan sometimes. He’s tough though; I won’t admit it publicly I admit that he taught the only ride I ever thought about quitting halfway through.
So, when Peloton added Argentinian-born, Miami raised instructor Camila Ramón to their roster as the first to teach Cycling classes in English AND Spanish, I was nervous. Would she be my new favorite instructor? Would I be breaking Oliva’s heart if I leave her classes for Ramón’s? Would Oliva know that user baldiebutgoodie left her for another? (Does Oliva even know who I am?) What will Cody Rigsby say when I’m not there to laugh at his jokes? Should I take a class in English or Spanish?
One thirty-minute workout with her and I feel like the 8 pastelitos I ate last week during my visit to Miami stand no chance.
While Ramón is not the first Latinx Peloton instructor, she is the first to celebrate her deep connection to the Latino community as part of her public facing brand story. That’s a big differentiation between her and the other Latinx instructors on the team. To share her Latina heritage front and center means Peloton recognizes the presence of the large, growing Latinx population. And, it pays homage to our nation as a nation of immigrants.
The move feels like an intentional shift for Peloton, whose high-end exercise bikes and treadmills start at $1,495; a product that typically appeals to well-off, white 24-64 year old married-with-kids suburbanites. Whether it’s because Peloton’s Latinx audience is growing, because they want it to grow or because they want to be more inclusive as a company (which I’ve always felt they are), marketing Camila Ramón’s immigrant pride to its audience helps to further the immigration conversation and build bridges. To me, this is good.
And, for the record I’m a Camila Ramón fan now. Not just because she’s Latina. But, because her energy is authentic and contagious. Her skills as an instructor rock and her Latin flair makes me feel at home, reminiscing of being a kid in South Florida. One thirty-minute workout with her and I feel like the 8 pastelitos I ate last week during my visit to Miami stand no chance. (Yes, eight. Don’t judge me. Judge me. I even brought three boxes with me on the plane home.)
I’ll take a Camila class any day. Which, appears to be true for many others too; the replay class I took showed 4,247 other people riding with me at the same time. That’s a lot of people bouncing up and down, tapping it back to Bad Bunny, reggaeton and EDM at the same time in their basements. I can’t wait to take my second Camila Ramón class.
Pero la proximo vez en español.
The Latest From Startup Cuba
Ken Deckinger
Ken Deckinger is the co-founder and CEO of Startup Cuba and the executive producer and host of its namesake docuseries. A native of South Florida, Ken has been an entrepreneur for his entire professional career. Previously he was co-founder and CEO of HurryDate, pioneering the global concept of speed dating to 45 cities throughout the US, UK and Canada. HurryDate eventually evolved into online dating and was acquired by Spark Networks, the parent company of ChristianMingle.com and JDate.com. Ken is a graduate of Boston College and the University of Florida, where he was honored with the University’s Alumni Entrepreneur of the Year Under 40 award and sits on the Board for the Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation. He actively advises entrepreneurs and is a two-time protagonist of a Harvard Business School case study. Ken’s filmmaking and journalistic journey is inspired by a love of travel and authentic connections with other cultures. He believes that the more we know about each other, through stories, the closer we can become — thus the mission of Startup Cuba: to amplify the voices of the people sharing stories in the Latinx space. After living in New York City for 15 years, he encouraged his wife to move their family to Miami to get back to his South Florida roots. Needless to say, it was a short discussion and he and his family now call Boston, where his wife grew up, their home.
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