Julie Rice

American fitness entrepreneur
Julie Rice
Alma materBinghamton University
Occupation(s)Entrepreneur, CEO, Chief Brand Officer
Known forSoulCycle, WeWork
SpouseSpencer Rice
Children2

Julie Rice in an entrepreneur, investor and co-founder of SoulCycle, a New York City-based fitness company that offers indoor cycling (also known as "spinning") workout classes.

Personal life

Rice studied English and theater at Binghamton University.[1] She is married to Spencer Rice. The couple has two daughters.[2]

Career

SoulCycle San Francisco

Rice worked as a talent manager for exotic dancers in Los Angeles for twenty years. She moved back to New York in 2002.[2] Rice founded SoulCycle in 2006 with Elizabeth Cutler and Ruth Zukerman.[3] SoulCycle's first studio was on the Upper West Side.[4] The three were self-funded with a large amount of the money coming from Cutler's investment in Izze Beverage Company.[1]

Rice sold most of her SoulCycle shares to Equinox Fitness in 2011. She sold the remainder of her shares to Equinox in 2016 for approximately $90 million. She remains on the board.[2]

Rice was named Chief Brand Officer of WeWork in November 2017.[5] She resigned from WeWork in 2019.[6][7]

Rice and Cutler co-founded the company Peoplehood in 2019. The company facilitates guided conversations.[8]

References

  1. ^ a b Li, Shan (August 9, 2015). "SoulCycle founders are peddling fun in the gym". Los Angeles Times.
  2. ^ a b c Romeyn, Kathryn (July 3, 2017). "How an Ex-Talent Manager Co-Founded SoulCycle and Sold for $90M". Hollywood Reporter.
  3. ^ Saint Louis, Catherine (2010-10-10). "In New York, a Rivalry Shifts Into High Gear". New York Times.
  4. ^ Hong, Nicole (2013-09-18). "How I Built It: Cycling Chain SoulCycle Spins Into Fast Lane". Wall Street Journal.
  5. ^ L'Heureux, Catie (November 20, 2017). "SoulCycle Founder Julie Rice Is the New Chief Brand Officer of WeWork". The Cut.
  6. ^ Huet, Ellen; Tan, Gillian (September 17, 2019). "WeWork Makes Small Round of Staff Cuts, Hours After Delaying IPO". finance.yahoo.com via Bloomberg. Retrieved 2019-12-16.
  7. ^ Sherman, Gabriel (November 21, 2019). ""You Don't Bring Bad News to the Cult Leader": Inside the Fall of WeWork". Vanity Fair. Retrieved 2019-12-16.
  8. ^ Deczynski, Rebecca (2021-10-26). "What SoulCycle Founders Julie Rice and Elizabeth Cutler Learned About Listening to Customers and Building Community". Inc.com. Retrieved 2022-03-11.