Charleston Studio Finds That Key to Success is Empowered Instructors

Charleston RIDE turns two years old this week! To celebrate the success of the licensed Spinning® facility in downtown Charleston, South Carolina, I spoke with co-owners Luciana Marcial-Vincion and Rebecca Young about what they feel are the keys to their success. Before you listen to their answers, have a look at Charleston RIDE. (Note: This video was produced by one of their awesome instructors!)

I’ve known Luciana since the early days of Spinning® when we were both on the Master Instructor Team for Mad Dogg Athletics and Spinning®. Luciana serves as the MI Team Manager for the 145 members of the global Spinning® Master Instructor Team, providing field support for all education, administrative, and logistics needs. She manages resource expansion, implements team development strategies, and directs recruiting efforts and training camps for new MIs.

And she runs a rocking Spinning® studio!

If you are the owner of an indoor cycling studio, take note of the some the amazing things they do at Charleston RIDE. Luciana and Rebecca strive to encourage community from within by empowering their instructors and rewarding them for creativity as well as for pursuing education. They set the bar high for all of their instructors—all must be Star 3 Spinning instructors as well as an outdoor cyclists and must exude a passion for their craft. As Rebecca notes in the interview, one of the greatest compliments they have received from a rider is that it’s hard to tell who the owner of the studio is—every single instructor has such pride for working there and passion for what they do, they all appear like they own the studio!

Listen to my interview with both Luciana and Rebecca to learn the keys for creating a successful Spinning® program and facility. It is my hope that all group fitness coordinators and studio owners alike (including those dreaming of opening their own studio) will recognize the importance and benefit of encouraging (or even requiring) a higher level of education from instructors than most studios or facilities do. This can be done through maintaining current certifications (in the case of Charleston RIDE, Star 3 Spinning® qualification), attendance at live workshops and conferences, and membership in industry resources such as the Indoor Cycling Association. It’s also obvious that by empowering and appreciating your instructors you will create an environment that not only attracts customers but also creates a lot less work for yourself. What a dream to have an instructor team like Luciana and Rebecca have at Charleston RIDE!

Listen to my interview with Luciana and Rebecca below
My interview with Luciana and Rebecca

Here is a video of their recent Journey Ride Series:

And finally, here are some images of the Pedal4Pattison Marathon Event from 2013:

As Rebecca noted, Charleston is the top tourist destination in the US for the 3rd year in a row. If you are ever traveling to or through Charleston, make sure to bring your cycling shoes and go for a RIDE!