S16, BONUS EPISODE: Cody Rigsby on queerness, addiction and being Rishi Sunak's favourite Peloton instructor

How To Fail With Elizabeth Day

Sony Music

Society & Culture

4.7 • 9.6K Ratings

🗓️ 29 March 2023

⏱️ 60 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

TW: addictionRegular listeners of How To Fail will know that I love Peloton: the one-stop fitness workout which offers cycling, strength, yoga and more. THIS IS NOT AN AD, JUST A GENUINE FEELING! Anyway, the undisputed King of Peloton is Cody Rigsby - an instructor who brings a combination of poptastic joy and savage sass to the bike. He is one of the most popular instructors on the platform, with over 1 million Instagram followers, and counts Prime Minister Rishi Sunak amongst his die-hard fans.But Rigsby had a tough upbringing: his father died of a drug overdose when Cody was just four months old. Raised by a single mother who also had addiction issues, Rigsby endured spells of homelessness and financial instability. Growing up queer in North Carolina, he struggled to find role models or representation, which is why, on the Peloton bike, he uses it as 'a Trojan horse' of acceptance. Rigsby also talks movingly for the first time about losing his friend Oliver to addiction and his belief that he failed to intervene until it was too late.Even if you've never stepped foot near a Peloton, I promise you this is an interview that will move and entertain you in equal measure.--My new book, FRIENDAHOLIC: Confessions of a Friendship Addict, is published tomorrow and is available to order - at half price - here.--How To Fail With Elizabeth Day is hosted and produced by Elizabeth Day. To contact us, email howtofailpod@gmail.com--Social Media:Elizabeth Day @elizabdayHow To Fail @howtofailpodCody Rigsby @codyrigsby Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hello and welcome to How to Fail with Elizabeth Day. The podcast that celebrates the things
0:19.2	that haven't gone right. This is a podcast about learning from our mistakes and understanding
0:25.5	that why we fail ultimately makes us stronger because learning how to fail in life actually means
0:32.2	learning how to succeed better. I'm your host, author and journalist Elizabeth Day and every
0:38.4	week I'll be asking a new interviewee what they've learned from failure. I am so excited I get to
0:45.8	introduce today's guest but first a story. In early 2019 my husband stayed on a hotel that had a
0:52.4	gym with a peloton bike in it. He took a Cody Rigsby ride and came back raving about the
0:57.8	experience to such an extent that we ended up buying our own peloton. I was skeptical at first
1:04.7	because I loved my in-person spin classes but then I did a Cody Rigsby ride. He played Britney
1:11.0	Spears and Christina Aguilera and encouraged me to work harder than I thought possible with plenty
1:16.3	of motivational speal and hilarious anecdotes involving his fan belief that Kevin is the hottest
1:22.3	of the back street boys. Listener I was a total convert. Today I get to meet the icon himself.
1:30.4	Cody Rigsby was born in California but raised in North Carolina. For someone who brings such joy
1:36.4	to so many of us he had a tough start in life. His father died when he was young and he was raised
1:42.1	by his single mother Cindy. There were spells of financial insecurity and homelessness.
1:48.7	Unable to afford dance classes he learned choreography from Britney Spears videos.
1:54.6	After university he became a dancer in night clubs and gay bars as well as working for Katie Perry
2:00.2	Nicki Minaj and Pitbull. It was a choreographer at a Burles club who first told him about peloton,
2:07.8	a fitness company looking to hire performers as instructors. The rest is history. Rigsby is now one of
2:15.2	the most popular instructors on the platform with over 1 million Instagram followers. He counts
2:20.9	British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak amongst his die hard fans. His rides are always fun but also
2:28.7	challenging. You're like how am I going to do this? Rigsby says and somehow you do it. That's
	...

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