Pedaling passion: From cleaner to cycle instructor
It's a little before 10:45 a.m. on a recent Friday and a song by Eminem is blasting from an army of speakers studding the walls of SoulCycle's studio in Washington.
"Hi! My name is (what?)/My name is (who?)/
My name is Slim Shady …"
Wayne Phillips, however, needs no introduction. When the 6-foot-3, 24-year-old instructor enters the room, the sellout crowd of 58 cyclists sits up straighter.
All eyes focus on him as he ascends the votive-lit podium, adjusts his headset and faces the sea of spandex. It's like a maestro tapping the stand. Then, for 45 minutes, he leads an intense, nonstop cycling workout - at one point incorporating 1-pound weights.
After class, riders crowd around Phillips for a hello.
He's known as Wayne the Train, an alter ego that has spawned the hashtag #waynetrain that clients use when posting selfies with him. His wayneknowsdope Instagram feed is full of song recommendations and encouragement.
It's surprising to learn that this idolized instructor started as a cleaner and became a bike-studio star in less than a year.
Modest beginnings
There was no hint that the shy Brooklyn boy raised by an accountant father and a social worker mother would someday possess such an impressive physique and intense athleticism.
"He was a chubby kid," says Phillips' older sister, Quana Bell, 33. It wasn't until their mother died from breast cancer when Phillips was 14 that he started juicing and eating healthy, Bell says.
"He saw our mother doing that when she was sick."
Another legacy his mother left him is his love of music. Some of the songs she played have found their way onto Phillips' playlists.
One summer, Phillips took a job on the cleaning staff at SoulCycle's SoHo studio in New York to earn money for graduate school. He wiped down the bikes and cleaned the bathrooms.
In the fall, he clipped in for the first time. "I wasn't in the best shape," he remembers.
Training, teaching
But by March 2014, cheered on by instructors who noticed his talent, he was auditioning to become one himself.
The job offered him a stage where he could share his interest in both fitness and music. "I want people to walk out of my class and say, 'What just happened? I just danced,'" he says.
After a 12-week training program, Phillips became the first SoulCycle employee to transition from cleaning staff to instructor, leading classes in New York before co-founder Julie Rice chose him to move to the Washington studio in January.
"The riders see him as a celebrity," assistant manager Jen Cahn says.
SoulCycle depends on the charisma of its instructors to make its $30-per-class prices worth it. Phillips has the energy - and thoughtfully prepared playlists - but he also supplies support and a challenge.
"He sees everyone from the front row to the back," says Clinton Alsip, a regular. "It's like one-on-one attention in a group of 58." And there is no slacking.
"It's a really, really tough class," Alsip continues. "My socks are wet when I'm with Wayne."
Cycle playlist
A sample of Wayne the Train's workout playlist
<span class="fact box text bold">"Hola' Hovito"</span> by Jay Z: "Always like to start off with my favorite artist," Phillips says.
<span class="fact box text bold">"Alright"</span> by Kendrick Lamar: "This song calls for a nice thick climb and grind."
<span class="fact box text bold">"1960 What?"</span> by Gregory Porter:"Like to give my riders a listen to some music they don't usually hear."
<span class="fact box text bold">"Berzerk"</span> by Eminem: "Something aggressive always gets the heart going; combo Eminem with some electric guitar."
<span class="fact box text bold">"The Whistle Song"</span> by Frankie Knuckles: "The godfather of house music; such a huge impact on my earlychildhood."