Stacey Griffith

Founding Senior Master Instructor, SoulCycle

About This Expert

Stacey Griffith is a celebrated fitness leader and one of the defining instructors behind SoulCycle’s rise from a single boutique studio to a globally recognized lifestyle brand. As a founding senior master instructor and an early hire, Stacey became one of the company’s most visible and trusted voices—teaching thousands of riders, attracting celebrity clients, and becoming synonymous with the emotive, motivational style that helped differentiate SoulCycle in a crowded fitness market.

Griffith’s career spans decades of teaching indoor cycling and group fitness. Her approach blends rigorous physical training with a storytelling-led, high-energy delivery that transforms a 45-minute workout into an emotional, community-driven experience. That pedagogy—intense, personal, and intentionally theatrical—made instructors like Stacey the face of the SoulCycle brand: riders came for the workout but stayed for the connection, the coaching, and the sense of belonging her classes offered. Media profiles have singled her out as a “cult” favorite and a model of what the brand sells beyond exercise: inspiration.

Beyond the studio floor, Stacey has contributed to SoulCycle’s brand development in concrete ways. By consistently selling out classes, cultivating a loyal base of repeat riders (including high-profile clients), and representing SoulCycle in public media and writing, she helped reinforce the company’s positioning as aspirational, intimate, and community-first. Her charisma and ability to translate personal resilience into coaching moments turned first-time riders into evangelists—word-of-mouth that was crucial in SoulCycle’s early expansion.

Stacey has parlayed her instructor platform into authorship and thought leadership. She has written about motivation, resilience, and recovery, and has contributed columns and motivational pieces that extend her voice beyond the studio—positioning her as both practitioner and messenger. That multiplatform presence is the kind of instructor-led content strategy that helped SoulCycle scale a human brand: not only selling classes, but selling stories, rituals, and an identity.

What sets Stacey apart is the combination of craft and authenticity. She is known for the discipline of her teaching—often running hundreds of classes a year—and for turning personal trials into coaching tools that resonate with diverse audiences. Her longevity, professionalism, and ability to cultivate community illustrate how an individual instructor can be a cornerstone of a brand’s emotional architecture: she’s not only a teacher of fitness but a builder of belonging.

Today Stacey Griffith is known and sought after as a senior master instructor whose imprint on SoulCycle is indelible. While the corporate founders built the business framework, instructors like Stacey built the brand experience—one packed room, one converted rider, and one heartfelt cue at a time. Her career is a case study in how frontline talent, when elevated and amplified, becomes the true living brand of an experience-driven company.