Woman Sues After Falling off SoulCycle Bike

If you keep up with the latest exercise trends at all, you’ve certainly heard of SoulCycle. It’s a New York based fitness company that operates in many major cities and the classes are based on indoor cycling or “spinning.” The company promises “at SoulCycle we believe that fitness can be joyful. We climb, we jog, we sprint, we dance, we set our intention, and we break through boundaries. The best part? We do it together, as a community.” But one woman doesn’t appear to feel particularly welcomed by that community–a Los Angeles woman Carmen Farias is suing the exercise company after she dislocated her ankle during a 2014 class.

Farias claims that she went to the class in July of 2014, as part of a free promotion from her workplace. But she had never been to a spin class before, and alleges that she was not given proper training. She also claims that she didn’t sign the waiver that SoulCycle provides, which includes some basic bike riding instructions.

According to Farias, she had a hard time keeping up with the rather intense exercise class. She then claims that her instructor, Angela Davis, mocked her and told her that “we don’t take breaks.” Farias kept peddling, and eventually lost control and fell off the exercise bike. According to Buzzfeed News, the complaint reads:

Carmen was in serious peril. With the music blaring and in the shadowy darkness, Carmen was isolated on her spinning cycle. Her feet were locked to the pedals and the pedals just kept turning. Fatigue and disorientation overcame Carmen and she fell to her right and off of the saddle of the spinning cycle.

Her complaint alleges that she was “catastrophically injured” at the class. It also posits that her fall and subsequent injury were as a result of the negligence of both SoulCycle and her instructor. SoulCycle doesn’t appear to have returned requests for a comment to other news outlets, but it’s doubtful that this incident will slow the number of celebrities who frequent the exercise establishments.

Anneliese Mahoney

Anneliese Mahoney is Managing Editor at Law Street and a Connecticut transplant to Washington D.C. She has a Bachelor’s degree in International Affairs from the George Washington University, and a passion for law, politics, and social issues. Contact Anneliese at amahoney@LawStreetMedia.com.