Janet Fitzgerald
speaker
84 appearances
2 recordings
1 series
first heard May 2025
last heard May 2025
Janet Fitzgerald’s voice in public audio — every appearance, attributed to the second.
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Appearances
SoulCycle has opened in New York City, the very first studio fitness of its kind. And Julie's here trying to like sell to these women who are going like, I can get all of this at a gym. Why am I coming to this back alley, stinky, small little studio?
So these women did not have an easy time of it, trying to sell people on it. And she began to email me and try to recruit me. And her and Elizabeth would fly into Los Angeles and take class. And we'd go to Earth Cafe down the street and have breakfast. And they would try to talk me into coming. And every time I'd say no.
When I got here, Julie and Elizabeth signed me up to take Ruth's class. I had no idea at the time that they were on the rocks or anything was going south. I just knew that the girls were in business together. Remember, Janet was Julie's muse back in L.A. at Body and Soul. Julie had told me that Ruth's idea of staffing was that they should just really comb the United States.
To find the biggest and the best instructors and bring them to New York City because she didn't really feel this is hearsay. But according to Julie, Ruth didn't feel like she could train someone just to be a great instructor and that you need to go out and find the greatest. That's part of it. We had a very different concept in how to create an instructor. And I benefited from that.
So when she went to Flywheel and I said, I can train anyone. Matter of fact, I'd rather train some creative little magical unicorn at the front desk than I would ever take some sloppy leftovers in the fitness industry that they've taught everything. You know what I mean? I don't want that person because they don't know how...
to break it down and be raw and real and present because they're still teaching from whatever method they've been teaching all these years and it's dry and boring. And so it takes a long time for me to undo an old dog and very little time for me to create a new hot puppy.
Finally, Julie said, I'm going to bring you to New York. I'm going to put you up for a couple of weeks, you and your girlfriend. I'll fly you out here. I'll pay you whatever you need to make. And she said, I'm going to bring you to New York. And let's just try that. And then I'll make you a final offer. If you don't take it, I'll leave you alone.
And I was like, honey, we're going for Christmas to New York City because I had no intention. By the way, Julie was an agent. She doesn't take no for an answer and she gets everything she wants, period. That's all.
Tracy, my girlfriend, and I came to New York. We were greeted in the street, and she gave me keys to an apartment and a bottle of Stag's Leap red wine. And I was like, this is great. This is a good start. And I don't recall now where that apartment was, but I do know it was a walk-up. Very disturbing for this Los Angeles person. I don't know if it was a three or four flight walk up. Okay.
I'm not even used to walking. We don't walk in Los Angeles. You get in your car, you circle 20 times before you decide to leave because there's not a closer parking place and there's no laundry. So I'm like lugging my sweaty shit down the street to the local laundromat. My feet hurt. It's raining. I'm freezing. I'm also fat.
And she goes, OK, how about we do this? How about I just I pay you what I agreed to pay you. I'll back you off to about six a week. And I know that you train people. Would you mind working with some instructors? So I met with a small group of instructors, which is where I met Claire Veronica Walsh, this new budding instructor that they were trying to promote. And she was she was full of fire.
I mean, like it was wild just to be in the same room with her.
I think she was about 18, and she wasn't getting good feedback. And I was like, okay, let me see what you got here. What's this playlist? And she goes, well, I have like 20 songs. And I'm like, why would you have 20 songs? She goes, well, I have 10. But I have a backup in case something doesn't work. I'm like, first of all, don't ever do that. Okay.
I need you to sit at home, light a candle, pray, meditate, put this set list together. And that is what you'll be using. And if it's not working, then you're not doing something right. Okay. So let me see this again. Look to the playlist. I go take that out, move this here, move this here, move that here. Go teach that. She calls me and says, someone just gave me like the lottery numbers.
What the heck did you do? And I'm like, I got you, girl.
Claire and I fall in love with each other, meaning like sisterly love, not actually like girlfriend love, but just like she feels like my mini me. Like I've never met a small me before. It was wild. So she says, I've always wanted to move to Los Angeles. She goes, can I come? And I said, yeah, you just come to Los Angeles with me. I'll get you a job.
So I have a couple meetings with Stacey Griffith, Julie, Elizabeth, whatever. And they're trying to talk me into staying. And I'm like, listen, I got all kinds of things I want to do. One is I'm going to get a warehouse in Culver City and I'm going to get a church choir on Sundays. And I want to produce Moulin Rouge on a bike. And I'm going to have aerial artists coming from the ceiling.
And I'm painting this picture and they're looking at me like I'm insane. Julie goes, I'll let you do it here.
I'm so proud of you girls. You're amazing. Let me know if you need anything. I'm going back to Los Angeles. And she says, well, what can I do for you to make you stay?
And would you believe she said yes? And she made that happen. I think she just threw me that money because she wanted to take my class and like it was part of the deal. And I said, because I need to be able to work with people like Claire. I need the next level of this. I need to be able to train people to do what I do and to help people be able to deliver this.
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