The SoulCycle CEO is departing the Equinox-owned boutique cycling brand after nearly six years and heading back to her media roots. Her next stop: CEO of Audiochuck, the Indianapolis-based podcast company behind “Crime Junkie,” the second most-listened-to podcast in the U.S.
She steps into the role in July, replacing Matt Starker, a former Condé Nast executive.
SoulCycle currently operates locations across more than 20 markets in the U.S. and U.K., spanning major metros including New York, Chicago, Miami, Los Angeles and London. Though in recent days, riders have reported studio closures of their local SoulCycle studios, including the Walnut Creek and La Jolla, California locations.
“After almost six years, I have decided to take a new position and leave SoulCycle later this month, a company and brand that mean the world to me,” Webster said in a statement. “Recent strategic moves and a great leadership team have well-positioned SoulCycle to serve their community, and I leave with real optimism for the future. I will miss the team and the broader Soul community.”
Webster, who is also a City Pickle advisory board member according to her LinkedIn profile, joined SoulCycle at the end of 2020, navigating the boutique fitness brand through the pandemic.
Before SoulCycle, Webster came to the fitness world with deep media experience, serving as CEO of Guardian News & Media International and previously as Executive Vice President and Group President at Time Inc.
SoulCycle has not announced a successor or indicated whether a search is underway.
Indoor cycling’s post-pandemic reckoning hit SoulCycle hard. The brand reportedly logged $350 million in losses in 2020 tied to pandemic closures according to Front Office Sports, then closed nearly 25% of its locations in 2022 and hasn’t publicly signaled a growth push since.
Its founders, Julie Rice and Elizabeth Cutler, have long since moved on. The two sold SoulCycle to Equinox in 2016 and launched Peoplehood, a guided group conversation practice, in 2023.
Weight Watchers welcomed Rice as its first chief experience officer last year and acquired Peoplehood to deepen its member engagement.
