CINCINNATI — Dari Grant lives for her spinning class, which is why it was so frustrating last winter when she couldn't find a gym close enough to her Downtown home that wasn't closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
So, she decided to make a plan to open her own.
"It's not like running, where it's very hard on your knees and things of that nature," Grant told WCPO. "With cycling, you can just come spin on. You can also get a full-body workout with it, as well, to arms and in addition to legs, as well."
During the pandemic, she would ride her road bike around Downtown and realized she didn't have many options as far as exercise — at least within walking distance, anyway.
"I'm just like, hey, what can I do during the cold months, and it wasn't anything in walking distance," she said.
And that's how Society Cycle House was born on 14th Street in Over-the-Rhine, a high-intensity fitness club meant to be walkable for Downtown and OTR residents and welcome to cyclists of all experience and skill levels.
In addition to stationary bikes and good vibes, the first floor of the club also offers a lounge where members and drop-in riders can relax before and after class.
"Our first area, we call it the living room, where you can come in and kind of hang out before your class," Grant said. "Mix and mingle with the friends or you know, people that you just might meet within the class or the area, and then you know you can grab a juice. We have pressed juicery here as well too. So grab a juice, grab a water, grab a towel, hang out."
Grant also encourages her guests to take meetings in the space.
Aside from being a mental and physical outlet, Grant uses the club as an opportunity to promote entrepreneurship. The instructors all own their own businesses.
"All of my instructors are contractors that have been spinning for years or have their own businesses, as well," Grant said. "So the beauty here is that I want to give them an avenue to come down and spin with like-minded spinners so they can come in and plug their brand.
One of those instructors, Inga Anderson, runs a mean session but leaves her customers feeling satisfied.
"The music is so good, and the moves are so good that you won't even know I even worked you out until you get off the bike," she said. "It's like a magic trick. I'm magic!"
