Today we’d like to introduce you to Molly/margarett Kennedy/ Gabrielson
Hi Molly/margarett, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
From Molly – Margarett and I both used to instruct at another studio, but we felt something was missing. We made the decision to leave and create our own welcoming, community-focused space.
We started out as an online platform during COVID; literally teaching classes from an iPad in my living room. With really loyal followers from our previous studio who followed us online and got their friends involved – we slowly started to grow. And then, as we were coming out of the pandemic, a member of our community told us about a space that was available to rent. 5 weeks later, we opened Fuel Cycling in Monterey, California, on 12 August 2021. At the time we had 20 bikes in our studio – what we affectionately call The Tank – think warehouse-meets-speakeasy vibe where we have everything you need, without the frills you don’t. When our garage door rolls up, we are open for good vibes, good music, and even better people.
Honestly, I had never planned to own a studio. I’m a school teacher and administrator and that was all I ever intended to be. My entire life, I had big dreams to change the world by teaching kids. One day I woke up, and with a little nudging, I decided I could do more, be more than just a teacher. We had a community who wanted to ride with their favorite instructors and we just felt we had to make it happen. We had a small community, we just needed a space to be together. Thus, Fuel Cycling was born.
I knew I couldn’t do it on my own, but together with Margarett, our fantastic manager Lindsey and our girl gang of amazing instructors – five of us from our old studio – we did it. Crucially, we’ve also done it with the help of our community.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
When we started, we didn’t have much. We have it all buttoned down from day one. Everyone kept telling us that we’d never be able to compete against the big franchises and the corporate studios, but we had five amazing instructors, a great manager and a ready-made community who told us that whatever we did, they’d come. So, we trusted our instincts and we went for it. Our thinking was pretty much: “We have bikes, we have speakers, we have music and we have our community. We’ll be fine!” And where many corporate studios have closed over the past couple of years, we’ve grown.
From Day 1, we’ve been playing the up hill battle. We’ve been very intentional with our space, letting it grow, as we grew into it.
For the first few weeks, the only décor we had was a sign that said ‘It feels good to be home’, but together with our community, we’ve slowly added things over time. Our plant wall was installed right before we opened, and it continues to grow with little clippings and propagations from our members. One weekend after about 8 weeks of being open, 10 of us got together to paint all the walls black. Another couple months after that, we reached out to local artists about getting a mural installed. No one bit, so on a Saturday, founder and owner, Molly got up on a ladder and painted one herself. Again, our community has stepped up to support us, and in turn, we do the same. When we needed mirrors, we put out feelers to see who could help. Next thing we know, a local contractor called us with extra mirrors, and we had them installed a week later. We’ve tweaked little details as the months have gone by and we’ve done it together as a community.
The greatest thing we’ve learned in creating Fuel Cycling has been knowing what our strengths are, what our limits are, and how to ask for help. Over the past year, we’ve made connections across our local community – far beyond our original group – as people have come forward to support and help us. None of our team is a business major, but we are empaths and we are determined. As Margarett says after every class, “Go into this world to make it better than when we started. Lead with love.” That’s the motto of our studio. We have the right intentions, we have the best community, and we are here to stay!
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
Our Programming:
Fuel Cycling is a Rhythm-based Indoor Cycling Studio located in Monterey, CA.
We took a shell of a garage, and turned it into the only Cycling Boutique on the Monterey Peninsula..and we’re just getting started.
We offer 4 different types of rides:
Fuel45 and Fuel60 – our standard format of rides in 45 or 60 minutes sessions. In every class you can count on a specially curated playlist by your instructor. A heart-pumping combination of speed and gear intervals; perfectly paired with exciting choreography as the cherry on top.
ReFuel45 – A little tweak on our standard format. In a ReFuel class, we do not cue any numbers. The entire ride is rhythm-based, and felt with your heart and soul. The music bumps in your body, you close your eyes, and escape to The Tank for 45 minutes. Riders can count on additional messaging, choreography, and more often than not – they tend to push a little harder when they aren’t tied to any numbers on their monitors.
FuelSculpt45 – Our newest format, hitting the studio in January of 2024. It is a 45 minute class with 2 strength tracks to work on building strength in your core and upper body. The class was designed to utilize weights ranging from 2 – 8lbs, and we have recently incorporated the use of resistance bands. It is a more power driven class, focusing on hitting your peak heart rate with recovery in between.
Cycling studios are a great place to get a workout, but Fuel Cycling Founder Molly Kennedy knew that there was more to cycling than what corporate cookie-cutter studios could offer. Fuel Cycling offers an inclusive, welcoming community for riders of all skill levels. There’s no checklist or corporate formula. Each of our instructors brings their unique approach to cycling into every class, leading to rides you can’t get anywhere else.
In terms of the programming itself, we’re fortunate to have five amazing instructors, all of whom were itching to get away from the whole corporate ‘this is the recipe’ approach. All our classes have to include a variety of rhythms, and must be adaptable to both newcomers and regulars, but other than that we leave it to our instructors to do what feels right for them.
That includes the playlist, which shouldn’t just be chosen for a good workout. It should also reflect the instructor and what’s going on with them that day. For us, music isn’t just music. It’s a soundtrack that people should get something out of at an emotional level.
——-
MG: We’re a community that’s built a studio and the feedback is incredible. People say it’s like family because everyone knows your name! They say you walk in a stranger and leave a friend. Hearing things like that, it makes me really proud of what we’ve created.
We haven’t done it the easy way, either. We’ve done it in a really meaningful way – a way that matters to us and our community. I think that’s really important.
I’m also incredibly proud of the fact that, just 11 months after opening, we won Best Boutique Fitness Studio in the Best of Monterey 2022 awards. The names we were shortlisted alongside, I felt honoured even to be considered, but we won! It’s meant such a lot to our whole community.
MK: What I’m most proud of is seeing how lives have been changed by being part of our Fuel Cycling community. I always get really emotional when I see people celebrating a milestone, making friends, doing something they’ve never done before – standing up out of the saddle during a ride, for example, or coming to class in new gym-wear and feeling great about themselves. I always wonder, would that have happened for them without Fuel Cycling? I’m just so proud of what we’ve all created together.
Who else deserves credit in your story?
We owe all of our success to our OG Riders. Those who have been with us from the beginning. As we mentioned before, we were a community of riders and instructors that wanted to find a way to stay together during a really scary and isolating time in 2020. We have about 15-20 members that have been with our Fuel Family since we opened doors in August of 2021. Those members showed up to our test rides when we just had bikes and 1 speaker. Those riders showed up and bought a monthly membership and rode with us in our classes when we had 3 people in class.Those riders showed up with their families to help us paint the walls, mop the floor, put clips on shoes, and they keep showing up every week.
MK: Our amazing manager, Lindsey Abercrombie, has been instrumental in our success as a studio. She has a long resume of managing fitness studios, and is a dear friend of ours. She was my first call when I found a space to open a studio. She’s stood by my side every step of the way, and works tirelessly to help us grow.
—–
Comments on OUR INSPIRATION:
MG: We didn’t intentionally set out to be a women-only team and we’re very open to employing male instructors. However, we are women-owned – and also minority-owned – and I think that matters for a lot of reasons.
At the age of 45, I became a widow with five children. There was a real moment of doubt, of wondering how I would move forward. Could I do it? Was I strong enough? How would I provide for my children? Purely at a personal level, creating Fuel Cycling… it was so important for me to show my children that their mum was strong. That I could do it.
And then there’s Molly: a full-time teacher who was also studying for her special education credential at the exact same time we were launching Fuel. I think it’s so important for our community, and other women in particular, to see that.
Fuel is part of a wave of new, women-owned businesses that have come out of COVID and it’s been really humbling to be a part of that, working to see how we can lift each other up.
MK: The funny thing is, though, that we hadn’t really thought about all this when we set out to create Fuel Cycling. We did what we did because we felt we had to for our community, and my boyfriend really spurred me on to do it. I remember waking up one day, and he looked at me and said, “You’ve got all the talent in the world for this. Why would you let someone else leave their stamp on our community when you are so capable and so gifted? Either you open a studio, or someone else will.”
“IF NOT ME, THEN WHO” has been my mantra this last year. To keep the doubt at bay, and remember I was put on this Earth to make a difference – this studio, this space, it’s pure magic.
It was only afterwards, when people saw what we’d done and talked to us about it, that we realised what it meant to them, to the community, to women. So often, women are told ‘no’ – especially minority women. Fuel Cycling is proof that you don’t have to look a certain way to accomplish what you want. Certainly this year, International Women’s Day felt very different for me, when I was up there on the bike and using our studio to prove that dreams can become reality.
Pricing:
- Monthly Unlimited Membership $149
- Student Unlimited: $89
- Monthly 4 Pack Membership: $84
- Standard Drop In: $27
- 10 pack of rides $225 / 2o pack of rides: $420
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.fuelcyclingmonterey.com
- Instagram: @fuel_cycling
