How an unusually approachable fitness guru became one of the pandemic's biggest stars

Before the COVID-19 pandemic, Cody Rigsby was rarely recognized on New York's Fire Island. It was a sanctuary, a place where "nobody knew my quote-unquote celebrity," says the Peloton instructor, who has been inspiring users to climb imaginary hills since 2014.

"A lot of my demographic are women in the 30-to-50 age range that live in suburbia or middle America," he says, noting that he'd sometimes get noticed while visiting his mom in North Carolina. "There are not a lot of those on a very gay island."

Things changed when COVID-19 struck. As people looked for ways to stay fit at home, Peloton grew exponentially — from 1.6 million users in early 2020 to 5.9 million in June 2021.

So did Rigsby's fame: Something about his exuberant teaching style resonated with people during a period of isolation and uncertainty.

This new reality dawned on Rigsby when he returned to Fire Island this summer, after a year spent doing little besides going to the empty Peloton studio in Manhattan. Instead of the