There’s another boutique spinning studio coming to the Washington area, but this one is different from the SoulCycles, Flywheels, and CycleBars that already dot the landscape.
Good Sweat, an indoor cycling studio with an emphasis on social impact, will soft open in Rosslyn on April 15. It will celebrate its grand opening the following weekend on April 20 with live music, juice, and classes.
It’s a concept that’s been in the works for quite some time, says founder Ali Hashemi. She got the idea a few years ago when she realized there were plenty of retail groups like Toms or Warby Parker that built philanthropy into their mission, but few (if any) fitness studios. Some local workout spots host one-off fundraising events, she says, but aren’t specifically structured around giving back to their communities.
Enter Good Sweat. Each month, it will partner with three local nonprofits that will receive a percentage of the studio’s monthly earnings. For the studio’s first month, it’ll team up with A-SPAN, Doorways for Women and Families, and a local animal shelter. When booking a class, riders can choose which group they’d like to receive a portion of their funds. Throughout the month, representatives from each nonprofit will be in the studio to promote volunteer opportunities and accept additional donations.
Also, employees and clients from each month’s featured nonprofits will get to take classes at a subsidized rate, says Hashemi.
“We know that fitness isn’t affordable to everyone,” says Hashemi. “We want to be that place where people can come and feel like everyone is welcome. We’re all-inclusive, whether you’ve been cycling for 20 years or it’s your very first class; whether you’re super fit or it’s been a long time since your last workout. There’s space for you.”
The intersection between fitness and philanthropy is a personal one for Hashemi. Before starting Good Sweat, she was at Urban Alliance, where she was the executive director of the nonprofit’s Northern Virginia chapter; after-hours, the longtime cycler would teach spin classes at local gyms.
As she became immersed in the Arlington and Alexandria communities through her nonprofit and fitness work, she realized Northern Virginia was the perfect spot for this new kind of studio.
“I love Rosslyn because it’s got so much going on,” Hashemi says of the location for her first site. “It’s got so many fitness studios and wellness initiatives, and it’s such a giving community. I knew people were hungry here for this kind of thing.”
Inside Good Sweat, cyclists will find a 30-bike studio complete with a shower, as well as a lobby with apparel and small snacks for purchase. Classes will be held in the early mornings and evenings on weekdays and on weekend mornings.
Attendees can expect a beat-driven, 45-minute class with choreography akin to SoulCycle or Zengo. Although metrics will be available on each rider’s bike, they’re not projected on a Flywheel-like screen for all to see.
And there may be more Good Sweats to come down the line, says Hashemi. She doesn’t know where she’d like to expand as of now, but she does see growth in the future.
“There are so many [areas] where people are craving businesses that give back and a place where they can have a really great ride and feel good about themselves,” she says. “I love spin and the ability to motivate people and create a community. It’s like a second family.”
During Good Sweat’s soft opening week, an unlimited class package will cost $1. Starting April 22, drop-in classes will be $28 and class packs will start at $99, with shoes $3 to rent.
Good Sweat; 1711 Wilson Blvd., Arlington
Mimi Montgomery joined Washingtonian in 2018. She’s written for The Washington Post, Garden & Gun, Outside Magazine, Washington City Paper, DCist, and PoPVille. Originally from North Carolina, she now lives in Del Ray.
