Popular Peloton Instructor Tunde Oyeneyin Shares How Cycling Changed Her Life
Tunde Oyeneyin inspires countless people who take her cycling class weekly but many may not know the journey that took her to become a successful Peloton instructor. The Nigerian beauty who was raised in Katy, Texas is opening up about her life in her new book Speak: Find Your Voice, Trust Your Gut and Get From Where You Are to Where You Want to Be. Tunde stopped by Tamron Hall Show where she discussed her motivation for writing the book and the cycling class that changed her life.
“Speak is an acronym. Surrender, power, empathy, authenticity, and knowledge,” she said. “I looked at those words as elements and how they showed up in my life. Every misstep has got me here.” The 36-year-old fitness enthusiast went on to share the many tragedies she faced in her life over a short period of time. Tunde lost many of her family members including her mom, dad, and brother back to back. “I lost my little brother when he was 19-years-old. Three years later I lost my dad and three years later I lost my mother. Within six years I lost half of my immediate family,” she revealed.
But she managed to keep on pushing after she “realized we don’t get to choose what happens to us but we do get to choose how we react.” “Every single day is a new day so I choose to show up new in that day,” she said.
While Tunde has become well-known as a Peloton instructor, her first love was makeup. She worked as a makeup artist for 15 years and one makeup gig actually led her to the career change. “I was actually in New York City. I lived in L.A. at the time and I was in New York City on a makeup gig and I wanted to get a workout in. I went to a cycling class that changed my life,” she said.
“After my very first cycling class, I knew that I’d be cycling for the rest of my life. I knew with certainty that I would be teaching it without even knowing what Peloton was. After my very first class, I knew that I would be able to touch and impact the lives of tens of thousands of millions of people.”
Another thing that many people may not know about the famed instructor is that she also struggled with her weight growing up. During her appearance on Today, Tunde shared that when she was 13 years old she weighed 200 lbs and wore a size 18. Even as a fitness instructor now she still sometimes struggles with snacking and has an open and honest dialogue about it in her classes.
“I want people to know that even though I’m in the fitness world, I’m human too. I struggle just like everyone else. You don’t just lose weight and then just magically stay there. It’s a lifelong, forever journey,” she said.
Famed Peloton Instructor Tunde Oyeneyin’s Incredible Weight Loss Journey
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Featured image by Bennett Raglin/Getty Images for Bring Change To Mind
ItGirl 100 Honors Black Women Who Create Culture & Put On For Their Cities
As they say, create the change you want to see in this world, besties. That’s why xoNecole linked up with Hyundai for the inaugural ItGirl 100 List, a celebration of 100 Genzennial women who aren’t afraid to pull up their own seats to the table. Across regions and industries, these women embody the essence of discovering self-value through purpose, honey! They're fierce, they’re ultra-creative, and we know they make their cities proud.
VIEW THE FULL ITGIRL 100 LIST HERE.
Don’t forget to also check out the ItGirl Directory, featuring 50 Black-woman-owned marketing and branding agencies, photographers and videographers, publicists, and more.
THE ITGIRL MEMO
I. An ItGirl puts on for her city and masters her self-worth through purpose.
II. An ItGirl celebrates all the things that make her unique.
III. An ItGirl empowers others to become the best versions of themselves.
IV. An ItGirl leads by example, inspiring others through her actions and integrity.
V. An ItGirl paves the way for authenticity and diversity in all aspects of life.
VI. An ItGirl uses the power of her voice to advocate for positive change in the world.
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You've Never Seen Luke James In A Role Quite Like This
Over the years, we've watched Luke James play countless characters we'd deem sex symbols, movie stars, and even his complicated character in Lena Waithe's The Chi. For the first time in his career, the New Orleans-born actor has taken on a role where his signature good looks take a backseat as he transforms into Edmund in Them: The Scare—a mentally deranged character in the second installment of the horror anthology series that you won't be able to take your eyes off.
Trust us, Edmund will literally make you do a double take.
xoNecole sat down with Luke James to talk about his latest series and all the complexity surrounding it—from the challenges taking on this out-of-the-box role to the show's depiction of the perplexing history of the relationship between Black Americans and police. When describing the opportunity to bring Edmund's character to life, Luke was overjoyed to show the audience yet another level of his masterful acting talents.
"It was like bathing in the sun," he said. "I was like, thank you! Another opportunity for me to be great—for me to expand my territory. I'm just elated to be a part of it and to see myself in a different light, something I didn't think I could do." He continued, "There are parts of you that says, 'Go for it because this is what you do.' But then also that's why it's a challenge because you're like, 'um, I don't know if I'm as free as I need to be to be able to do this.' Little Marvin just created such a safe space for me to be able to do this, and I'm grateful for everything I've been able to do to lead to this."
Courtesy
Them: The Scare, like the first season, shines a light on the plight of Black Americans in the United States. This time, the story is taking place in the 1990s, at the height of the Rodney King riots in Los Angeles. While the series presents many underlying themes, one that stands out is Black people and the complicated relationship with the police. "For the audience, I think it sets the tone for the era that we're in and the amount of chaos that's in the air in Los Angeles and around the country from this heinous incident. And I say it just sets the tone of the anxiety and anxiousness that everybody is feeling in their own households."
James has been a longtime advocate against police brutality himself. He has even featured Elijah McClain, the 23-year-old Colorado man who died after being forcibly detained by officers, as his Instagram avatar for the past five years. So, as you can imagine, this script was close to his heart. "Elijah was a soft-loving oddball. Different than anyone but loving and a musical genius. He was just open and wanted to be loved and seen."
Getty Images
Luke continued, "His life was taken from him. I resonate with his spirit and his words...through all the struggle and the pain he still found it in him to say, 'I love you and I forgive you.' And that's who we are as people—to our own detriment sometimes. He's someone I don't want people to forget. I have yet to remove his face from my world because I have yet to let go of his voice, let go of that being [because] there's so many people we have lost in our history that so often get forgotten."
He concluded, "I think that's the importance of such artwork that moves us to think and talk about it. Yes, it's entertaining. We get to come together and be spooked together. But then we come together and we think, 'Damn, Edmund needed someone to talk to. Edmund needed help... a lot [of] things could have been different. Edmund could have been saved.'
Check out the full interview below.
Luke James Talks Ditching Sex Symbol Status For "Them: The Scare", Elijah McClain, & Morewww.youtube.com
Featured image by Getty Images