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On Wednesday night, CycleBar Aspen spin class instructors were preparing for a new beginning: the first class of a new instructor who had just passed corporate CycleBar training.
But the studio’s ownership also was carving a new path, as indicated by an email sent to clients just after 5 p.m. titled “Here’s to New Beginnings” — one that didn’t include the patrons or workers of CycleBar or its partner studio, Pure Barre, whose customers received a similar email.
The email notified patrons that effective immediately, CycleBar — which nearly a year ago to the day won the Aspen Chamber Resort Association’s Business of the Year award — was shuttering its doors, leaving its customers and employees without their place to work out and, more importantly, a tightly-knit community.
“I feel totally lost,” Kris Magnuson, a client of both businesses, said. “It was Pure Barre and CycleBar that really helped me gain kind of an entrance into the Aspen community, getting to know people and socializing with the instructors and all the people that you meet in the classes and become friends with. It’s where we would see each other every day 5:30, Monday through Friday. Now, it’s going to be tough seeing a lot of those people, because who knows where anybody else is going to end up working out.”
CycleBar Aspen was the only dedicated indoor spin cycling business in town and Pure Barre provided a body-weight-lifting counter to the cardio. Both are national brands under the same umbrella, but rarely are they combined in a single location under the same ownership, CycleBar lead instructor Kristen Zodrow said.
Life under new owners Michael and Stephanie Ibasco, based out of Las Vegas, started strong in January 2022 — which is when the pair acquired both CycleBar and Pure Barre, according to Michael’s LinkedIn page. They acquired it from Jordan Bullock, who acquired it from the Aspen location’s founder, Haley Killam.
Former workers said that for a time, the owners were engaged with the community, hosting sessions at Gondola Plaza and being active around town.
But when general manager Eli Radney departed — he’s now working at another CycleBar property in California — things started to change almost immediately.
“As soon as he moved away it’s like they didn’t attempt to hire anyone else (to be manager) and that’s when it started falling apart,” instructor Natalie Palmer said.
Reached by phone, Radney declined to be interviewed for this story.
Involved ownership turned to absentee in July, Zodrow said. The Ibascos reportedly told her they were departing for a few weeks, but were seen on site only one more time between then and Wednesday’s communications.
Equipment fell into disrepair and over at Pure Barre, staff began to burn out and quit. There were no instructors remaining at Pure Barre by the time of Wednesday’s announcement, Zodrow said.
She said that as lead instructor, she had been in discussions with the Ibascos about the potential for a new buyer since last fall, and felt there was some momentum toward that end, but evidently it was not to be, as Wednesday’s communications confirmed.
“They ran their employees into the ground by over-scheduling, missing pay dates, blaming the instructors for operational failure and creating a literal toxic environment,” Zodrow said. “Members were not shown respect. Requests and inquiries were ignored, people had unexplainable charges on their accounts, regular bike and tech maintenance was not provided and zero in-person contact has occurred since July. They quite literally abandoned the studio.”
Customers were informed before staff of the news; attendees of Wednesday night’s community ride informed some of the staff of their email before the Ibascos sent a group text message to employees.
The text, obtained by Aspen Daily News, referred employees to corporate emails for questions, declining to answer any others. Workers were told their final paychecks would be mailed to them and their shoes that may be at the studio would be given to them at a later date. Ibasco left the group chat after sending the message.
The Ibascos did not respond to requests for comment for this story.
For the workers, the anguish is less about losing a paycheck — it was a second gig for all of them — and more about losing the sense of community.
“There’s an incredible community of people that would get together … and just as much as we can all see each other, the meeting place has dissolved,” Zodrow said.
There also was an understanding of the owners slipping away, and that with more transparent communication, the finale may have been more palatable, some of the workers said.
But after Wednesday’s email and text, riders and instructors were escorted out by a “stranger” who told them he had to lock up. It was sudden, impersonal and as the instructors said, an insult to the work they had done to fill the void left by management.
“We know how it is in Aspen. We understand that it is not easy to maintain a fitness facility, let alone anything, and the rent and everything,” instructor Stephanie Farrell said. “So if we were approached and not left in the dark, we would have been understanding of it much more, taken it much nicer and with some respect.
“I was quite crushed by this because I would have loved to know that my last moment on that podium was such and such date and would have held that moment a little bit tighter.”
The news leaves a staff of around 10 and a membership group above 100 without a place to congregate socially or for a workout. Instructors said that other venues, like Snowmass Club, offer spin classes but not with a dedicated studio space like CycleBar did.
“There’s nowhere else to get that kind of cardio,” Magnuson said. “So I’m guessing it’s going to be skinning after work, and even that lasts only until April.”
While the news is still raw, there may be some discussion of putting together some form of continued service between the instructors and former clients of CycleBar, Zodrow said.
But for now, the sting remains.
“We could have gone out on a way higher note if we were not left in the dark,” Farrell said. “It’s unfortunate that that’s the way our new owners felt that they needed to do it. It’s a really big slap in the face to all of us and our riders as well.”