Today we’d like to introduce you to Lauryn Newman.
Lauryn, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I’ve been in Austin for six years now, which is kind of wild to say out loud. I moved here in my early twenties, and I don’t think I could have predicted what my life would look like today if I tried. In a lot of ways, I feel like Austin and I have grown alongside each other. I’ve watched the city change and evolve over the last six years, and I feel like I’ve done a lot of that myself. My time here has included different careers, post-COVID layoffs, a few “okay, what am I doing with my life?” moments, and a whole lot of figuring things out as I went.
I think that’s part of what has made Austin so special to me. It has given me the space to try things, change directions, meet new people, and discover different parts of myself without feeling like I needed to have everything figured out. My career has taken me through operations, logistics, leadership, fitness, and hospitality, and eventually led me to SoulCycle. I’ve now been with the company for two years, and it has become such a meaningful part of my experience in Austin and who I am as a person. Through SoulCycle, I’ve had the opportunity to meet and collaborate with so many incredible people, local businesses, brands, and organizations across the city. It has made Austin feel a lot smaller in the best possible way and has shown me just how special the community here really is. Today, I manage both the Austin and Dallas studios, which lets me combine so many things I love which is people, music, movement, leadership, and creating spaces where people feel like they belong.
Somewhere along the way, I also realized I didn’t want my career to be the only thing that defined me. I’m currently working toward my master’s degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling, with the hope of eventually working with athletes and young adults navigating major life transitions. When I’m not working or doing homework, I’ve found a completely different creative outlet through social media, where I get to create content around my love for music, concerts, home design, and all the little things that make life feel exciting and personal.
If there’s one thing the last six years have taught me, it’s that your life doesn’t have to make perfect sense while you’re living it. Everything is a win in my eyes when the goal is experience. I used to think I needed to choose one path and have everything mapped out, but I’ve learned that some of the best parts of my life have come from being curious enough to try something new and enjoy the now. Austin has given me a place to grow, pivot, create, and really figure out who I am along the way. I get to be a leader, a student, a creative, a music lover, and about ten other things and I would not want it any other way.
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?
It definitely hasn’t been a smooth road. I actually think one of my biggest struggles has been learning to be comfortable with not knowing what comes next and take the chance to learn more about myself, built my confidence, and be curious. I’ve always been someone who loves having a plan, and let me tell you, that plan has almost never gone exactly the way I thought it would. My twenties have taught me over and over again that life doesn’t always follow the timeline or direction you create for yourself. Sometimes it completely redirects you, and you have to decide whether you’re going to fight it or get curious about where it might take you.
I think it also took me a long time to give myself permission to simply explore who I was. I have a tendency to put myself into boxes because they feel like the “right” path or the “right” way to do things. Meanwhile, I was living in a city where there was constantly something new to experience, someone new to meet, or another version of life I hadn’t considered before.
Over the last six years, I’ve experienced multiple layoffs, changed careers, started over professionally, gone back to school, stepped into leadership roles I never expected to hold, and had plenty of moments where I questioned whether I was on the right path. Not only was I navigating who I was but I was also navigating emotional regulation. There were seasons when I looked around and genuinely felt like everyone else had figured out and I was stuck figuring out why I was so stressed, anxious, and lost. I’ve had to rewire my brain and truly think about what I loved, what I wanted, and rebuild my confidence.
What I’ve realized, though is that there can be something really beautiful about redirection and connection. Every time one chapter of my life ended, I had to figure out who I was without it and that is a form of grief many of us don’t talk about. In a funny way, I’ve continued doing versions of that throughout adulthood. Whether it was a career, a relationship, or another major chapter, I’ve had to learn that something can be incredibly important to me without needing to become my entire identity.
Life has absolutely been messy, but whose hasn’t? Looking back, I’m incredibly grateful for some of the pivots I once thought were setbacks. A career change eventually brought me to SoulCycle and opened an entirely new world of leadership and community for me. My own experiences with identity, transition, and starting over helped shape my decision to pursue a master’s degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling. And giving myself permission to have hobbies without needing them to “go somewhere” brought me back to things I’ve loved since I was younger like music, sports, design, and making things simply because they’re fun. That eventually grew into content creation and sharing my love for music, concerts, and interior design online.
I think one of the greatest things I’ve learned is that you don’t have to wait until everything is perfect to build a life, you’re excited about. I’m doing things today that weren’t even part of the original plan, and that’s exactly why I’m thankful the original plan didn’t work out.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
Austin has such a huge fitness and wellness community, and I feel really lucky that my work allows me to be a part of it in a way that goes far beyond just working at a fitness studio. I’m currently a Studio Manager with SoulCycle, where I’ve been for the past two years, and I now oversee both our Downtown Austin and Dallas Uptown studios.
A lot of my work is centered around people and experience. Of course, there’s the operational side of running a studio like leading and developing teams, supporting instructors, driving the business, and making sure the day-to-day runs smoothly. The part I love most is creating an environment people genuinely want to come back to. Fitness can be intimidating, especially in a city like Austin where there are so many studios, communities, and concepts to choose from. I want someone to walk through our doors and immediately feel like there is a place for them there, whether it’s their first class or their 500th.
I think what I’ve become most known for in my work is community building. Over the last two years, SoulCycle has given me the opportunity to connect with so many incredible people and businesses throughout Austin. I’ve been able to build partnerships, create events, bring different communities together, and find ways for our studio to exist as more than just a place where people come to work out. Some of my favorite projects have been the ones where fitness becomes the starting point for something bigger whether that’s supporting a local organization, collaborating with another Austin brand, celebrating music and culture through a ride, or simply creating an experience that gives people a reason to meet each other.
That’s probably what I’m most proud of. My job isn’t just managing, my job is community. People remember how a place made them feel. They remember the instructor who learned their name, the front desk person who noticed they were having a rough morning, the friend they met because they happened to take the same class every Tuesday, or the event that introduced them to a business they now love. I’ve learned that hospitality and human connection can be just as important as what happens during the 45 minutes on the bike.
I also think what sets me apart is that I’m genuinely curious about people and about what makes a community work and brings people together. That curiosity is part of what led me to pursue my master’s degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling. It influences the way I lead my teams and the way I think about the rider experience, I’m always asking myself, “How can we make this feel more personal? How can we make someone feel seen? How can we create something people actually want to be a part of?”
At the end of the day, I might technically work in fitness, but I think my work is really about creating connection. I’m proud that I’ve been able to build a career where leadership, music, movement, hospitality, creativity, and community all get to exist in the same place. You want to know what the best part is? It’s a career I absolutely love and feel so thankful to be apart of everyday.
Alright, so to wrap up, is there anything else you’d like to share with us?
give yourself permission to be interested and explore a lot of things. I spent a lot of time thinking I needed to figure out the “right” version of my life, and I’ve realized I’m much happier allowing myself to be curious about all the different versions it could become. If you’re in Austin, take advantage of this city. There are so many incredible people building things, creating things, moving their bodies, making music, opening businesses, and bringing people together. This is a beautiful city to get involved and discover something new about yourself.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: laurynmnewman
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lauryn-newman-b13872196/?isSelfProfile=true
