5:45 AM
On a Wednesday
Buffalo, NY
“Good morning!”
“Brrr”
I’ve just escaped the frigid temperatures outside and walked into the warmth of Revolution Indoor Cycling on Delaware for Amanda’s 30 minutes of spin and 30 minutes of TRX.
The music is on, my bike is already prepped with a towel, and Amanda is helping the newcomers with the adjustments to the height and lengths on their machines.
Within a few minutes, the lights are turned down, the volume is turned up, and it’s time to fight off your demons.
Amanda Moses, Rachel McCrone, and Colleen Kirk have just opened one of Buffalo’s newest small businesses. Revolution isn’t located on Transit Road, or in Amherst, Williamsville, or Orchard Park. It’s in Buffalo, and about 3 minutes from my house. We like to cover the stories of activist and community organizations, politicians, and neighborhoods, but we also love to cover the stories of small businesses, new and old, that are making it work in the city. Small business owners are the ones who take on a real risk, and make the neighborhoods they’re set up in stronger.
Amanda and Rachel have known each other since high school. They met Colleen shortly after teaching their own classes at various gyms and workout centers around town. Once all three decided to open their own studio together, the challenge of finding the right place began. They put together a business plan, ordered the right bikes, and ruled out the suburbs as an option. They discovered their location on Delaware and Highland at the perfect time. Formerly a gym itself, their studio was slated to be renovated into a large apartment until the team from Revolution came along. An added bonus at Rev is a shower and private changing room, allowing people to go directly from a class to work in the morning.
What sets Revolution apart from other workout facilities that specialize in group classes is its instructors. Rachel, Colleen, and Amanda had already developed a following around the city for making their classes worth getting out of bed or exercising after your work day. There’s nothing worse than getting out of bed hours before the sunrise to work out, and being treated to dull music or an instructor’s life story instead of motivational call outs and upbeat music. If you’re not going to work up a sweat, or work past your comfort zone, what’s the point? These girls manage to get you to do that without singling anyone out.
The beauty of the 30/30 class is that you can always go faster or push harder when you know you only have a few minutes left to remain in high gear. Before you know it, you’re hopping off your bike and heading over to the TRX area. I have never worked out with those before, and I wasn’t alone. Amanda bounced around the room helping with form so no one would injure themselves and making sure everyone was getting a good workout. You exercise in a team, switching spots with your partner, so that there’s no time for a rest!
You want to work out where you feel welcome, not intimidated. Amanda had a knack for helping new people adjust while allowing them to feel like they were on the same level as seasoned veterans. She knew everyone’s name as she walked through the crowd, and there were a lot of high fives and laughs heard over the music.
Rachel, Colleen and Amanda are have been running this operation around the hours of their full time jobs, so there is definitely enough time for you to get your workout in on a weekday or weekend too. We’ll see you there!
