During one of Brianne “Bri” Murphy’s outdoor Empower Cycle sessions, riders from as far as Ave Maria and North Fort Myers hop on Schwinn stationary bicycles at Bayfront Inn 5th Ave and peddle away, facing the setting sun over the Bay.
Having heard the roving studio had opened a permanent location in Bonita Springs, I rush to check it out. When I arrive, Bri greets me like we’re old friends. “The most important thing I want is for you to have fun. Listen to your body,” she says, and hands me a pair of sanitized cleats, equipping me for the 45-minute ride ahead.
I’ve tried countless group workouts—yoga, Pilates, interval training, strength classes. There’s nothing like spin. Buzzy instructors sing encouraging phrases over music pulsating through dimly lit rooms filled with Type-A athletes. The energy is always electric, but the scene can be intimidating. The fastest cyclists resemble hamsters on wheels, and it’s easy to compare your revolutions per minute to others’ cadence. Empower employs a secret weapon to get riders out of their heads and into the moment: headphones.
Bri and her husband, Sean, started Empower Cycle as an outdoor pop-up studio at Paradise Coast Sports Complex in 2021. To mind noise ordinances and inspired by silent discos, the entrepreneurial Bri equipped everyone with wireless headphones—a novel amenity that allows riders to hear instructions clearly and adjust volume if desired. It’s a personalized experience with the intoxicating motivation of working out in a group.
The noise-control feature proved so popular that Bri brought the practice to her indoor studio. In the Old 41 Road studio space, electronic dance music sets the tempo. Bri sets the tone, “Be the energy you want to receive. I’m the conductor, but you are the magic.” We dance and curl three-pound dumbbells while riding to the rhythm of the music. As an indie studio, Empower doesn’t subscribe to any preset program, so Bri’s classes feel more spontaneous and have more dancing than I’m used to seeing. We bop from side to side and do body rolls out of the saddle. “You’ll look stupid if you dance, and you’ll look stupid if you don’t dance, so you might as well dance,” Bri says. I look around the room and spot a 70-something-year-old man, a yoga studio owner, a seemingly novice couple—all spinning at their own speed in headphone-induced sanctuaries. I feel the thrill of spin, with an added sense of calm.
Bri plans to keep offering outdoor classes at Bayfront Inn and other locales that call on her (she recently hosted a ride at Esplanade Golf & Country Club for 25 residents by the pool). The novelty-loving trainer sometimes moves bikes out onto the studio’s sidewalk, and once a month, she hosts Glitter Rides, with everyone covered in sparkles. Working out en plein air encourages Bri’s riders to push harder, climb higher: “When we’re outside, I tell people, ‘Look up, because the sky is the limit.’”
