Meet Rad Lopez, Peloton’s Newest Crushworthy Instructor
He eats bread, he loves his mom, what more could you want?
In DepthIn Depth
Peloton instructors are by design, incredibly aspirational; they’re hot, they’re fit, they say all the right things. But the latest addition to the cultish fitness platform, Rad Lopez, manages to be all this and more. Lopez debuted as one of Peloton’s newest strength instructors in June, and from the moment I laid eyes on him, I knew that I’d found my imaginary fitness husband and nothing could tear our bond asunder. Except for burpees. No one is worth more than five burpees.
Lopez’s unmistakable Bronx kid charm makes him such a standout in a crowded field of chiseled instructors. Everything about him, including his well-composed Instagram, gives an air of earnest authenticity that can often feel missing in the platitude-filled world of fitness. Lopez spoke to Jezebel via email about how he got into fitness and the woman he talks about most in his workouts, his mom. Or should I say, my imaginary mother-in-law?
JEZEBEL: What’s your full first name, and why did you shorten it to Rad?
Rad Lopez: My full name is Radichell. I’m very proud of my name, first and foremost. That’s the name I was given, so I gotta represent it! But, I think, just shortening it to Rad made it a little more universal and made it a little easier to work with; easier to build a brand around. There’s just so much that you can do with the name Rad, you know, I think it goes a long way. Again, I’m very proud of my full name, but Rad is also really fun.
When you told your mom—who you mention often in your workouts— that you were being considered for a job at Peloton how did she react? Did she know what that even was or did she not think it was a real job?
She was extremely happy for me. She knows that every time I’m taking up a job, it’s always better than my last. I take this from her, we’ve always had a “growth and hustle for the better” mindset. We try to never take any steps back. So when she heard that I was being offered a job, I explained it to her; I explained the magnitude of it, and she was probably more excited for me than I was.
There’s a workout you did where you asked (I’m paraphrasing a bit) if the viewer was tired and wanted to take a break. You then responded to yourself by saying something along the lines of, remember that not everyone has that privilege of stopping when they’re tired. What was the motivation behind that line?
The lessons of perseverance that I’ve been taught by my mother. Being raised by a single mother, she often didn’t have the option of not going to work because she was tired. The lessons of perseverance are what motivated that. At the end of the day, she worked so hard to get us to where we are today. That’s what was behind that line because, at the end of your struggle or whatever it is that you’re fighting, there is a better outcome.
There’s a photo on your IG with the caption “Papito from up the block.” As a fellow Bronx native, your dude from up the block energy is very palpable to me and it makes your workouts more fun because it’s almost as if we are just two friends getting in shape. But that kind of personality isn’t exactly common in the Peloton landscape. When you were auditioning, were you concerned it could be a hindrance? Are you ever self-conscious about it?
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