Cody Rigsby on ‘DWTS’ (‘It’s No Joke’), Finding Peace and His Game-Changing Health Tip (EXCLUSIVE)
The Peloton star opens up about ‘Dancing With the Stars,’ his memoir and how to make fitness stick
You may recognize Cody Rigsby, 38, as the iconic, upbeat cycling instructor at the acclaimed Peloton studios, but that’s not all he’s known for. Rigsby’s also been an author and Dancing with the Stars contestant, who recently sat down with Woman’s World to talk about his time on the dance contest show, writing experience and his go-to advice to make fitness achievable. Read on to discover what he had to say.
Cody Rigsby reflects on his ‘Dancing with the Stars’ journey
Rigsby appeared on Season 30 of Dancing with the Stars back in 2021. He was paired up with Cheryl Burke, and while the duo did end up in third place, the journey to get there was quite difficult—especially after both of them tested positive for COVID-19, resulting in them being judged virtually.
“Dancing with the Stars was one of the most challenging things that I’ve ever done, but it was super rewarding, even though having COVID during the season made it really difficult,” Rigsby told Woman’s World. “Coming back with that positive COVID test, I thought the season was going to be over, and I kind of already had it in my mindset that I was just going to quit. But thank God that Dancing with the Stars found a way for us to stay in the competition.”
“Having to learn a dance via Zoom was really, really challenging, but I’m glad that we did it and it made us stronger. On top of that, I think it gave us this great storyline that people could get behind. It was like we were the underdogs of the season.”
He also shared that while he might be a fitness mogul, ballroom dancing was way harder than cycling. “It’s no joke,” Rigsby quipped.
Why writing his memoir felt like therapy
Like so many other stars, Rigsby wrote a memoir in 2023, with his being titled XOXO, Cody: An Opinionated Homosexual’s Guide to Self-Love, Relationships and Tactful Pettiness, where he detailed his life from start to the present, including how he grew up poor and never really knew where he fit in the world until recently.
“Writing it felt a lot like a therapy session. You just go in and you think about your life, and have to recount these stories and then you have to unearth details that you forgot about,” he said. “So it was really therapeutic, because you process things that might have been deep down there and bring it to light, forcing yourself to find peace with it.”
Speaking of peace, Rigsby said that it has become one of his number one priorities as of late.
“I’m in a place where I’m really happy with the things that I’ve done and want to continue to move forward, but I’m not trying to control the outcome,” he explained. “I’m allowing life to happen and trust myself enough to know that I’m going to be able to get everything done. And so I look forward to just continuing to have purpose, finding peace and enjoying time with the people that I care about.”
The fitness advice Cody swears by
Even though he was on Dancing with the Stars and wrote a memoir, the thing Rigsby will always be best known for is his time as a Peloton cycling instructor.
“What I love about Peloton is that there’s a wide variety of content and types of workouts, so everyone can find what works for them and also explore things that they’re not used to. I feel like we have great instructors that make everything approachable and easy to understand. I also really love the sense of community, knowing that we don’t feel like we are alone in this situation,” he said. “10 years ago, we couldn’t imagine creating these relationships with people via the internet, but I think it’s so much a part of our lives now. And Peloton creates communities banding together to support each other, which I think is great.”
“And I think when you have a support system, you stick to your goals and habits, and you find a lot of happiness in it,” he continued. “ I’m just really grateful that 11 years later, I’m still enjoying what I do and that it still gives me purpose. Obviously, I go through lulls where, like everybody, you might not want to clock in that day at work, but when I hit the stage and the cameras come on, it does take me to a really happy, fun place.”
Also fun for Rigsby? His new partnership with Kashi cereal aims to help show people a simple and easy way to incorporate health into their everyday lifestyle.
“I think we’re super aligned because we, as consumers of media, whether that’s print or TV or film or social media, we’re inundated with so much information, and we feel like we don’t know what direction to go. We also can freeze because we don’t know what direction to go. And where me and Kashi are aligned here is making it really simple,” he said. “Kashi is great for nutrition, because it has 10 grams of protein and 10 grams of fiber. It tastes amazing and it can just be a really quick meal. And I think the prioritization of protein is really good for wellness. When people make that the priority, everything else falls in place.”
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