Nina Rutsch is so damn cute and one of my new favorite people

I thought I was in love after I did two days in a row, over a weekend, of Nina Rutsch's Soul Cycle class, but after a night of drinks and noodles with her, I'm pretty damn sure it's true love.  She's cute and sassy and dresses almost perfectly.  We chatted for hours and became fast friends.  Her class rocks the house and her cool and relatable attitude are the icing on the cake.

Here's a little bit straight from her: 1. So you're new to Soul?? And already superfabulous! Tell me a bit about your journey to becoming an instructor. I was living in NYC for years acting on stage with several theatre companys and working regularly on One Life to Live and As The World Turns. On the many "off" hours as an actress I worked in a clothing boutique LIANA on the upper west side where I developed a side business of personal shopping and wardrobe organizing.I walked by SOULCYCLE everyday, but never tried it because of the old wives tale  that cycling bulks up your legs (FALSE!!!) I have not been this size since I was 14 years old...being the girl with the booty my entire life, I did not want to add anything more into my jeans...I was WRONG! A friend of mine was moving to L.A. and I had always wanted to live there, I knew I could pursue acting and styling there in the sun!  so I jumped at the chance and off we went! I love Los Angeles, it is the community of people who are a jack of all trades. I was a runner and had recently completed the NYC marathon, but going to the gym was a drag, I decided to try yoga and was "scared" into trying a spin class, I was immediately hooked... I left class and was clear headed, I pushed myself further than imaginable and I became hooked, my anxiety was gone, my a.d.d. was gone, I had never felt so confident. In my first year I took over 400 cycling classes... yep doubles daily. The girl who wouldnt leave the house without hair blown out heels and makeup or miss a party was now showing up to work in flip flops and wet hair from the gym, and staying in on friday nights to make sure to get my bike bright and early on saturday... I decided to become spin certified and started teaching right away. I would teach once a day for my students and when my class was finished I would GO to class for ME. Every time I went to visit family in NYC I would take class at SC and it felt like home. I knew that were coming to LA and I applied to work at lululemon so I could practice yoga daily and cycle. I auditioned for Soul in LA and in the interim I was back in NYC near the holidays and was offered to do my training and teach in NYC, so I jumped at the chance. I knew it would take a dream man or dream job to get me to move back to NYC...and dream job came first ;) 2. Your class is honestly, perfect for me (everyone has their own preferences and styles of course).  It's the perfect combination of speed and resistance (read: not sooo much resistance that I can't get through it, but enough that my buns are burning after taking two of your classes this past weekend;)).  How do you come up with your class plan?  What inspires you? I love analogy's ... so I like to look at a soul cycle class like a recipe... it's always a delicious meal with your major food groups represented, but the ingredients and flavors change. Other teachers classes inspire me, everyone has their own "flavor"...thats what I love about SC you can switch it up depending on what you are in the mood for that day!... no excuse to miss class! My class plan/ playlist is usually inspired by how I wake up in the morning, a mood, rock , hip hop, dance...a song stuck in my head from something on t.v. like alex claire's song too close from the microsoft commercial , the weather: annie lennox: here comes the rain again is my favorite opener on a rainy day, current events: this summer it was fun to pull songs that were used during the olympic ceremony's, 3. Each teacher has their style (fierce, funny, intense, sexy, bitchy even) and you are supercute up there!  I love how you get the job done without yelling at anyone or threatening.  That said, I pushed myself really hard in your class, do you find killing it with kindness works better?  How do your riders respond to your different energies? To me cycling is a killer workout, if you are really working and not "posing" on the bike, dont just go through the motions...get deep...you will control how far you go and what kind of workout you get. I like to get into your mind and encourage you to turn it up by believing in yourself and building the urge to go further every class. Form is key, if you have your form right and your resistance right, it will be challenging, threatening does not work for me, encouragement and support works for me, so I put out what I want to get back. For me its the challenge of changing mind, going further each day... the body just follows. I find my riders appreciate seeing me work with them on the bike, so it tends to keep them working hard to reach the finish line together 4. I know (and love) that you love to talk Soul!  So...what advice do you have for new Soul riders (/addicts;))?  Any advice for advanced riders?? I am seriously ALWAYS talking...but yes mostly about soul :) advice for new riders is how I got through being a newbie my teacher used to say "just show up" ... LISTEN to your instructor cue your form and follow their legs get the cadence, get on the beat... the rest will fall into place. Advice for advanced riders would be to listen to your own body, don't get comfortable... set challenges for yourself, do a double, turn it up ahead of time add a turn of resistance to challenge yourself before class begins!, try heavier weights, move your seat setting back one notch to get into your core, move your handle bars down a notch to get a full extension in those push ups...WERK!!!