HQ Heroes: Peter

If you’ve been hanging around the studio for a few years now or have just finished your first class, you probably still have a pretty good idea of who are instructors are and what they’re about. Honestly, they pretty much feel like family! You hit those pyramids together on the bike. You connect on our social channels – and theirs. You even get little tidbits about their lives when they talk you through the toughest moments during your ride.

But Rocycle is actually so much more than our instructors. It’s more than our riders! Behind the scenes, we have a pretty incredible team, working to make our studios, our socials and our community inclusive, inspiring and, obviously, very, very fun.

Sure, they grease the wheels and get things going. They make sure Rocycle is a seamless operation from top to bottom – without ever being visibly present. But we think it’s time to change that. It’s time to spotlight our HQ team, to give them a chance to shine. Because without them, we wouldn’t be where we are today.

Next up on the docket? Peter Kaan, our Head of Talent. Today, Peter gave us the lowdown on his best day at Rocycle, his amazing team and why he loves working here so damn much. Read on to find out all about Peter.

Hey, hey! How are you, Peter? Super excited to share your story. Can you tell us a little about yourself?

Hi, I’m Peter. I work in our head office in Amsterdam. I moved to Haarlem last year, but you can still find me at HQ most days.

Other than the studios, we think that’s pretty much the best place to be. We’ll get to know you better shortly, but we’re dying to know: is there something surprising most people don’t know about you?

Although I don’t get to do it very often these days, I am still a coach myself. I train rowing crews on the Amstel.

No way! We know what our next workout is going to be then. Alright, so back to Rocycle. What is your role here?

As the Head of Talent at Rocycle, I am responsible for the organisation of the instructor department. I make sure everybody is working towards the same goals and that instructors are enjoying their jobs and providing the quality we strive for.

That’s essential. How did you end up here? What were you doing before you came on board?

I was actually scouted by Lyssa, our in-house recruiter. I worked in different roles in the music industry, mostly as an agent and consultant for artists and music event brands.

Oh, really? That seems like a big change actually! Walk us through a day at Rocycle for you.

I spend a lot of my day working with people, making sure everyone is aligned and working together. If I can, I try to do most of this in person, getting creative with whiteboards, Post-Its and anything else we can use to think up new ideas.

Love a good physical brainstorm. There’s nothing better when you need to work through a problem. You mentioned you work in tandem with a team. What are they like?

Our team is incredibly fun and creative. They surprise you every day ;). As a company, Rocycle is incredibly ambitious, and that is really inspiring.

Absolutely – it’s key to work for a company that you align with. Is there anything exciting in the works for you or your team in the coming months?

We are always working on new things from new classes and routines to better people solutions and dataset or system developments. Change tends to be more incremental in our management team, but there’s rarely a day we don’t work on something new. Perhaps the most exciting thing right now is our yearly innovation. This is going to give a lot of exciting new options to our instructors!

We really can’t wait to see the innovation in practice! We know you coach rowing on occasion, but how about cycling? Do you Ro’ride?

Of course! Though an old knee injury gives me some trouble, which means I can’t do it too often right now.

It sounds like just about every day at Rocycle is fun, inspiring or fulfilling. But what about your best day? What was it like?

Lots to pick from. I think the 5-year anniversary was amazing, but our new studio openings in Germany were also so great!

What are your favourite things about working at Rocycle?

Everyone on the team is incredibly caring, the positivity throughout the teams and, of course, our core goal: making people feel great!

And how about working out at Rocycle?

The buzz after a class is the best. It’s always exciting to see each instructor’s different style.