Watch Deeva's story here:
Busy career? A passion for helping others? A love of music and movement? Member Deeva S. had all the right ingredients to be a happy Peloton Member, but it was much to the surprise of her tight-knit family that she found her way to fitness. “My parents are immigrants. They came to America from India in the late 80s, and I was born here. I’m a first-generation American, and my parents were really busy at their convenience store while I was growing up; we didn't really have babysitters or nannies or anything, we just did our homework sitting next to them at the store. Fitness was just not something that was a central focus of an everyday adult life, and it wasn't something that was emphasized growing up. A lot of my identity comes from my culture, but it’s also why it was difficult for me to get into fitness in the past—this idea of any free time you have is for work or for spending with family and not taking care of yourself.”
In college, Deeva became the captain of an Indian dance team and found a way where fitness was fun for her. She loved having music and enjoyed taking classes, and over time began teaching Bollywood dance classes. “Once I started working as an attorney, though, it was really hard to do any sort of scheduled dance practices, teach dance classes or even take dance classes. And I just felt like any kind of fitness-focused activity even fell off my radar.” Peloton came to Deeva through a friend who nominated her for The Comeback, based on some work Deeva did addressing sexual harassment and misconduct in the employment of the federal judiciary. “She asked me, ‘What do you do to take care of yourself? And I just was like, ‘I don't remember the last time I went to a workout or a dance class or anything.’ She said she thought I’d really like Peloton because I seem to be motivated by music and having instructors that are excited and want you to be the best version of yourself. Once I got the Bike, I just knew.”
This May, Peloton recognizes Asian Heritage Month to show that our community is a place where people can be their full selves, and Deeva has found a lot of meaning in seeing the full breadth of the Peloton community in celebration. “I do think that fitness, and being a fit person, lends itself to a community and a lifestyle where you can also meet other people who have similar interests. And one way of continuing to celebrate my fitness and also celebrate a lifestyle choice I'm making is having it relate to other parts of my identity. Whether it's Women's History Month, Black History Month or whatever it is, I like to be able to celebrate different identities, as well as the ones that I identify with most. It's really nice to be able to be on a ride and see instructors who care about those things as well.”