Latricia Wilder Opens Vibe Ride Detroit Downtown

Latricia Wilder says she’s visited plenty of boutique fitness studios. Over the years, she’s lived in New York, Los Angeles and Washington, D.C., and she appreciated the modern alternatives to the “big-box gym” that those cities had to offer but says, “Then I would come home and we didn’t have anything like that in Detroit.”

Her solution was to bring the Atlanta-based chain Vibe Ride to Detroit. The downtown Detroit studio opened July 22, and hosts everything from interactive cycle classes to TRX to Pound, the trendy cardio and sculpting workout that makes use of drum sticks. “It’s super loud but it’s super fun,” Wilder says.

Of course, cycle is the headliner. Walk-ins are welcomed, but Wilder recommends creating an account and reserving a space online, especially for cycle classes. “You can pick your bike, we register your email, and we have all of your information so you never have to take out cash. If you want to buy water, it’s all in the system,” she says. Grab a T-shirt, a water bottle, whatever and it gets charged right to your account.

Cycle classes utilize performance IQ technology. Your stats are tracked and show on big screens during class, and afterward, you get a personalized report via email showing calories burned, miles biked, energy used, etc. “So, each class you can monitor your progress,” Wilder says.

She was born and raised in Detroit, went to Howard University and spent 17 years in advertising. Eventually, though, she was itching for a change, perhaps something that could call upon her dance background. She says, “Especially with the current climate and everything that’s going on in the world, I started to realize just trying to get a paycheck wasn’t enough for me. I wanted to do something to help people.”

All of Vibe Ride Detroit’s workouts are group-focused, which promotes a sense of community, healthy competition and accountability. “All of us are not those people that can work out by ourselves,” Wilder says. “I’m not that person, and so, I love feeding off energy and feeding off people.” While busy toning, you may even find that you’ve added a few new friends to your squad. “You can have your fitness circle,” she says.

“It’s fun, and it’s no judgements. And it’s an environment where you should feel like, for that hour, it’s all about you, and you’re having a good time,” Wilder says. She took care to design a space that was clean and comfortable, complete with private changing rooms and showers. “I want it to feel like you’re walking into almost a spa-esque environment, but you get a kickass workout.”

Everyone is invited to sweat it out at Vibe Ride Detroit, but make no mistake, black Detroit has not been forgotten. “Our culture is universal, but so many people try to put it in a box. I’m not trying to cater to anybody (in particular); I’m trying to cater to humans. If you like hip-hop, you can come here, if you like something with a beat, you can come here. Britney Spears is welcome here, too. I want everyone to feel like the insider, especially people that look like me because we are so often put on the outside,” she says.

If she’s got a message to send about fitness, then Wilder says it’s “that it’s important, but it doesn’t have to be a chore.” Hers is a space where the rules don’t apply. You want a nightclub atmosphere? You want to be able to do choreography while cycling? Done and done. “You can have Jay-Z playing in a yoga class, and it doesn’t have to be‘trap’ yoga. I’m not big on classifications in life, so I don’t think it has to be that way here,” she says.

Wilder is determined to reach back and pull forward as many people as possible. Each quarter they’ll chose a different charity, nonprofit or individual to whom to donate 10% of the studio’s profits – or “tithes” as Wilder graciously calls them. Their first partner is Motor City S.T.E.A.M., the women-led, Detroit-based organization that’s committed to engaging minority and underrepresented students in science and art education.

Life Juice Bar and Cafe was offered a space inside Vibe Ride Detroit, the local raw cold-pressed juice brand’s first retail location. “That’s the goal,” Wilder says,” to keep paying it forward. You get the energy you give, and that’s what we’re about. Positive vibes only. Negative vibes, you can keep your money.

Sign up for a complementary cycle class now until July 26 to celebrate Vibe Ride Detroit‘s grand opening.