Matt Wilpers
Peloton Instructor
Matt Wilpers is a Peloton instructor who teaches cycling and running classes on the fitness app.
Matt Wilpers
• Date of birth: 24 October 1983
• Age: 39 years old
• Place of birth: Ohio, USA
• Nationality: American
• Height: 178cm / 5ft 8 ins
• Weight: Unknown
• Profession: Peloton instructor
• Instagram: @mattwilpers
• Twitter: @MattWilpers
After initially pursuing a career in finance in New York, Wilpers joined the Peloton team in 2016 and established himself as one of the leading instructors at the company.
Matt is one of seven Power Zone instructors at Peloton, utilising his experience as a cyclist and a runner to help Peloton users improve their overall fitness.
He has over 490 cycling classes and 290 treadmill classes available on the Peloton app, while Wilpers has a number of outdoor cycling and running classes for those who prefer to train outside.
So, how much do you know about Matt’s rise to prominence as a fitness instructor and journey on the way to becoming one of Peloton’s most popular trainers? This is his story.
Early Life, Parents And Upbringing
Matt Wilpers (Photo: Peloton / YouTube / Screen grab)
Matt was born in Ohio but was raised by his parents in Marietta, Georgia. He has one sister called Emily.
Matt credits his mother Rita, who was a nurse for 30 years at the Northside Hospital in New York City, for encouraging him and his sister to play soccer and ultimately take his first steps into the world of fitness.
In an interview on Peloton’s YouTube channel in 2016, Matt spoke about his mother’s influence.
“So my mom really pushed my sister and I into fitness early with soccer – and then soccer led to running. I started competing in marathons which then led to bike racing. I think it’s my family that got me into fitness.”
Matt explained in an interview with Will Sanchez from Runaway in March 2017 that his parents encouraged him to try lots of different sports, including hockey, basketball and baseball.
However, his parents didn’t allow Matt to play football despite its popularity in Georgia. As a result, Matt gravitated towards soccer and tennis.
Matt went on to explain that he had to make a decision about his promising athletic career in high school. While he initially opted for soccer, a chance meeting with the Georgia State Cross Country and Track coach led to a switch to running in his final High School years.
Running became a central part of his life when he attended Georgia State University. When he wasn’t running, Matt completed majors in accounting and finance before he getting a master’s in accounting. He also spent six months abroad as part of his undergraduate degree in New Zealand.
Life Before Peloton
Matt Wilpers (Photo: Peloton / YouTube / Screen grab)
Between his fourth and fifth year at Georgia State University, Matt completed an internship with KPMG in Manhattan.
Once he graduated with his CPA, Matt ended up getting a job at KPMG. He was part of their financial services audit team for three and a half years. His focus was on financial services and big banks.
Although Matt admitted in his interview with Sanchez that he learned a lot during his stint at KPMG, he saw himself in accounting for the rest of his life.
When he had the opportunity to step into a different part of the finance world, he moved to Goldman Sachs in 2011. While at Goldman Sachs, Matt worked as a senior analyst in merchant banking. His focus was on real estate and corporate investments. However, Matt left Goldman Sachs after a year.
He explained that he had a realisation during a finance class that it wasn’t the profession for him in the long term.
“I looked around and I realised I was in the wrong place and I need to figure something out. I was 25 or 26. I had always been doing fitness coaching on the side and it was sort of my happy place.”
One of his first coaching gigs was an all-female triathlon team called Team Lipstick.
Matt started coaching at gyms in New York City, such as the YMCA before he eventually was referred to the Mile High Club. However, Matt was still unsure about his ultimate path in life. He shared his thought process at the time:
“I knew that I wanted to be working with people in a mentally stimulating environment. I knew that I wanted to help people for a living. I quickly found that money was a driver in my success but only to a point. At a certain point, I needed to feel fulfilled and feel like I was doing something good for people.”
Matt applied for medical school but decided to go into streaming fitness as a backup. He launched an app called Coach Casts with his brother-in-law to take his success in group training to the online world.
Although he got accepted into med school, Matt decided to delay it in order to grow Coach Casts. During that year, Peloton approached Matt to join their team.
“At the time, I saw them [Peloton] as a competitor. I was like, “who are these people?!”. I did some research on the company and I learned a lot more about them and the direction they were heading. I said there’s no way I can compete with this, so I was definitely interested [in joining the Peloton team]!”
On how Peloton unearthed what would become one of their most popular and influential instructors, Matt revealed:” One of the early investor’s wives went to one of my classes at Equinox down in Tribeca. She referred me over to Peloton’s content team and that’s how they started coming to my classes [at Equinox].”
Peloton
Matt Wilpers (Photo: Peloton / YouTube / Screen grab)
Matt joined Peloton in October 2016, teaming up with nine other instructors including his fellow Power Zone trainer Christine D’Ercole. Speaking about his decision to join Peloton at the time, Wilpers said:
“I’m excited to be at Peloton and I can’t wait to meet everybody. Everyone is phenomenal at what they do and it’s bringing my game to a whole new level.”
Matt predominantly teaches cycling and running classes at Peloton, including in the studio and on the road. He has over 490 indoor cycling classes, 290 treadmill classes and 20 outdoor classes.
On his biography on Peloton’s website, Matt explains that his aim is to bring an encouraging energy to the classes utilizing his experience in competitive athletics.
Wilpers adds that he wants to inspire Peloton members to discover how strong they really are but at the same time, help them understand that training can be fun.
Part of the fun of a Peloton class is the music and Matt is known for having a diverse taste. His official Peloton playlist on Spotify has over 1,500 subscribers.
Speaking about his preferred music in his first interview with Peloton’s YouTube channel, the instructor said:
“The music I like to listen to include primarily EDM electronic music as well as hip-hop. It can be be country, punk – who knows, it really depends on how I feel that day.”
Power Zone
Matt Wilpers (Photo: Peloton / YouTube / Screen grab)
While Matt teaches a diverse range of classes, he’s perhaps best known as one of the faces of Peloton’s hugely popular Power Zone Training.
Matt is one of seven Power Zone Training instructors alongside Ben Alldis, D’Ercole, Denis Morton, Olivia Amato, Sam Yo and Erik Jäger.
Power Zone Training is a method of intentional training based on the metric of output or power, which is a combination of cadence and resistance. Peloton explain that it’s a great tool to improve and track fitness over time.
Wilpers has played a big role in creating Peloton’s three Power Zone Training programs – Discover Your Peloton Zones, Build Your Peloton Zones and Peak Your Power Zones.
Outside Of Peloton
Matt Wilpers (Photo: Peloton / YouTube / Screen grab)
Speaking on Peloton’s website, Matt explained some of his passions away from his job at the fitness company.
“Believe it or not, more fitness! Cycling, running and lifting are my favorites. I also enjoy traveling, and reading about fitness and business.”
Matt got engaged to his partner Jess in Nicaragua in May after over three years of dating.
What The Peloton Community Has To Say About Matt Wilpers
Matt Wilpers (Photo: Peloton / YouTube / Screen grab)
Peloton Power Zone Training Instructor Ben Alldis: “This is an appreciation post for the legend that is Matt Wilpers – who has been an incredible mentor to me over the last year and has pushed me to continue building on my skills as a coach in the lead up to becoming a Powerzone instructor.”
“The reality is, no coach ever stops learning. That’s what makes a great coach. They strive to learn more every day and they keep asking questions. And Matt and I are no different. We share very similar values & mindsets when it comes to training and coaching and we can’t wait to continue to collaborate to bring you the top of the game coaching and training.”
This Redditor said: “I took my first Power Zone class with Matt and I’m just taken aback at how much I loved it! I was always kind of hesitant about doing a Power Zone ride because it sounds intimidating and I imagined it would be too hard for me. I love how clear and straightforward Matt’s coaching style is without overly positive/motivational fluff. No shade to motivational fluff; I appreciate it sometimes depending on my mood. Anyway, that’s all I wanted to say: Matt is amazing!”
