Ashley Gooch and Andrew Pappas, Co-Founders
WHAT INSPIRES YOU as you grow RYDE? The RYDE community and our team inspire us every day. The goal from the start was to create something that is bigger than ourselves — our community is just that. We want to push the limits of what a fitness experience can be. Our new Heights studio is a testament to that commitment, offering a high-energy indoor cycling experience in a stunning space. RYDE Heights opens in April, exactly eight years after our first location opened on West Gray in River Oaks.
What’s special about your team? The RYDE team is the core spirit of who we are and what we do. Our instructors, studio team and management are constantly raising the bar, and are passionate about building authentic relationships with clients inside and outside the studio. We have the best team in the city — and it is a privilege to work with such a talented and hardworking group of people.
RYDE has taught more than 20,000 spin classes since opening in 2015. To what do you attribute the success of your brand? Every aspect of RYDE is crafted with purpose, and our core principles remain steadfast as we grow. First is quality and consistency: Our team strives to earn and retain our clients’ trust and loyalty every day.
Second, we put people first: We invest in our team through comprehensive training programs and dedicated management support to ensure that our most valuable assets are always put first.
Third, we embrace uniqueness: We invest in our product and talent to ensure it is the best in the industry, while constantly innovating. Our athletic edge appeals to men and women equally, and we’ve paid close attention to this balance from the start.
Fourth, we cherish the details: Every physical and digital detail has been carefully considered and refined by our team, and is an integral part of the RYDE identity.
And the final core principle is giving back: The RYDE team and community are deeply committed to making a difference, and are proud to have donated over $160,000 for local and national philanthropic causes.
WHAT DOES IT mean to be "rent-burdened"? The phrase describes those who spend more than 30 percent of their income on housing, and it's become an increasingly relevant part of the larger conversation about the American economy in a post-Covid world.
But a new study shows that Houston, specifically, is actually the most affordable large metro in the United States for recent college graduates. The rent.com report analyzed what percent of income was needed to afford living "alone" (in a one-bedroom apartment) versus living with roommates in several cities across the U.S. Houston is one of only four places where recent college grads are not, on average, rent-burdened: They spend around 27 percent of their income on a one-bedroom apartment, the smallest share in the nation. According to the survey, the median rent in Houston ($1,142) is the lowest among the 33 markets analyzed, and the median salary ($60,277) is on par with the national median.
And for those recent college graduates seeking to live with roommates, Houston becomes even more affordable: The typical grad needs to spend only 17.2 percent of their income on rent when looking at splitting a two-bedroom apartment.
Nationally, these figures are much higher. The average college grad in the U.S. shells out around 38 percent of their income on rent to live alone, and the most expensive cities are New York (56.3 percent), Los Angeles (54.9 percent), Boston (54.8 percent) and Riverside (53.7 percent).
One of the "most interesting" metros in the dataset, according to the report, is Austin, which went from unaffordable (35.2 percent) to affordable (28.3 percent) between 2023 and 2024. It ranks as No. 3 in the current report, between Houston and No. 2 Detroit.
"This makes sense," reads the analysis, since "Austin was the poster child for booming metros during the pandemic, seeing a huge surge in migration from 2020 to mid-2022. This flood of new money and demand led to skyrocketing housing costs, large inflation increases, and a surge in new construction. However, once the sharp interest rate hikes and return-to-office mandates started in 2023, the city’s fortunes reversed, leading to price drops and population loss. Now, some property managers are having to compete for tenants."
AS THE HOLIDAYS loom closer with celebrations and travel in the works, now is the time we start thinking about how to feel and look our best.
Enter Houston-based physician Steven J. Cyr, who grew up in Fort Walton Beach, Fla., and knew he wanted to be a doctor at just four years old. His long medical journey, which led to specializing in spine surgery, began with top honors, graduating Summa Cum Laude and as a valedictorian with a biology degree from Southwest Texas State University.
“I played college football, and due to an injury, had my ACL reconstructed my first year,” explains Cyr, 53. “The fact that I was able to return to that level of competition as a college running back drew me to the field of orthopedic surgery.
“During my residency, I found spine surgery the most intriguing because it was the most complex and required patience and meticulousness,” continues Cyr, who trained at the Mayo Clinic and is now the Chief Medical Officer of Surgical Associates in Spine at SASpine. He has a stellar reputation for correcting complex conditions of the spine and musculoskeletal system — but he also always had an interest in cosmetic surgery.
Now, after years of cosmetic surgery training, he has pioneered a significant integration of these two specialized fields. His CYRx MD Cosmetic Surgery leverages his orthopedic expertise and passion for fitness and body building. Cyr developed a revolutionary surgical technique called OrthoSculpt. Unlike conventional liposuction, which focuses solely on fat removal or shaping fat to portray muscle, OrthoSculpt is a five-step process which delves deeper to reveal a patient's underlying muscles with extraordinary precision.
By relying on a comprehensive understanding of muscle, nerve, and blood vessel anatomy, Cyr selectively and safely removes unwanted fat from areas of the face, neck, and body, to unveil jaw lines, cheekbones, and sculpted physiques with a natural-looking, fit, gym-built appearance.
But his cosmetic surgery expertise doesn’t stop there. “My fellowship training included both facial and body cosmetic surgeries of all kinds. I routinely perform breast augmentation, tummy tucks, breast lifts, facelift and neck lifts, Brazilian butt lifts, and fat transfers to the face, breasts, and body,” says Cyr.
At his offices in Houston, Ft. Lauderdale and San Antonio, he performs nonsurgical and aesthetic procedures (like filler and neurotoxin injections). He also offers ultrasound cavitation, which is the use of ultrasound technology to break down fat cells below the skin and reduce the appearance of cellulite.
In his leisure time, the always-busy doctor enjoys weight training, martial arts and spending time with his wife of 25 years and their four children; the eldest is 22 and in law school at Vanderbilt. When time allows, traveling is another joy. “We love visiting Italy and Spain, where I have family.”