Jess King

King was born in 1985 and grew up in the southern United States, in Myrtle Beach, SC.[4] King was exposed to fitness from a young age. Her mother, Ximena Bernales, was a competitive bodybuilder and owned personal training boutique fitness studios.[5]

King began her professional career as a dancer. She toured as a dancer and teacher and was the lead in a Cirque Du Soleil production in Las Vegas.[5] In 2008, she was a Top 10 finalist on So You Think You Can Dance.[3][6] She was dancing in a show in NYC when her producer suggested she take a meeting with Peloton, a new fitness startup looking for coaches.[5] By the time she met with Peloton founder and CEO, John Foley, she had never been on a spin bike in her life.[6]

King began working as a cycling instructor at Peloton. During her instructor training, she learned the practical elements of the bike like resistance and cadence metrics as well as teaching tips like how to ride and speak simultaneously or how to map out a class.[7] She found the transition from dance to fitness instruction to be easy and natural, particularly since she was well-practiced in musicality and performance.[3]

Her initial motivation for taking the Peloton job was because of a promise of fame and celebrity status by Foley.[8] In recent years, however, she has described the power of connecting with riders and empowering people through fitness as the primary motivation for her work.[5]

King has been in a relationship with musician Sophia Urista since February 2015.[9] They became engaged in September 2020,[10] and live in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, New York City.[11]