Fan favorite Peloton instructor Daniel Mckenna is second to leave this year

May 2024 · 3 minute read

Peloton has announced that instructor Daniel McKenna has left the business. The instructor had been notably absent from the service since mid-September.

Peloton announced this morning that McKenna is the second coach this year to leave the fitness service. Fans had noticed that the “Irish Yank” had been absent from both Peloton and social media for the last couple of weeks.

Peloton made the announcement on their official members’ page on Facebook, however, no public announcement has been given.

Peloton instructor Daniel McKenna

Daniel started as an instructor with Peloton last summer. His appointment was announced on YouTube on August 31, 2021 where he energetically demonstrated his expertise and passion for fitness.

“You can put hustle as my middle name, to be honest,” he said.

In the minute-long video, Daniel talks about his childhood in Ireland. He admits that although he didn’t have much, he had everything he needed. The video alone is proof that he was a great fit as a Peloton instructor as he announced: “I can’t stand still. I always have to have a goal.”

Daniel was introduced as a running and strength tread instructor and the comments are proof that fans were eager to get involved in his sessions.

One said: “I love him! His energy is golden!”

“Great coach and awesome attitude! Highly recommended,” another posted.

Earlier this year, Daniel took to Instagram to admit he had suffered from an injury that had “set him back a few weeks.” However, the instructor also said that “I’m doing my utmost to get back to you amazing members as soon as I can.”

There is no reason to believe that this was a reason for his departure.

Daniel hasn’t posted on his Instagram in three weeks and his face has been absent from classes too.

Two instructors have gone this year

Daniel is the second Peloton instructor to leave this year. Chase Tucker announced that he was leaving Peloton in an Instagram post back in March. Unlike Daniel, his reasons for departing were immediately clear as he told fans he wasn’t done coaching yet.

He said: “I’ve spoken many times about doing the hard work…and that work has led me to focus on adventures and opportunities outside of Peloton.”

A change of face

Peloton had a change of CEO earlier this year who opted for testing a subscription service over a one-off payment to help encourage investors. Barry McCarthy, who was the former chief financial officer of Spotify and Netflix, told The New York Times that he wanted to “fix” the business after sales had slowed in the last year.

He said: “They got caught up in the vision thing at the expense of getting real and dealing with the world as it is. I mean, really, who thought that Covid was going to be the forever thing?”

Barry adds that Peloton has just begun and he plans in investing money in the social aspects – including it becoming part of a creator company, and possibly running an app store.

“Today, it’s a closed platform — but it could be an open platform and part of the creator economy. What other apps would you put on it? Could it be running an app store?”

Peloton typically has a low turnover instructor-wise but has seen more than usual leave in the last year. Perhaps Peloton members will be introduced to some new faces in the next coming months as McCarthy intends to change the business for the better.

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