Rating: 3.75 stars
Buy Link: Amazon | iBooks | Amazon UK
Length: Novel
“Get your life together,” is the catch phrase of Peloton instructor, Cody Rigsby, and he did exactly that. From California to North Carolina to New York City, Rigsby exposes his difficult childhood growing up gay with a single, drug-addicted mother with mental health issues. They were broke and housing was always unstable, but Rigsby always dreamed there were better things for him.
Arriving in NYC, and sometimes working three jobs, Rigsby created a family of friends and a career and stability he can be proud of. From the lows of losing family and friends to addiction, to the highs of competing on Dancing with the Stars and learning to have a relationship with his mother as an adult, Rigsby is opinionated and brash, while being open about who he is. While his tone will tell you that his opinion counts the most, this is an intimate look at working hard to be successful and learning to love yourself along the way.
If you are a Peloton rider or if you watched season 30 of Dancing With the Stars in 2021, you probably know who Cody Rigsby is. He often has a smile during his rides and always has an opinion on the hot topic of the day. If you ever wondered how he got involved with Peloton or are interested in other areas of his life, then this book would be for you.
This is review is certainly not meant as a review on Rigsby’s life, but on the writing and flow of this autobiography. It’s an interesting story of his troubled and unstable childhood and his path to find something better for himself. Even though his mother was a root cause of many of the issues that plagued his younger days, Rigsby has managed to have a relationship with her and one of his top priorities is being able to provide for her. He’s open with his story, but the writing felt more surface level rather than deep and intense as he describes traumatic stories of his past.
In between his life story, there are pages of advice in a question-and-answer style. This is something that Rigsby is known for on social media and the theme of one of his Peloton series, but it didn’t translate too well for me into a novel. Rigsby is opinionated, it says so right there on the cover, and while he says he’s not judging others, it still feels like he most definitely is. While he might never want to see something from a reader’s point of view, he comes across as secure in who he is and what he believes. The writing definitely feels like his voice, but it does come across as a list at times.
While I felt there was room for improvement on the craft of writing, if you ever wondered what is behind the Cody Rigsby persona, this book will take you behind the scenes.
