How Cody Rigsby became a gay pop culture figure harnessing queerness as a “superpower”
Cody Rigsby’s infectious personality and proclivity for finding strength in humorous self-deprecation. They are only a small selection of the traits that catapulted him into the fitness influencer spotlight while becoming a gay pop culture figure with the ability to bridge the cultural divide that all too often runs along regional lines.The stories of how he influenced change in the minds of those with preconceived notions of LGBTQ+ people through his roles as a Peloton instructor and the company’s director of cycling are well-known and plentiful.
Being perhaps the only window to open queerness that some experience via his joke-filled, motivational workout livestreams has a way of disarming others.But Rigsby took that tool to even greater heights in 2023 with the release of his memoir XOXO, Cody: An Opinionated Homosexual’s Guide to Self-Love, Relationships, and Tactful Pettiness.
The book saw Rigsby’s natural blend of motivational speech, laugh-conjuring humility and queer cultural insights turn inward to its highest degree yet, chronicling adversity and joy as they intertwined to make him the gay man he is today.Subscribe to our newsletter for a refreshing cocktail (or mocktail) of LGBTQ+ entertainment and pop culture, served up with a side of eye-candy.A post shared by lululemon (@lululemon)“I think a lot of a gay person’s life, we are battling these feelings and emotions that feel really right in our own self, but we have all these external influences telling us that we’re wrong, and that we’re bad,” Rigsby told USA Today shortly after the book’s release last September. “I think that what we gain is … a sense of not carrying a burden of other people’s expectations or opinions about ourselves.