“All it is is bonding,” said Starker, who’s also a founding investor in Cyc Fitness, a chain of less expensive spinning studios geared toward college students and young professionals.
“You’re saying let’s go spin this morning, get a sweat and grab a juice after,” said Starker, whose company has studios in Austin, Texas, and Madison, Wisconsin. “There’s still the ones that love to be entertained with a good bottle of wine, steak and quiet conversation, but so many people are more health- conscious these days.”
Justin Sliney, 38, head of currency and rates trading for the Americas at Utrecht, Netherlands-based Rabobank Groep, said in a phone interview last week that he planned to take his former boss to an early morning Barry’s Boot Camp class in Tribeca. It’s fun to meet colleagues there because they can get competitive, he said.
“A lot of people who work on Wall Street, every hour of free time they have is precious and they want to maximize it,” Sliney said. “It’s a nice alternative to dinners or drinks. It’s a 6 a.m. alternative.”