this morning, i received the incredibly devastating news that Clare Veronica Walsh, one of the best instructors at SoulCycle, passed away yesterday. it is absolutely impossible for me to convey how heavy my heart is, and every thought in my heart and soul goes out to Clare's family and her SoulCycle family & closest friends.
Clare was so young, still in her early 20's, and so beautiful - but what comes to mind when most people think about Clare is her SOUL. Clare was so energetic, so happy, so driven, so talented. the last class i took before heading back to the Midwest before the holidays was with Clare, and after being so sad all day, i have decided to look back on that 6 am with her on the instructor bike...as one of the best classes ever.
Clare burst into the studio, running a bit late, still in her jacket and scarf, her hair crazy, her laptop in her arms, and yelled out (in a voice that was incredibly cheery for 6 am) "Okay everybody up!" she barely even needed that mic to tell us to move our asses. Amanda, the great front desk gal at the Tribeca studio, ran in after her with a pair of spin shoes in hand, and i remember thinking "the Soul staff is so nice, running in here with shoes for her because she's running late." Clare hooked her computer up and started crankin' her tunes before she even took her jacket off. she had us sweating before she had her spin shoes on.
she was sporting pink streaks in her hair, and wearing the cutest baggy pants and tank top, showing off her bangin' bod, and damn, she was rocking out. she spent the entire 45 minutes bouncing around the room, screaming at us, pushing us harder, whipping her hair around, and dancing her ass off. at one point, she got up on the bike and said out to the room "damn Tribeca, I have so much love for everyone in this room." judging by the response from the Soul community today upon hearing the news...New York City was full of love for Clare.
the thing i want to convey most about Clare is how inspiring she was/still is. everytime i rode with Clare - i ALWAYS thought to myself "i want to be more badass like Clare. she's so awesome and so fearless. i resolve to be more fearless, like Clare." it's that energy, that wild heart, her beautiful smile... it's irreplacable and it was SO incredibly rare. i feel so blessed to have ridden with her, to have experienced Clare Walsh. her soul was so clear and so bright.
that devastating email also reminded me of this: life is so fragile, so short, so unexpected. it could all be over in the blink of an eye. don't take anything for granted, dancing your ass off every day, tell the people you love exactly how much you love them. you never know what will happen tomorrow, or today, or even 1 minute from now. this life is so temporary so make every second worth it.
RIP girl, may you ride on, eternally happy, in heaven.
7 comments:
this is so beautifully written. thank you for sharing.
You really captured the essence of this wonderful woman in your description of that class. Thank you for writing this beautiful memorial to this amazing spirit we will all miss so much.
it was so sad in class today. everyone was just shocked by clare's passing. ;-(
I had only taken a few classes led by Clare, but one was just two weeks ago. Her energy was amazing! Such sad, shocking news.
so beautiful, I didn't know Clare but now feel I did. what a tribute to someone who sounds one-of-a-kind. Funny you use the word fearless, check out youfearless.com. My friend Jen (cycle for survival founder) was fearless and urged us all to be, maybe they are dancing together now.
Thank you so much for writing this, I think it reflects how many of us have been feeling the past few days. Clare was a wonderful person and became far more than a spin instructor to many of us. She was a motivator, an inspiration and had a beautiful soul... she will truly be missed.
So well said. She had such a great energy and spirit. I remember her striding in to a Tribeca class - pink streaks, punk boots and proud new MSTR instructor hoodie.She was bad ass.
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