Inside The Mind Of A Spinning Class Dude
Last year, tabloids were abuzz with the story of a spinning class gone bad on the Upper East Side. One man was assaulted by another man, right in the middle of class. To be fair, the man who was assaulted—48-year-old Stuart Sugarman—is the type of guy who likes to shout out "you go girl!" and "great song!" during spinning class. A fellow spinner, irate at Stuart's unceasing exclamations, grabbed his bike and slammed him against the wall. Now the case has finally come to trial, and Sugarman took the stand yesterday, resulting in what is perhaps the finest exercise-related legal news story of the year:
For Stuart Sugarman, 48, any amount of noise goes. From the witness stand in Manhattan Criminal Court yesterday, Mr. Sugarman told a jury about grunting during a good workout and releasing exclamations of "you go girl," and "great song."
"Are you psyched?" an assistant district attorney, Brigid Harrington, asked Mr. Sugarman, in an effort to explore his mind-set during spinning class.
"I am," Mr. Sugarman said.
And what did his psycheness get him? Humiliation.
Mr. Sugarman said he hit the wall behind him hard when Mr. Carter lifted up his bike. Although he continued to pedal throughout the remaining half-hour of the class, Mr. Sugarman said his body grew numb.
"I was in shock," Mr. Sugarman said. "I was in searing pain but I didn't know what to do."
He continued a little later: "The class is mostly women and it's pretty embarrassing for a guy who is athletic to have this happen to him."
[Confidential to both guys: stop all the spinning and take a look at this.]