When layoffs and industry changes hit the aerospace engineering industry during the pandemic, Mike Newbry found himself at a crossroads: return to his career at Boeing or take a leap into entrepreneurship. Choosing the latter, Newbry combined his MBA background with a longtime passion for cycling and acquired CycleBar in Redmond. CycleBar is a boutique fitness concept built around low-impact, high-intensity indoor cycling classes. But what looked like a stable business quickly became a major challenge when the studio lost members and local leadership during the ownership transition. Instead of walking away, Newbry took a hands-on approach to rebuilding the studio and restoring momentum. Today, he is focused on growing CycleBar’s community in Redmond while laying the groundwork for future expansion.
Newbry recently sat down with 1851 Franchise to discuss leaving Boeing to pursue entrepreneurship and how he rebuilt momentum after taking over a struggling studio. Here’s what he had to say:
1851 Franchise: Frame your personal story for us. What do you want us to know?
Mike Newbry: I’m an engineer by trade, but I wanted to grow my personal self, so I got an MBA and moved into engineering management. Years later, I was working at Boeing during the COVID-19 pandemic. I had to shrink my team and was given the choice of going back to engineering or taking a separation from the company. I decided to separate and try to do my own thing. A franchise consultant reached out at just the right time and presented five different opportunities. I’m very passionate about fitness. I do triathlons, and cycling is my favorite portion of that. I thought, "I can do something I’m passionate about and get other people involved." That would be a really fun life.
1851: What did you do before franchising, and how did you decide franchising made sense for you?
Newbry: I had it in the back of my mind from a class I took during my MBA where the instructor had owned a bunch of different franchises. He presented the benefits franchising provides, and it stuck with me as something that can work. Trying to start something on my own from scratch felt really overwhelming, but buying something that was already established with proven results sounded like a much better plan for me.
1851: What was your perception of franchising prior to becoming a franchisee, and what do you want people to know about franchising now that you are in it?
Newbry: My perception was that everything is figured out for you—that you kind of buy this thing, have somebody run it, and you're just the owner. I definitely think people should know they need to do their own research. It was a lot more difficult and I’ve had to be a lot more hands-on than I anticipated up front.
1851: What made you pick this brand? What excites you most about this company?
Newbry: I wanted to do something I was passionate about. Fitness makes up a large portion of my life and what brings me joy. CycleBar had been around for a long time, and even through COVID, the brand felt solid. I felt like I could combine my professional aspirations with my passion for fitness.
1851: What do you hope to achieve with your business? What are your plans for growth?
Newbry: My initial plan was to open all three studios in the market. I wanted to be more than just a single-unit owner. I wanted to build a leadership team that helped me manage and grow a portfolio. My immediate goal is to get this studio back to the profits it was generating about a year prior to me taking over, and then use that revenue to open more studios with the lessons I’ve learned here.
1851: Is there anything else about your story you want us to know?
Newbry: Having someone follow their passion and take that leap of faith is the highlight of this. I purchased this studio when it was going through a major transition. It had about 400 members and was doing really well, which is why I bought it—I thought it was a sure thing. But it lost 100 members and its local leadership right before I took ownership. I got down to about 240 members and was starting to panic. I took extreme ownership of it and executed the best I could every day. Since July, I’ve made sure to do the right steps day in and day out, and we’re regaining momentum. We are approaching 300 members now, and I hope to get back to where the studio was so I can continue those growth plans.
1851: What advice do you have for other people thinking about becoming franchise owners?
Newbry: Listen to podcasts like Franchise Secrets so you can hear stories from others. One thing I wish I would have done is call more owners. When they give you that Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD), you should cold-call the people on that list. You need to know what to prepare for before you decide whether or not to move forward.
About CycleBar
Founded in 2004, CycleBar is the largest indoor cycling brand by number of studios and offers a variety of low-impact, high-intensity indoor cycling workouts, which are inclusive of all fitness levels. CycleBar offers an immersive, multi-sensory experience in state-of-the-art “CycleTheaters,” led by specially trained instructors, enhanced with high-energy “CycleBeats” playlists and tracked using rider-specific “CycleStat” performance metrics. Ranked on Entrepreneur Magazine’s Franchise 500 six years running, Fastest-Growing Franchises in 2021 as well as Inc. Magazine’s Inc. 5000 in 2020, CycleBar is headquartered in Irvine, CA and backed by Extraordinary Brands, one of the leading global franchisors of boutique health and wellness brands. To learn more about CycleBar, visit www.cyclebar.com.
About Extraordinary Brands
Founded by Paul Flick in 2022, Extraordinary Brands is a multi-brand franchisor platform specializing in boutique fitness and wellness concepts. The company empowers entrepreneurs to launch, scale, and grow standout studio brands through a shared services model and operational consistency. Its expanding portfolio now includes CycleBar (indoor cycling), Rumble (boxing-inspired group fitness), Row House (rowing-based HIIT), and NEIGHBORHOOD barre (barre). Extraordinary Brands continues to pursue growth across Pilates, spin, HIIT, barre, and recovery verticals, with a focus on franchisee success and long-term brand revitalization. Visit www.extraordinarybrands.com to learn more.
Extraordinary Brands
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After leaving the aerospace industry during the pandemic, Mike Newbry bought a CycleBar studio that had lost members and local leadership just before the transition.
When layoffs and industry changes hit the aerospace engineering industry during the pandemic, Mike Newbry found himself at a crossroads: return to his career at Boeing or take a leap into entrepreneurship. Choosing the latter, Newbry combined his MBA background with a longtime passion for cycling and acquired CycleBar in Redmond. CycleBar is a boutique fitness concept built around low-impact, high-intensity indoor cycling classes. But what looked like a stable business quickly became a major challenge when the studio lost members and local leadership during the ownership transition. Instead of walking away, Newbry took a hands-on approach to rebuilding the studio and restoring momentum. Today, he is focused on growing CycleBar’s community in Redmond while laying the groundwork for future expansion.
Newbry recently sat down with 1851 Franchise to discuss leaving Boeing to pursue entrepreneurship and how he rebuilt momentum after taking over a struggling studio. Here’s what he had to say:
1851 Franchise: Frame your personal story for us. What do you want us to know?
Mike Newbry: I’m an engineer by trade, but I wanted to grow my personal self, so I got an MBA and moved into engineering management. Years later, I was working at Boeing during the COVID-19 pandemic. I had to shrink my team and was given the choice of going back to engineering or taking a separation from the company. I decided to separate and try to do my own thing. A franchise consultant reached out at just the right time and presented five different opportunities. I’m very passionate about fitness. I do triathlons, and cycling is my favorite portion of that. I thought, "I can do something I’m passionate about and get other people involved." That would be a really fun life.
1851: What did you do before franchising, and how did you decide franchising made sense for you?
Newbry: I had it in the back of my mind from a class I took during my MBA where the instructor had owned a bunch of different franchises. He presented the benefits franchising provides, and it stuck with me as something that can work. Trying to start something on my own from scratch felt really overwhelming, but buying something that was already established with proven results sounded like a much better plan for me.
1851: What was your perception of franchising prior to becoming a franchisee, and what do you want people to know about franchising now that you are in it?
Newbry: My perception was that everything is figured out for you—that you kind of buy this thing, have somebody run it, and you're just the owner. I definitely think people should know they need to do their own research. It was a lot more difficult and I’ve had to be a lot more hands-on than I anticipated up front.
1851: What made you pick this brand? What excites you most about this company?
Newbry: I wanted to do something I was passionate about. Fitness makes up a large portion of my life and what brings me joy. CycleBar had been around for a long time, and even through COVID, the brand felt solid. I felt like I could combine my professional aspirations with my passion for fitness.
1851: What do you hope to achieve with your business? What are your plans for growth?
Newbry: My initial plan was to open all three studios in the market. I wanted to be more than just a single-unit owner. I wanted to build a leadership team that helped me manage and grow a portfolio. My immediate goal is to get this studio back to the profits it was generating about a year prior to me taking over, and then use that revenue to open more studios with the lessons I’ve learned here.
1851: Is there anything else about your story you want us to know?
Newbry: Having someone follow their passion and take that leap of faith is the highlight of this. I purchased this studio when it was going through a major transition. It had about 400 members and was doing really well, which is why I bought it—I thought it was a sure thing. But it lost 100 members and its local leadership right before I took ownership. I got down to about 240 members and was starting to panic. I took extreme ownership of it and executed the best I could every day. Since July, I’ve made sure to do the right steps day in and day out, and we’re regaining momentum. We are approaching 300 members now, and I hope to get back to where the studio was so I can continue those growth plans.
1851: What advice do you have for other people thinking about becoming franchise owners?
Newbry: Listen to podcasts like Franchise Secrets so you can hear stories from others. One thing I wish I would have done is call more owners. When they give you that Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD), you should cold-call the people on that list. You need to know what to prepare for before you decide whether or not to move forward.
About CycleBar
Founded in 2004, CycleBar is the largest indoor cycling brand by number of studios and offers a variety of low-impact, high-intensity indoor cycling workouts, which are inclusive of all fitness levels. CycleBar offers an immersive, multi-sensory experience in state-of-the-art “CycleTheaters,” led by specially trained instructors, enhanced with high-energy “CycleBeats” playlists and tracked using rider-specific “CycleStat” performance metrics. Ranked on Entrepreneur Magazine’s Franchise 500 six years running, Fastest-Growing Franchises in 2021 as well as Inc. Magazine’s Inc. 5000 in 2020, CycleBar is headquartered in Irvine, CA and backed by Extraordinary Brands, one of the leading global franchisors of boutique health and wellness brands. To learn more about CycleBar, visit www.cyclebar.com.
About Extraordinary Brands
Founded by Paul Flick in 2022, Extraordinary Brands is a multi-brand franchisor platform specializing in boutique fitness and wellness concepts. The company empowers entrepreneurs to launch, scale, and grow standout studio brands through a shared services model and operational consistency. Its expanding portfolio now includes CycleBar (indoor cycling), Rumble (boxing-inspired group fitness), Row House (rowing-based HIIT), and NEIGHBORHOOD barre (barre). Extraordinary Brands continues to pursue growth across Pilates, spin, HIIT, barre, and recovery verticals, with a focus on franchisee success and long-term brand revitalization. Visit www.extraordinarybrands.com to learn more.
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