Powered by the Pedal: London’s First Sustainable Fitness Studio Turns Workouts Into Clean Energy
By Ella Wisdom (09/28/2025) — London, UK
When you walk into the Revolt Cycling studio, it looks much like what you’d expect to see in a luxury fitness space: a wall full of branded merchandise, a smoothie bar, yoga mats, equipment lined up ready for use…
But beneath the surface, Revolt is unlike your typical studio. It’s London’s first sustainable fitness studio, and it’s powered by the energy produced in its cycling classes.
Revolt was founded by Celeste Blakey, a Kings College and EHL alumna who began her early career working in luxury hotels’ sustainability departments. “I grew disillusioned,” she told me. “Especially with the enormous impact hotel chains have, I kept hitting walls and feeling like there was just no solution.”
Feeling powerless to make meaningful change within the hospitality industry, Celeste turned her sights elsewhere. “I started thinking about the operations people use in their day-to-day lives and realized that gyms are such an untapped market for sustainability. People do so much more than just work out in a fitness studio – they buy merchandise, shower, and get ready for the day. If I could create a community there, I could show people what sorts of small changes they can make.”
And so, Revolt was born. Nearly every detail in the studio was a meticulous eco-concious choice: furniture made from recycled boot clay, merchandise made from recycled polyester, FSC certified wood, water-based paint. “Every purchase had to fulfill three things,” Celeste explained. “One, I wanted it to be cool and fun. Two, I wanted it to be sustainable – if not 100%, the best it can be. Three, not super expensive. Balancing these three things made every business decision 200 times harder and 500 times more time-consuming.”
Beyond the products themselves, the studio nudges customers toward sustainable habits. Showers are one-push timed, running for just 45 seconds before needing to be restarted. Every light is automatic. The smoothie bar serves drinks in compostable cups, allowing you to opt for a bamboo straw.
And then, of course, there are the RE:Gen bikes.
Created by the UK-based startup Energym, these bicycles store the energy produced by the cyclist to be repurposed. “Like a hamster in a wheel, you create the energy, but that usually doesn't have anywhere to go,” Celeste explained. “We’ve raised the whole floor of the cycling studio, and beneath it, placed loads of tubes and pipes. They funnel all the electricity into a box in the corner – the energy storage system – that converts it into usable power. It wires into the switchboard and powers the studio.” According to Energym, just one cycling class with 30 RE:Gens generates enough energy to light 12 homes for a day.
As for me, I’m more of a pilates girl than a cycling girl, so I signed up for Revolt’s first ever pilates class. The studio was stunning, the mats and equipment were eco-friendly, and the workout itself felt all the more satisfying knowing it was part of Celeste’s greater mission.
Revolt reminded me how easy it can be to start small. “Sustainability is so overwhelming to most people,” Celeste said. “My main mission was to make sustainability accessible. There are so many little changes you can make that add up to a big impact.”
And that’s exactly what Revolt achieves. Showing people that sustainability doesn’t have to be onerous – it can be energizing, fun, and even luxurious.
My time at Revolt left me with some (very) sore muscles and a fresh perspective on how we can all approach sustainability. Now that’s a workout worth coming back for!
