Not My Job: We Quiz Peloton Instructor Ally Love On Skeletons

PETER SAGAL, HOST:

And now the game where we ask people who have better things to do to try doing something worse. It's called Not My Job. Now, the pandemic has created a few celebrities, and they're all fine in their own way. But let's face it. As great as Dr. Fauci is, nobody wants him yelling at us to pedal faster during a 45-minute spin class. Ally Love is one of the most beloved instructors on Peloton, so much so that her regular Sunday class, "Sundays With Love" - well, it's taken the place of church for many people. Ally Love, welcome to WAIT WAIT... DON'T TELL ME.

ALLY LOVE: Thank you so much for having me, Peter. I'm excited to be here.

SAGAL: We're - I'm very excited to see you. Would you agree that the pandemic has increased your and your other instructors' visibility because so many people had to exercise indoors?

LOVE: I think there was a big need during the pandemic of some type of outlet. It was a way for you to turn your home into a gym, turn your home into a space that you can kind of just, like, get into your zone or find your pick-me-up or, yes, have me tell you to pedal faster but all in - with good intentions.

SAGAL: Yes.

LOVE: And so the reality of it is that we want more so people to feel good, right? It was an honor and a privilege that we were able to be in so many people's homes and in their lives in a part of such a challenging year for all of us and to share that.

SAGAL: I know very few of us have been outside and meeting people at random. But when that happens, I'm sure you get recognized. And people, I would guess, have a pretty intense reaction to meeting you, right? Because as you say, you're in their homes. You're there with them during, if not vulnerable moments, very intense moments where they're doing their best. So people must have - they must feel strong connections to you and your fellow instructors.

LOVE: Yes, visceral response and reaction. It's almost like we're best friends. I just don't know it yet.

SAGAL: Right.

LOVE: Like, it's like a member who comes up and is like, you're my best friend. Like, you've told me all the things I've told to my kids. I tell them yes or yes. The one response that almost makes me completely nervous is when people can't talk.

SAGAL: Yeah.

LOVE: And I don't know what to do because I also don't want to dominate the conversation 'cause you hear me talk all the time (laughter).

SAGAL: Yes.

JOEL KIM BOOSTER: Well, can I ask you a question just to explain? Because I know - like, I'm not a Peloton user 'cause I'm asthmatic, and I'm afraid. But what is your, like, approach to your - I guess, like, for lack of a better word - monologues when you're instructing on Peloton?

LOVE: So two things. Folks will often ask me, am I at the same resistance and cadence that I call out? And the reality is, yes, we're doing it. And, sometimes, it's hard as hell.

SAGAL: You're not secretly taking it easy.

LOVE: No.

SAGAL: So when we see you and we're literally dying or praying for death, you're doing it just as hard as we are.

LOVE: Absolutely. And there are times, sincerely, in a ride where I'm thinking - why did I do this to myself? I'm in charge. Like, I created this roadmap. And I'm like, why did I do that? And I would say the second thing is that, you know, we don't script our rides out. We'll come in with themes or topics and points. But it's all sincerely off the top of the dome, like rappers (laughter).

PAULA POUNDSTONE: You know that little thing they sell now, Ally, for - where it sits on the floor. And people - they put your feet on it, and it goes like this that you pedal? Are you using that right now?

(LAUGHTER)

LOVE: I'm working out. I'm making it. Not right now. But I do take calls on the tread. I kicked out a bed. I, like, let go of a bed, which was really expensive, just to get the tread in my home during the pandemic just so I can walk and take calls because in New York, we walk a lot. And so that was - the biggest piece I was missing is just walking. And so I'm not doing it exactly at this moment because this is actually me coming down.

KIM BOOSTER: This is you coming down? Oh, my God.

LOVE: I know. I know.

POUNDSTONE: Now, if you don't - if you walk on the treadmill because, you know, it's not so - you're not going outside, do you have bad smells piped in to your house so that you can feel like you're walking around the city?

LOVE: I will say my pandemic smell, the sweat that I've accumulated in pandemic, this is - body odor is much different. I don't know about anyone else. I've talked to my friends.

POUNDSTONE: (Laughter).

LOVE: And they're on board with this. But there is a different smell that I have in the last year that I never had before of just sitting, being in one spot. So if you're talking about that, I think I've been doing it natural. It's a natural thing.

SAGAL: Do your friends comment on this?

POUNDSTONE: (Laughter).

LOVE: Yeah. You know, you got to - that's what friends are. You got to be able to ask them the tough questions.

KIM BOOSTER: Yeah, me and my friends mostly just talk about Netflix, things like that.

MAEVE HIGGINS: (Laughter).

SAGAL: You were a dancer, trained and professional. You were, if I'm not mistaken, the host for the - on-court host for the Brooklyn Nets. You still do that?

LOVE: Yes, I'm still with the Nets.

SAGAL: And what is that - what does that job entail?

LOVE: So I've been with the Nets for eight seasons. And basically, I am the in-arena host. So I - I'm on the court. I'm entertaining 18,000 fans, 41 home games, playoffs, preseasons. So, basically, I tie the whole entertainment of the game together. And it's quite cool...

SAGAL: Right.

LOVE: ...I will say, being able to be on the court. I take it all in every time.

SAGAL: So I have to ask you - after eight seasons of working with the Brooklyn Nets as their on-court host, how far can you throw a T-shirt?

LOVE: Oh, my gosh. Do you know? Y'all, the one taxing thing that I know - that is, like - of all the jobs that I have, this is, like, the worst - is that when I get on the subway or I'm eating at a restaurant, someone will come up to me and say, oh, you're Ally Love from the Brooklyn Nets. Do you have a T-shirt? I'm like, yes, on this...

SAGAL: Do - what?

LOVE: On this 2 train or in this restaurant right now or while I'm doing the class, let me reach into my Barney bag and get you a T-shirt 'cause I carry them everywhere. This is the most common question as if I just carry a backpack. And I'm just like, hey, headed to Peloton, free T-shirts.

SAGAL: (Laughter)

LOVE: Like, I'm like, no, I do not have a T-shirt for you.

SAGAL: Well, Ally Love, we're delighted to have you here. But now it's time for a game we're calling...

BILL KURTIS: Peloton Meets Skeleton.

SAGAL: So you know all about Peloton. We thought - what do you know about skeletons, you know, the inside hard parts. We're going to ask you three questions about bones. Get two right - you'll win our prize for one of our listeners. Bill, who is Ally Love playing for?

KURTIS: Hadley Hamilton-Lowe of Culver City, Calif.

SAGAL: All right. First question. In the classic Western film "The Good, The Bad And The Ugly," filmmakers used a real human skeleton for one of the scenes. How did they get a hold of it? Was it A, a Spanish actress stipulated in her will that she wanted to continue acting even after death and offered her skeleton for any open roles; B, they called up Great Hereafter, quote, "the leading post-mortem talent agency"; or C, they just asked Clint Eastwood to take off his makeup?

LOVE: Wow.

POUNDSTONE: (Laughter).

LOVE: C sounds - no, I'm just kidding. I - I'm going to go with - is there an obvious answer? Everyone knows the answer here, and it's just me?

HIGGINS: I don't...

POUNDSTONE: I don't know the answer.

KIM BOOSTER: Everybody.

SAGAL: Yeah.

LOVE: OK, that makes me feel good. I'm going to say it's B.

SAGAL: You're going to say it's B, that they called up Great Hereafter, quote, "the leading post-mortem talent agency" as if there's an agency that just deals in dead people?

LOVE: (Laughter) Wait. No, that's not it. OK.

HIGGINS: (Laughter).

LOVE: My instinct to go with B. But because I don't movie - don't know movies, I'll lean into A because I feel like that's a boss move, that this lady's like, I'm still living as I'm dead.

SAGAL: That's right.

(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)

SAGAL: You got it. You got it. Yes, that's the answer. You're exactly right. The Spanish actress was like, no, death be not proud and death be not an obstacle to my continuing career. So they used her skeleton as she had requested. All right. You have two more.

LOVE: Good.

SAGAL: Next question. The movie "Poltergeist" also used real skeletons during one of its scariest scenes at the end when they all pop up. When asked why they used real human skeletons, how did the producers answer - A, they were left on set from a previous movie, or as the producers put it, they were here; B, the set happened to be built on top of an old burial grounds; or C, quote, "they were cheaper than the plastic ones," unquote?

LOVE: Oh, my gosh. If real skeletons are cheaper than the plastic ones, I'm going to feel unwell. I'm going to feel unwell. So I'm just going to go with that they were here.

SAGAL: That there were there. No, I'm afraid it was actually they were cheaper than plastic.

LOVE: OK. All right. One for one.

SAGAL: One and one. So you get this one, you win. According to scientists, most woolly mammoth skeletons they find are male. Now, scientists have theorized that the reason for this is what - A, male mammoths engaged in something scientists call mam-spreading that spread out their bones and made them easier to find; B, male mammoths used to try to impress females by holding their breath as long as they could; or C, quote, "males were more likely to do silly things, like die in tar pits," unquote?

LOVE: All of those things are right.

(LAUGHTER)

LOVE: Every single one of them makes sense.

SAGAL: They all sound right, but only one of them is - only - we made up two of them.

LOVE: I think that maybe they - it sounds lovely that they hold their breath. But maybe they just do silly - like, they die silly.

SAGAL: That's exactly what they do.

(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)

SAGAL: 'Cause it turns out that men are men, whether they're humans or mammoths. Male mammoths tend to do dumb things, like die in tar pits. Bill, how did Ally Love do on our quiz?

KURTIS: Well, we're all in this thing together, and she brought a lot of energy. And it's 2 out of 3, which means she won.

SAGAL: Yay.

POUNDSTONE: Yay.

KIM BOOSTER: Yay.

LOVE: Yay.

SAGAL: I just want to say it was so great to be here with you. You did great. Remember, as you go along the rest of your day, you were here. You were here for yourself. I'm sorry. I'm just no good at this. I'm trying. But it's...

POUNDSTONE: (Laughter).

LOVE: You're doing well.

SAGAL: I was - it's just...

HIGGINS: That sounded genuine.

SAGAL: I was - I just - I didn't have that conviction that Ally has 'cause, like - all right, I'm going to ask 'cause these - my friends here haven't done your classes. I would like you in your amazing, patented Ally Love way to tell me that I did a good job of having you on my show.

LOVE: I would say there are obstacles that are hard, and there are a lot of people that start. And you encountered a hard obstacle. You challenged yourself. You overcame, and you're at the finish line, where we are now celebrating your victory. So thank you for having me because it's a win on my end. I learned that real skeletons are cheaper than plastic skeletons.

(LAUGHTER)

LOVE: I get to take that away, and I get to share that on a ride. And I also enjoyed being with all of you. I'd say this was a victory. This was a win. You're totally a boss.

POUNDSTONE: Wow.

SAGAL: I've never felt better in my life.

HIGGINS: Aw.

KIM BOOSTER: That's amazing.

HIGGINS: Yeah.

SAGAL: Ally Love is a Peloton instructor and the founder of Love Squad. You can find out more about her at allylove.com. Ally Love, thank you so much for joining us on WAIT WAIT... DON'T TELL ME.

LOVE: Thank you so much for having me. Thank you, everyone.

SAGAL: Thank you. Take care, Ally.

HIGGINS: Thanks, Ally.

KIM BOOSTER: Bye.

POUNDSTONE: Bye, Ally. Thank you.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "BICYCLE RACE")

QUEEN: (Singing) I want to ride my bicycle, bicycle, bicycle. I want to ride my bicycle. I want to ride my bike. I want to ride my bicycle. I want to ride it where I like.

SAGAL: In just a minute, Bill reveals the twisted things Swedish people do to their pizza. It's a shocking Listener Limerick Challenge. Call 1-888-WAIT-WAIT to join us on the air. We'll be back in a minute with more of WAIT WAIT... DON'T TELL ME from NPR.

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