How a One-Month Fitness Pass Turned Into a Lifetime Commitment

In January 2018, Andrew Stephen Matt said he spent the best $20.18 he’d ever spend: He bought a one-month, unlimited class pass to Lync Cycling in Dallas.

The next month, he began by taking indoor cycling classes conducted by Kayla Nicole Dye, who immediately took a liking to him. “I liked how kind he was,” she said.

After a few months, she moved him up to the head of the class. “He always booked Bike 22 in the back,” Ms. Dye, 33, said. “I moved him up to Bike 12.” Then she got really bold and booked him front and center on Bike 4.

“I kind of went kicking and screaming,” Mr. Matt said. But he didn’t really mind. “There were so many moments I felt like a walking cliché having a crush on the incredibly good-looking instructor of my fitness class,” he said.

He couldn’t help but wonder if she was moving him up because she thought he was a good cyclist or good looking. Turns out it was a little of both. He was a good cyclist, she said, and “I looked forward to my cute eye candy.”

“Kayla’s super power is getting adults to do things outside of their comfort zone,” said Mr. Matt, 31, who by January 2019 had also become a cycling instructor at the studio.