I attended Lululemon‘s “Gospel of Sweat” last Friday evening at the breathtaking Riverside Church. At first blush, I thought it was a positive and well-organized event with a multitude of inspirational speakers spending time at the pulpit. However after taking a step back I have to say that overall it left me feeling quite uneasy and a bit confused. While Lululemon wasn’t physically hawking their $100 yoga pants in the House of God, corporate branding and politics abounded. Keeping this in mind, I do not think a church was the appropriate venue for this event (Matthew 21:12 anyone?…).
From a marketing perspective, (which I can fully appreciate since I do work in advertising), Lululemon zeroed in on the strategic insight that fitness is increasingly filling the spiritual void in people’s lives. More and more often, people are turning to their yoga mats, spin bikes, and Nike Frees to self-reflect, re-energize, and search within themselves for direction in life.
Props to you, Lululemon, for pouncing on this insight and branding the fitness-as-religion movement as your own. Your product design is to die for, your mantras are catchy, and you could probably already deem your zealous consumers as “disciples”. But holding this event in a church and actually facilitating a branded mass? I enjoy drinking the Lulu Kool-aid as much as the next Flywheel-obsessed 20-something NYC girl, but this event was too much for me.
The event started with a “mocktail” hour in which our gracious Lululemon hosts served up free Tumeric drinks, Palo Root Tea, and Balance flower-infused waters (brands on brands on brands). Healthy, tasty, and free are a heady combination for thirsty yogis and yoginis.
After mingling a bit and meeting some cool people, the African drum players finally broke the continuous rhythm they’d been playing for the past hour and led the way into the church for the main event. That’s when things started to get interesting – in a smiley, freakish, culty way.
The Riverside Church itself is a sight to behold. The expansive ceilings, ornate stained glass windows, and luminous chandeliers are quite literally breathtaking. “This is going to be awesome!” I thought to myself…
When we finally sat down in the pews, there was a little black “Gospel of Sweat” book (naturally emblazoned with Lululemon’s logo ) waiting for each of us to crack open and take notes during the upcoming lectures. Nice swag, but I honestly was taken aback by their likeness to bibles or little prayer books – which was obviously the point.
The event ensued with talks from a handful of speakers prominent in the yoga and fitness world. Everyone had their own story to tell, whether is was about bringing people together through yoga, overcoming addiction and adopting a “spirit junkie” lifestyle, or spreading the message of yoga on the campaign trail.
The best part of the night for me was listening to Melanie Griffith, a Master Instructor at SoulCycle, tell her fitness tale. Melanie shared her story about quitting her job as a corporate lawyer when she realized that teaching spin classes and sharing her enthusiasm for life with others was her true calling. Melanie is battling cancer, yet she is one of the brightest, most positive people I have ever encountered. And she’s pretty badass. Although I am a devout Flywheel-er, I have taken Melanie’s class at SoulCycle before and it really is life changing. I highly recommend it at least once, especially if you need some inspiration to get back on the workout wagon.
All in all, while I enjoyed many of the speakers and find it interesting that Lululemon is proactively shaping the “lifestyle” associated with their products, I struggle a bit with the implications of tying their brand to something so sacred as religion. Do I love wearing Lululemon clothing? Yes. Do I love pricey spin classes and zen yoga sessions? Yes. Do I plan on attending any more “Gospel of Sweat” events? No way.
To me, there should be a separation of Church and State Savasana. You shouldn’t wear yoga pants to church, and you shouldn’t sell them in church either.
Still wandering,
– Kristen
The Fit Wanderer. 
Um wow. That is super creepy and not okay. Lulu lemon is cool and all, but holding an event like that in a sacred place of worship is well… blasphemous.
Yes, when I left the event I felt very uneasy. It will be interesting to see if Lululemon continues to host these events, or if they will move in a different direction with their brand.
I don’t know, I have a few problems with Lululemon, and this is now one of them. First of all, it really is like a cult the way ladies swear by their ($100) yoga pants. I’ve never actually worn a pair, but I also don’t have a problem with my $30 yoga pants from Old Navy. I feel like Lulu is very exclusive (I would not be able to afford even their lowest priced item) and it’s almost like a club you have to buy your way into. This really seals the deal. How creepy!
Hi Kristy,
Lululemon definitely has a cult-like following, especially among women in New York City. It is impossible to go on a run or hit the gym without coming across their logo – people wear it like a badge of honor. On the other hand, I think this company has really embraced dressing women and have innovated great active wear whereas older companies like Nike and Adidas typically just apply the “Shrink it, Pink it” method of modifying their menswear to create their women’s line. I love the quality of Lululemon products and that they are constantly coming up with improvements and new items with their female consumers in mind.
That being said, I don’t support this whole “fitness as religion” mindset that they are promoting. Hopefully they don’t continue down this path.
Thanks for reading!
– Kristen
I hope not either. I think, however, that Nike and Adidas and the like have changed their outlook on outfitting women because of Lulu! I’ve noticed that the women’s apparel has become much more appealing. I wonder if it is the Lulu influence?
I totally agree with you Kristy. Not only has Lulu changed the game in terms of improving the quality of women’s activewear across the industry, but the fact that women are working out, training, and racing in higher numbers than ever before is something that the big marketers like Nike can’t ignore without sacrificing profits. I was just in the Nike Running Store the other day and I liked a lot of the women’s apparel I saw.
Here’s an interesting article that was recently written up about Under Armour and how they’ve shifted their mindset about their women’s line – let me know what you think!: adage.com/u/TQV9Rb
– Kristen
I don’t like the way that Lululemon is bringing religion into their brand. I do love their clothes but this makes me think twice if I want to continue buying their wonderful, yet expensive, athletic wares. Do they have relgion incorporated anywhere on their websites or is this their first venture into mixing the two (business and religion?)
Hi Cara,
This was their first attempt at mixing business and religion explicitly as far as I’ve seen. Hopefully they won’t continue down this road. I love their clothes as well, but if their brand keeps going down this “culty” route I don’t think I will support it.
– Kristen