At 13, He Lost His Arm. Now He’s a Top Peloton Coach
Growing up, Logan Aldridge could never sit still—and if you’ve met him, you know that hasn’t changed. Sitting across from him in his cowboy hat at Sounds Like Nashville Live, his smile was warm and his energy magnetic, so much so that you might not even notice he’s missing his left arm. And that’s exactly how he wants it.
When Aldridge was 13, he was out wakeboarding—something his family did almost every weekend. In an instant, the rope he was holding tangled in the boat’s propeller. His left arm was severed, and blood was everywhere. On the way to the hospital, still in shock and trying to process what had just happened, he looked to his mom for answers.
“In the ambulance, when I was thinking, ‘Oh my gosh, my arm might get amputated,’ I asked my mom [what would happen],” he told Men’s Journal. “And she says, ‘Logan, it’s just an arm.’ That mentality can be viewed by someone as tough love, but it was also the moment that shifted my perspective. It kind of transformed the way I saw myself—and what could become of this.”
Aldridge has never let his accident define him, and he doesn’t want it to define how others see him either. After he lost his arm, he stood up in front of his entire school and told them what happened—head-on, no drama, no whispers. He’s never been afraid of the spotlight—and he's spent the years since turning that resilience into a movement.
Today, Aldridge is Peloton’s only adaptive fitness instructor. The accident that changed his life also changed how he sees others: with compassion, not caution. While he encourages his trainees to work within the realities of their bodies, you better believe he’ll still push them.
"My coaching style is one of inclusive accessibility and democratization of fitness, where there shouldn't be barriers to entry, especially if the individual has physical limitations. And through that lens, it's made me a really compassionate instructor and coach. But, big but here, I will make you want to throw up."
When he was young, Aldridge remembers people constantly trying to help him. Whether it was teachers stepping in to assist before he had a chance to figure things out, or people gently reminding him of what might be harder now that he’d lost his dominant arm, he understood they meant well. But he never saw himself that way—and he never wanted to be told what he couldn’t do.
Now, he brings that same mindset into his training and coaching. He wants everyone he works with to walk away knowing they’re capable of more than they think. That they can work hard, push themselves, and move past the limits they—or others—have placed on them.
"Just because you're a seated athlete, bilateral amputee, one arm, or whatever the case may be, I have compassion and understanding, but I don't have sympathy," he said. "I still want to push you and show you, regardless of impairment condition or not, if somebody's timid and afraid, doesn't think they can become strong, I want to show them through affirming, empowering action that they're capable."
He’s able to do just that through Peloton, a platform that meets people wherever they are—no gym membership required. Since joining in 2022, Aldridge has made it his mission to help people of all abilities see themselves reflected in fitness.
"I want to help build a way in which people who are intimidated, fearful, who have disabilities, can have this platform. It doesn't have to be on a bike or a tread. It can be in their pocket. It can be on an app. They can just be on the couch and open the app and just watch, just watch. And then maybe the next day you'll try, you know, it's just baby steps, micro changes that make it to macro solutions. And the community at Peloton is the definition of an inclusive, welcoming, understanding community."