A former pageant winner, model, and entrepreneur, Puja Gupta Talukdar founded Revolve with a dream to bring world-class spinning to Mumbai. Looking back at when it was just an idea, she reveals she wanted to create a space that felt electric the moment one stepped in.
Today, for Puja, the venture has become much more than that. In a candid conversation with Entrepreneurs Today, she shares,
“Revolve has become a movement about energy, resilience, self-expression, and showing up for yourself even on the hard days. It’s about building confidence. Revolve isn’t just what I created. It’s who I became in the process.”
The Changing Landscape
Puja and her studio, Revolve, have changed the landscape of spinning in India from a niche workout to a full-sensory ritual.
It was by combining immersive lighting, curated music, and intent-led programming that Revolve made cardio aspirational and made the classes look more like fun gatherings. Puja shares,
“Revolve showed that Indian audiences are ready for global-standard boutique fitness and that they crave community as much as results. What I strongly believe in is that fitness doesn’t have to feel like punishment. It can feel like power. And honestly? Our classes are more like a 7 AM party with loud music, high energy, and everyone riding together like they’re celebrating life. The thing is, when fitness feels like fun, you keep coming back.”
For Revolve, the community has been the brand’s engine and its most reliable growth channel.
Interviewer: How important has the community been in shaping the brand and its energy?
Puja: “Community is everything. Revolve was never meant to be just a studio. It was meant to be a space where people feel seen, supported, and celebrated. The energy you feel in a class isn’t created by me alone. It’s created by every single person who walks in, shows up, and rides with heart. That collective energy is what makes it electric. I’ve watched strangers become friends, friendships turn into support systems, and members show up for each other beyond the bike. That’s when I knew Revolve was bigger than fitness.”
Puja’s Process
“You need both the dreamer and the decision-maker. One without the other either burns out or never takes off. Revolve reflects that balance. It’s expressive and high-energy, but it’s also intentional and thoughtfully built.”
Puja treats creative direction and strategy as one process that turns an idea into a repeatable class experience at Revolve. She designs each session around a curated playlist with timed music drops and lighting. She believes that every vision needs structure, without which there is no brand. With passion, there needs to be discipline, systems, and clarity.
Interviewer: Being an entrepreneur, fitness enthusiast, and content creator, how do you maintain balance and mental well-being amidst all of it?
Puja: “I’ve realised balance isn’t about doing everything perfectly. It’s about checking in with myself. There are days when I’m fully in work mode, and there are days when I need to slow down. I’ve learned to listen to those signals instead of fighting them. My mental well-being really comes from simple things like movement, quiet mornings, time with my animals, and allowing myself to switch off without guilt. I don’t try to be “on” all the time anymore. The more I grow, the more I understand that protecting your energy is part of building anything meaningful. For me, balance is more about self-awareness than control.”
Puja’s Approach to Self-Care
Puja loves spinning because, to her, it feels like controlled chaos. She loves the feel of a dark room, loud music, and a 45-minute zone with no phones and no overthinking. For her, it acts as a mental reset. When she walks in stressed, she walks out lighter, clearer, and stronger, having pushed past comfort while riding in sync with others.
While reminiscing about the initial days, Puja revisits a time when she thought discipline meant never stopping. It was a period of non-stop pushing that taught her that being burned out is not strength, and rest is just as important. Now, Puja makes sure to train with intention so she can balance between pushing harder and taking a moment to pause. It has helped her understand that recovery is part of the whole process.
Interviewer: What are your go-to workouts or wellness rituals when you’re on the road or traveling?
Puja: “When I travel, I don’t try to overdo it. Yoga is my constant, and I never really stop doing it. Even 20 minutes in a hotel room keeps me grounded and connected to my body. Hydration is non-negotiable. And honestly, switching off is part of my wellness. When I’m away, I allow my brain to breathe. No pressure to perform, no extreme routines. For me, travel wellness is about staying centered both physically and mentally.”
Beauty and Fitness
For Puja, like discipline, another element that has changed meaning over the years is beauty. She highlights,
“Now, beauty feels like energy. It’s how someone carries themselves. It’s confidence, kindness, and resilience. It’s the way you walk into a room when you’re comfortable with who you are.”
On the other hand, for her, fitness is strength and clarity, while style is a form of self-expression. She finds both as valid forms of self-care. While it’s training that makes her feel powerful and centered, style brings her joy. She mentions,
“I dress up because I enjoy it. Fitness, for me, is more about how I feel when I walk into a room. Neither cancels the other out. I think a woman can be disciplined and soft, intense and elegant, and focused and playful, all at once.”
Fitness, entrepreneurship, and life taught her that it is not about perfection but about how you carry yourself, how you enter a room, and how you power through hard days. Over time, for Puja, it’s what’s inside that has become more important than looks.
Interviewer: What’s your personal approach to style and self-expression? Do you see this reflected in your work?
Puja: “I don’t really follow trends. I dress according to my mood and how I feel that day. For me, style is about being comfortable in my own skin. Some days that’s minimal and effortless. And on other days it’s bold and expressive. It’s never forced but intuitive. I think when you’re comfortable in yourself, it shows. And that naturally reflects in my work. Revolve carries that same energy, confident, expressive, and unapologetically itself. Style, to me, is about authenticity.”
The Challenges
While building Revolve from scratch, Puja often wondered whether Mumbai was ready for boutique spinning and whether the numbers would ever add up. She further reveals that the work felt rather lonely at times. Puja adds,
“I had moments where the numbers scared me. Moments where I questioned myself. But every time I stepped into a class, saw the lights dim, the music rise, and watched people ride with their whole heart. I knew this was bigger than fear. I realised Revolve wasn’t just a business idea. It was something I deeply believed in. So I kept showing up. Messy hair, big dreams, tiny doubts—all of it. And slowly, that belief became contagious.”
Creating Impact
“If you can lead with empathy, you lead with impact.”
Puja says her love for animals is instinctive, and she can’t think of a time when she didn’t feel connected to them. Dogs, in particular, keep her grounded. As she highlights,
“They have this pure, unconditional energy. They don’t care about status, success, or image. They respond to love, and they give it back tenfold. It reminds me of what really matters. No ego, no performance. They’ve taught me patience, responsibility, and a softer kind of strength. No matter how busy life gets, coming home to that kind of love resets everything for me.”
Puja uses the platform she has built to encourage adoption, support local shelters, help arrange medical care for strays, and share stories that encourage people to pause and care. She holds the belief that caring need not be loud. Puja expresses,
“I don’t think it always has to be loud activism. Sometimes it’s showing compassion publicly so others feel inspired to do the same. If even one person chooses to adopt instead of shop or feed a stray instead of ignoring it, that matters. For me, influence means responsibility.”
Caring for animals taught her that compassion is a form of strength. Leadership, she argues, is about taking responsibility, creating safe spaces, and protecting those who cannot speak for themselves.
The Next Plans
Within the next five years, Puja wants Revolve to grow intentionally. She looks forward to opening more studios, but with a priority of creating a deeper impact.
The expansion will be around curated collaborations, merchandise, and a stronger digital presence. Puja wants to make sure that it feels aligned with the brand’s energy. The plan is to scale the culture, not just the numbers.
She explains,
“I don’t want to scale just for numbers. I want to scale energy. Culture. Experience. If someone says, “I’m a Revolver,” I want that to mean something.”
Within the next ten years, she wants to see personal growth. She aims to grow more grounded and curious, to protect the brand’s heart as it expands. As she says,
“I hope to be wiser. Still building. Still evolving. I don’t want to outgrow my values. I just want to grow with them.”
Puja understands that more than scale, legacy is about impact. What drives her is when someone leaves a class feeling stronger or more connected to themselves. She wants to be remembered as someone who created spaces where people felt safe to grow and push their limits.
Words of Wisdom
Puja acknowledges how people came to help her in different seasons of her life. She is grateful to her family for giving her a foundation of strength, discipline, and self-belief. She also mentions her husband, Varun, from whom she has learned much and has gotten steady support to dream bigger. She reflects,
“He also keeps me grounded when things feel overwhelming. That balance has been incredibly important in my journey as an entrepreneur.”
It wouldn’t have been easy to build Revolve alone without support. She is also thankful to her team and the community at Revolve, which pushes her to become better.
Puja talks about one of the lessons she learned over the years. She is not a big believer in rushing everything. She now knows how crucial stillness is for clarity.
“Sometimes the most powerful move is to pause, reflect, and trust timing. I’ve also learned that protecting your peace is more important than proving a point.”
