Walk-On Turned B1G Champ and Now Peloton Instructor - Ashley Pryor

A walk-on turned B1G champion, when Ashley Pryor first started rowing at Ohio State, little did she know her love and passion for the sport would grow into a national voice and avenue to change the face of rowing and who has access to it. Her experience on the OSU Women's Rowing team left such a powerful impact, upon graduating, Pryor returned as the director of operations, wanting to focus on retention and recruiting people of color to the sport of rowing. She was driven to diversify a sport predominantly made up of white student-athletes. "This was my opportunity to come back to the program, to what my passion is, give back, learn some things I need to, and to try to showcase to the women what life after rowing was like" she said. At the same time, she was empowered to start what was only the third black rowing program in the country (Relentless Rowing Academy) while also serving as the president of the Black Coaches & Rowers Association.

Pryor graduated from the Charles Whitcomb NCAA Leadership Institute, as the first black woman from the OSU athletic department selected to the extremely competitive program. She was one of 18 selected to the two-year leadership institute, which aims to be a transformational and empowering experience that will define its participants careers for decades through its impactful curriculum.

All of this helped propel Pryor to where she is now, on the global stage as a Peloton rowing instructor. Her mission is showing people that rowing can be fun, and she wants to help people fall in love with their bodies through rowing, showing that there is no one formula to being an athlete. Pryor showcases her culture through her classes and how she coaches them. She is well known for her endurance rows at Peloton, people show up morning, noon, or night to attend her "Love Letters" endurance class (named after her love for the sport, the love for her former teammates, and the love of feeling in-sync in rowing).