While the rest of the world shut down in the spring of 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Sydney Miller 09BBA seized the opportunity to focus on her passion project: HOUSEWORK, a fitness concept she’d been quietly building on the side. Five years later, it’s a full-blown brand with a dedicated app, thousands of loyal customers, and a newly opened flagship studio in New York City.
Today, Miller leads a team of 12 and splits her time between Miami and New York City, where she runs the flagship HOUSEWORK studio.
Putting in the (House)Work
Though she explored other universities, Miller ultimately followed in her father’s footsteps and enrolled at Emory, where he earned both his undergraduate and law degrees.
After graduation, Miller moved to New York City, where she worked for a major advertising company. It was in these years immediately following graduation when she realized the corporate grind wasn’t for her: the long hours at a sedentary desk job just didn’t fit. While dabbling in other jobs and trying to find her footing, she started attending classes at SoulCycle, a popular spin studio.
“I became obsessed with how it made me feel. I loved the whole group fitness concept,” says Miller.
In 2012, she quit her corporate job and became an instructor at SoulCycle, where she taught for about 12 years. While she was working at SoulCycle and building a following of loyal class attendees, the company started hosting pop-ups for other types of exercise. They approached Miller to develop and lead a Pilates-style class—and HOUSEWORK was born.
Miller has long been a fan of house music—a type of electronic dance music—and puts it to good use as the soundtrack for her HOUSEWORK classes. The 50-minute workouts combine low-impact Pilates-style exercises with high-intensity cardio and strength training. Think of it as a dance party with weights and choreographed moves.
Although HOUSEWORK began as a side gig for Miller while she taught at SoulCycle, in March 2020, SoulCycle closed their in-person studios. Miller was given the chance to turn her full attention to HOUSEWORK, transforming it into the company it is today.
From Living Room to Studio
Miller started teaching classes on Zoom from her parents’ house in Miami. While hosting these daily live classes from her parents’ living room, she realized that the best path forward would be to create an app so people could participate in the exercise classes on demand, as their schedules allowed.
The HOUSEWORK app, which Miller calls the “biggest investment I ever made in myself,” officially launched in July 2020.
“I always knew I wanted to be an entrepreneur—I just didn’t know what form that was going to take,” recalls Miller, who grew up watching her uncle create and sell companies.
Fast forward to 2021, when Miller started hosting pop-up events in New York City, the Hamptons, and Miami.
“I felt things shift to people going back to the office. People were craving the in-person community again,” recalls Miller. “Workouts also bring a different energy level when you’re doing it together.”
As with many milestones in Miller’s journey, the opportunity to open a permanent studio seemed to arrive at just the right time. In fall 2024, she walked past the original SoulCycle location where she had started teaching 12 years earlier—and saw a “for lease” sign going up in the window.
In December 2024, she finalized the lease, and in March 2025, she opened HOUSEWORK studio.
Since HOUSEWORK opened its doors, Miller and her team have seen more than 2,000 new customers.
“Launching the studio was such a major, major step,” says Miller. She especially enjoyed building anticipation among her New York–based followers, teasing surprises like live DJ workouts. Since opening, the HOUSEWORK team has also been featured on two news programs, Good Day New York and Good Night New York.
Leading with Purpose
These last few months have been a flurry of activity for Miller, who still splits her time between Miami, her hometown, and New York City. She hopes to open a Miami studio in the near future.
“Everything about HOUSEWORK—from the colors and music to my team—is so reflective of me. It just all came together.”
Now, she spends her days teaching a class before launching into the meetings and strategic planning required of her for an ever-growing fitness brand. She also sets aside hours each week for planning the next week’s workout choreography.
“From a personal level, I love fitness. I love that I’m able to do what I would normally want to do as my career,” says Miller. “On a deeper level, I love that it helps people, that ability to really shift not only somebody’s physical health, but also the way they view themselves in the world. Fitness has the ability to give people confidence in themselves, and I think that’s the best part of what I do.”
Miller says she will never tire of the inspiring, transformational stories that people tell her. She’s watched friendships form and people grow both physically and emotionally through her classes.
“A huge mission for me with HOUSEWORK is building connection between people and growing that community.”
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