Spinning in grief
Riding in tribute to Peloton devotee
It was a wonderful ride. The sudden death of high-powered Manhattan attorney Howard Godnick — whose many lives included being a mime in Times Square and a bit player on “Saturday Night Live” — inspired many memorials, but none quite like the ones from his fellow Peloton pedalers.
The stationary-bike riders, who gather online to cycle together as they break a sweat to music, conducted not one but two “tribute rides” in honor of Godnick, an early Peloton fan who died Nov. 28 at age 63.
“Howie was a pillar of our Community, an OG [Old Guard] member who supported us from the very beginning and was there for every tentpole moment on our @onepeloton journey,” tweeted Peloton founder John Foley.
“What an inspiration. Can’t believe I’m crying in the kitchen over someone who I casually saw share his soul and himself in our weird little Peloton community,” Peloton member Ryan Mulloy posted on YouTube.
Peloton instructors Jenn Sherman and Christine D’Ercole led the tribute treks on the bikes to nowhere for Godnick, with Sherman unable to hold back tears during her 30-minute effort.
“I was a mess. It was just really emotional for me. I didn’t know Howie before Peloton,” Sherman said. “He was just a joy to be around. He was the most humble, giving, hilarious person. Howie used to hold court before Peloton. He would arrive about a half hour before class. He would welcome new riders with open arms.”
“Howie and I bonded over many things but we shared an enormous love for music. His favorite band was The Who — and lucky for him — they are one of my favorites,” Sherman said.
Godnick had a Peloton bike at home but was an in-person regular for six years in Sherman’s 9:30 a.m. Sunday class at the West 23rd Street studio.
“He never missed and he was always on Bike 11. He was in the front row. Always,” Sherman recalled, adding, “He was one of the most beloved and well-known Peloton members. People were excited to meet him.”
A quintessential New Yorker, Queens native Godnick was a marathon runner, actor, street mime and stand-up comic all
before graduating at the top of his class in 1986 from New York Law School.
The Bayside High School product was a recurring extra on “Saturday Night Live” from 1981 to 1983, and a law partner at Schulte, Roth & Zabel, where he once scored a monumental legal victory: a court order barring the Federal Emergency Management Agency from evicting tens of thousands of Hurricane Katrina victims from their US-funded hotel rooms.
A divorced father of two sons, Max and Andrew, Godnick needed quadruple bypass surgery when he was 35 and had a long battle with heart disease, but remained positive — his credo being, “I didn’t die, I have to live.”
His wit was on full display in 2013 after somebody included him on a spam e-mail blast to scores of lawyers across the country.
While others angrily answered the annoying e-mails by demanding they stop, Godnick replied to the whole list with a question about his favorite film, “West Side Story.”
“I, too, have no clue what this matter is about — nor do I care to find out. But, before I bid my adieu … let me put to the group a question that has been plaguing me for some time and, perhaps, I can finally resolve:
“With Tony laying mortally wounded on the cold, wet pavement of a Hell’s Kitchen playground, having been struck down by a single bullet from Chino’s gun, why did Maria choose to sing ‘Somewhere’ to the supposed love of her life instead of dropping a dime in the pay phone outside of Doc’s store and calling for an ambulance?”
His son Max said, “He mentored strangers, gave money to fellow riders in need, and even got people through suicidal episodes. Riders flocked from all over the country to the 23rd Street Peloton Studio just to meet my dad.”