Cody Rigsby’s career is as multifaceted as it gets—bestselling author, Peloton instructor, Dancing With The Stars finalist, social media guru, and devout follower of ‘The Holy Spearit.’ Now he can add ‘podcast host’ to his LinkedIn thanks to his new venture with close friend and Hamilton legend Andrew Chappelle. Titled Tactful Pettiness, the podcast follow the duo as they “traverse” the world of popular culture, from Bulgegate at the 2024 Olympics to Katy Perry’s critically-reviewed ‘Woman’s World’, while chatting with notable queer stars like Adam Rippon, Julio Torres and Jonathan Groff.
“It’s been an amazing project over the last six months,” says Cody. “It’s something I get to do with one of my best friends, and it’s been really wonderful to create a community of people who just want to have fun and be silly. Hopefully, they’re also inspired by the advice of two very opinionated homosexuals!”
From thriving in the fitness space as an openly gay man to dancing to Kim Petras on national television, the success of his book XOXO, Cody: An Opinionated Homosexual’s Guide to Self-Love, Relationships, and Tactful Pettiness, and his quest to be ‘Snatchelorette number 1’ on RuPaul’s Drag Race, buckle up for a bit of ‘glitter and rainbow’ with Cody Rigsby.
Cody, congratulations on the success of your book, the brilliantly titled, XOXO, Cody: An Opinionated Homosexual’s Guide to Self-Love, Relationships, and Tactful Pettiness. How does it feel to be a New York Times bestseller?
Great! Add it to the list of accolades—the things I can mention to make myself sound fancier than I really am, but I’m here for it. It was a huge accomplishment. I think when people release a book, they don’t fully realise how much work goes into making it successful, especially during launch week. I had an incredible team helping me cross the finish line: my publisher, my assistant Ren, the hair and makeup crew, stylists… It’s a huge undertaking to get everything off the ground.
You even talked about it on The Kelly Clarkson Show and The Jennifer Hudson Show, which must be a dream come true for a pop fan?
Yeah, so I got to be on The Kelly Clarkson Show when I was on Dancing with the Stars in LA, and it was definitely an out-of-body experience. I’m such a huge fan of Kelly Clarkson—she’s one of the greatest, the original American Idol, and such a sweetheart. I remember going on the show and kind of blacking out. I know I spoke and I know things happened, but honestly, I don’t even remember it clearly. At that point, I was just in the presence of the amazing Kelly Clarkson. Jennifer Hudson was also so sweet, fun, and down-to-earth. She has such great energy, and I love that about her. I even got to tell her how much I love her song ‘Spotlight,’ which is such a great track.
You’re such a fun and lively person, but in your book, you open up about some deeply vulnerable moments—from your experiences with homelessness to losing a friend to addiction. How did it feel to share that side of yourself with the people who’ve followed you for years?
I believe we can live in duality. We can be happy, joyful, and fun, but still carry trauma and face challenges throughout our lives. Honestly, the joy and silliness we experience are often a product of surviving and making it through hard times. Even having gone through homelessness as a kid, it’s not something I look back on and laugh at, but I do think, ‘Wow, I overcame that.’ And for that, I feel so much stronger. I have no choice but to be grateful and enjoy the life I have now because it’s so much better than it was. I hope that by being vulnerable, others can connect with their own experiences, work through their traumas, and realise that it’s possible to be happy and joyful, even while going through shit.
Over the past five years, you’ve built an impressive brand with Peloton. I’m not sure if it’s just me, but it’s so incredible to see you thrive as an openly gay man in the fitness space and be so celebrated for it.
Well, I think it’s interesting. As gay men, we’ve always been fed this image of super hot, chiseled guys—where it’s all about appearance, six-pack abs, and that sort of thing. So, we’ve developed a mentality around that. What I’ve tried to do with my classes at Peloton is focus on helping people become their best selves—strongest, most resilient selves—and make the space more inclusive. I want to make it less intimidating because I think that’s one of the biggest hurdles. People often think, ‘I don’t know what I’m doing. I’m going to look stupid. I’m intimidated. People are going to make fun of me.’ And I’m like, ‘I’ll distract everyone with my silly dancing and dumb jokes. Come have fun, and let this movement become something you enjoy and build a habit around, so you feel your best.’ So, that’s where my purpose lies in the fitness world—as a queer representative.
Well, I’m not sure you can call it “silly dancing” now that you’ve placed third on Dancing with the Stars…
There we go. Some of it’s silly, some of it’s sexy, and some of it’s wildly inappropriate, but we try to keep it fun and moving.
How do you decide which projects or collaborations to take on as an openly gay person? What do you look for when expanding your brand outside of Peloton?
That’s a really good question. Now that I’ve had the chance to put in a lot of work and build a reputable brand that people trust, I try to find opportunities within the spaces I occupy to be a queer storyteller. Whether that’s in my book, where I shared vulnerable sides of coming to terms with my sexuality, my relationship with my mom, and the loss of a best friend, or on Dancing with the Stars, where I made sure to dance to a Kim Petras song. I’m not sure if they’ve ever had a trans woman singer on that show before, but it was important to me to include that. Even talking about my relationship at the time in such a public space and showing gay love was significant to me. I choose projects where I can bring a little glitter and rainbow into the mix.
I take every opportunity that comes my way, and that’s something I’ve always said about Peloton. I’ve said this many times—the Peloton bike, in a way, feels like this little gay Trojan horse that people bring into their homes. They think they’re just signing up for a fitness class, but then they end up taking my class, they love me, and hear my story. Hopefully, that has a positive impact on how they view queer people. I truly believe that real change starts from the grassroots level or within smaller communities. If you can change one mind, that person will have a domino effect on everyone they surround themselves with. That’s something I’m really proud of.
Let’s talk about the podcast, which launched in June 2024. You had worked for around two years with Andrew to get it off the ground, right?
Yeah, so Tactful Pettiness is my podcast with my co-host, Andrew Chappelle, who’s a Broadway and TV actor, and one of the funniest people I know. The people I enjoy most in life are the ones I can laugh with and make silly jokes with, and he’s definitely top-tier in that department. I was in LA—probably for the American Music Awards—and stayed with him. That’s when we started brainstorming the idea of doing a podcast. We shot a sizzle reel and sent it out, but didn’t really get traction or land a deal until about a year—maybe even a year and a half—later. It’s been an amazing project over the last six months. It’s something I get to do with one of my best friends, and it’s been really wonderful to create a community of people who just want to have fun and be silly. Hopefully, they’re also inspired by the advice of two very opinionated homosexuals.
In the spirit of your podcast name, Tactiful Pettiness, do you have a favourite petty moment from popular culture?
I mean, I do, but I’m sure there are better ones I’m not thinking of right now. I get inspired by the pettiness of anything Tiffany ‘New York’ Pollard is involved in and the way she just spits it out. I was also a big fan of Plane Jane on the last season of RuPaul’s Drag Race. I’m not sure if she was petty, but she was definitely just mean—and I was living for it. Nobody on Drag Race wants to be the villain anymore. I miss having strong villains on the show. Everyone’s too nice now. Bring me the drama! Finally, after many seasons, someone stepped up and said, ‘I’m going to bring the drama.’ So, I’m grateful for those petty queens.
How have you not made an appearance on Drag Race yet? I’m a bit surprised, won’t lie.
I am too. It’s one of those goals I haven’t quite achieved yet. But I did have a really beautiful moment with RuPaul in the middle of the streets of New York. She came up to me—actually, she and her husband came up to me—and said, ‘We’ve been wanting to meet you.’ And I was like, ‘Oh, okay, great. Tell me more, ma’am, sir.’ I didn’t really take full advantage of the moment, though. I was just so in awe of RuPaul’s presence.
I was going to say that you could appear for a Peloton-themed challenge, but you’re an author now so a literature or reading challenge, maybe?
Maybe even a roast or comedy challenge. I’m multifaceted. Thank you for spearheading this campaign for me!
Or the Snatch Game of Love?
There we go. Yeah, with a face like this, of course! Snatchelorette number-one…
And who should be Snatchelorette number-two?
Jonathan Bailey!
With all your projects and social media presence, how do you balance your personal and private life?
I used to put a lot of pressure on myself. I felt like I always had to be ‘on,’ always creating content, always doing something. But in the past few years—especially the last six months—I’ve learned that I need my own time and space. It’s not the end of the world if I’m not feeding the algorithm. My mental health and clarity are way more important than likes on Instagram or TikTok. Now, I see it more as a job or business. I set aside time to create content, put it out there, and then try not to get stuck in endless scrolling or feel like I have to be constantly ‘on’. I’ve really worked on setting strong boundaries, but it’s taken time and a shift in how I view social media in my life.
How do you unwind?
I had a beautiful dinner last night, and it was just so nice to be with friends and connect with people I care about. That’s really important to me. I’m also a big advocate for the idea that, as we get older—well, I’m in my thirties, I don’t know how old you are, but you said you’re a millennial, so I won’t assume—we get so busy with our careers, especially when we live in a big city. Everyone’s pulled in different directions. So, you really have to make it a point to connect with friends by scheduling time and making sure you’re setting aside that space. I know it doesn’t always feel spontaneous or wild, but I’d rather have quality time with my friends that’s planned than none at all.
Connecting with friends is key, but honestly, connecting with myself is just as important. I love coming home, meditating, or just turning everything off to be with my thoughts and check in with how I’m doing. That’s been really great. I also have an amazing sound system at my place, so I’ll blast music and have crazy dance parties by myself. With all the big windows I have, I’m sure my neighbours in Williamsburg have gotten quite the show. I can’t promise I’m always clothed when I have these dance parties, so watch out, TMZ!
You can listen to the latest episode of Tactful Pettiness, featuring Cat Cohen, below.
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