Peloton's Ally Love Almost Died In A Car Accident At Age 9
My life changed at 9 years old when I was hit by a car and broke my left femur. I was in the hospital for seven days, and after about four or five days, it wasn't looking good because I was losing a lot of blood.
I couldn’t have surgery right away because the pin that the doctors needed had to be special-made in China and shipped (since it’s usually used in older people who break their hip), so it took quite a few days. Meanwhile, I was lying in bed with a weight at the end of my ankle, separating my bone so that it wouldn’t heal.
The doctor told my mom that she might want to just prepare. She came into the room and told me I had two choices: You can either choose to let go and go be with God or you can choose to pray and fight for your life.
She said, either way, it's up to you. I don't know if I would, as a parent, give my 9 year old such a big decision. But she did, and I appreciate her for it because I decided to fight for my life and pray—and I never stopped doing those two things.
After my surgery, the doctor said I would never be a runner.
They said I would never become an athlete, and that I may get arthritis from walking by the time I’m 15 years old. I was able to defy those odds and decided that I really wanted to move my body.
I spent a year in physical therapy and started walking when it came to an end. I was very grateful to come out on the other side of this really horrific accident alive, but I was itching to get out of the house after being homeschooled for a year.
My mom put me in camp, and they offered hip-hop, Caribbean, and West African dance.
At the end of the summer, we did a big performance. My mom, dad, and sister came, and at the end of my dance, the teacher came up to my mom and said, “Your daughter is really talented, you should look into pursuing dance with her.” And my mom was like, “My daughter? She doesn't have any rhythm!” It was really funny.
But after that, my mother put me in dance classes. By the time I was in high school, I ended up pursuing it a lot harder.
I fell in love with moving my body.
It's a great way to express your feelings when you're not able to articulate yourself.
During high school, I auditioned for The New World School of the Arts in my hometown of Miami, which is one of the best art schools in the country.
Each summer, I would go to New York and perform with the Dance Theatre of Harlem. Coming to New York each summer—learning about the city, falling in love with its culture and rhythm—was a turning point.
I decided that I wanted to pursue dance as a professional career. My mom’s only stipulation was that I had to complete a degree. So I graduated from Fordham University with a bachelor's in fine arts and a minor in theology.
I went on to dance with the grand ballets in Canada and San Francisco, perform as a Knicks dancer for three seasons, and eventually become a Peloton instructor. I have some arthritis from the accident, but it's rare.
Today, my favorite number is 10.
I was hit by a car in August when I was 9, and when I turned 10 in April, I had come to the other side.
I was able to move when I turned 10 years old. That ability to reclaim my agency, to come back to doing those activities that the doctor said that I would never do again happened when I was 10 years old.
I feel like I started living at 10, and I never stopped.
Ally Love is a Peloton Instructor, Founder & CEO of Love Squad, and Host of Brooklyn Nets.
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