You are indeed correct, but I do believe David McQuillen was one of the original creative masterminds of the Sufferfest workouts and was his parting gift to Sufferlandrians before he left Wahoo.
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Yes, Sir David continued to run The Sufferfest and release new videos for years after the acquisition by Wahoo until he left in mid-2023.
Only High Time (Nov 2023) was released after he left, but it was still created by Sir Francois who was creating the videos in the last few years under Sir Davidâs tutelage.
Rollercoaster is the first non-SUF Sufferfest video to be released since High Time and the departure in 2022-2023 of Sir David, Sir Francois, and most of the SUF team due to lay offs, etc. So there is a huge difference between the original SUF team that made all those videos and the team (individual?) from Wahoo who made Rollercoaster.
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Word
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Some chronology for historical records 
July 2019: Wahoo buys The Sufferfest.
January 2020: Sir Francois who up to now had been collaborating on music and at time storyline with Sir David since joining The Sufferfest in 2017 (*) starts working on video and creates The Bat, SUF Idol, Recharger, Attacker, Cobbler, Norway (as a proof of concept for what will become Pro Rides), Rue The Day, No Place Like Home.
From that time on, lots of original members of The Sufferfest get gradually ÂŤ let go Âť as Wahoo restructures the business.
July 2023: just 4 years after selling, Sir David calls it a day.
November 2023: High Time is released.
December 2023: Sir Francois throws in the Holy Water towel and calls it (high) time on his Sufferfest adventure. Not sure how many of the original The Sufferfest crew remain at Wahoo after that.
February 2025: after a couple of tasteless remasters, Rollercoaster is released (the most unSUF video of The Sufferfest catalogue - I mean since when Sufferlandria whose economy is based exclusively on growing cabbage crops and brewing Real Pagne has the means to spend money on such extravagant and expensive constructions such as Rollercoasters??? True Sufferlandrians will know that The Rollercoasters is a famous area in the Hardennes where Sufferlandrians take their bikes on their downtime to endure maximum Pain, Agony and Misery⌠and not some sort of Couchlandrian paradise where they seat their arse on a cart in search of some cheap thrillsâŚ)
(*) 14 Vice Grips, Defender, Cash Register, The Cure,Fight Club remaster, Team Scream, Who Dares, Joyride, Getting Away With It
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Funnily enough, sometimes, when companies are acquired, thereâs some clause, like a financial incentive, to encourage the original key staff to remain at the new company for some time⌠The most common one Iâve heard is⌠four years.
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Whilst venting my frustration and preaching to the converted here, I also decided to spend 20 minutes on Saturday morning reaching out to Wahoo Support and submitted a Support Request for the App. This is what I submitted. AND I received a reply already this morning.
Reply comes first:
"Hi Colin,
Thank you so much for contacting Wahoo - and for your feedback about the content in the SYSTM app. I am very happy to pass along your feedback to our content team.
Thank you for taking the time to write in - we greatly appreciate your time and your feedback.
Cheers!
Warmest Regards,"
Not sure it is appropriate to share the name of the person who replied - I donât know if it would contravene any data protection legislation or anything, but on their sign off was âKoSâ
So hopefully they will listen and give feedback and who knows, maybe reach out to the great community of Sufferlandrians to make Sufferlandria great again. Oops, better stop there! Donât want to go down that path!!
FWIW, this was my support request. I donât know if anyone else wants to reach out to Wahoo and voice their support and whether it will be worth it, but nothing ventured, nothing gained! Or in Dutch, Nee heb je, ja kun je krijgen.
Dear Wahoo Support
I would like to give feedback on the Wahoo App and content. I really love the App, it is awesome. It has got me fit again and enjoying riding my bike. I wish it was around 20-30 years ago when I was racing. I would have been a winner had I had it then, instead of a finish with the bunch kinda guy.
I would like you guys to think about the content moving forward. What really attracted me to the App, rather than Zwift (I actually hate Zwift and do not ride it) was the Sufferfest content. It is unique, full of humour and the workouts are awesome. The science behind them seems to work exceptionally well for me.
Whilst I appreciate other aspects of the App such as Mike Cottyâs âOn Locationâ and the âInspiration ridesâ, what keeps me hooked and coming back is the Sufferfest workouts, which I never get board of. For example, I have done âThe Cureâ 57 times, âThe Choresâ 27 times (usually ironically after doing my chores) and the 4DP 13 times.
Whoever is designing new Sufferfest workouts, first of all, Thank You, for continuing to keep the Sufferfest workouts. They are my lifeline, they help me unwind, get fit and provide me mental solace. When life throws problems my way, believe it or not, doing those workouts help and they are âmy timeâ.
The inevitable âbutâ is coming⌠Please could you immerse yourself in the culture of Sufferfest and Sufferlandrians and look at the content and humour of the previous Sufferfest workouts to provide inspiration for any future planned Sufferfest workouts.
For example, âNo Place Like Homeâ. Right from the start with the Lazy Rides, Lazy Yoga and Recovery Naps, to the plane landing and passport control with the Rammstein inspired music and the call to Grunter, the first SCQA check, right up to the âI was born to Sufferâ (Brand, Worst, Betsema) and the Procrastinate Check and the Choral outro, a complete masterpiece. Storyline, wide variety of music and the racing clips (including the Moskestraat near where I live in Belgium and the S-Bocht finish of the Brabantse Pijl), totally awesome.
If ever you guys need help and inspiration or would like to have input and feedback on what to include in Sufferfest workouts, there is a huge community on the WahooX Forum who would be willing to help and give feedback.
Please keep making the Sufferfest videos and be inspired by what has gone before. That is not to say it cannot go in other directions, but please keep the spirit of Sufferfest.
I am a happy subscriber and will keep subscribing and when time is really short, just 30 minutes of the Cure is actually enough to keep my fitness. Please keep making Sufferfest workouts and please embrace the spirit of Sufferfest. If ever you need help with that, please reach out, there are hundreds, if not thousands of Sufferlandrians willing to help.
Kind regards
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Minor Correction: February 2025
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Often, in addition, there is a no-compete or no disparagement clause.
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Good on you and good luck to you.
Having said that, it is now quite apparent that the company has no intention of propping the Sufferfest content. I would even argue it goes against what Wahoo sees as their core brand values with more of a natural alignement to the likes of generic/mainstream propositions like Zwift which targets mass appeal.
Letâs keep in mind that Wahoo is at heart a hardware company where mass appeal is important to maximise sales.
On that basis, I think the âde-suffingâ is not so much due to a lack of understanding or consideration for what the Sufferfest used to stand for (although there is a bit of that) as much as a desire to tone it down as clearly shown on the recent remasters which could have kept the original style of copy and references to the Sufferlandria identity - without which nothing makes sense in the context of something called âThe Sufferfestâ which always intended to be tongue-in-cheek. Iâd even argue itâs making the name even more off putting to the general public now the whole thing has really just become âbits of bog standard motivational text with music edited over cycling footageâ. Might as well go all out and rename it Wahoo Training to reduce risks of friction with potential new customers.
Gosh, itâs not like people attached to the Sufferfest here (and on the inside when there were still some) havenât been banging the drum for ages and the fact there is no remaining member of the original crew (who were all very much engaged with the community) tells it own story.
Bottom line is I donât think Wahoo were ever interested by the idea of The Sufferfest itself (too edgy / too restrictive) beyond capturing an audience to sell trainers to and securing the sports science element (4DP and such) although they seem to have given up on developing that side as well.
It feels like it was always a mismatch between two brands at the opposite side of the spectrum (a case of Taylor Zwift vs your fiercely independent music outfit) and I fail to see what the strategic intent was for âthe companyâ.
As a parting note, Iâll share something I read the other day that epitomizes what The Sufferfest was really about which is in stark contrast with the path Wahoo is on:
"The most magnetic and enduring identities arenât built by chasing mass appeal. They take shape by defining what they stand against as much as what they stand for. Reject polish. Resist formula. Embrace raw imperfection.
This way you can become a reference point for everything that comes after you. Donât try to be for everyone so that you can mean everything to the people who get it.
Sometimes, the most powerful move isnât reaching more people. Itâs making the right people feel like theyâre part of something singular. Something that couldnât exist any other way.
You donât have to be for everyone. Sometimes, itâs better if youâre not."
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No place like home is great. I did The Omnium last night and remembered how much I love that workout. The soundtrack gets me really fired up and ready for it, and the efforts follow the footage really well, it really immersive and thereâs none of that fluffiness, the video is straight with you that it is really going to hurt; just before the kilo effort it tells you that what you are about to do is âthe worst thing you can do to yourself.â. Whilst I get why that wonât appeal to all, dumbing that stuff down doesnât make the workout any easier, in fact it may make it worse. I canât remember which Sufferfest video it is but there is one that explains to you why it is best to tell yourself it is going to hurt and come to terms with that, as if you tell yourself it wonât you are not prepared to push through it. So whilst that stuff is tongue in cheek, there is a serious psychological side to it, almost like the Sufferfest team knew exactly what they were doing! Dumb it down and what have you got, a really hard workout, that doesnât get you in the mindset to finish it, so what audience is that appealing to exactly?
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Oh, I remember the last time I did Omnium, it was painful. I love that workout and the video.
Talking about telling yourself it is going to hurt also reminds me of one of the workouts (I think!) where there is some reference to smiling and pain. It might be Defender.
Apparently smiling lessons the perception of pain during exercise. All the more reason for humour in the Sufferfest workouts.
Really though, I can see how they want it to appeal to a wider audience, but anyone on Wahoo Systm X / Sffrfst is clearly not an ordinary person and not a general Joe, member of the public or whatever.
We are all clearly unhinged and deranged to put ourselves through what we do in the intervals, so I donât see why Wahoo should dumb in down?
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My thoughts exactly. I assume most people spending the money on SYSTM are there to train properly, not just youâre January gym membership types.
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Yes, very obvious. We have to admit that the company has data, while weâre here in our sufferfest community bubble. However: Every fool can have the facts, having an opinion is an art. In this sense: I donât think Yahoo will be successful with this âWahoo trainingâ style. The young riders obviously are very social, not only online but also out there. Lotâs of group rides here in Munich on sunny days. They need only minutes to see that the wâŚn community is just fake and will not get attracted by a video like roller coaster.
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Great thoughts and a great quote.
âIf you try to please all, you please none.â
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What is a Wahooligan anyway?
Apart from someone who buys a piece of hardware sold (not even made) by Wahoo?
Where is the attachment here?
How is the connection at an emotional level made between the âproductâ and the customers and then between customers themselves?
Are people more prepared to engage with one another on the basis of using the same bike computer or turbo trainer? All pieces of equipment that, it must be said, are never as useful as when they work quietly in the background.
Iâd get it if there was any craft related to the product like you find in cars, motorcycles, bikes, watches⌠and provided a bit of a status symbol.
But here? What is it about?
How do you obtain the status?
It all feels very shallow.
Are people willing to gather to showcase their customized turbo trainers or the different colour silicon shell they have put on their bike computer?
What common spirit and experience do you share when you are âa Wahooliganâ?
Iâm not a very tribal person by nature but I do understand the engagement around Sufferlandria and Iâm ok to play along but I really donât get it for Wahooligan.
Maybe that should be a new thread topic to hear from people who call themselves Wahooligans. 
PS: Iâm not convinced there is any supporting data and Iâm pretty sure the Sufferfest content is still the most popular on the platform despite the addition of new styles of content, especially as the Sufferfest content (when done right) is really the only one with a âhigh replayability factorâ.
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This, for me, is absolutely the key.
I have really enjoyed some of the inspiration videos, Earth Cycle and any video featuring Lachlan Morton are favourites, but it remains that I am unlikely to choose to do them again and again.
However, classic Sufferfest like 9 Hammers, Butter, The Best Thing in the World, and Revolver, are the ones that stick in my mind (and legs) and I want to do them again.
Rollercoaster is a good workout and (possibly in the context of the Tour) took me to the limit and made me wonder if I could get to the end, but it just doesnât have it, in terms of repeatability. As has been pointed out, it has no âhookâ.
P.S. The Way Out will forever be my go-to and favourite 
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Absolute perfection⌠the Suf team at the height of their powers.
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Done.
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Soooo I finally got around to doing RollercoasterâŚafter reading the posts I wasnât expecting much.
IMO: Familiar feel to an excellent workout. Good tunes if sort of a âsamenessâ throughout. I would agree that it lacked a certain something, a âhookâ someone said. Having said all this, it wasnât bad. Will I rush back? Perhaps not but I wouldnât avoid it.
Itâs been too long since the last new SUF video so I think we should be encouraged that Those Who Are Never Watching havenât abandoned attempts to create new content. Maybe we should try a more encouraging approach to hopefully result in some more classic videos. As long as Wahoo doesnât try to convert us to avitar drivel.
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