Custom mentors are a studio-only feature: you add the name, and optionally a photo and a short bio, of someone who teaches at your studio but does not have their own MoveMentors profile. They appear on your public studio page, and you can credit them on the classes they teach.
This is different from inviting a platform mentor: custom mentors are just labels in your studio account. They cannot log in, cannot receive bookings directly, cannot have their own profile.
If the teacher has a MoveMentors teacher account and should see your schedule and claim sessions, add them to your instructor roster instead.
When to use custom mentors
The classic case: a teacher who works at your studio, does not use MoveMentors and does not need their own page. They teach your classes, and your studio handles the bookings.
Other valid cases:
- Visiting teachers (a guest teacher for a workshop who is not on the platform).
- Substitute teachers (covering for the regular teacher who is sick).
- Class series with several teachers (credit one, and mention the others in the class description).
When NOT to use a custom mentor:
- The teacher has their own MoveMentors teacher account. Add them to your instructor roster, or see inviting platform mentors.
- The teacher wants to receive bookings under their own name and brand. They need their own teacher account.
- You want clients to find the teacher's own profile. Custom mentors have no profile.
Adding a custom mentor
Open the Mentors page
Click Manage mentors on your studio dashboard, or go to /studio/mentors.
Click Add custom mentor
The button is in the Custom mentors section. A form opens.
Fill in the fields
- Display name (required): what students see. Use the name they would recognise.
- Short bio (optional): a few sentences about the teacher. It shows on their card on this page.
- Profile photo URL (optional): a link to a square photo of the teacher that is already online, for example on your own website. There is no photo upload here.
Save
Click Save. The custom mentor now appears under Custom mentors, on your public studio page, and in the class wizard.
Assigning a custom mentor to a class
When you create a class, Who teaches this class? below the schedule offers:
- Just the studio: your studio is credited as the teacher.
- Platform mentor: search for a teacher with their own MoveMentors profile.
- Custom mentor: pick one of your custom mentors.
Pick the custom mentor for the class. You make this choice when you create the class; the class editor cannot change it later. The credit shows on the class in your studio dashboard. Class pages and class cards do not show custom mentor credits yet.
If you have active employees on your roster, a separate Who teaches this class? picker above the schedule assigns an employee to the sessions. That one is part of your instructor roster.
You can credit the same custom mentor on as many classes as you like.
What a custom mentor looks like to students
On your public studio page, custom mentors appear under Mentors at this studio with their photo and name.
The card is NOT clickable. There is no separate profile page for a custom mentor; they exist only in the studio's context.
Editing or removing a custom mentor
Same page: /studio/mentors. Click Edit on the mentor's card to change the name, bio or photo link, or Remove to delete them.
If you remove a custom mentor who is credited on classes, those classes stay live and the credit is cleared.
Custom mentors and reviews
Students cannot leave reviews on a custom mentor. They review the class, and you read those reviews at Reviews in your studio dashboard.
If a student really wants to commend a specific teacher, they can mention the teacher's name in their review. There is no feature to link a review to one teacher within a class.
Custom mentors and bookings
Bookings on classes credited to a custom mentor are normal studio bookings: clients pay your studio, and the bookings show in Client bookings in your dashboard.
Custom mentors do NOT receive booking notifications. They do not have an account to notify. If they need to know who is coming, share the details with them yourself.
Pay arrangements with custom mentors
Off-platform. The studio receives all booking payments; how you pay your custom mentors (salary, a fee per class, an amount per student) is your business arrangement. MoveMentors does not get involved.
Typical patterns:
- Employee: a salary or an hourly wage.
- Independent contractor: a flat fee per class or an amount per student, paid by you.
Document the arrangement somewhere outside the platform.
Common questions
Can a custom mentor become a platform mentor later? Yes. Once they create a MoveMentors teacher account, invite them to your instructor roster. Classes that credit their custom mentor entry keep that credit, because the class editor cannot switch it. When you remove the old entry, it disappears from your studio page and the credit on those classes is cleared.
Can two studios share a custom mentor? No. Each studio has its own custom-mentor list. If the same person teaches at two studios, both studios add their own entry.
Can I import custom mentors from a spreadsheet? No. Add them one at a time.
Can students message a custom mentor? No. Custom mentors have no account, so clients contact your studio instead.
Next steps
- Your instructor roster: employees and renters with their own accounts.
- Inviting platform mentors: the alternative for teachers who want their own platform presence.
- Business profile: how your teachers show on your public page.