Custom mentors are a studio-only feature: you add a name, photo, and optional bio of someone who teaches at your studio but does not have their own MoveMentors profile. They appear as credits on classes you assign them to.
This is different from inviting a platform mentor: custom mentors are just labels in your database. They cannot log in, cannot receive bookings directly, cannot have their own profile.
When to use custom mentors
The classic case: you have a teacher on payroll who teaches at your studio but does not need their own marketing presence. They are not freelancing for other studios; they teach at YOUR studio specifically. They are an employee.
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 multiple teachers (you list one as the primary, mention others in the description, etc).
When NOT to use a custom mentor:
- The teacher has their own MoveMentors profile. Invite them as a platform mentor (co-listing) instead. See inviting platform mentors.
- The teacher wants to receive bookings under their own name and brand. They need their own platform account.
- You want students to read reviews about the teacher specifically. Reviews are tied to a platform account.
Adding a custom mentor
Go to /studio/mentors
The mentor roster management page.
Click 'Add custom mentor'
A form opens.
Fill in the fields
- Display name (required): what students see. Use the name they would recognise.
- Photo (optional but recommended): square, 400×400 minimum. Same standards as a regular profile photo.
- Short bio (optional): 1-3 sentences about the teacher's style, training, or background. Surfaces on the studio profile in the "In-house mentors" section.
- Tags (optional): "Yoga", "Pilates", "Restorative". Helps you internally; not surfaced publicly.
Save
The custom mentor is now part of your roster and available to assign to classes.
Assigning a custom mentor to a class
When you create or edit a class, the "Teacher" field has a dropdown of:
- Your custom mentors (alphabetical).
- Your invited platform mentors (alphabetical, marked with a small icon).
- "No specific teacher" (the studio teaches generically).
Pick the custom mentor for the class. The class card and detail page will show that name and photo as the teacher.
A custom mentor can teach unlimited classes; the class wizard reuses your roster.
What a custom mentor looks like to students
On the studio profile's "In-house mentors" section, custom mentors appear as cards with:
- Photo.
- Name.
- Short bio (if provided).
- A small "Studio teacher" tag.
The card is NOT clickable. There is no separate profile page for a custom mentor; they exist only in the studio's context.
On class cards and detail pages, the teacher's name and photo appear next to the class info.
Editing or removing a custom mentor
Same page: /studio/mentors. Click into the mentor card.
You can edit name, photo, bio, tags. You can also "Remove from roster" which deletes the custom mentor.
If you remove a custom mentor who is currently assigned to classes:
- Future sessions of those classes show "No teacher assigned" until you reassign.
- Past sessions retain the historical teacher name (frozen in the record).
For a clean transition: reassign all their classes to a different teacher BEFORE removing.
Custom mentors and reviews
Students cannot leave reviews on a custom mentor. They can leave reviews on the CLASS the custom mentor taught, which go to the studio's profile.
If a student really wants to commend a specific teacher, they can mention the teacher's name in the studio review. We do not have a feature to thread reviews to specific teachers within a class.
If you want named reviews per teacher, you need to invite them as a platform mentor (co-listing). See inviting platform mentors.
Custom mentors and bookings
Bookings on classes taught by custom mentors are normal bookings. The student books, the studio receives payment, the studio confirms.
Custom mentors do NOT receive booking notifications. They do not have an account to notify. If you want them to know about upcoming bookings, you have to forward the info yourself (or use your own internal communication).
Pay arrangements with custom mentors
Off-platform. The studio receives all booking payments; how you pay your custom mentors (salary, per-class fee, percentage) is your business arrangement. The platform does not get involved.
Typical patterns:
- Employee: salary, no per-class direct compensation.
- Independent contractor: per-class flat fee or per-student commission. You write the check.
Document the arrangement somewhere outside the platform.
Tier limits
The number of custom mentors you can have:
| Tier | Custom mentors |
|---|---|
| Free | 3 |
| Pro | 10 |
| Premium | Unlimited |
Inactive custom mentors (ones you have removed from your roster but kept records of) do not count toward the cap. Only active ones.
Common questions
Can a custom mentor become a platform mentor later? Yes. They sign up for a mentor account independently. You then invite them as a co-owner on the classes they teach; once they accept, the classes flip from "custom mentor: <name>" to "platform mentor: <name with link>". You can also archive the old custom-mentor record.
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 maintain their own custom-mentor record. Inefficient but rarely a real problem.
Can I import custom mentors from a spreadsheet? Not natively. Add them one by one. We may add CSV import for large rosters; not yet on the roadmap.
Can students message a custom mentor? No. The studio is the only contact point. Messages go to the studio's inbox.
Next steps
- Inviting platform mentors: the alternative for teachers who want their own platform presence.
- Business profile: how the roster surfaces on your public page.