Christopher Meloni Works out Naked in Cheeky New Peloton Ad

Christopher Meloni is getting cheeky in a spicy new Peloton ad that proves it’s not “strange” to work out in your own way – even if that way is in the nude. The Law & Order: Organized Crime star, 61, gets buff in the buff as he makes his way through a variety of workouts available on the Peloton app, from strength training and yoga to running and meditation.

Playing off a quote of his about working out in the nude that went viral earlier this year, Meloni says in the commercial that some people might deem it “strange” the way he works out. Deadpan, he tells the camera, “Honestly, I don’t get it.” At the end of the advertisement, Peloton plays on the iconic introduction to Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, saying with recognizable intonation, “In the Peloton community, users are represented by two separate, yet equally motivated groups: those who wear pants…and Christopher Meloni.” 

In the caption for the ad Peloton posted on Instagram, the fitness brand wrote, “We love all our Members…even those who observe interesting holidays #NationalNudeDay.” The ad definitely got attention right away, with one Instagram user commenting, “ELLIOT STABLER YOU DID NOT!!!!” Another added, “Ohhhh. My. Word,” while a third dubbed it the “greatest ad of all time.”

Meloni’s ad performance may have been in jest, but the actor really does work out stark naked. In May, the actor told PEOPLE bluntly, “I work out naked. It’s my gym.” The Wet Hot American Summer star continued that it’s in his home gym that he “can do whatever I want,” adding, “And I don’t black out the window. And I’m okay with that. My wife is not.” 

While the actor, whose character Elliot Stabler returned to the Law & Order universe last year, does like to work out with his wife, Sherman Williams, he told the magazine that he prefers to have that time to himself. “We’ll hit the gym, but you know, I’m not to be spoken to,” he joked. “It’s like interrupting a monk when he’s in the middle of his monk-ing.” Meloni revealed that he’s “very serious” when he’s working out at the public gym, wearing big headphones to block out noise if he must, but generally avoiding the group setting altogether.

Keeping himself in shape, Meloni told Men’s Health he spends 80 minutes doing box jumps, pullups and “the saw” for a light workout. Excercise for the actor is “therapy, church, meditation, and a kind of personal re-engagement where the brain and the body get to talk to one another,” he explained.