Time I Got Kicked Out of the Gym
I’ve been a user of a well known gym brand in the UK for many years. It was cheap, cheerful, 24/7, and had all the kit etc that I wanted/needed. The beauty of the membership in that club was that you had one code, you could go to another gym location. Basically one price, multiple gyms. When I moved back home there was a gym quite close to me, and I decided to stay there.
I thought I’d even get my friend signed up and working out with me because he was keen to see how weightlifting was done. I thought - yea let’s go for it.
Now, I may have done a wanker move and rocked up in the gym in jeans because I wasn’t working out, I was just helping my friend with form correction.
We turned up at the gym, literally 2 minutes into the workout, the manager pulls me aside and tells me to get out. He said I can’t do personal training in this gym without paying.
- It’s a bit insulting calling me a personal trainer. Get to know me first and ask what I do for a living before thinking I would go as low as to be a personal trainer sneaking free equipment usage at a gym
- I was a member at that gym, so was my friend. It was 2 bros working out in the gym.
I should probably also add that this was at the height of the pandemic, and there was supposed to be social distancing rules going on. There was me wearing a mask and staying distant from other people, but on the opposite side - about 3 bros taking a round on a bench and spotting each other. There was definitely a double standard here.
A few days after that, my friend and I went back to do a session, this time me in my full gym gear, and him too. I did take my shoes off to do a deadlift because I don’t deadlift with lifting shoes on. The manager came in again. There was 100% no way he could have seen it, but he came over IMMEDIATELY and told me to put my shoes on. After I finished with my weight and was about to walk away, he immediately came over and told me to unload the weight. Overall, this manager was being a complete dickhead.
That was the last time I ever went to that gym. When I cancelled my membership I made it very clear that that manager made me feel very unwelcome at that gym, and that he should be ashamed of how he acts towards paying customers. He totally had it in for me.
Now personally speaking - this isn’t too different from some of the treatment I’ve had in many places in Northern Ireland before. I’ve been treated differently for being an outsider before many times. I’m not saying this is a unique case of it, but he definitely saw me a mile away mostly because the gym was 99% white people.
When I left that gym, I joined a rival 24-hour gym, and immediately felt more at home. The owner was a brother of a friend, and he made me feel extremely welcome. Not only that, but he also divulged that many ex-corporate-gym-members flocked to his gym as well, because the rules were crap, and the PTs in there hated working with the manager. He had experience with that manager. What he had to say wasn’t entirely great, so at least we know I dodged a bullet.
The take-home from all of this: I’m not saying that you pay for a service that gives you 100% right act like a dickhead and do Bla Bla, but in a gym, you should be able to bring a friend in and show them a few things, without being asked to leave or accused of trying to steal someone’s business. I sure as hell don’t criticise people for telling me DevOps advice, I learn from that shit. Then again, I guess things in this town never change, especially the people.
If a gym or a manager was rude to you, you make sure you either escalate it (especially if it’s a big chain), or you take your business elsewhere. Either way, leaving that gym was one of the best things I ever did.
I went forward with a new gym and found both equipment and technique that I would not have had the chance to use anywhere else. One of the biggest things was that I learned about calibrated weights. Now for a normal everyday gym, you 100% would probably never see them, but for a powerlifting gym, I saw them for the first time ever and was curious what they would be for. They’re absolutely brilliant, but also incredibly accurate weight wise.
What was the take home from this whole experience? I left this country because I didn’t feel welcome, only to come back to this country and not feel welcome with a gym brand that I’ve used for years. In fact here’s the thing, in the 24/7 gym in my last location: I’ve never once felt out of place. I was welcome, and people there were really friendly. In this location, everything just felt seriously out of place. It wasn’t just a matter of the town, the people in it were a bit iffy. I don’t know how to explain it, but the culture wasn’t there at all. I’ve been to gyms with friendly people everywhere, this gym immediately felt like it was cold. That’s down to how both the management is, as well as the town.
An important thing - if you’re wanting to spend time/money or etc at a place - is to ensure that the vibe is right for you. This applies for either a gym, a library, a restaurant… even your job. One of the most important aspects in my life right now is that if a company has a terrible vibe - no matter how much they pay me - I’ll decline the job. Reason being is because nobody should be fucked around for no reason. It’s pointless spending time being miserable, and even more pointless paying for somewhere with a terrible vibe.
If this gym manager is reading this: learn to be nicer to both staff/paying members of the gym. I called that place home for a long time, now it’s tainted everything. I hope you’re happy…
Quick Update That manager is no longer there. Wonder if my complaints actually were taken seriously?