Originally I really loved this gym. I had been a member here for six years and religiously worked out there, doing a serious dumbbell routines and always racking my weights, taking the gym maintenance very seriously. Over the last year or so there have been many mounting issues due to lagging or virtually no upkeep. For example, this gym has four elliptical units of which two are barely useable, both squeaking so badly it can be ear deafening. Recently I complained about the position of the leg press (too close to the wall where the plate guard is rubbing against the plates and making its use detrimental to ones knees). The position of this equipment has been problematic for months and cannot be good for anyone serious about using it at a high weight level. Instead of having these issues addressed, I was called by the current owner who stated I was being problematic by complaining in the complaint box over this. I was threatened with termination after actually having been a Fitness member of the Month with my picture on the wall two years earlier.
Following this, I was on the elliptical speaking with my friend who is a witness to this about the current election. An elderly woman attacked me for discussing my opinions. Instead of reacting, I simply shut up. I understood that tension is thick during this time period. Apparently this person complained about me to the management. I am a loan officer at a bank and am an expert when it comes to dealing with people. I deal with all sorts of clients of all dispositions all day long. My friend who is also a loan officer at another bank witnessed this. The last straw of what was becoming a completely hostile gym occurred when someone jumped on a running machine which sounds like a train. I was on the elliptical watching CNN and turned up the audio, largely to block out the piercing audio this running machine makes. Then another person there whom I have always been polite with screamed at me to turn the sound of the TV down. I complied immediately. I was then called by the owner who stated I didn't have the right to play the sound of Snap's TV sets, even though several people do it. Also, keep in mind, I go there at 5am so this entire scenario occurred when there were literally only a few people in the early morning. He then told me he was rescinding my membership on the ground he got these complaints. I was shocked.
For six years I have walked into this gym and literally straightened the mess left there from the previous night. With the exception of these two incidents, I have never once had a single confrontation there and only complained about the equipment, temperature, of ventilation because as a member I have a right to address what any fitness person would clearly see as wrong. So, when I was told by the owner he had complaints against me, I asked him to tell me exactly what they were. He refused to site a single specific complaint but instead simply repeated himself saying we needed to part ways. I have been working out in gyms since high school, am 53, and never in my life once had anything like this occur. I am serious about my workout and not going to a gym to have issues or problems. However, if I am talking to a friend or doing something like watching TV which countless other people do, this sort of behavior is an utter violation of my freedom of speech as well as an insult to my character as a serious weight trainer. read more