Fitness personality Joey Swoll is gaining momentum on his mission to make gyms more welcoming environments. In a recent Instagram video, Swoll called out a woman who shamed a man for trying to use one of the many machines she was hogging at the gym.
“Here’s an idea, how about instead of taking a video to make fun of this man and call him a clown to make yourself out to be a victim which you’re not, you handle it like an adult,” shared Joey Swoll.
Gym etiquette has become Swoll’s life mission as of late. Over the years, he and many others have observed bullying, harassment, and even violence at local gyms and fitness centers. He coined this problem “toxic gym culture,” and has taken to various TikTok and Instagram videos to spread his message.
In his latest endeavor, Swoll condemned the actions of a female influencer who occupied multiple machines for supersets instead of sharing the equipment in a courteous manner. In the video, a man decides to ‘work in’ and completes a set of back extensions. However, the female believes he not only crashed her video but violated her personal space a handful of times.
Joey Swoll Torches Woman for Bashing Gym-Goer & Hogging Machines: ‘You Make Yourself Out to Be the Victim, Which You’re Not’
Here is the woman’s caption for reference:
“I was using the hyperextension machine and doing sets back and forth & no lie this man was 4 inches from my ass each time I tried to finish my sets bc of how I set up My Little space to film & he so rudely went in my frame. Like sir… you clearly saw me doing something,” the influencer shared.
Swoll believes the man who used the back extension machine did nothing wrong. He added that supersetting with three or four different exercises at the gym is poor etiquette.
“So let me get this straight you’re upset with that man you call him a clown, you say that he’s rude all because he sees the back extension is open while you’re off doing 2-3 different exercises supersetting setting up your camera and he decides to use it… and because he’s in your space while you’re filming as if your video is more important than another member’s workout, it’s not.
I’m sorry, you don’t own the gym. Not to mention it’s not good gym etiquette to do three or four different exercises supersetting and hog a machine,” Swoll said. “Not everything needs to be filmed and posted on social media. The gym is a shared space there’s going to be conflict, sort it out. You need to do better mind your business,” Joey Swoll said via Instagram.
Given the sheer number of conflicts Joey has encountered during his movement, it’s evident there is still a lot of work to be done. However, his efforts got the attention of bodybuilding legend and former seven-time Mr. Olympia Arnold Schwarzenegger. Back in Feb., ‘The Austrian Oak’ praised Swoll for his continued work in making gyms and exercise locations more welcoming for everyone.
Toxic gym culture affects bodybuilders as well. Last September, Charly Young, an NPC athlete, faced verbal abuse from a man who shouted at him for just taking off his shirt and posing in the gym. Swoll commended Young for his calmness and criticized the man’s angry tirade.
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This isn’t the first time Joey Swoll has taken aim at filming inside gyms. Last week, the influencer made an example out of a woman for filming a workout without any respect for those around her. Following his latest effort, hopefully, in time, gyms continue to become more accepting places for people of all fitness levels.