Let me briefly explain the history behind this particular Planet Fitness. Formerly known as Olympus, or simply put, a real gym, upon changing names a flurry of drama ensued, which negatively impacted employees and patrons.  If you are not familiar with the policies of Planet Fitness, a simple google search will yield plenty of information, mostly negative. And you will begin to comprehend exactly what I mean by real preceding gym.

The owners’ third rate henchman and porcine faced manager would roam the floors of of the facility in search of confrontation. Remember the guy in high school who was always looking for a fight, desperate to flex his muscles and prove his worth? Give that guy – all grown up – a modicum of authority and what you have is corporate Seppuku. But you’ve got to feel sorry for the little guy as he has no clue that he’s merely a puppet and a pitbull the owners employ to sic on “unruly” patrons who actually utilize the equipment in the gym to work out and not roll in to eat free pizza and bagels and tootsie rolls. As Owner #1 recently told someone, and I quote:

“What are we going to do about [the manager]?”

Perhaps someone should slip a note under the door and suggest that the manager cease calling patrons “fat and stupid” behind their backs and employ some diplomacy when dealing with those so called evil grunters rather than targeting certain individuals on the floor and irascibly laying into them in front of everyone. A little diplomacy goes a long way. However, when the owners themselves are apathetic to the needs of the people who pay them to use a service, you cannot set a proper example for your staff to follow without unwittingly exposing yourself as a hypocrite. I have managed to muster up some sympathy for the manager in spite of the trespasses he has committed because he is like a special child, and in a way you cannot fault him for doing wrong. Perhaps a modern day version of Lenny Small just “living off the fatta’ the lan” is the most appropriate way to describe him.

This corporate apathy and abuse of authority goes beyond the manager, beyond the owners, and is firmly rooted in the PF doctrine – as written and show here -

But I digress. I am not here to deconstruct the PF philosophy or offer a dissertation; rather, I would like to focus on the first two sentences which aptly underscores the original purpose of this blog:

we at pf are here to provide an environment in which anyone, and we mean anyone, can be comfortable. a diverse, judgement free zone where a lasting, active lifestyle can be built.

What happened after I was subjected to Owner #1′s negative ramblings and his indignation over my apperance may have been worse than the initial assault. Attempting to add insult to injury, Owner #1strolled over to the front desk and bragged about the incident to the employees. Showing how uncouth and ill-bred a a man he is, he unabashedly boasted that he had told me I was “too big.” It sort of went like this:

“I told [] she was too big,” boasted the uncouth man.

“That’s a way to a girl’s heart,” said the porcine faced manager.

“That’s not a girl, that’s a man,” he continued to malign.

“I’d still tap it,” offered a young employee.

“Out of all the girls, why would you want to hit that old thing?” questioned porcine faced manager.

All consideration toward the possibility that perhaps I had misinterpreted his intent had been eradicated.

I’d like to know, where in the PF contract II signed does it state that I am exempt from the level of respect that is supposed to be accorded to all members in the “Judgement Free Zone?”

To Owner #1 – Shame on you. I wonder how you would have felt if a coach or teacher spat on your son’s dream of becoming a baseball player, or if someone told your wife to give up her fight with cancer because the hospital bills were bleeding your family dry. Shame on your greed for turning a perfectly good gym into a farce, for spewing hate at one the best personal trainers in the world for which your gym is so fortunate to have him even though you continue to treat him like a second class citizen, and for allowing patrons to be mistreated and mishandled by management.

I have a suggestion for you – next time you want to make a ludicrous assertion about someone’s appearance, take a long hard look in the mirror. I am not only referring to your belly hanging over your belt or your frog-ish spectacled face but of what is inside that transcends the physical. The stuff that comes from within and you, my friend, you are sorely lacking the facets that comprise genuine beauty. The probability that you will continue to live a bitter and passionless existence is enough justice for me.

THE END

]]> http://eastfallschurchplanetfitness.wordpress.com/2008/06/18/the-aftermath-jerry-bianucci/feed/ 0 eastfallschurchplanetfitness http://eastfallschurchplanetfitness.wordpress.com/2008/06/17/the-conversation-almost-verbatim-jerry-bianucci/ http://eastfallschurchplanetfitness.wordpress.com/2008/06/17/the-conversation-almost-verbatim-jerry-bianucci/#comments Tue, 17 Jun 2008 23:25:25 +0000 eastfallschurchplanetfitness http://eastfallschurchplanetfitness.wordpress.com/?p=4 ]]> Some weeks ago on a Friday late afternoon in May of 2008 (exact date to be inserted later), one of the owners, whose son plays for the Auburn Tigers, interrupted me in the middle of an upper body workout by standing to the front right of the machine, thus blocking my movement.

With a smug grin glued to his face, he said, “You’re getting too big.”

“Excuse?” I replied, not quite sure I heard correctly.

“I said, you’re getting too big.” He continued to smile.

I didn’t know what to say except thank you. As a female bodybuilder, it’s not necessarily an insult to hear feedback that you’re gaining size.

“I don’t think you understand,” he said, his voice taking on a slight edge. “You’re getting too big. You’re going to lose your femininity.” He shifted his body and leaned in a bit closer. “Let me ask you something. Why are you doing this? Why?”

I shrugged. “Because I like it?” I offered, still not sure what direction this intrusive line of questioning was headed.

“Because you like it?” he repeated. “When are you going to stop?” he demanded.

“Hmm. Well, let’s see. When my biceps and triceps pop out a little more and when my hams match my quads. Wouldn’t mind my back filling in more.”

“Stop,” he said. “Just stop.” The smile slid off his face, usurped by marked displeasure. “Do you realize you’re getting bigger than Cory Everson?”

“Cory Everson? The six time Miss Olympia champion?”

“Yes. I knew her, you know.”

I choked back a laugh. “I seriously doubt I’m getting bigger than her. You know, I’m only going to get as big as I can naturally, ” I pointed out, emphasizing the last word.

“Women’s bodybuilding went downhill after Cory,” he continued, oblivious to what I had said. “The girls were looking too big and too masculine.”

The implication was obvious. He was basically telling me he thought I looked too butch. And yet, I wasn’t bothered. I was still floating on air from a workout high. At least until -

“How much do you weigh? 140?” he asked, changing strategy.

“Yeah.”

“That’s what I thought. 140.” And then he said something I couldn’t believe. “You need to lose weight. Go down to 118.” He stared past me as he began calculating figures in his head. “Yeah, that’s it. 118. No, wait – make that 115,” he corrected, swiftly shifting his eyes back on mine. “115.”

I was floored. “That’s ridiculous! I was a bone rack at 115! I had flesh hanging from my body. I felt sick all the time, too. I mean, come on now!”

“115,” he repeated as he abruptly slid between another machine and myself and turned the corner towards his office, leaving me in a state of disbelief.

Did this conversation really happen? I asked myself as I grabbed my water bottle from off the floor and headed into the locker room. Did the owner of a gym unnecessarily harass me for being too muscular or fit – and on top of it – suggest that I lose what I pointed out was an unhealthy amount of weight?

What’s even sadder is that there was more to this conversation than I care to document but it still fell along the lines of disrespect.

I am going to attempt to document the facts and tidy up my thoughts in the least amount of posts possible so that I may continue to move on without further interruption and free myself of the negativity associated with Planet Fitness.