In what seems like a throwback to another era my gym used to be a solid fitness center equipped with dumbbells well over sixty lbs and a squat rack and a dizzying array of equipment that could woo and satisfy the finickiest of free weight junkies. A bona fide incentive for the ladies was the accessibility of on-site daycare and the variety of cardio and strength training classes available throughout the long stretch of business hours but that too was eliminated as soon as the owners acquired the Planet Fitness name.
Out went the old and in came the eye gouging yellow and purple paint combo where every other wall appeared to be cluttered with over-sized placards and a relentless repeat of PF’s No Judgment mantra – the crux of their business banking [on their preference] for the weak and the meek – and of course, as if it could possibly go unnoticed, the now infamous lunk alarm looming over the musclebound lot towards the rear of the gym; an electronic babysitter that emits an interminable wail when triggered by the overzealous clanking of weights or an enthusiastic exhalation of air. In other words, the all dreaded GRUNT – the bane of Planet Fitness’ existence and incontrovertible proof that lunkheads lurked among them- an offense that could easily get one tossed from PF turf and cast straight into the national limelight.
Despite the aforementioned obstacles and the absurd color scheme that sullies the walls and equipment and makes me feel as if I’m tripping on a Barney tab (or, on occasion, inciting an unquenchable lust for grape Jolly Ranchers), my main motivation for keeping this blog is so that you may bear witness to the bane of my existence – the corrupt management and dirty politics behind my local PF chain – where respect and equality are neglected and specific members are targeted and treated harshly and with much judgment and where hypocrisy is the operative word du jour.
Bear witness to the machinations of my local Judgement Free Zone and judge for yourself.
April 16, 2008 at 7:12 pm |
QUESTION: When is a ski-hat not a ski-hat?
ANSWER: When it’s on the head of a black man, then it becomes a do-rag.
I terminated my almost 20 year membership and friendship (I thought) with David DiSabato, the owner of the Planet Fitness Gym in Columbus, Ohio, after he told me that the combination of my muscular body (I’m 5 ft. 10 in. and weigh 180 lbs) and my do-rag (it wasn’t a do-rag, it was a ski-hat) made his new target audience (overweight middle-aged white women) feel uncomfortable.
Even though I had been an almost 20 year member without anyone ever complaining about me, I was now declared too muscular and too ethnic looking (i.e. scary looking) to be part of Planet Fitness’ new little country club.
Planet Fitness’ dress code policy is racially and religiously biased (see hyperlink item PF845 below)
http://www.northeastcolor.com/pf/pfpkg.html
It targets African-American men (do-rags), Latinos (bandanas), and Jewish and Muslim men (skull caps). I’m black, so even though I wasn’t wearing a do-rag, by default my ski-hat was declared too ethnic looking and I was accosted by four Planet Fitness employees and the owner of the club, David DiSabato.
Planet Fitness stereotypes men (Lunk Alarm = Dumb Jock Alarm) and forces out muscular men of all colors (yes even white men) who during their intense workouts might make some noise. (hyperlink Item PF300)
http://www.northeastcolor.com/pf/pfpkg.html
Notice how there is no female equivalent of the Lunk Alarm. The insulting cartoon character in Planet Fitness advertisements feature a man, not a man and a woman.
Every 15-20 minutes, via the gym’s sound system, Planet Fitness members are forced to listen to the following man-bashing public service announcement:
“REMEMBER AT PLANET FITNESS, THERE’S NO LUNKS, NO BODYBUILDERS, NO CRITICS!”
All of the heavy equipment men are most likely to use has been removed, further discriminating against men of all colors who take their workouts seriously.
To recap, here is Planet Fitness’ four way attack against men of all colors:
1. Behavior: grunting or dropping weights whether on purpose or by accident results in public humiliation via the Lunk Alarm: An ear piercing siren with a flashing blue light.
2. Appearance: Racially and religiously biased dress code that targets African-American, Latino, Jewish, and Muslim men.
3. Atmosphere: Insulting cartoon character signs. Man-bashing public service announcement.
4. Facility: Removal of all the equipment in-shape men are most likely to use.
Good luck to the remaining men at Planet Fitness. Let’s hope you don’t realize that you’ve been neutered by the Planet Fitness money making machine that caters to insecure women and encourages its members to remain out of shape and overweight with its Bagel Mornings, Pizza Evenings, and all the Tootsie Rolls you can eat. Planet Fitness men just be aware that the minute you lose the fat and gain muscle, you’ll be labeled a Lunk and your days with Planet Fitness will be numbered. And men of color, don’t you dare walk into Planet Fitness with any sort of head covering. You’ll be labeled as being too ethnic looking. You’ll be treated like a criminal and hastily escorted to the nearest exit.
I’ve moved on. I found a better gym; it’s more expensive than Planet Fitness, but it’s a gym that judges me only on the content of my character, not on my gender, the color of my skin, or the ethnicity of my clothing. Amazingly enough, even though I was declared too scary looking to workout with overweight middle-aged white women at Planet Fitness, in my new gym I workout with, you guessed it, overweight middle-aged white women! However, unlike the Planet Fitness women, these women aren’t prejudice toward my black muscular ethnic appearance.
Now that I’ve liberated myself from the hostile Planet Hypocrite environment I’m very happy. However, the bitter after taste of being judged in the “Judgment Free Zone” will stay with me for the rest of my life. (see Items PF275 and PF200)
http://www.northeastcolor.com/pf/pfpkg.html
Check out what happened to this guy when he questioned the Planet Fitness dress code policy.