A controversial move by an Australian gym owner to ban members from filming themselves while working out has prompted other fitness facilities around the world to follow suit, sparking widespread change in the industry.
Tony Doherty, founder and owner of Melbourne-based Doherty Gym, spoke about his decision to ban members from recording their fitness routines after he found his gym had turned into a “circus”.
Doherty, who in February implemented a complete ban on tripods in all his gyms – three in Melbourne and one in Perth – has now spoken about the impact his decision has had on the fitness industry.
“Honestly, [tripods] “It was driving me crazy,” he said. Dos and D Podcast recently.
“I went to the gym one day and there were seven people in a room using tripods, so I thought, ‘I need to wrap that up and put it around someone’s head.’
“It was out of control. There were young guys and older guys and they were like, ‘We need to film it and send it to the coach,’ and I just told them to stop.”
He said he also wanted to protect his celebrity clients, saying “no one has the right” to share images of people “with their feet up and sweating.”
“There’s a High Court judge who trains in my gym and I don’t think he wants to be in someone else’s film, etc,” he continued.
“I could talk for an hour about why people deserve privacy.
“This all happened post-COVID and everyone had to film their workouts at home and it just snowballed.”
Critics argued Doherty would lose members but he said the move had “gained new customers” for his company, adding that “sometimes tough decisions can have good outcomes”.
While some people have found the ban “unpleasant”, many gyms around the world are following suit, with the UK in particular seeing a “crackdown on gym selfies and videos”.
PureGym, which has more than 340 facilities across the UK, said it had introduced the rules to ensure the safety and privacy of its customers.
“Safety is an obvious concern – having equipment on the floor can be dangerous – but it’s also a huge distraction,” fitness instructor Erin Blakely said. Guardian A prohibition that is becoming increasingly popular.
“People tend to focus more on getting the perfect shot than on working out, which defeats the purpose of going to a fitness studio.”
