An Australian gym owner controversially banned his members from videoing themselves exercising, sparking widespread change in the industry and followed suit by other fitness facilities around the world.
Tony Doherty, founder and owner of Melbourne-based Doherty's Gym, has spoken about the fallout from his decision to stop his members from recording their fitness routines after he saw his gym become a “circus”.
After imposing a blanket ban on tripods at all Doherty gyms in February – there are three in Melbourne and one in Perth – Mr Doherty has now spoken out about the impact his decision will have on the fitness industry.
“sincerely, [tripods] “I was holding my head in my hands,” he said. Dos and D Podcast recently.
“One day I went into the gym and there were seven people in a room using tripods and I thought, 'I've got to wrap this thing around someone's head.'
“It was out of control. There were young people, there were older people who said, 'I've got to film this for my coach and send it to him', and I just said stop.”
He also said he wanted to protect his celebrity clients as well, and said “no one” has the right to share a photo of someone “sweating with their legs up in the air.”
He further added, “We have a High Court judge who trains in my gym, I am sure he would not want to work in anyone else's film, etc.”
“I could talk for an hour about why people should have privacy.”
“It happened after COVID because everyone had to film their workouts at home and it just grew.”
Critics claimed Mr Doherty would lose subscribers, but he said the move would “bring” his business new clients, adding: “Sometimes tough decisions can have good outcomes.”
Despite some people being “upset” by the ban, many gyms around the world have followed suit, most notably in the UK where there has reportedly been a “crackdown on gym selfies and videos”.
Pure Gym, which has more than 340 facilities in the UK, said it had implemented the rule to ensure the safety and privacy of customers.
“Safety is an obvious concern; equipment on the floor can be dangerous. Also, the distraction factor is important,” explains fitness instructor Erin Blakely. The Guardian About the increasingly popular ban.
“Nowadays people focus more on achieving the ideal footage than on the workout itself, which defeats the whole purpose of going to a fitness studio.”
