An exclusive gym that charges $22,000 a year for membership has banned a long-term member for secretly taking videos and photos of women performing deadlifts.
The man, described as a former ‘corporate high flyer’, was reportedly caught by a number of women who took photos of them performing the usual weightlifting move, which is done from a bent-over position using the knees to lift the barbell to the waist. to take. .
This led to the man being kicked out of the Sydney Sporting Club in the city’s east, which costs $5,000 to join alone and has state-of-the-art gym equipment, a 50-metre outdoor heated pool and a virtual golf studio.
“The individual’s membership has been suspended pending further investigation,” a spokesperson for the Sporting Club of Sydney said the Daily Telegraph.
A woman performing a deadlift (general image shown), which involves lifting weights from a bent-over position
‘The photos were immediately removed after the male patron was confronted by the women and staff involved.
“We thank the female patrons for quickly raising the issue and for calling out behavior that is clearly contrary to the standards of the Sporting Club of Sydney.”
An unnamed female gym user told the newspaper that the man had been a high-flyer for the company but was involved in a “terrible car accident” that resulted in a brain injury and now has a full-time carer.
“It’s not an excuse, but it could explain why he did it,” the woman said.
“He’s been a member for 20 years and has never done anything like this.”
Other unnamed female customers of the fitness centre, located at Allianz Stadium in Sydney’s east, also praised the quick response to complaints.
“They did everything they could, it was handled very well,” said one.
‘We cannot blame the club at all.’
There has been a general crackdown on access to the sports club, which is housed in the recently rebuilt Allianz Stadium, to prevent tickets being shared with family and friends.
Customers said the entrance had recently been closed so that tickets could be manually checked before reaching the automatic turnstiles.
The Sydney Sporting Club charges $5,000 to join and has a membership fee of $22,000 per year (stock image)
In early February, renowned bodybuilding gym Dohertys announced a crackdown on customers filming their workouts by banning tripods and requiring “media passes” to what its owner called a “sacred place.”
Dohertys, which has three locations in the Melbourne area and one in Perth that attract super enthusiasts from around the world, has said that ‘filming on tripods is no longer permitted on its premises’.
‘It is our duty of care to provide security and privacy to all our members. Tripods have become a tripping hazard and a safety issue,” the statement said.
Tripods are used to mount smartphones to capture workouts on video that are often shared to social media accounts for likes and followers.