A friend toured a London gym, only to receive texts once a week for two months, taunting her for not joining and supposedly being “festively plump” instead. Turns out this place has a bit of a track record for asshattery.
Gymbox, which has three locations in London, excels in coming up with marketing-friendly workouts that evince the worst stereotypes about anyone you like — British people and their class issues (“Chav Fighting Class,” “White Collar Boxing”), British women (the wag workout, for women who want to make themselves more attractive to footballers,”) or women in general (“Boob Aerobics,” “Stiletto Workout,” “Pole Dancing,” and so on.) They have used humans for weightlifting, including little persons.
My sister says they have an obnoxious man stand on Oxford Holborn Street shouting “GYYYYYMBOOOOXXXX TIGHTTEN YOUR BUMS LADIES!!!”
It is not a woman-only gym.
It fascinates me that this would make anyone want to join this gym. (At least to the extent that three locations stay in business.) The fitness business usually relies on a smoother, more aspirational type of bullying. Yes, workouts can be boring, but I personally like to think of the gym as a place where you can sweat in silence (with headphones, unmolested) without worrying about whether you can walk in stilettos. Am I alone here?
Featured Classes [Gymbox Official Site]
Fancy A Workout? Take Your Pick [Daily Mail]
GET JEZEBEL RIGHT IN YOUR INBOX
Still here. Still without airbrushing. Still with teeth.
