Dude! The gym I used to go to when I was still able to lift was brutal about that shit.
And I don’t mean towards the folks coming in to improve themselves. The guy that owned the joint was just a super gentle, kind person. But he was willing to make sure anyone there knew they could use the place free of bullshit.
It was a super friendly place for women and girls for one thing. The membership specified that as one of the things that was grounds for immediate revocation if membership. You didn’t harass other members, and it did apply to everyone. You know how some gyms get with women. It’s fucking ridiculous sometimes. But at his place, a woman could show up and know that not only would the owner and staff intervene if someone got annoying, that they’d never see the person again. Most of the regulars would step in as well.
He was also hell on wheels about people coming in that were out of shape, be it fat or really skinny. You do not fuck with someone trying to do better. It was printed out over the entrance to the weight area. Gym policy was firm on that, but you’d sometimes get some new meathead that came because it was known for having great support for power lifting that didn’t believe it.
And we didn’t stand for it either. It was always more of a low key , “not cool man, you can’t do that here”, and if they stopped, they’d eventually stop being watched like a rabbit in a wolf den. But if they didn’t, somebody would go get Paul, or whoever was on office duty, and any other regulars would be taking the beginner to the side and apologizing while someone else explained to the meathead that they just lost their membership and not to cause any shit.
Best fucking gym I ever went to. Everybody was super helpful and chill, but weren’t afraid to help hype you up for a big lift. And hype you up after one, as far as that goes.
Hell, when I first had to stop lifting heavy stuff and go for more of an overall workout, it was all support. And when I got hurt at work years later, Paul told me not to worry about membership fees at all. Just wanted me to know I could come in and do whatever my physical therapist wanted me to, no worries.
Loved that fucking place. It closed during COVID, and Paul couldn’t afford to open back up
