Social media fitness influencer Joey Swoll is renowned for leading the charge against toxic gym culture with his positive movement. In a recent video posted on TikTok, Swoll shared his thoughts on IFBB Pro bodybuilder Marcus (Mark Hunter) getting kicked out of the gym by an employee based on a false assumption.
TikTok has become the new popular platform for aspiring influencers to gain fame. While some will do anything in hopes of going viral, Joey Swoll believes it’s important to use the platform in a responsible manner. He regularly calls out examples of poor gym etiquette on the app.
A female TikToker made headlines last October after she taunted other gym-goers for grunting loudly. Swoll took issue with the woman’s behavior and suggested there was nothing wrong with grunting during a training session. Since the woman was a trainer, he urged her to help make the gym a positive space for everyone instead of making fun of others online.
Swoll took notice of another female TikToker who did not want to share the equipment with another gym-goer while performing supersets. He criticized her poor gym etiquette and called on her to be more considerate in the future.
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Last month, TikTok user Jessica Fernandez caught Swoll’s attention after uploading a video berating a man for looking her way. Fernandez labeled the man a creep for offering to help her add weights to a barbell. Swoll put her on blast for her actions. In the end, the message worked as Fernandez followed up with an apology video admitting her mistake and thanking Swoll for the wake-up call.
Swoll also fired shots at a user who mocked an old man for the way he was working out on the heavy bag earlier this month. He was furious with the woman for ridiculing the old man and even went as far as to say her gym should kick her out if she refused to apologize.
Joey Swoll reacts to rude staff member kicking out IFBB Pro bodybuilder
In a recent TikTok, Joey Swoll bashed a rude staff member for his actions after he got into a dispute with IFBB Pro competitor Markus and kicked him out of the gym.
Markus had been a member of TG San Diego for about five years prior to getting kicked out of the gym. He was re-racking the weights he used on the hack squat and didn’t notice the improperly arranged weight plates on the equipment. Cole, a staff member, assumed that he was responsible for the plates being in the wrong order. Further, the gym associate asked Markus to renew his membership just to cancel it right away.
“Basically what happens is Markus is putting his weights back after he finishes up, as he should, and on the rack that he’s putting the weights back on, there’s some weights that are put back incorrectly. There’s a 10 buried under a bunch of 45s,” said Markus. “One of the staff members sees that and confronts Markus. Markus tells him, ‘hey, I didn’t do that.’ But the staff member continues to be rude to him, disrespect him, and then eventually, kicks him out of the gym.
“You always hear me preach about as members of the gym, we need to be kind and respectful to the staff that work there. However, that’s a two-way street. You as a member deserve respect as well. Nobody should ever be spoken to or treated this way. Markus did not deserve this and I hope it gets resolved.”
@thejoeyswoll #stitch with @markusfit Gym staff should never treat members this way.
Here is the full video:
@markusfit Hot date tomorrow at tomorrow with Cole at TG San Diego / Pacific Beach
The gym’s rating on Google dropped to 1.3 out of 5 after the video. Markus received messages from other people claiming they experienced the same behavior from Cole. Unfortunately, things did not work out as Markus had hoped. He shared a follow-up video detailing his meeting with the owners. While they were apologetic, they asked Markus to stay out of the gym and said their staff member Cole would not be going anywhere.
In the follow up, Markus shared that he made an effort to visit the gym and have a conversation with the owners and the angry employee, about the incident. He stated that although the gym owners were courteous towards him from the beginning, the discussion did not unfold as Markus had expected.
@markusfit #stitch with @markusfit I’ll be taking my business elsewhere unfortunately due to the response. Thank you to the owner Rick for the apology.Cole…. Do better. #greenscreen
Joey Swoll received praise from bodybuilding legend Arnold Schwarzenegger recently for his gym positivity movement. Schwarzenegger agreed with Swoll’s message and teased a partnership ahead. Given this latest circumstance, it’s safe to say spreading positivity within gyms is still a work in progress.
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