Motivating people when you don't know them is difficult. What gets one person going might be a total turnoff for someone else.
We completely understand the copywriter here was tasked with motivating the masses (hard since people are individuals) to do something they probably don't want to do (climb the stairs to this gym) when an easier option is readily available (there's an elevator right there and also we could just not go to the gym at all—that's fine too).
It's a big ask!
Having said all of that, what we can't understand is what on earth this copywriter is even trying to say. It's very possible that Twitter user @LizerReal uncovered the most brilliant and motivating thing ever written... it's just that nobody can understand it.
Huh?
thank us. at 3rd floor. hit yourself. you will. 3 months. from now.pic.twitter.com/qkc73Haa7O— Lil Bit \ud83c\udf08 (@Lil Bit \ud83c\udf08) 1650485353
Is it brilliance so pure that it's incomprehensible to our feeble, unevolved, minds?
Is it poetry?
Is this a threatening prophecy?
Is it performance art and the readers confusion is meant to be a statement on the larger state of motivation and inspiration in an urban environment where the human animal's natural motivators are largely absent?
Is it installation error? If so, what was it supposed to say?
There's nothing particularly news-worthy about these steps. They're not in a famous building, they weren't photographed in some celebs personal gym, they didn't feature in the background of one of a random Netflix show that got canceled 3 minutes after it premiered.
There's honestly no reason for us, or anyone, to be so stuck on this ... but it struck Twitters collective "confused dog head tilt" button and people just couldn't let it go.
I think I\u2019ve had a strokehttps://twitter.com/lizerreal/status/1516871632329089024\u00a0\u2026— Rach (@Rach) 1650906245
Is... Yoda teaching a class in self-harm?— Jill Anti-Racist & Pro-Trans Rights Weinberger (@Jill Anti-Racist & Pro-Trans Rights Weinberger) 1650485495
There is no combination of these phrases that makes any kind of sense.https://twitter.com/LizerReal/status/1516871632329089024\u00a0\u2026— Brett Morey (@Brett Morey) 1650561952
I can't make sense of what it's even supposed to be. Rearranging it doesn't help much. At third floor you will hit yourself. Thank us 3 months from now.— Dungeon Dadster (@Dungeon Dadster) 1650556805
I hate that I read this several times in hopes it\u2019d make sense\u2026 save yourself don\u2019t go up the stairshttps://twitter.com/LizerReal/status/1516871632329089024\u00a0\u2026— Kris W. (@Kris W.) 1650557341
Same vibepic.twitter.com/RJUKKgz18s— Hans (@Hans) 1650564456
has anyone figured out who the muscle man is? what's on the 3rd floor? WHAT HAPPENS IN 3 MONTHS?— Lil Bit \ud83c\udf08 (@Lil Bit \ud83c\udf08) 1650487708
Tell me you're in fight club without breaking the rules of fight clubhttps://twitter.com/LizerReal/status/1516871632329089024\u00a0\u2026— bekah means cray (@bekah means cray) 1650539020
no because literally what were they trying to sayhttps://twitter.com/lizerreal/status/1516871632329089024\u00a0\u2026— \ud83e\uddb7\u0632\u0648\u064a\u0627\ud83e\udd65 (@\ud83e\uddb7\u0632\u0648\u064a\u0627\ud83e\udd65) 1650642286
Which, of course, means folks went into detective mode.
I looked at the white lettering behind the message and saw, \u201cR A W.\u201d Googled Raw Gym and this one in Lodi, NJ came up. They refer to it as HIT (at least according to @Groupon), and offer 90 day classes. The owner also rents his cars out and has a moving company, according to IG.pic.twitter.com/tBa202XfzD— OMG Poetry (@OMG Poetry) 1650512189
Hit yourself at 3rd floor. You will thank us 3 months from now.\n\n(Assuming HIT = high intensity training = a gym? as per diagram)— Kyle Anderson (@Kyle Anderson) 1650522837
Maybe it's out of order?\nHigh Intensity Train yourself\nAt 3rd floor\nYou will\nThank us\n3 months\nFrom now— Russ Entrol (@Russ Entrol) 1650491360
This is definitely the right answer, but it\u2019s still absolutely bonkers of them to assume that they average person would see the words \u201chit yourself\u201d & immediately think \u201cah, yes, I\u2019d like to high-intensity train myself\u201d— Nope (@Nope) 1650505018
That what I was gonna say. If it was the right order and said HIIT YOURSELF it may have made sense— Daniel Ramos (@Daniel Ramos) 1650565994
... and we still aren't sure they've got it figured out.
HIT being used as an acronym makes the most sense, but the correct acronym for high intensity interval training (a popular training method you might use at a gym) is HIIT, not HIT.
We love the way Twitter can't let stuff go.
It makes us feel better about the rabbit holes we've found ourselves diving down in order to satisfy our random curiosities.
