The gym can be intimidating to go to and work out to improve one's health, even at just a basic level.
It's sometimes loud; there's so many mysterious machines with people seriously sweating all over them; there's a whole different set of social rules about taking turns and more.
Because of this, TikToker Joey Swoll (@thejoeyswoll) gets really irritated whenever someone comes along and makes going to the gym even harder for people. He advocates for a judgment free gym environment so everyone—no matter their fitness level—feels welcome.
In the most recent of Swoll's call out videos about bad gym behavior, he posted a viral video someone had taken mocking a man walking backwards on a treadmill.
He captioned the clip:
"If you don’t want it done to you, don’t do it."
"Stop filming people at the gym."
"If you can’t respect others, STAY HOME."
Swoll read the original TikToker the riot act on how filming strangers at the gym—especially to make fun of them—is completely unacceptable.
You can see his call out here:
@thejoeyswoll If you don’t want it done to you, don’t do it. Stop filming people at the gym. If you can’t respect others, STAY HOME.
After listing all the reasons someone might be walking backwards on a treadmill, Swoll finished with a strong message for anyone thinking of filming other people at the gym in order to post on social media.
"It still blows my mind that people think it's alright to film a stranger at the gym just to post on social media so you can make fun of them for likes and attention."
"You need to do better."
"Mind your own business."
Swoll cross-posted his video over on Twitter, where people agreed with his stern lecture.
Many people thanked him for his words and shared how this sort of thing was why they were scared to go to the gym.
Others—both gym-goers and health care providers—shared how walking backwards on a treadmill helped them.
Others just agreed the trend of filming strangers in the gym is mean and disrespectful.
Finally, some just stopped by to express their gratitude for Swoll's video and overall consistent calling out of rude behavior in gyms.
Gym goers, be not afraid.
Joey Swoll's got your back.
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