‘Out of control’: Ban of invasive gym act growing in popularity

Tony Doherty of Doherty’s Gym stopped letting members film their workouts in February, citing safety and privacy concerns. Photo / Getty Images
Gym owner Tony Doherty’s decision to ban this workout act has sparked a global “crackdown” on the fitness trend.
An Aussie gym owner who controversially banned members from filming themselves working out has sparked widespread industry change as other fitness facilities around the world followed suit.
Founder and owner of Melbourne-based Doherty’s Gym, Tony Doherty, opened up about the aftermath of his decision to stop members from recording their fitness routines after noticing his gym had become a “circus”.
After completely outlawing tripods in all Doherty’s Gyms – there are three in Melbourne and one in Perth – back in February, Doherty has now opened up about the effects his decision had on the fitness industry.
“Honestly, [tripods] were doing my head in,” he told the Dos and D Podcast recently.
“One day I went into the gym and there were seven people using tripods in one room, and I’m like, ‘I need to wrap that thing up and wrap it around someone’s head’.
“It was out of control. There were young people, there were old people who said, ‘I’ve got to film it for my coach and send it to them’, and I just said, ‘Stop’.”
Doherty explained one of his biggest concerns about gym-goers filming themselves, particularly when using professional camera equipment, was the safety of his other members.
“One, it’s a trip hazard, it’s dangerous, it’s in the road and it’s one rule for everyone – so if everyone brings one, it becomes a circus.
“But secondly, I am really big on people’s privacy. Not everyone wants to be in someone else’s movie in the background.
“There are women with intervention orders against ex-partners, right, who want to hunt them down and kill them, and they are just waiting to see them in the background of something so they know where they are. So no, not on my watch.”
He also said he wanted to protect his celebrity clients too, stating “no one has the right” to share an image of someone “sweating with their legs in the air”.
“We’ve got a High Court judge [who] trains at my gym – I am sure he doesn’t want to be in someone else’s movie, and so on and so on,” he continued.
“I could go on for an hour about reasons people deserve privacy.
“It happened post-Covid because everyone had to film their workouts at home, and it just snowballed.”
While critics claimed Doherty’s gyms would lose members, he said the move caused his business to “gain” new clients, stating: “Sometimes there’s good consequences to tough decisions.”
Despite some being left “offended” by the ban, many gyms around the world have followed suit, most notably in the UK, where there has reportedly been a “crackdown on gym selfies and videos”.
PureGym, which has more than 340 facilities across Britain, said it introduced the rule to ensure customer safety and privacy.
“Safety is an obvious concern; equipment on the floor can be hazardous. Beyond that, the distraction factor is significant,” Erin Blakely, a fitness instructor told the Guardian regarding the increasingly popular ban.
“There’s a tendency to concentrate more on getting the ideal footage than on the workout, which defeats the whole purpose of being in a fitness studio.”