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I find photos and videos to both be invasive and unwanted. I’ve been a member and gyms where the owner will start taking videos and pictures of the class that

I find photos and videos to both be invasive and unwanted. I’ve been a member and gyms where the owner will start taking videos and pictures of the class that ultimately end up on social media or in marketing material. I’m not ok with it and I get incredible uncomfortable when I’m in some weird position to do an exercise and a camera starts heading my way. Any time an unwanted camera is around there is some level of anxiety that starts creeping up. Maybe this is, in part, why so many of today’s youth have anxiety disorders. How can anyone just relax if they have to worry about anything they might say or do being on camera, and then posted for the world to see. I was at a party not too long ago where most people were 45+, and some kids that were too young to have phones. No one was on their phones, and people seemed free to dance and whatever. The second one person took out their phone to take a picture/video the vibe shifted drastically, and the owner of the house told them to put it away, so people could go back to enjoying themselves instead of being worried about an embarrassing picture of video that might surface later. I’ve seen so many good times destroyed by cameras.

lynx97 1y ago
I am assuming you have no good alternatives regarding your gym? Because if you feel uncomfortable with the behaviour of the owners, you should really vote with your wallet.
- al_borland 1y ago
  I don’t go there anymore. The owner has been texting me on and off to try and get me to go back. I’ve been looking for other options, but am having trouble finding one that looks decent for me. It’s a bit of a paradox. When I’m looking for a gym, I find pictures incredibly helpful, but I don’t want them taken of me as a member there.
  - detaro 1y ago
    Most gyms it shouldn't be that hard to take useful pictures without people in them though? Do pictures of classes add anything?
    - aleph_minus_one 1y ago
      > Most gyms it shouldn't be that hard to take useful pictures without people in them though? Or much simpler: when the photos of a class are taken, simply ask beforehand who disagrees with being photographed and/or photos containing him/her made public, so that for those few minutes where the photos are taken, these people can get out of the picture.
      - anigbrowl 1y ago
        Better yet, offer a free class to people who don't mind being photographed (of whom there are many). 'Being part of a company's marketing' isn't something that should be included in the price of a product or service.
        worik 1y ago
        Better still, pay people for the use of their image in advertising Always
        collingreen 1y ago
        Right? Somehow we've let corporations (which arent even a real life thing! They are just groups of people!) be entitled to huge swaths of our lives. You want to use my image for your marketing because you don't want to pay models? Gtfo of here! What an insane thing to do to customers.
        verisimi 1y ago
        It's almost like eroding privacy is a shared goal of corporations and government, and that both are fine with endlessly tormenting and selling out their customers/those they represent. It's as if they are the common person's adversaries rather and aren't helping or providing a service as they claim.
        collingreen 1y ago
  - toss1 1y ago
    The gym I go to explicitly forbids both taking unsolicited photos/videos or staging any permission videos. Good idea
  - stuaxo 1y ago
    Maybe text back with the reason you aren't coming back and they might learn to be accommodating.
cindyllm 1y ago
[dead]
landl0rd 1y ago
Classes are a different story, but at least for the legion of would-be gymfluencers that show up in gyms frequented by us zoomers, there's an easy solution: tell them to please not film you. If they don't comply, mess up their video. Deliberately walk across the camera. Deliberately get in the way. Take the machine against which they're resting a cell phone and start using it. Make funny faces. Whatever. More people should understand you are no more morally obligated to behave sociably toward those exhibiting antisocial behavior than you are to stay your hand from a man who hits you. Then there are those who film in the locker rooms which arguably should be reason to ban them from said gyms. Imo these types should stick to "influencer gyms". They exist. Alphaland in Texas is a great example; a friend of mine frequented it as she started her bodybuilding page. Worked great for her. Just stay the hell out of the "normal people" gyms.
- Loughla 1y ago
  The problem with acting antisocial during someone else's filming is that they are then free to blow you up with whatever lies they feel like, just because they're angry. People get their lives ruined by doing that. That's where my anxiety comes in when I see people filming. I am MASSIVELY aware of my face, body, and genuinely everything about myself when I run into that, because I do not want to be tried in the court of public opinion.
- array_key_first 1y ago
  It is downright dangerous to deliberately mess up their videos. Their fans are rabid. They will find you, and they will ruin your life. The Internet isn't just a funny little place anymore. People get doxed.

lynx97 1y ago

I am assuming you have no good alternatives regarding your gym? Because if you feel uncomfortable with the behaviour of the owners, you should really vote with your wallet.

al_borland 1y ago
I don’t go there anymore. The owner has been texting me on and off to try and get me to go back. I’ve been looking for other options, but am having trouble finding one that looks decent for me. It’s a bit of a paradox. When I’m looking for a gym, I find pictures incredibly helpful, but I don’t want them taken of me as a member there.
- detaro 1y ago
  Most gyms it shouldn't be that hard to take useful pictures without people in them though? Do pictures of classes add anything?
  - aleph_minus_one 1y ago
    > Most gyms it shouldn't be that hard to take useful pictures without people in them though? Or much simpler: when the photos of a class are taken, simply ask beforehand who disagrees with being photographed and/or photos containing him/her made public, so that for those few minutes where the photos are taken, these people can get out of the picture.
    - anigbrowl 1y ago
      Better yet, offer a free class to people who don't mind being photographed (of whom there are many). 'Being part of a company's marketing' isn't something that should be included in the price of a product or service.
      - worik 1y ago
        Better still, pay people for the use of their image in advertising Always
        collingreen 1y ago
        Right? Somehow we've let corporations (which arent even a real life thing! They are just groups of people!) be entitled to huge swaths of our lives. You want to use my image for your marketing because you don't want to pay models? Gtfo of here! What an insane thing to do to customers.
        verisimi 1y ago
        It's almost like eroding privacy is a shared goal of corporations and government, and that both are fine with endlessly tormenting and selling out their customers/those they represent. It's as if they are the common person's adversaries rather and aren't helping or providing a service as they claim.
        collingreen 1y ago
- toss1 1y ago
  The gym I go to explicitly forbids both taking unsolicited photos/videos or staging any permission videos. Good idea
- stuaxo 1y ago
  Maybe text back with the reason you aren't coming back and they might learn to be accommodating.

cindyllm 1y ago

[dead]

landl0rd 1y ago

Classes are a different story, but at least for the legion of would-be gymfluencers that show up in gyms frequented by us zoomers, there's an easy solution: tell them to please not film you. If they don't comply, mess up their video. Deliberately walk across the camera. Deliberately get in the way. Take the machine against which they're resting a cell phone and start using it. Make funny faces. Whatever. More people should understand you are no more morally obligated to behave sociably toward those exhibiting antisocial behavior than you are to stay your hand from a man who hits you. Then there are those who film in the locker rooms which arguably should be reason to ban them from said gyms. Imo these types should stick to "influencer gyms". They exist. Alphaland in Texas is a great example; a friend of mine frequented it as she started her bodybuilding page. Worked great for her. Just stay the hell out of the "normal people" gyms.

Loughla 1y ago
The problem with acting antisocial during someone else's filming is that they are then free to blow you up with whatever lies they feel like, just because they're angry. People get their lives ruined by doing that. That's where my anxiety comes in when I see people filming. I am MASSIVELY aware of my face, body, and genuinely everything about myself when I run into that, because I do not want to be tried in the court of public opinion.
array_key_first 1y ago
It is downright dangerous to deliberately mess up their videos. Their fans are rabid. They will find you, and they will ruin your life. The Internet isn't just a funny little place anymore. People get doxed.