Canada sometimes surprises me. A
country known the world over for being polite, inclusive, and generally not as cantankerous
as their neighbors to the south, Canada has a lot of qualities one could hope
for in a state its size, but yet there are stories that would make you swear it
could only happen in Florida.
Take Vancouver for example, a
beautiful, clean city that's safe and has a lot of things to do. Rarely does it
make international news, but now it has a gym that's made headlines, for
keeping out skinny people. To be fair, there's also one in Nebraska that's
owned by former "The Biggest Loser" contestants.
Accordingly heavier people feel
shamed when going into a gym with a bunch of members that are in shape, so they
want a better camaraderie and exercise with those who have the same body type.
I've heard of fat people being ridiculed or put down because of their weight at
a gym, but I've never witnessed it, or have I been subject to it thankfully.
Still I'm sure it happens and I guess these kinds of gyms would be popular to
those who aren't used to working out regularly.
You know what? I really don't care
that they discriminate. Yes it's weird and if a gym only sold memberships to
skinny people there would be outrage, and rightfully so. So yeah, it's a total
double standard, but one that's encouraging people to get in shape. I really
can't be against that.
Still there are some questions to
ponder about the wisdom of this:
1.
What happens if a member loses the
weight and become skinny? Will they have their membership revoked?
2.
Isn't working out around people who
know what they're doing a good thing?
3.
Does having skinny people around
amount to good motivation to do a few extra sets?
4.
Should this be legal even if it's
harmless, sort of like ladies never paying a cover charge?
5.
Is this really necessary? I mean is
there that much taunting at the gym?
Perhaps none of this will ever be
answered, even if this business model works, which I hope it does.
“My whole life, I have always wished there was a place for
other big people. So I created one.”
- Marty Wolff
2 comments:
What a strange business model. I've been taunted at the gym, sure, but that wasn't because the people name-calling were skinny. It's because they were dicks!
I suppose it would be a more comfortable environment for some larger people however I have never witnessed any discrimination of such people at the gym. I actually find gym folk rather helpful (except for the douchebag who wouldn't help me get my lock off!
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