Why you're suddenly seeing everyone filming in the gym

News.com.au

5 hours ago

A new trend is sweeping through gyms and fitness studios around the world – filming workouts for social media.
Whether it's aspiring wellness influencers, established fitness pros, or even casual gymgoers, more and more people are recording their routines on camera, sharing them online, and, in the process, raising a lot of ethical questions.
Filming in public spaces means that other gymgoers, often at their sweatiest, can end up in the background of someone else's video, without their consent or even their knowledge.
According to Velotric, a fitness equipment business, 23 per cent of people now avoid public workouts altogether for fear of being filmed and posted online.
The issue recently came to a head when a woman named Kelsey Jamison took to TikTok to recount an uncomfortable experience in a recent pilates class.
The pilates incident
'I was just at pilates, and I was already being brave because I had to take a spot at the front,' Ms Jamison began.
'I look over, and the beautiful woman next to me has a tripod set up, and I've never moved faster. I respect the hustle. And in her defence, maybe she would have cropped me out, but, like, when I go to a workout class … me and my tummy did not sign up to be in your video.'
'The fear I have of someone screenshotting a video and being like, 'lol, you're in the back of this'. I didn't sign up for cyber-bullying today,' she added.
She suggested that if someone has to film their workout, people should always blur or cover up other people's faces.
Her post was captioned: 'Let's normalise not filming our workouts anymore'.
People flooded the comments sections with messages of support.
'It feels so invasive,' one commenter wrote.
Another added, 'A tripod in a class is INSANE to me'.
Others pointed out that this trend can also impact someone's enjoyment of a class that they paid for.
'Even if she cropped me out later, I wouldn't be able to relax and enjoy the class,' someone admitted.
Another user went further, calling filming in the gym 'entitled'.
The workout filmer hits back
Things took a turn when the woman with the tripod, who was revealed to be @lettyunfiltered, posted the clip of the exact moment Ms Jamison got up and moved spots.
In her video, she is seen stretching and warming up before class, with her camera pointed at herself, while other class members, including Ms Jamison, are visible in the background.
Ms Jamison is seen picking up her belongings and moving to another spot, while Letty gives a side-eye and an eye roll.
She captioned the clip: 'POV: you're sensitive to people's energy'.
The video was later deleted, reportedly after the gym asked for its removal, but not before the internet pieced together both sides of the story.
The overwhelming response from the TikTok community was in support of Ms Jamison, with users calling Letty's behaviour 'gross' and 'high-school mean girl vibes'.
One commenter wrote, 'We are all on your side'.
Another added, 'She's acting like you're the villain for quietly getting up and moving'.
A larger conversation
This incident is part of a much larger conversation, as many gyms have begun banning filming and tripods outright.
Doherty's Gym in Melbourne made headlines in 2024 when it banned members from filming themselves after the owner, Tony Doherty, noticed his gym had become a 'circus'.
'The tripods were doing my head in,' he said. 'Not only because they were a trip hazard, but because I am really big on people's privacy. Not everyone wants to be in someone else's movie in the background.'
Mr Doherty also pointed out a more serious concern.
'There are women with intervention orders against ex-partners 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 said.
Other gyms have followed suit, such as PureGym, which has more than 340 facilities across Britain and has implemented similar bans.
Where did the trend come from?
The trend of filming workouts for social media began around 2015, as fitness influencers began building their personal brands on YouTube and Instagram.
Classes offering unique workouts – like aerial yoga, hot pilates, Barry's Bootcamp, and SoulCycle – became viral sensations around this time too, and trainers at these studios became mini-celebrities in their own right.
Attending these classes became a status symbol, and everyone wanted to be seen there.
The trend gained even more traction during Covid, when fitness classes were paused and people began filming their home workouts.
As lockdowns lifted, this habit carried over into gyms and studios.
But as the trend boomed, so has the backlash, so much so that there is now a whole subgenre of social media content dedicated to calling out gym filming.
Popular TikToker Joey Swoll has built a massive following of eight million by highlighting this issue, often calling the trend selfish and narcissistic.
What do the experts say?
Ben Lucas, co-founder of Flow Athletic in Sydney, says that while his boutique gym in Paddington doesn't currently have rules around filming, he wouldn't hesitate to implement them if it became a problem.
'We want everyone to feel welcome,' he told news.com.au before sharing some tips on the best etiquette.
'Shooting outside of class hours is ideal, as you don't want to make the other members feel uncomfortable,' he said.
'If for any reason you really feel the need to shoot in class, go to a back corner of the room so you avoid getting anyone else in the shot, and make sure your tripod is not getting in the way of any other class members.'
Nichola Stevenson, owner of Club pilates in Sippy Downs, Queensland, echoed this sentiment.
Her studio also allows filming, and trainers even do it for marketing purposes, but 'sensitivity and consent' are always front of mind.
'We always let clients know if filming is taking place and check in with everyone beforehand. Clients are encouraged to give us a discreet wave if they'd prefer not to be included,' she said.
Ms Stevenson acknowledges that filming in a gym can be done, but stresses the importance of respecting personal boundaries.
'If it's adding value and lifting others up – wonderful. But it should never come at the cost of someone else's comfort,' she said.