Latest news with #Hotworx
Yahoo
10-03-2025
- Yahoo
False theft accusation at Hotworx Belmont leads to viral TikTok video
BELMONT, Calif. - A young woman on the Peninsula headed to her first pilates class at Hotworx Belmont last month, but she says it ended in a false accusation of theft. The Redwood Shores woman says she didn't expect the situation to lead to a viral TikTok video, but the call she received the next day changed everything. "The next day I get a call from a manager, and he says, 'I have you on camera stealing someone's ring,'" Sydney Laday tells KTVU. Laday's friend Carolina Moscoso was with her at the studio that day. The pair were hoping to make working out together a regular habit. When the studio manager accused Laday of theft over the phone, she and Moscoso went to speak with him directly. "He was like look at her face, you can tell she did it," Moscoso said. Video shows Laday inside of the Hotworx studio lobby, along with a manager in a Hotworx t-shirt. "So someone lost their ring yesterday, and I'm sorry for accusing you…" the manager said. In the viral TikTok video, the Hotworx employee zooms in on security footage from inside the studio. "That's where I'm thinking the ring was in," the employee says, pointing to what he says is a bulge near Laday's sock area. As the group was speaking, Laday says the other patron called to say she found her ring. "The lady called while we were there and said that she found her ring, but he didn't' let us know that. So they doubled down. Him and his father, which is the owner," Laday tells KTVU. "I definitely don't think he would have done this if it had been someone of a different race. I feel like he would have gone a more professional route." Comments on the video poured in, with many folks saying they would boycott Hotworx after the incident. The NAACP says boycotts aren't the goal. "Treat them with the same trust that you treat everyone else. That's what we expect. Boycotts…it hits the pocketbook, yes, but does that change someone's mind? Does that change someone's soul? Their mindset? I don't think it does," Maurice Goodman, President NAACP San Mateo tells KTVU of the incident. A statement from the Hotworx Belmont owner says he doesn't believe race played a part in the incident. "This was not a case of racial profiling.…we acknowledge that she was wrongfully accused, and we sincerely apologized for that. We deeply regret any distress this may have caused her…We took immediate steps to address the misunderstanding," the owner told KTVU. Laday says she received an apology via email, but now she wonders how much worse this could have been. "You don't text somebody and say, 'This is a felony, it's $1000, I have you on footage. I have you on camera stealing a ring.' It's insulting and demeaning to me as a person," Laday tells the manager in the now viral video. The owner of the Hotworx Belmont studio wasn't comfortable speaking on camera, as he says his family has received death threats since the video went viral. He tells KTVU anyone who knows his son knows he isn't racist, and he hopes they can come to a resolution.
Yahoo
04-03-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Community organization transforms Medical District through collaboration
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Every Tuesday as part of our Greater Memphis on a Mission series, we highlight organizations making Memphis better. This week, we caught up with a group that believes in collaboration. Rory Thomas is the president of the Memphis Medical District Collaborative, a community organization development that focuses on revitalizing and improving the Medical District. 'We work with the hospitals and colleges in the Memphis Medical District to make it a better place to live, work and play,' said Thomas. 'The Medical District has kind of been a pass-through between Midtown and Downtown but not really a destination on its own. So we're really trying to change that.' They do just that by enhancing public spaces for the many residents, employees, and students with their ambassador program which is made up of 10 men and 10 women. 📡 for Memphis and the Mid-South. 📧 and have the latest top stories sent right to your inbox. 'They go around collecting litter, recycling, removing graffiti. I believe they did about over 9000 bags of litter removal in 2024,' said Tomas. For residents in the district, they have a hire local program. 'We work with residents to get them trained for in-demand jobs at the hospitals and a living wage with full benefits but also have a clear career path for them to be able to provide economic mobility opportunities,' he said. There are also numerous grant opportunities for local businesses, from predevelopment grants to improvement grants that help with signage, lighting, sidewalk repair, as well as interior improvements. 'Memphis Medical District Collaborative has been great in making sure we partner with not only the students but the hospitals and the businesses all around us,' said Thomas. Carmella Rogers is the franchise owner of Hotworx, Edge District. She brought her 24-hour infrared fitness studio into the Medical District in 2022. In addition to lighting and exterior signage, she was able to improve her space even more by utilizing the Memphis Medical District's improvement grant. 'We had to pretty much gut our bathrooms completely from the way they were made,' she said. That is why Brown Missionary Baptist Church and the Mid-South Genesis CDC donated $1,000 to the Memphis Medical District Collaborative. Because when you transform a pass-through section into a destination, your return on investment will be sustainable. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
