Why a Positioning Statement
I am offering a positioning statement to eliminate as much confusion as possible about what the rules are in the 4 gyms that I oversee. I am going to be very intolerant of rude and inconsiderate behavior and I want everyone to have an understanding of what it is that I want to accomplish. The environment that I am going to offer will appeal to many people, but there are a few who just won’t fit in. That is fine; this isn’t intended to be the gym for everyone. This gym will offer a positive and friendly environment at an extremely affordable rate that will appeal to many people. If you don’t want to be a part of that, this isn’t the gym for you. The rules are not negotiable.
To The First Time Exerciser
Welcome to my gym. If you feel out of place, that’s okay. I know I sure did the first time I walked into a gym. I was a very unlikely exerciser when I started working out in 1976, but I quickly recognized the benefits of what I now know as fitness. Jack LaLanne, the world famous diet and exercise guru was also an unlikely exerciser, too. As a kid, he was addicted to sugar and junk food. He suffered from blinding headaches and had no energy. He was so sickly that they kept him out of school for 6 months. His mother finally took him to a health seminar that planted the seed that would become his life’s vocation. All the way up to and into his 90’s, Jack exercises 2 hours a day!
You may not be the next Jack LaLanne, but we need to get you exercising either way. I probably would have never started if I didn’t have a comfortable and reasonably friendly place to workout. Part of the reason my first gym was friendly was because it was nearly empty. There were few exercisers, very few gyms, and the equipment was mostly homemade. Many looked down on the fitness industry. They thought it was a fad or a scam. But I saw the value of diet and exercise so I decided to venture into the gym business in 1989, despite what the “experts” were saying at the time.
The opportunity to introduce first time exercisers like you to fitness is the biggest reason I got in the gym business. Today it is my goal to provide you with the kind of facility where you can feel like you belong. I am going to do my best to make you realize that you are important to my staff and me. I am sincere when I tell you that I get more excited when we enroll a first time exerciser than any other type of member. I believe fitness can change anyone’s life, but he or she must get started in order to experience the almost endless benefits of exercise.
You are not expected to know everything and I encourage you to ask others for help. Everyone who works out today started somewhere, so we know what it is like to feel overwhelmed. Those who are truly knowledgeable tend to enjoy helping others, so don’t be afraid to ask for assistance.
You have some responsibilities, too. You are expected to be polite and respectful towards yourself, others, the equipment and the facilities. You are expected to share equipment, pick up after yourself and wipe down equipment when you are done using it. If that doesn’t happen, we won’t get along and eventually you will be asked to leave.
I’m willing to bet that if you stick around awhile that you will make a few friendships that last many, many years. I am proud to say that I know of many people who met in my gyms that have gone on to become lifelong friends. There have been many romances, marriages and children come out of people meeting in the gym, too. But don’t think of this gym as a meat market, because it isn’t. It is okay to think of it as “meet” market. You can “meet” many great people here.
To The Experienced Exerciser
Welcome and thanks for being a member. If you’ve been exercising for any length of time, you know most of the rules that come with working out in a gym. Nevertheless, I expect that you have been to a variety of facilities and recognize that the some of the rules vary from gym to gym. I want to stress to you that I expect everyone to follow the typical etiquette and safety rules here but my standards are higher than most gyms. I expect everyone to do the normal stuff that includes picking up their weights, not dropping or slamming weights, and wiping off equipment after they are done using it. But I am going to be more intolerant of not doing these things than other gyms and I expect everyone to act like a nice person – even if they have to fake it some days. Life is too short to be mean by choice.
I also want to make certain that you remember what it was like the first time you stepped into a gym. I expect you were intimidated – most of us were. My goal is to offer facilities that are clean enough, comfortable enough, friendly enough, and helpful enough that first-time users feel welcome. If that happens, then I expect you will feel comfortable, too. If you treat everyone with the same respect that you would like to be treated with, you will probably get along well here. I ask that you treat new exercisers with extra consideration so they stick with the program long enough to realize the benefits. Your kindness and encouragement just may save someone’s life.
To The Muscle Head
Where do I start. First off, if you’re offended by being called a muscle-head, get over it. You probably worked your butt off to earn that moniker. I was a “muscle-head” at one time and I was damn proud of what I had accomplished. And you should be proud, too. Being heavily muscled is a unique experience that most people will never understand. Being able to perform feats of strength is fun. I used to love putting 12 45-pound plates on the bar, feel the bar bow as I walked out from the squat rack and have the gym stop as I popped out a set of 8 or 10 reps. One of the highlights of my lifting was squatting in Gold's Gym – Venice and having Tom Platz stop to watch me squat. Tom was one of my heroes. To have him watch me squat was very cool.
Being big you have a special responsibility. You are a very visible example of your pastime. People associate your behavior, good or bad, with everyone who shares that hobby. If there is a chess player who is rude, the public doesn’t condemn all chess players. If there is a bridge player who gets in a fight in a bar, they don’t assume all bridge players are barroom brawlers. Nevertheless, weight lifters do get lumped together because of how easy it is to identify them by their hobby. You serve as an unelected ambassador for all muscle-heads.
I expect you to set a positive example in my club. You know that being big and being a jerk are not synonymous. You know it is easy to intimidate people, even without trying. People are often intimidated by your size. So be nice. Go out of your way to be nice. Make sure that people know that you really are a nice guy. Be the first to stick out your hand in friendship. Help others learn how to do exercises more correctly. Be the muscle-head that people talk about in a positive way.
Recognize that you are a guest of all the “regular members” of any gym where you workout. Recognize that your membership dues do not cover the expense of the vast array of equipment to which you have access. You need those regular members to help pay for your toys.
I will give you fair warning that if you act in a way that I have to choose between you and a “regular member”, I will be asking you to leave. I take that position because I know that if you leave, you’ll go somewhere else to workout. However, if you scare away a “regular member” a couple of things could happen. They may leave and give up on exercising - forever. They may become one of the people who say, “I tried working out and it isn’t for me”. In that case, they will never experience the benefits of fitness. And they will die sooner because of that. As a gym family, we will have lost a good member and we got stuck with the jerk of the bunch.
Don’t allow yourself to become the member that drives other members away. If you truly want to be a “big” person, let it show through your actions. Being nice, you will inspire others to want to be like you. A lot of people want to look up to athletes, but too many athletes disappoint. Don’t let yourself be one of them.
To The Cement Head
Let me define “cement-head” to eliminate any confusion. If someone embraces workout habits that alienate or intimidate other gym members, then they are a cement-head. A cement-head can be a muscle-head, but not all cement-heads are muscle-heads. And by all means, not all muscle-heads are cement-heads. A cement-head may not even lift weights; they may just do cardio or group fitness classes. They can be male or female. They can even be a novice exerciser.
A few examples of cement- head behavior are dropping weights, lifting weights you cannot handle, and not returning equipment to its proper place after use. Think about it for a minute. You really do have to be a cement-head to pick up a weight that is so heavy you cannot control it – and even more so if you think dropping it is a good plan. If you can pick it up, you can control it as you set it down. If you can put a plate on a bar, you can put it back on the proper rack. A cement-head can also be the member who decides that they can leave cardio or weight equipment covered with sweat. Let me give you a hint here. If you do not want to clean up after yourself, why on earth do you think someone else would want to clean up your sweat?
Being loud or rude is another example of cement-head behavior. And don’t give me that “I workout intensely” nonsense. My workout partners over the years have included pro football players, pro bodybuilders, world-class power lifters and “regular members”. All my workout partners treated other people with great respect, with the exception of one guy who let his ego get the best of him. That was Tim Belknap, Mr. America 1981.
I will share a story about what caused me to drop Tim as a workout partner that will help you understand my position on rude behavior in the gym.
Tim was preparing for the posedown that would determine who represented America on the Mr. Universe team. Joe Weider put Tim and me up in a motel in Santa Monica, California. I knew Tim was an intense guy, so I warned him that he didn’t need to be rude in order to train hard and that I wouldn’t sit and watch him mistreat people. He either didn’t believe me or didn’t think things through because he continued to be rude to the people in Gold's Gym – Venice. So I left Tim to train without a partner two weeks before his posedown. Tim lost the posedown and blamed me for that loss, but I had made it clear that it was up to him if I stayed or not. How he treated strangers mattered more to me than the outcome of the Mr. Universe posedown. Therefore, if you don’t think I will ban you from my gym for being rude, you’re kidding yourself.
Everyone starts out welcome in my gym. Whether they wear out their welcome or not is up to them. Please be nice to others so that we may have the opportunity to serve your and their fitness needs for many years to come.
Joel Potter
Chief Enlightenment Officer
