A gym-goer was booted and barred from a gym for wearing inappropriate footwear while he did sit ups, pull ups and press ups – but staff said his conduct was abusive
A gym-goer was kicked out and banned from a gym for wearing UGG boots as he had cold feet.
Stephen Metcalf said he had been wearing the boots to the Gym Group Swindon branch for months, but he was suddenly told the shoes were inappropriate. He filmed himself challenging staff and was then told by email that his conduct was “aggressive, abusive, intimidating, antisocial, [and] threatening” and his contract had been terminated.
In the video Stephen told the employee: “They are not flip flops. Where does it say [on the sign] that it’s not appropriate? Where is the description of that?
The staff member said: “We have been told by management and our head office that if they are not in trainers, we have to refuse. I’m sorry. I’m only doing my job.”
The employee said he’d call management and then the police if he didn’t leave. He replied: “Call management then please, call the management now, because that’s bonkers.”
Stephen believes the decision was ‘stupid’ and can’t see the difference between wearing UGGs and those who take their footwear off.
He said he stuck mainly to floor exercises like sit ups, pull ups and press ups.
Stephen added: “I wear UGG boots all the time to keep my feet warm. I’d been going to the gym for a while using UGG boots because I get really cold feet.”
The rules at the gym say inappropriate clothing includes a ball-gown and flip-flops, but Stephen argued that his footwear was a closed shoe.
Stephen looked at the Gym Group’s terms and conditions online and found it said boots were not appropriate.
But he says those are presumably wellington boots, work boots or football boots – not UGGs. Stephen said when he was on holiday saying he was banned as he had breached their rules several times and used threatening behaviour.
He said: “So I asked for the direct debit payment back that they had just taken and they said no, even though I paid for a month at the gym the day after they banned me.”
Stephen added that others at the gym said it was “ridiculous”.
He said: “They said that I was a danger to myself, and I said that it was my own personal danger and that I wasn’t breaching any rules.
He added the gym said they couldn’t risk being prosecuted for liability, to which he replied they were exempt according to their rules.
He has now joined a more expensive gym in Farringdon where he lives.
A spokesperson for Gym Group said: “Our member rules help us to create safe, inclusive, and welcoming gym spaces, and include the behaviours we expect of our members, as well as the clothing and footwear that are not safe or practical to exercise in.
“We are clear that breaches of the rules may result in a membership cancellation.”
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