Sometimes I wonder how certain companies get things passed through their marketing department. At what point does someone step in and say "no, this is a bad idea." I'm sure a lot of people are wondering the same thing after a local Anytime Fitness sent out an email that one gym-goer said she was "horrified" to receive.
Mora Reinka posted the email she received from the gym on Twitter, saying "I...am horrified by this promotional email from @AnytimeFitness. I just don’t even know where to begin."
This is what the email said.
MORA
I need you to do me a favor.
Think about the warm days of summer ahead.
Warm summer night breezes. Lake or beach time.
Seeing family (the ones you like). Spending more time with the kiddos (also the ones you like).
Listening to music.
Shorts, bathing suits, flip flops. The smell of suntan lotion.
And LOTS of pictures of you that will be posted online forever.
LOTS of suck in, side turns, skinny arm posts, and god forbid, a side pic while sitting down.
Do me a second favor.
Take you hand, and grab the excess you have on your waist (front/back/sides).
Can you pinch it? Or can you rab it?
Well, I want to call it what it is...FAT.
Apparently nowadays I gotta be politically correct. Maybe I should say "adipose tissue."
The email was a bit of a shock. For a gym to call out people for being fat isn't a great look. How would someone feel if they were overweight and walking into the gym, knowing that right away people are judging them?
The post went viral on Twitter, and it even caught the attention of the Anytime Fitness National Media Director and CEO.
This was the response from Mark Daly, the National Media Director.
Hello Mora -A Tweet from you regarding a promotional message you may have received from an Anytime Fitness gym has been brought to my attention. The message is very concerning and completely contrary to how we coach the franchisee owners of Anytime Fitness gyms to communicate with others.
We take great pride in being supportive and encouraging - never shaming. Can you help me identify who sent you that message? Was it sent via email? Do you know the location of the gym? Any help that you can provide would be appreciated - so that we can take immediate action.
Daly also wrote to Reinka on Twitter after speaking with the franchisee.
"Mora - I just spoke with the franchisee owner of the gym and expressed our disappointment," he said. "He apologized from his ill-advised attempt at humor and promised not to send similar messages to others. We will be re-training him to be supportive and encouraging. On behalf of everyone at Anytime Fitness, please accept our apologies."
Chuck Runyon, CEO, also commented on Twitter.
"[You're] right [...] & please accept our apology @MoraReinka this was a bad decision by a franchise owner and does not represent the values of Anytime Fitness," he wrote.
The official Twitter account also addressed the Tweet publicly.
"This is not a message we support or encourage," they said. "In fact, this language is the exact opposite of how we coach our franchisees to communicate. We pride ourselves on being supportive and encouraging – never shaming. We are actively addressing this matter & we are deeply sorry."
It's crazy to me that in 2019, someone would still think this was an okay letter to send out. Even if you think it's a joke, you should know the political climate is to sensitive to be mocking a person's weight.
