My Letter to X-Sport Fitness

Hello,

Please cancel my membership with X-Sport Fitness. My ID number is xxxxxxxx.

I would like to note that the reason I am leaving is because I do not feel that the Belmont location in Chicago that I have been going to is a safe and supportive space for women. I was nearly constantly pushed to do personal training and was told that my BMI, which is the “good” range, could be “a lot better” and was asked multiple times how many inches or pounds I wanted to lose. Despite the fact that when I originally signed up I continually expressed that I had been exercising for a long time and was not there to lose weight  but merely to maintain fitness during the winter, I was pushed for nearly an hour to sign up for personal training. Despite my requests not to call or text me about personal training, I received numerous texts and calls until I finally angrily told a trainer not to call me anymore about the free hour of training.

I understand that this is how the personal trainers earn their income, but their pushiness was extremely unwelcomed, and their tactic seemed to be simply to make me feel so insecure about my body that I would give into the offer for personal training. I would like to note that my husband has experienced nowhere this amount of pressure and harassment from the staff.

I hope that in the future, X-Sport Fitness will become a place that does not view shaming women about their bodies as an acceptable means of gaining profit. I hope that I will be able to return to this gym, which has very nice equipment and is just down the block from my house, to work out rather than traveling across town to exercise someplace where I do not feel judged for the fact that I my BMI is in the healthy range and I am not underweight. I hope that X-Sport Fitness will become a place where women are not asked about how many inches or pounds they’re trying to lose, but rather how they want to feel, and that when our answers are “no,” we are heard and respected and not shamed into saying “yes.” I hope that it becomes a place where all people, no matter what they look like, what their BMI is, or what their goals are, feel welcome, accepted, and supported.

Please cancel my membership.

Best,

Eva PenzeyMoog

Chicago, IL

penzeymoog@gmail.com