Metro Weekly

Crunch Fitness tells members to stop having sex in the men’s locker room

The warning prompted debates over inappropriate behavior in locker rooms and public sex.

crunch fitness, locker room
A gym locker room – Photo: Jan Laugesen, via Wikimedia.

The popular gym chain Crunch Fitness recently warned its members to stop having sex in the men’s locker room, urging them to instead choose “*literally* anywhere else.”

The controversy was sparked after Twitter user @rossifer, also known as OnlyFans model “Rated R Ross,” shared a picture of a sign in his gym with the caption: “Tell me you work at a gay gym without telling me you work at a gym.”

The sign, which features the official Crunch Signature logo, says: “ATTENTION MEMBERS: Please DO NOT HAVE SEX in the Men’s Locker Room! You can have sex *literally* anywhere else, just not at Crunch Fitness. Otherwise, your membership will be immediately revoked. Please keep this a safe space for all Crunchers.”

While the tweet didn’t directly mention which Crunch Fitness location the sign was posted at, online commenters soon identified the gym as the Crunch Fitness on Sunset Boulevard in West Hollywood, California, shining a spotlight on what appears to be a longstanding issue at the location and sparking online debates among gay men over sex in public places.

The photo received hundreds of retweets and sparked several replies from people angered over inappropriate gym behavior, which has allegedly plagued other gyms that have a significant amount of gay clientele.

Crunch, gym, men's locker room
The sign at Crunch Fitness in West Hollywood — Photo: @rossifer / Twitter)

Ross’s tweet was subsequently reported on by The Sword, an online publication that focuses on adult entertainment, on several LGBTQ-themed Reddit threads, and by the LGBTQ news site Queerty, sparking even more debates over sexual behavior in public places.

Several online users noted that Crunch Fitness in Chelsea has similar “DO NOT HAVE SEX” signs in place, while others expressed skepticism that the problem of people having sex in public locker is as widespread as some might claim.

Still other users poked fun at the sign’s potential unintended consequences, joking about “f***ing on the elliptical” or in other spots besides the men’s locker room.

Others wondered if Crunch, by highlighting the alleged behavior, was inadvertently marketing their gyms as “cruisy” to gay gym-goers — which could potentially exacerbate the problem rather than resolving it.

One Reddit user jokingly noted, “So this is the only way to stop credit card payments on your gym membership when you told them to stop.”

See also:

Woman posed as a man on Grindr as part of blackmail scheme

South Carolina man challenges “sex offender” status for conviction under anti-sodomy law

Grindr Unwrapped reveals which countries have the most tops

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