‘So gross’: Men kept recording women inside a Minnesota Pilates studio after being told to stop. Then the women barricaded the door with boxes

A woman filming from inside a brightly lit Pilates studio in St. Louis Park, Minnesota, turned her phone toward a glass door after two men outside began recording the class, according to a TikTok video posted by Lellian (@lifewithlellian). On-screen text in the video read, “cannot believe this happened today during our pilates class.” The clip has gained 6.3 million views, 483,000 likes, and more than 6,760 comments.

Lellian’s caption stated that the instructor told the men they could not record on private property, but the men kept recording anyway. She wrote that they left before authorities arrived. When officers came, she said, they stated the same men had been stopping by other women-only Pilates studios just to record on their phones.

Inside the studio, one woman said, “This is so gross. It’s so gross.” Another asked, “What is he doing?” The camera zoomed in on a man near the door holding a phone mounted on a stick or tripod pointed at the class. On-screen text explained that when the women started recording them back, the man closest to the door hid around the corner while still recording.

Women inside the studio filmed back and stacked Pilates boxes against the glass

The view then shifted to two men standing on a grassy area across a road, both holding phones on sticks. A woman in the studio said of the closer man, who wore a dark hoodie, brown pants, and sunglasses, “He’s like, what up gang?” Another added, “Ew, this is not a flex.” The first woman replied, “No.” Such confrontations over recording in gyms have occurred elsewhere, like when a New Jersey woman told a man she had a few more sets left on a gym machine, but he kept coming back. 

The camera panned to the second man, who wore a black hoodie and light pants. A woman said, “He said on God.” Another asked, “Hello, should we go live?” Lellian’s video showed several women then moving large, light-colored boxes to block the glass door. On-screen text read, “we started barricading the door with our Pilates boxes lol.”

A woman in the studio said, “This is not okay!” Another added, “No, dude, this is extremely inappropriate.” A third stated, “Yeah, no means no.” The video ended on the barricaded door, with one man’s recording setup still visible through the glass. Closing on-screen text read, “and yet… this still happens??? smh.”

Lellian’s caption added that the men left before police arrived. She wrote that officers later said the men had visited other women-only Pilates studios and recorded on their phones. The video does not show the men speaking at length or identify them by name. This incident highlights ongoing concerns about unauthorized filming, such as when a Florida doggy day care owner allegedly recorded women and a minor with a hidden camera. 

Viewers commenting on the post described the men as auditors and discussed how studios might respond. One commenter wrote that it was their first time seeing the point of view from the other side, saying they usually just see the auditors’ view. Another commenter wrote, “Call the police.” A third suggested privacy windows that let people see out but not in, writing, “Time for privacy windows!! Where you can see out but can’t see in.”

One commenter asked why the filming would not be treated as a crime, writing, “and this is not a crime WHY?” Another said the men were auditors and that the best option was to ignore them and cover the glass: “They are auditors. Your best bet is ignoring them and covering your glass.”

A different commenter described the men as in-real-life rage baiters who use reactions for content and later sue if someone puts hands on them, writing, “They’re basically irl rage baiters and use your reactions for content. They also sue if you end up getting so mad to the point you put hands on them and they win like hundreds of thousands of dollars it’s like a whole thing.”