A lifter says his gym owner told him to stop ‘science-based lifting’ after 5 seconds on a machine seat, then canceled his membership 3 days later

Brandon, a fitness influencer known on TikTok as @bwrlifts, recently had his gym membership terminated just three days after a tense back-and-forth with the facility owner, the Daily Dot reports. The conflict started after Brandon posted a video of himself performing a back row on a new piece of equipment. 

The video posted on TikTok has gained significant traction, with hundreds of thousands of views and hundreds of comments. During the clip, he stood on the machine seat for about five seconds to adjust his range of motion. This minor adjustment caught the attention of the gym owner, who clearly took issue with the move. 

The owner sent Brandon a direct message expressing frustration with the footage. Brandon figured the concern was about him standing on the leather seat, so he sent an apology and asked to chat about it. The response he received back was quite aggressive. The owner reportedly listed several grievances, explicitly stating, “No Science-based Lifting, Stop grunting, Respect others and stop stepping on the leather.”

His membership was cancelled a few days later

The owner reportedly took a screenshot from the workout video and shared it on the gym’s social media story. Brandon viewed this as a public attempt to embarrass him, though he chose not to engage with the provocation. Despite his silence, he received a notification three days later that his membership was cancelled effective immediately. Brandon reached out to ask why, but the owner made it clear the decision was final.

Brandon feels the seat incident was just an excuse for the owner to remove him. He noted that he has seen other members stand on seats without facing any consequences. Because the owner explicitly listed “No Science-based Lifting” as a complaint, Brandon suspects the decision was personal rather than a genuine concern about gym equipment.

Many people on TikTok have rallied behind Brandon, calling the owner out for unprofessional behavior. One commenter who identifies as a gym employee noted, “I work at a gym. Standing on a seat to get more leverage isn’t a banable offense. His rant and behavior is unprofessional. You are not at fault my guy.” 

Another user shared a similar perspective, mentioning that they often see shorter members stand on seats to reach attachments without any pushback. This person wrote, “There is nothing disrespectful about this. I’ve seen years of women have to stand on the seat of the alt pull down to garb the attachment. Just an ego trip by the man.”

Attack of the Fanboy was unable to independently verify the gym owner’s side of the story, as this account originates solely from Brandon’s TikTok video.