A fitness influencer was kicked out of the gym after the owner’s wife allegedly complained about her attire. Shocked, she took to social media to share the outfit and her “awkward, uncomfortable” encounter with the owner.
Emi Romero, an American fitness influencer, was stunned when she was “dress-coded” at a bodybuilding gym where she had been working out. Confused by the ordeal, Romero took to TikTok with a video she filmed inside her car, which she captioned, “Make it make sense.” She then shared her experience and the outfit in question, asking her fans, “What do you think?”
As the video begins, Romero gets straight to the point, saying she went to the gym like she normally would, wearing a tank top and leggings. As she talks, the words “I got dress coded at the gym” are displayed in the clip. The fitness influencer, who was five months pregnant with a “little bump” of a belly, then explained that the facility is a “bodybuilder gym” with a “bodybuilder focus,” having “mostly weights,” patronized mostly by men.
According to Romero, the bodybuilding gym displays “tons of photos of competitors” wearing “tiny bikinis” and men in not much more than “underwear.” The images with the scantily clad bodybuilders are “basically all over,” but that didn’t bother Romero, who used to compete. However, she became utterly confused when the gym owner approached her about her attire that day.
In her clip, Romero admits that she knew the facility adopted “a new dress code, where they don’t allow sports bras,” which she thought was strange but agreed to comply when she joined. Romero had been going to the gym regularly without incident, but as her baby bump grew, she began “having a hard time dressing.” As she donned her tank top with the tiniest sliver of belly exposed, she noticed the owner’s wife staring at her the whole time she worked out. She was unsure why she had caught the other woman’s attention, but she was about to find out.
@emiandandrew Make it make sense… idk what do you think? #dresscode #gymtok #pregnancy #pregnancyworkout
Halfway through her workout, Romero said she was approached by the gym owner, who initially began “making some small talk.” However, things soon took a turn when he allegedly said his wife had an issue with what Romero was wearing. “We don’t allow sports bras,” he allegedly told the fitness influencer, which only confused her since she wasn’t wearing a sports bra but a tank top.
Romero pointed out that she wasn’t violating the dress code and alleged that the owner agreed with her but reiterated that his wife had an issue with her top being too revealing. He then told her to leave or put on another top, leaving Romero “shocked” and “a little bit embarrassed.” She was also apparently confused, pointing out that other women were wearing “super short shirts” with “their whole stomachs out” while the gym had photos on display of people wearing much less.
Even after Romero respectfully pleaded her case, the owner stood firm, again reiterating that his wife had an issue with the revealing top before suggesting that maybe the fitness influencer didn’t need a membership to his gym. Offended, Romero said she didn’t want to work out where she was made to feel this way, calling the incident “the most awkward, uncomfortable encounter” that she had ever experienced.
Is it hard to differentiate between a sports bra and a tank top? Did Emi Romero’s top breach the rule? According to the comments from social media users, which blasted the gym for having a strict dress code for women, the fitness influencer’s outfit was “beyond appropriate.” In fact, some even alleged that the gym owner and his wife were “discriminating” against Romero because she was “pregnant and working out.”
What’s more, another woman came forward, saying she had a similar experience at the same gym, according to the NY Post. “Literally happened to me at the SAME gym,” wrote Eryn diZerega, who had also posted a video to TikTok about being “dress coded” by the gym owner the previous year. In diZerega’s video, the female bodybuilder revealed that she was told her onesie was “inappropriate” attire.
“I’ve been going to this bodybuilding gym recently and they have this rule about no sports bras, which I thought was a little weird, but I really liked everything else about this gym so I signed up anyway,” diZerega said. “But the owner comes up to me and he’s like ‘Hey, do me a quick favor would you just throw on a sweater over that?'” she recalled. “I was very respectful and told him I’d put on my sweater,” she continued. “I put on my sweater and finished my workout,” however, by that point, diZerega said she knew she didn’t want to keep working out there.
@eryn.fitness I get that the business has the right to encorce whatever rules they want, The thing that rubs me the wrong way is how I was always respectful of their rule and when I told them why I would no longer be going there they responded so passive aggressively..
While every business is welcome to determine and enforce the dress code that’s right for them, it is a little confusing when a gym draws a line at sports bras, knowing that bodybuilders basically wear underwear during their competitions. That would be like a swimming pool banning all swimsuits. They are welcome to do it, but I have a feeling they would struggle to maintain members.
If you don’t like the rules or the way they are arbitrarily enforced, don’t give the business your money. Maybe then they will reconsider any unnecessary or overly restrictive rules. In situations like this one, that seems to be the best solution to the problem. As they say, money talks. So, save your breath and your dollars, and go somewhere else, where your appropriate attire isn’t called into question.
