It’s been a long time since I’ve had the pleasure of writing one of these. Trust me, I have plenty of old stories in the vault, but I just love when a new one develops right before your eyes, and it’s blogging gold. This is precisely what happened just yesterday, when I was teaching spin class.
It started off as a completely normal class. I was setting up my bike and chatting with a friend who was in the front row about tag sales. She recently cleaned out her mom’s home and we were swapping stories about the horrors of putting stuff on e-bay and having estate sales because people are so creepy and weird. This became a perfect segway into what happened next.
A guy who I have never seen in my class, or in the entire gym for that matter, suddenly spoke up. Until that point I had just been casually chatting with my friend who I’ve known for years. I was now on my bike and it was nearly time to start class, when he said:
“Oh I have a good story about tag sales.”
um, ok
“My wife and I had one when we lived in the middle of a tobacco field.” This is actually not weird. There are tons of them in my town. #healthy
But this was weird:
“So these two Mexicans ride up on bikes. Or I think they were Mexican…or Dominican or something like that. My wife had this sewing machine that was still in the box, never really been used, and they were interested in it. I think they lived, you know, down in that (inaudible) area.”
Um, where? What’s happening?
“And they just bought it and rode off on their bikes, carrying it like a boom box on their shoulder. After a few minutes I noticed they didn’t take the foot pedal, and it won’t work without it, so I tried to go down there and find them (I still haven’t a clue where “down there” is?) but…and I hate to say this…but they all look the same. I ran into another one of them and he said he would give it to the guys but, you know, I’m not sure they ever got it.”
Now, I’m in a class of about 10 people. I’m also pretty sure I look like I could be Mexican. I’m perched on my bike, jaw dropped, trying to figure out how this guy thinks any of this is appropriate, and deciding between saying something or just starting class.
This was my face and yes, I look just like Halle Berry.
I decided to cut him off before he could get started on religion or politics and turned the music up.
Don’t worry, it gets weirder.
First of all he’s one of those guys that just assaults a bike. He was riding it like a maniac – not enough resistance or way too much, speeding way up and then nearly stopping, bad positioning – the whole thing. There’s also a TRX rack above the row of bikes he happened to be sitting on and he kept reaching up and grabbing it with both arms and doing this weird stretch. Like though the entire class.
One of the regulars in my class kept looking at him and then me and smiling. I was just shaking my head and hoping he wasn’t going to start taking again!
Instead, after a particularly hard set of sprints about halfway though class, he chugged his water bottle until he drained it, threw it on the floor and then took his hat off and whipped it across the room.
I’m not even close to joking.
I know it’s April 1st, but this is actually my life.
Who are these people and why are they in my class? If people want to be racist and start segregating, can we start with all the freaks? Thank you.
What do you do (if anything) when people tell inappropriate stories?
What’s the weirdest thing you’ve overheard at your gym or anywhere else?
The Hallie Berry face said it all! Seriously though what is wrong with people and I have seen and heard it all as well back when I worked outside the home that sadly this didn’t even shock me.
It is sad. I think living in a small town is worse sometimes. Ugh.
The things I’ve heard people say and do is often shocking. What is wrong with people these days?
I really don’t know. It’s depressing!
Where do these folks come from? And how did they escape from some scary part of last century where they think their racism is acceptable? If nothing else, he does provide some good fodder for a blog, right? Oy.
That is the bright side of ignorance. Sheesh!!!
Haha! i have this picture of this guy in my head! What a nut!!! That story he told is so inappropriate though. My story is not nearly as funny. I used to see this guy in the weight room at the gym and he would talk on his cell phone strutting around the weight room and checking himself in the mirror. Men.
Gotta love it. I’m sure people have plenty to say about me at the gym but I keep my cell phone talking and comments to myself! 🙂
Man, am I sorry I missed that class. Can’t even imagine what Ron’s reaction was
Ron wasn’t there and he was actually ON RON’s BIKE! As Tina pointed out on FB – I think it’s the bike.
Hope you’re recovering well Mary. I miss you!
My jaw dropped when reading this post! I’m not surprised though. I’ve heard this so much. I’ve even had a coworker say ALL kinds of racist stuff to me about black people to my face without blinking an eye. I can’t believe he went all crazy on the bike too. I can’t deal with distractions in fitness classes it drives me absolutely crazy and that would have been a HUGE one!
I mean what the heck is wrong with people?? I just can’t. And yes, it was SUPER distracting. I can only hope he doesn’t come back!!
It seems we liver parallel lives although mine is probably worse. My patients are generally Fox News watching Republicans if that gives you any clue about what’s coming out of their mouths.
Oh my!!! That sounds A LOT worse. My apologies.
You know the week I have had and this made me lol! I can only imagine your reaction…I mean seriously he whipped his hat accross the room? Hysterical, I am crying. I needed this….and I DO believe you!
He sure did. He almost hit someone! It was like I was being punked. I mean really? I hope he comes to your class 🙂
OMYWORD! ! It really would be a good thing if people followed Jeff Foxworthy’s advice and wore a sign; singing their anthem ‘Freak on a Leash’..
YES! At least then I would have had some kind of warning!!
Oh my god, what a crazy person!!! Some people are just unbelievable with what they think is normal. I so hope he doesn’t come back to your class.
Me too!!!
I feel like this can’t be true… what the eff is WRONG with people?! Some woman at my old gym walked up to me once and said that she thought I looked good. I was flattered… then she adde “but not in a gay way.” Was that really necessary? Can’t we just compliment people anymore?
What???? Why would she think that was even necessary to add? People are nuts.
To her credit, I called out the situation on my blog (without naming her). She happens to read my blog and wrote a nice apology and said she had no idea why she did that.
That is so crazy when that happens! I called out another female runner for being rude to me at a race finish once, and she contacted me via email. Someone she knows reads my blog and sent it to her.
I’m glad she apologized 🙂
Too funny. I just laughed. Out loud. Really loud.Thanks for sharing.
I’m so glad! You’re welcome 🙂
ugh. i have a definite “face” that i can’t help (and don’t try to help in situations like that). i probably would’ve blank stared and then started class. now, if i wasn’t instructing…that’s a whole different story 🙂
Exactly! Sometimes it’s so much worse to be the instructor. I’ve lost my temper with participants in class before, and then was hauled into my boss’s office. She completely had my back but it showed me just how crazy and immature adults can be! I’ll have to write that story one of these days!
Are you fucking kidding me?? I haven’t had anything lately come my way but I usually don’t say anything and just give them a WTF look. Usually that’s enough. If not then I would let them know whatever they said was totally inappropriate. I am very surprised you didn’t say anything..lol! You can’t reason with crazy!!
That’s the issue! It was bad enough that I didn’t want to add fuel to this guy’s fire. I just wanted him to STOP! But then the water and hat thing happened and I was like “what is happening??” Crazy.
Hahaha, awkward…..
So incredibly awkward! I just hope he doesn’t show up next week!
The story is weird and awkward!!!
But the water and hat – how did you not bust out laughing?! I’m pretty sure I would have fallen off my bike over that!!
I actually did start laughing! I think I said something like “Did you seriously just do that?” but he was in outer space so he didn’t hear me.
I would have socked him in the mouth. In my mind, I would’ve. Not in real life, because I can’t throw a punch. But dude. What a freakass.
Oh in my mind I was completely schooling him!!!
I absolutely love diversity and think it’s ashamed when people are too close-minded to embrace the differences of others. There is so much wonderfulness to be learned and experienced by accepting others that do not look the same as self.
It’s so sad because he clearly had NO IDEA his comments were ridiculous or racist in any way. Scary.
Eek! That’s scary for many reasons.
The story by itself already tells you everything you need to know about this man.
And then he has to continue it by whipping things across the room? Scary!
I mean, really. So scary and I just hope he doesn’t come back!!
Ha! Oh my gosh. Every time people say weird racist things to me, all I can think is how I would NEVER say crap like that out loud, even if I thought it, especially to strangers.
Last year I was sitting around a fire pit with my husband’s family after a family wedding in PA, and this couple came up and sat in between all of us – mind you, it was around 15 family members and this odd couple now – and the guy found out that I live in California and started saying, “Oh yeah? They have a lot of them Mexicans there right? I’ve heard that el Mexicanos are everywhere in California! How do you like that??” I kept trying to turn away and ignore him, and he just kept on making racist jokes. It was uncomfortable, but I’m usually too polite to say anything like SHUT UP! Ohhh weird people 🙂
OMG!? That is crazy and totally beats my story! Where do these people come from??
Girl, I hear crazy stuff all the time! It’s really horrible! I had to unfriend someone on Facebook recently, and have this incredibly awkward conversation when he asked why I unfriended him, “Well… I’m tired of seeing your racist comments all over my timeline.” And that’s just the tip of the iceberg. 😐 I hope this fuh-reak doesn’t return to class because all of the things you mentioned are inappropriate, for a whole variety of reasons.
Oh yes!! I could write multiple posts about some of the people I’ve unfriended. I think you open up a whole other world when you start seeing some crazy posts and you’re like “wow, I thought I knew you!? How can we even be friends?” It’s crazy!!
It’s amazing what people will say and believe is appropriate in public! You definitely had an appropriate reaction. Sorry you had to deal with that!