Here’s an incredible stat:
23 percent of people in a Velotric survey will not exercise in public because they’re afraid of appearing in someone else’s pictures or videos.
So even if you have a killer marketing campaign and an amazing consultation and sales process that’s designed to alleviate worries about starting an exercise program, some people will never enter your gym solely because they don’t want to be unintended extras in fitness videos.
A few more stats from the 2023 article, which was based on a survey of 1,006 people:
- 34 percent of respondents will not train publicly because of body image issues.
- 49 percent think cameras should be outlawed in gyms.
- 80 percent think TikTok is the worst offender when it comes to social-media platforms and gyms.
- Of the approximately 1 in 10 people who had been recorded or photographed without consent, 46 percent “felt violated” by it.
- 54 percent work out at home most often.
I bring all this up because it’s really easy to be flippant about cameras in gyms.
“I don’t need a policy for this. Who cares?”
Many people don’t care—but it turns out others do. Almost half of survey respondents want media production banned in gyms, and many train at home “to avoid unwanted publicity and uncomfortable body issues.”
This is really an important market segment. People who work out at home because they hate cameras obviously have workout goals and motivation to pursue them. What they don’t have is expertise, programming, personal support, accountability and all the other things you and your coaches provide to clients.
I won’t suggest that you’ll get a flood of new members if you ban cameras at your gym, but I will say that an increasing number of people are going to want to know your rules about filming.
Do you have media rules? Why or why not?
Gym Owner Media Policy Survey
I ran a quick poll in Two-Brain’s private group for clients, and here’s what I discovered:
- 100 percent of respondents do not have a policy because they do not think it’s needed.
- One gym owner who does not have a written policy said that phones are “forbidden during classes.”
It’s worth mentioning that these gym owners run coaching gyms, where clients are guided through workouts and have less opportunity to set up two tripods and a ring light before filming their sets.
Still, I’ll close by reminding you that if the Velotric survey is accurate, one in four people will not consider working out at your gym if they think they’ll be on camera, half the fitness market thinks cameras should be banned outright, about one in 10 people has appeared in fitness media without permission, and half of those people were really mad about it.
For my part, I think gyms need to produce media to promote their services and celebrate their members, and they should obtain consent to do so. You should have a media policy in your waiver.
I’d be much more cautious with member-created content, especially in an access gym.
Coaching gyms have more leeway because members generally know each other, but I’d still ensure that everyone in the class is cool if cameras come out—especially cameras on tripods used by “fit-fluencers.”
To help you make your decision and do what’s best for your clients and your business, here are two additional resources:
“Influencer Alert: Cameras Banned in Some U.K. Gyms”
“Should You Ban Cameras at Your Gym? A Lawyer’s Perspective”
