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No vanity here please: Gym allegedly bans members from mirror selfies

This article is more than 12 months old

A gym in Choa Chu Kang is finally putting an end to vanity. 

Well, not exactly. 

But for starters, the Anytime Fitness outlet at Choa Chu Kang Centre has allegedly banned its members from posing shirtless for selfies in front of the gym’s mirrors. 

In a TikTok video shared on Sept 13, Dorlisa Leong, 23, who goes by the username Endoraphin, questioned the rationale behind the ban and wondered if the gym would lose members because of it. 

The avid gym-goer said the move might be to attract more girls to the gym. "(Girls) might feel uncomfortable seeing a guy taking off his shirt.

"(And) if the gym is filled up with lots of pretty girls, more guys will want to sign up. So I think that's pretty smart."

In the comments, several netizens said the ban was either “weird” or ridiculous”, though one commenter pointed out that it's "general courtesy" to refrain from posing at the gym.

@endoraphin Let me know if y’all want a part 2! #fyp #gym ♬ original sound - endoraphin

No comment, says gym

When AsiaOne contacted Anytime Fitness Choa Chu Kang Centre on the matter, the gym said it had no comment on the matter. 

Other gyms reportedly told AsiaOne that they do not enforce such a ban at their premises.

Mr Lester Ng, co-founder of Homeground Gym at Farrer Park, said he has no "hard and fast rule" that prevents members from taking mirror selfies, although "gym patrons might feel uncomfortable with shirtless people in the gym". 

Over in Sydney, a gym removed its mirrors and banned its members from posing for selfies, Daily Mail Australia reported in 2015. 

The owner of the now-defunct Lift Performance Centre said at the time: "It certainly bleeds into the idea people are just there to have a good look at themselves."

GYMNASIUMSTIKTOKEXERCISE/FITNESSselfies