I was pissed to learn that the reason the gym got rid of the big tire for flipping was because a woman complained it gave her a black eye.
The big tractor tire was for the tire flipping exercise, though personal trainers were also using it as a jumping platform for clients.
I was using it once a week or every two weeks for flipping. One day it was nowhere to be found. The manager wasn’t there so I had to wait till next day to find out where it was.
The gym manager told me over the phone next day that two weeks ago when she was hired, she decided to rid the tires because they’re “not approved” by corporate.
But what really facilitated her decision was that a member (a woman, not surprisingly) complained that while she was using the tire, it somehow flipped up and hit her in the face, giving her a black eye.
Had a mis-flip (I’m not going to even try to figure this out) given ME a black eye…I would NEVER have reported it to the front desk. Why should I?
Why should I report this any more than I should complain about…say…accidentally dropping a dumbbell on my foot and bruising my toe?
If I was stupid enough to be careless with exercise equipment, there’s no reason for me to report it to gym staff.
On the other hand, if a piece of equipment is malfunctioning, then gym members should report this.
Getting Rid of the Exercise Tire, Thanks to Stupid Thin-Skinned Woman
The manager also told me that she had actually seen the woman, and that indeed, she had a “black” eye.
It’s just inconceivable how the accident could have happened. Maybe you’re not familiar with tire flipping or tire jumping, but I am, and I will tell you right now that in order for a person to get a black eye from either exercise, they would have to do something incredibly stupid.
The tire was very heavy and could not have been airborne. I asked the manager HOW this incident happened and she was not able to tell me.
So thanks to this dumb cowardly woman who got the black eye, the tire was gotten rid of.
Now if you’re thinking, “What difference did this woman make since corporate ordered the removal anyways?” there is something you need to consider:
That here we have this woman with skin as thin as tissue paper, whining like a baby to the manager because the tire – that SHE was using – somehow, someway, gave her a black eye.
This is obviously not someone who deals well with life’s curve balls. She probably screams when a bee flies into a room or cries when she misplaces a $20 bill. In a crisis situation she’d be totally useless and a burden to everyone else.
What idiotic thing was this woman doing that caused the tire to slam into her face? Okay, I get it: Unexpected accidents happen during exercise.
But that’s not the point here. The big picture is that this person whined to the manager! The equipment (tire) was NOT malfunctioning. What was she trying to achieve by whining?
The accident may have been the result of her doing something really dumb, but there’s also that chance that it was just a freak mishap.
Either way, the fact that she complained shows you just how easily unraveled this adult can become.
Gee, how would she handle a small stove fire? A fender bender? Would you want to be with her inside an elevator that gets stuck? I know I sure wouldn’t!
If I had done something dumb and accidentally got hit by a piece of equipment, I’d NEVER report it. I’d be too embarrassed to.
If it was a freak accident caused by little elves or who-knows-what, I STILL would never report it.
Instead I’d just chalk it up to one of life’s unpredictable curveballs, lick my wound and hold my head high instead of acting like a baby and facilitating the removal of the tire.
I wonder if corporate got wind of this incident and used it to reinforce their position that gyms should not have tires for exercise – even though it’s perfectly okay for gyms to have other kinds of equipment where people are more likely to injure themselves.
I never see gym managers telling men to stop squatting on balls with a barbell across their back, but they’ll get rid of the flipping tire! Go figure.