Being Harassed By A Member At Work And Management Does Nothing.

Location: CA

I teach fitness classes at a gym. For the last few years a woman who is a member has been making my classes hell. She insists on always setting up her mat and dumbbells next to me in the front of the class. She doesn’t even leave enough room for me to demonstrate the exercises correctly because she’s too close. Even if both spots next to me are taken, she’ll squeeze herself in between the other member and myself.

In addition to this she does her own exercises instead of what I programmed and what the rest of the class is doing. Why I asked her why she does this she claims that she’s modifying the exercises due to her injuries. The thing is that shes not modifying. Modifying would still work the same

muscle group. She just does her own thing. She also has no injuries as she grabs 30lb dumbbells while everyone else including me has 15lb and lower. She uses poor form and the reason she uses such heavy dumbbells according to her is “Because I don’t feel challenged in your class.” Then why come?

While we’re on the floor, she’s standing. When we’re standing, she’s on the floor. I say go left, she goes right. She also often farts in class and half the time doesn’t wear deodorant, leaving me gagging.

For YEARS I have asked her to go to the back of the studio if she’s not gonna stick to the exercises I program as she’s distracting the other members and being very disrespectful. She absolutely refuses.

Last year she came in class and set up next to me again and I put my foot down. I told her that she cannot continue her behavior because it’s causing too much distraction. I remember the face she made, like something snapped in her mind and she walked out of the studio before returning and holding her phone towards me. Either she was recording me or had her mother (who exhibits the same behavior) listening in.

She then told me she can do whatever she wants to do in my class. I told her she can do whatever she wants to do on the gym floor but not the studio in my class. She then filed a false incident report against me saying I yelled and cursed at her in front of everyone. She basically tried to get me fired for telling her to stick to the rules.

When her incident report went nowhere in her favor she said she wanted to bury the hatchet and be friends. I kindly told her I have no interest in being friends with someone who tried to get me fired for doing my job. I also told her I do not wish to hold conversations with her.

I’ve informed management multiple times and it has gone nowhere. I told them I feel targeted and harassed in my emails. She clearly comes to class to harass me and they let it continue.

Management agrees with me and has had at least two meetings with her to tell her to go in the back or stick to the program in front with proper modifications if needed. She doesn’t listen and goes right back to doing whatever she wants. I’ve documented emails and incidents with my managers. Every response from them is the same.

“It won’t happen again but if it does let us know.”

Here’s the kicker. She has a known history of mental illness, as she was on the news for an incident years ago. She also once tried to break into a fire truck at a fire station to hide in the truck to scare the fire fighters when they got in. She gets obsessions with people. She had an obsession with a trainer previously and when he left I became her next.

Years ago she canceled her membership and came to the gym with a guitar and demanded to be let in to see me. When she was declined she ran past the front desk and ran up the stairs and tried to serenade me with a song. She then came back the next day with a cardboard box drum and sat on the lobby floor beating it in protest of being kicked out the previous day.

The fact that they let her rejoin the gym is mind boggling.

Recently she came into class late and there was zero room in the front. She attempted to force herself between the member next to me and myself and I told her no in front of the entire class. I pointed to 3 empty spaces in the back and told her to go there as I needed room. She began staring at me with an unhinged look and wouldn’t move. I repeated myself and she begrudgingly forced herself between two other members in the front row. She did her typical routine of her own exercises. After class she approached me to talk and I told her twice that I’d rather not speak to her.

I immediately informed my manager who just so happened to be having a meeting with her and her mother that same day.

Hours later I got the same email. It won’t happen again but if it does let us know.

These incidents affect my energy in class. I’ll have high energy and having fun and its ceases when she walks in. It’s bothered me to the point that I’ve spoken to my therapist about it. I’ll be having a good class and she’ll walk in late and ruin everything by getting too close to me, doing her own exercise and smelling like a bag of wtf.

With her history of mental illness and obsession, I fear retaliation. I don’t feel safe and my job is doing nothing while stating “We have your back.”

Is there anything I can do? I’ve tried protecting myself but it isn’t working. Can I take legal action?

TLTR: I’ve documented all the times a member with mental illness and an obsession with me at my job has harassed me and management does next to nothing to stop it.