We’d like to think that the gym is the place where you just get fit, but Max Hawthorne has looked at gyms another way.
Not since the 1985 movie Perfect, which starred John Travolta and Jamie Lee Curtis, have fitness clubs been exposed to the degree of Memoirs of a Gym Rat, which chronicles one man’s 20-year journey through the bowels of the health club industry. Hawthorne pulled from his real-life experiences to uncover shocking behind-the-scenes shenanigans with his humorous but eye-opening account of our nation’s health clubs.
“After 20 years in the business, I’ve seen it all,” says Hawthorne. “Walk into almost any fitness club around the nation and you’ll find it – sex, drugs, deceit, membership cons, locker robberiess – you’ll be shocked to know what really goes on at these cllubs, both during and after business hours. It’s all very troubling.”
Cell phone usage is frowned upon by many gym goers, and it’s even banned in certain gyms. Besides the annoyance of constant chatter, there’s also a privacy concern when it involves cell phones with cameras and areas like a locker room. However, a recent blog post by a fitness industry expert shows that the use of smart phones is on the rise, and creating a bit of a dilemma for gym owners. 
Seattleites no longer have an excuse for skipping the gym. Fitropolis, a new fitness-oriented website, is looking to become the TripAdvisor of Seattle gyms cataloging every health club the city has to offer. The website is the brain child of Troy Kaser and Jenne Pierce, both former Expedia execs who are now turning their attention toward fitness. The site has over 250 profiles of Seattle fitness providers from big box gyms like LA Fitness and Gold’s Gym to local class offerings like Rock Body Boot Camp. Gyms, studios, and classes are all searchable by address, zip code or neighborhood. Searches can be as generic as “gyms in downtown Seattle” or as detailed as “gyms with pools and prenatal yoga.”