12 Comments

24 Hour Fitness packs it up and leaves a member behind

July 18, 2007 by in Stupid with 12 Comments

24 Hour Fitness recently received a bit of bad press after employees locked an elderly woman inside. Completely misleading for 24 Hour Fitness to carry the title "24 Hour" when they actually close for a few hours each day.

A Houston woman got locked in a 24 Hour Fitness center. How could this happen?
Can you imagine a woman being stuck in a 24 Hour Fitness center at 10:00 at night? Just think about it.

Serena Yen knew she was locked into an exercise routine. But, she never imagined she would become a prisoner in the gym ! It all started on the Sunday before Memorial Day when she worked out at a 24 Hour Fitness studio around 10 at night.

“I went upstairs to do cardio,” she recalled. “About 30 minutes into my cardio, I’m looking around and there was nobody on the top floor.”

The place was deserted. Serena noticed the lights out and the doors locked. Somehow 24 Hour Fitness closed while she was still in it. She called her brother.

“I had my brother call the 800 number and they were not open,” Serena explained. “There was no one there, no one working on the weekend. They only work from Monday through Friday.”

So she called the police. But they had no key.

If caught in the same situation, how many people out there would have thrown a free weight through one of the windows?

Read more [via Consumerist]


  • http://www.alifelessordinary.com/ Thomas J. Brown

    From my understanding, most 24 Fitnesses are open 24 hours, but some of the smaller ones are open limited hours.

  • Muff

    False advertising and taking hostages, does it get any worse than this?

  • Jeffrey

    Maybe they were closing for the national holiday?
    but still.. look around people, c’mon now!

  • http://www.terminaldigit.com TerminalDigit

    This is just part of their new obstacle course. You’re supposed to dash up the stairs to the roof and shimmey down the drainage pipe. C’mon Serena, move move move, clock is ticking!

  • http://mykalcave.com Myke

    Ha funny. I was just talking with a friend a matter of hours ago about possibly joining 24 hour fitness. This wouldn’t deter me from joining them. Just a mistake. A rare and humorous (probably not for Serena) one at that.

  • http://cpb.ca Caleb Buxton

    That one is easy. I definitely would not throw a free weight through the window.

  • http://www.donawilson.com/ Don Wilson

    My god, all of the possibilities. You are only allowed to break glass once, or else you’d have to pay for it.

    The possibilities are endless…

  • http://www.myspace.com/AlexTheMartian Alex B

    Well, this might be because I am a 21 year old and not an elderly woman, but if I was locked in, I will make myself at home, find a way to turn on the lights, and then do stuff like watch TV or whatever… it will be like my own little (or big) playground. Then in the morning, walk out of there with a smirk on my face and the middle finger, lol :-P

  • Sameer Sontakey

    I would also make myself at home….I would take all the free weights and pile them on each of the trainers desks… or make like a gigantic pyramid. Ha! That’ll teach em.. Just wait till they open the doors and walk in… haha.

  • http://www.alifelessordinary.com/ Thomas J. Brown

    Actually, yeah, I’d probably do that too, Alex. They have all those PowerBars and stuff to eat, so you’d be set!

  • Mike B

    As comedian Steven Wright said, “Open 24 hours, just not all in a row”.

  • BigGayBert

    You know, when picking out a gym, I would ask questions about equipment and classes, but I would have never thought to ask if the place had fire exits! Seriously….NO FIRE EXITS??? WTF?

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