Let’s Be Nicer

Why So Mean?

I’ll be honest here, I love a good snarky take down. I love when someone comes up with some pithy and funny thing to do to insult someone’s beliefs or philosophies, but is it actually helpful? In the fitness world, our current dumpster fire of society for which we are all responsible, or even our relationships. Is being a mean asshole really worth it? I have started to think that it is not.

Fitness folks talk a lot about being nicer to people in the gym, but then post content where they don wigs, wear silly outfits, speak in stupid accents to diss people for believing in workouts or products that aren’t that effective. You may be one of those fitness folks right now. And I admit, I have laughed in the past. “Yup that guy wearing the long hair wig making fun of booty bands has nailed it.” But has he really though? How can we ask our followers to be nicer to people at the gym who may be afraid of the environment while we ourselves make content that shits on people? I, for one, don’t think I can. And I won’t.

I have found it fascinating that comedy in recent years has faced a trend of becoming nicer. Could you imagine a show like Schitt’s Creek, though its first handful of episodes set up the overall shift in tone that was planned, being made back in the mid to late 2000s? It ends on such a beautiful and loving note, characters are changed, stories are wrapped up, and it doesn’t continue to punch down the way it first did. Of course we wouldn’t have wanted that. Shows like The Good Place and Schitt’s Creek found their voices in an environment of kindness rather than the meanness that dominated past eras. And I think we’re better for it. We can still laugh while not being mean to people at the same time.

I get it, it’s harmless—to you maybe—it’s a joke, people are too sensitive, people need to lighten up. I’ve heard it all before. And as a young man who grew up overweight and gay in a blue collar Boston suburb in the 80s, I can tell you, it’s not just a joke. It’s not that harmless. And maybe you need to become more sensitive. I’m getting a bit preachy here, but I will stand on this soap box proudly. We want gyms and fitness studios to be places where all are welcome, so why not be nicer in our content we create? I admit, if I reread comments and other such stuff from over the years, I’ve definitely made some sharp witty insults about people who think differently than I do, and I want to be better than that.

You can still inject comedy into your content without being an asshole about it. You can still prove your point without punching down at someone. And for the love all things on earth, please don’t film strangers doing exercises incorrectly or oddly and post it for laughs. That’s not helping anyone.

Also watch Schitt’s Creek and The Good Place if you haven’t already.