I just joined Bannatyne's Gym

I joined a couple of months ago and chose Bannatyne’s because of the stance on single sex facilities. Good to see him take a stand so publicly.

Tried to book a visit. V disappointed it asked what my gender was

@FrancesGumm

OP - how lovely to hear that - if ever I decide to join a gym I will look for a Bannatynes

spa.bannatyne.co.uk/

He's a canny businessman.

Probably does feel that way I'm sure.

But the vast majority of women who go to gyms want this. So it's a good move and and got him lots of word of mouth advertising. I'll get more joining because of this.

That's good to know.

Just been reading his twitter feed. He's a good man.
There's one of his gyms near me (eyes lockdown extra inches ) - I'm going to treat myself to a day session and consider getting a more permanent membership.

He’s a good’un

Well he has but there's a lot of staff. They would have to be trained up on what to do etc.

I wonder what would happen irl if there was a challenge.

His gyms have been clear and consistent about the single sex policy for years. Even when receiving abuse for it in the past, he's explicitly said that any male trying to access female facilities will be removed.

That’s awful @KittenKong I (probably naively) hadn’t realised there were health clubs and gyms where anyone could just choose their preferred changing room. Aside from feeling uncomfortable with a man ‘identifying as a woman’ using the ‘women’s’ changing room, the fact that it’s the only place without cameras, means it’s an open invitation for sex offenders.

I’d love him to take over my local Pure gym - their policy is that anyone can use any changing room the feel suits them. It’s a 24hr gym with keypad access and very few staff ‘after hours’, and it’s a very dark and gloomy building so there’s no way I’d go back there whilst they are Pure.

I don't know about other gyms in the chain, but the demographics of the Bannatynes I belong to definitely favours the more mature customer. I can't imagine how the many middle aged members (of whom I'm one) would react if men were given the opportunity to use the women's changing rooms. The need for a male engineer to enter the women's changing room to fix the swimsuit spin drier a few weeks ago made the young female receptionist extremely uncomfortable and was only to be done when she was sure it was empty. I suspect Duncan Bannatyne knows his customer base pretty well apart from anything else.

Ahh there's not one near me, but just given him a follow on Twitter. It's nice to see a high profile man standing up and vocally defending women's rights

Hes great on Twitter. He always debates his point and won't be bullied into silence. I've followed him for a while and he's extremely helpful to the endless customers ego tag him in things but also doesn't take any shit if they're being rude and unreasonable.
I really don't think he'll be forced into changing his view on this he's very clear in his outlook and responsibilities to female members.

Wow - he knows his stuff! I am going to join his gym.

Good for him! Have now discovered that there is a Bannatynes twenty minutes from me, so I’m going to get a day pass and check it out.

Happy to support businesses who take my strong preference for single sex changing facilities seriously.

It's nice to see a high profile man standing up for womens' rights. Will give him a follow on Twitter just for that.

Duncan is definitely one of the good guys.

OP - how lovely to hear that - if ever I decide to join a gym I will look for a Bannatynes

Wish there was one near me, I'd definitely choose it as I'd feel safer and supported using their facilities knowing their policies. Would love to be able to make more positive choices for businesses like this, rather than having to boycott those that are the opposite, or having a general sense of knowing I'd be 'on my own' if any unpleasant incident should occur in the majority of places that don't have an explicit policy. I generally avoid places altogether in the end, no point paying to feel like your rights and needs are unimportant.

(I was once present at a 'changing room incident' back in the 90s before all of this was a thing. It was dealt with with righteous indignation and women telling the man, who was high on the thrill of it all, to get out of the changing room or they'd call the police. Obviously that wouldn't work now.)

[quote AnnaSW1]@KittenKong it's on Millbank [/quote]
Bah wrong end of westminster!

Hubby and I are members of our local Bannatyne Gym too. We love it. Great equipment, friendly staff and spotlessly clean 🙂 It’s great to know that Duncan is defending women to boot!

@KittenKong and if you like him I used to see him there quite often.

@KittenKong it's on Millbank

hmm, googlingmy nearest one now.