Planet Fitness Founder: Company “Pretty Much Destroyed” Amid Boycotts Over Woke Locker Room Policies

Planet Fitness has been making headlines lately, and not for good reasons.

The gym’s woke policy of allowing members to use the locker room of the gender they identify with has led to several cases of women losing their memberships after expressing their discomfort with biological men using the women’s locker rooms.

One instance happened in Alaska, where a woman had her membership revoked after speaking out about a “transgender” man in the women’s locker room shaving next to a 12-year-old girl.

Reportedly, the Planet Fitness location received bomb threats after banning the gym member for sharing a photo of the man shaving in the locker room.

Planet Fitness hit with 28 bomb threats at locations across the U.S amid fall out over banning Alaska gym member for picturing transwoman shaving in female locker room https://t.co/3OKEQOcxoj pic.twitter.com/YXlgk5VezD

— Daily Mail Online (@MailOnline) April 9, 2024

The Daily Mail reported:

At least 28 Planet Fitness locations have been targeted with bomb threats after the gym franchise sparked fury for banning a customer who shared a photo of a transgender woman shaving in the bathroom.

From Florida to Alabama, dozens of locations in eleven different states reported hoax bomb threats following weeks of backlash against the chain’s ‘trans-inclusive’ locker room policy and the decision to ban the member, as reported by Media Matters.

Patricia Silva, 67, made headlines in March after she claimed to see a ‘man with a penis’ washing themselves in front of a 12-year-old girl in the women’s locker room.

Silva was barred from the gym in Alaska, and the gym franchise refused to reverse its decision despite its valuation plummeting by $400 million in five days after the incident.

No bombs were found in any of the facilities, but the threats forced dozens of businesses to evacuate their buildings and prompted FBI agents to launch an investigation.

The gym’s “inclusive” policies have also led to reports of sexual harassment and abuse. In one case, a man who “identifies as a woman” was arrested for exposing himself in the women’s locker room to a MINOR.

Take a look:

BREAKING: Male who identifies as female ARRESTED after stripping N*KED in a Planet Fitness women’s locker room.

“It’s a man but he says he identifies as a woman, and he won’t leave the restroom. But he is just walking around showing us his — and he won’t leave” a caller told… pic.twitter.com/bWMXwCteH5

— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) April 10, 2024

Here's the offender's booking details. It wasn't just indecent exposure. The article claims it was indecent exposure to a MINOR! This is on @PlanetFitness. Their policies allow this. pic.twitter.com/7sfUgQFxcT

— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) April 10, 2024

North Carolina man who identifies as a woman charged with indecent exposure to a min0r after walking around n*ked in the women’s locker room at planet fitness.

Sources say the man even asked a woman to shower with him. Last month a woman in Alaska had her membership revoked for… pic.twitter.com/92sSyyz5Xg

— Kory Yeshua (@KoryYeshua) April 10, 2024

Deservingly, members have been boycotting Planet Fitness over their sick and frankly, dangerous, policies.

Now, the company’s founder Mike Grondahl says the gym has “been pretty much destroyed.”

In an interview with Libs of TikTok, Grondahl said it’s “devastating” what’s become of the company, which he left in 2013.

THESE SICKOS WALK AMONG US, BUT SOONER OR LATER KARMA FINDS THEM….

Planet Fitness Has Been 'Pretty Much Destroyed,' Says Company Founder Amid Speculation On Boycott Cancellations

"When we went public, the majority of the board knew that this lead attorney was a pedophile. It's… pic.twitter.com/tSQC2jnrZz

— BelannF (@BelannF) April 10, 2024

Grondahl also dropped details of widespread abuse at the company, including that “the majority of the board” at Planet Fitness “knew” its former COA who left in 2017 after being convicted of sexual abuse of minors “was a pedophile.”

“It’s in the culture,” Grondahl claimed.

Benzinga has more:

Founder and CEO Mike Grondahl detailed a history of rampant abuse at the company and alleged it misrepresented its financials during a recent interview with controversial right-wing X user Libs of TikTok.

This comes after weeks of calls for boycotts of the brand after the company canceled the membership of a Planet Fitness gym goer after speaking out about a biological male in the women’s locker room.

Planet Fitness’s policy allows gym members to use the locker room associated with their gender identity. But this policy has led to a few high-profile cases of women feeling uncomfortable in Planet Fitness women’s locker rooms, and some women and children have reported abuse and sexual harassment at the facilities. Many of these incidents resulted in the women losing their membership, but an arrest was made in at least one instance, as previously reported by Benzinga.

In the 15-minute interview, Grondahl outlined the history of the company and the reason behind its founding. Grondahl started the gym, noting the Judgement Free Zone was meant to be a welcoming signal to novice gymgoers looking for a place to start. But when speaking about the company today, Grondahl says it’s “devastating” what it’s become.

“Planet Fitness was like another child for me. And I put my heart and soul into building that company and it’s been pretty much destroyed in, ya know, it’s lost all respect within the country within the last couple weeks,” he said. “There’s no common sense standing behind this.”

Grondahl told Libs of TikTok he didn’t approve of the policies or the response to them in recent weeks. Grondahl sold the company to private equity in November 2012 and lost control. Following the sale, he remained CEO until he was ousted after he reported that the chief administrative officer (CAO) and general counsel hired by the private equity firm had been found guilty of multiple charges over several years and abused minors on several occasions. In two instances, he was a teacher and was found guilty of abusing his students. The CAO left Planet Fitness in 2017.

“When we went public, the majority of the board knew that this lead attorney was a pedophile. It’s in the culture.” Grondahl said during the TikTok interview.

The Planet Fitness “culture” includes accusations of widespread abuse at the company.

“It started at the corporate office, this attorney started abusing employees, then he’s abusing them sexually, now the culture leads into the people doing the right thing are being thrown out of Planet Fitness,” Grondahl said.