Montreal Gym Member Assaults Weight Lifter for Being Too Loud During Workout

A Montreal-area gym was the scene of deadlifting drama last week that led to one staff member getting suspended after a random member attacked another member he thought was being too loud.

Video recorded by a personal trainer shows one Canadian Buzzfit gym member striking another member, 19-year-old Charles Lalonde, Thursday evening, the Montreal-Gazette reported. The argument first posted to YouTube Thursday by Pete Rubish shows the teen performing a deadlift of 350 pounds when all of a sudden a man approaches his mat and puts his foot down over the bar. The move startles Lalonde and causes him to rip out his headphones and confront the second member after briefly wincing in pain and shock.

According to Rubish's YouTube post, staff at the gym had previously directed Lalonde to place mats down while he performs what is often a noisy workout. Although the video shows he had placed the mats prior to his workout, the noise apparently upset the fellow member—who is wearing an "Animal" shirt—enough to force the confrontation.

"You're out, you're out," said the man who slammed Lalonde's weights down mid-lift. "Did you understand what I just said? You're out!"

The two continue fighting as other onlookers in the gym stare at the spat. "You're f***ing nuts!" Lalonde shouts back. "Let me take my s***. What the f*** is wrong with you?" he asks as the now-banned member begins shoving him away from the deadlift mat. The video has garnered nearly 1.5 million views since it was posted Thursday.

Head of operations at Buzzfit gyms, Craig Johnson told the Montreal Gazette a staff member was suspended in connection to the recorded incident Thursday. However, Johnson added that the man in the video was not an employee, but was simply another member who he did not know well.

Lalonde's powerlifting coach, Rubish, noted in his YouTube commentary that Lalonde "is going to press charges," though he is unsure if those were filed as of Monday. Johnson told a local gym blog the police had not yet contacted him over the incident.

Buzzfit was attempting to contact Lalonde to offer him a free lifetime membership, but Rubish commented Sunday that a competing "dream gym" in Montreal, SSP Barbell Club, had also offered him year-long free membership to switch gyms.

Uncommon Knowledge

Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.

Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.

ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7r7HWrK6enZtjsLC5jpuss7KWnsFus9imZJ2dkZm5qrLTZquop12hvLawjKamp6yimq6tedaeoKCgpKG2p8DEq2SfoZedwW6uwKdknKCRp7mmv4ylmKWnnpmybn2PbnBqcGE%3D