The Curious Incident of the Disappearing Spin Instructor

Last week I was at spin and the class was going well, the music was great, I was working hard. About 25 minutes into the 45 minute class, I look outside the cycling studio and see a man wandering back and forth, looking in, looking confused. I turn my attention back to the class when the door opens. I look over and the man walked into the room. He still looked confused, looking around like he had no idea what was possibly happening to cause 50 people to ride stationary bikes at the same time.

The guy wandered over to the other side of the room and starts looking at an open bike. He puts a foot on the pedal and seems very confused by it. He hangs around a little longer and then tries to get the instructor’s attention. He starts waving his arms and banging on the bike. The instructor, Al, was busy instructing.

Eventually, Al looks over and the guy motions that he wants help with his bike. 35 minutes into a 45 minute class that was clearly in progress. Al holds up his hand to motion that there are 5 minutes left. The guy might assume the instructor means he will help him in 5 minutes. After a few more minutes, the guy walks up to Al and starts saying something, but I can’t hear what with the music. Al told him there are 5 more minutes left in the class. The guy said something else, and Al took off his microphone and told the guy, “The class started at 7:00.” The guy wouldn’t leave, he kept arguing. The music was loud so Al turned it off and said, “Class starts at 7:00. You have to come here then if you want me to help set you up.” The guy wouldn’t leave; he just stood there, arguing. He didn’t seem to understand that a class was in progress. I couldn’t hear what he was saying but the jist was that he wanted Al to come set his bike up for him. Finally Al said, “That’s it. I don’t need this. I’m out of here.”

And he left.

The guy left, too. As for the rest of the class, we looked at each other and just kept riding. We still had a good 5 minutes left and weren’t about to sacrifice that! I had worked up a nice sweat and wanted to finish out my ride. We discussed the situation with each other and how ridiculous it was that this guy expected to be set up 30 minutes into the class. If he came at 7:00 or even 7:05 he could expect to be helped, but any time after that you are on your own. And what about the rest of us, we said. We got there ON TIME, it would be unfair to all 50 people spinning if Al stopped class to help set that guy up in the middle. Al was completely right, and we decided to tell the front desk what happened in case that guy complained about Al. And there was obviously something off about that guy….

A couple minutes after class officially ended and we were stretching and getting ready to leave, Al came back into the room.

“I don’t know who that guy is. He didn’t seem all there, and if he pushed me off the bike I would have broken my neck and that would be it. I wasn’t about to take any chances. If he wants to take my class 30 minutes late, that’s fine with me; what do I care? I’m not gonna stop anyone from taking my class. But to expect me to stop the class to set him up? I don’t f-ing need this.”

We assured Al we would be talking to the front desk about the incident and would back him up. We hoped that guy’s membership would be revoked as well.

And Al had reason to be wary — he was instructing the class when THIS incident happened at Equinox on 85th and 3rd:

Psycho Spin-Out   <— Read this!

A hedge fund manager taking Al’s class was grunting and shouting out phrases such as “You go girl!”. A stockbroker, also taking the class, became extremely annoyed threw the grunter — and his bike — against the wall. The grunter, who finished the spin class (and continued to make noises), was then hospitalized and claims to have suffered serious injuries., leaving him incapable of golfing, spinning and other activities.  This resulted in a lawsuit, where Al testified.

So it makes sense that he took this strange situation and left the room. He’s right, too — that guy was clearly unstable. Al has seen what unstable can do in a spin class, he has seen someone get thrown across the room on a bike and suffer (possible) debilitating injuries.

The incident provided a bit of entertainment for the rest of us. Perhaps the slogan can be “Never a dull day at The Sports Club/LA.” Hehe.