Cody Pendergast (left) and James Martensen (right) said they will continue to workout at the TCC despite recent voyeuristic photos posted to Facebook.

Image Credit: InfoTel News

(JESSICA WALLACE / iNFOnews.ca)

It's business as usual for gym members at the Tournament Capital Centre (TCC) despite workout voyeurism making its way to Facebook.

A Facebook page dubbed The Stuff You See at the TCC, was sharing photos of men working out at the City's sporting facility

"I'm still going to go to the gym and people are still going to be losers," said Brad Butler who has been a member at the facility for just one month.

His workout partner shared the same thoughts.

"Who cares?" said Garrett Lidin. "It's not too big of a deal to me."

T.R.U. Wolfpack baseball players had mixed feelings over the matter.

James Martensen said he saw the page.

"There was only like two or three things on it," he said, adding that it was taken down quickly. He didn't know who had put up the page but said it made him think twice over his routine, even wondering if he ever did anything 'stupid' at the gym.

He and his teammate, Cody Pendergast, agreed that the post would determine whether they were upset or not.

"It could be funny," Martensen said adding that things escalate quickly online.

While reactions from gym members varied, the videos left a supervisor "in shock."

"One of our colleagues got a message from a friend… saying, 'Have you seen this yet?'" said Linda Stride, health and sport development supervisor for the City of Kamloops.

Stride followed the links the morning of Jan. 28, until she was directed to the page.

"Those who took the videos thought that the people they were taking videos of were perhaps doing the exercise with incorrect form or incorrect technique," Stride said. "They thought it was funny that people didn't know what they were doing in the gym."

Stride said the page, that has since been taken down, was an invasion of privacy for those who frequent the facility for exercise. While it was unclear who created the page, Stride was able to contact someone who posted content to the page.

"He was embarrassed," she said, adding the young male was a gym member.

She said he was remorseful and understood potential ramifications.

"If people are caught, their memberships will be suspended if not revoked permanently," Stride said. "There certainly are consequences for that behaviour."

Moving forward, new signage has been adopted prohibiting the use of cameras in the facility.

"We've never had permanent signage, but it's always been policy," Stride said. "The minute we found out about it, we posted a white board (message). We have since then had permanent signs made."

Gym attendants have also been made aware of the issue, but with ever-changing technology, it can be difficult to spot someone using a camera.

"It's not like they stood in front of someone and did it. These videos were very discrete," Stride said. "Our gym attendants are always walking around, they're now more aware. They're going to be more vigilant."

Stride believes these measures are working, stating they haven't caught anyone using cameras since the incident.

"It was a one-of. I don't anticipate this being an issue," she said. "It was just a few young guys who thought it was funny."

— Jessica Wallace
jwallace@infotelnews.ca
(250)319-7494

News from © iNFOnews, 2013