Montreal, October 26, 2023 – A Montreal gym has taken decisive action by banning a member who attacked a fellow gym-goer for making too much noise during his workout.
The disturbing incident unfolded in August 2023 at the Greenfield Park branch of Buzzfit. Charles-Antoine Lalonde, a 19-year-old fitness enthusiast, was engaged in a rigorous deadlifting exercise when he became the target of a violent assault.
The aggressor approached Lalonde while he was in the midst of a lift, visibly agitated, and forcibly knocked the barbell from his hands, subsequently shoving him against the gym wall.
Craig Johnson, the head of operations for Buzzfit gyms, has confirmed that the individual responsible for the attack has been permanently barred from the gym. In addition, a gym staff member has been suspended pending an investigation into their role in the incident.
A video capturing the shocking incident was posted on a YouTube channel and has since garnered over 944,000 views as of Sunday evening.
Lalonde, who was taken off guard by the assault, had been engaged in the physically demanding exercise of deadlifting. This powerlifting routine involves lifting a barbell laden with weights off the ground to hip level and lowering it back down. Lalonde’s trainer, Pete Rubish, who uploaded the video on YouTube, explained that the noise generated during this exercise is inherent to its nature.
Prior to this incident, Lalonde had encountered complaints from fellow gym members and had faced challenges with the gym staff at the Montreal facility.
Buzzfit, primarily catering to first-time gym users, has acknowledged that their facilities are not adequately equipped to accommodate the high-intensity workout Lalonde was performing. Although they had initially requested Lalonde to place mats under the weight plates, which he duly complied with, the gym now recognizes that Lalonde was engaged in elite-level powerlifting, which necessitates specialized facilities beyond their offerings.
