Not since the 1985 movie Perfect, starring John Travolta and Jamie Lee Curtis, have fitness clubs been exposed to the degree of Memoirs of a Gym Rat: One man's 20-year journey through the bowels of the health club industry, by Max Hawthorne. Hawthorne pulls from his real-life experiences to uncover shocking behind-the-scenes shenanigans with his humorous but eye-opening account of our nation's health clubs.
"After 20 years in the business, I've seen it all," says Hawthorne. "Walk into almost any fitness club around the nation and you'll find it - sex, drugs, deceit, membership cons, locker robberies - you'll be shocked to know what really goes on at these clubs, both during and after business hours. It's all very troubling." Fitness clubs have adopted a radically different culture from years' past. Oftentimes, being coined a "meat-market," due to rampant SEXcapades among local hard-bodies, gym rat culture has taken a sharper turn for the worse. There's the Jillian Michael's wanna-be personal trainer, who screams out orders while getting a little 'too much' pleasure from your pain and inevitable post-workout vomiting. Then there is the slimy sales rep, who cuts down your self-esteem with shady tactics to convince you to sign a contract that will surely outlive you. And don't forget the steroid-infused, Hercules types, whose obsession with sex surpasses the size of their biceps.Videos