For many people, working out is a distinctly private pleasure. The way we run, the faces we make, the amount we sweat and the places we sweat from, the creaks and groans our bodies emit during a squat — these are our own little secrets. The last thing we want is to be filmed climbing up imaginary stairs, lifting, pulling, and pushing heavy things. But if you ever want to see what it’s like to be unburdened by these inhibitions, all you need to do is go to any gym and find a person hitting record.

They’re setting up their tripods near StairMasters. They’re propping phones up on dumbbells. They’ve turned the squat rack into a studio. From Planet Fitnesses and Blinks to Equinoxes and Life Times, so very many people are filming themselves working out. At the same time, some of these Lycra-clad Narcissuses are alienating their fellow gym-goers, who are just trying to heft something heavy in peace. The clashing tension between the two raises some questions.

Why are all these people filming their public workouts? Are there really that many fitness influencers? Is this making anyone stronger or faster? Where are all these videos going? Perhaps, most importantly, do gym filmers know how irritating they can be? Who’s going to tell them?

Is that guy taking shirtless selfies on the bench press an influencer? Does he want to be?

Normal people didn’t just start filming themselves at gyms overnight; many spent the past decade watching professionals do it first.

“Filming really took off around 2015–’17, when fitness influencers started pushing themselves and their personal brands hard on platforms like Instagram and YouTube,” says James McMillian, the director of innovation at Tone House, a luxury strength training and training facility in New York City.

During that era, fitness classes at boutique studios like Tone House (think: SoulCycle, Barry’s, Solidcore) became pop culture obsessions. Taking a class and posting about it had social cache; it was a certain type of status symbol. Gyms and the people working at them leaned into the hype: From the lighting to the mirrors, group fitness studios and luxury gyms are camera-ready. Trainers teaching those classes became mini celebrities themselves and would post their workouts and social lives to promote their businesses and personal brands.

Mel Melcon/Los Angeles........

© Vox