by Mark Wahlberg’s 3 a.m. rant outside a gym is more than it initially appears and isn’t a great look for the famous actor.
On Sunday, Wahlberg stood outside Workout Anytime Aiken in South Carolina and commented on how he was blocked from entering the gym in a since-deleted Instagram video he recorded at 3:05 a.m.
“It’s supposed to be 24/7. We called earlier to set up a practice today. There’s no one there.”
Wahlberg added:
“It’s not ‘anytime fitness’. It’s ‘part time, no time’.
In the video, he then slammed the business, pointing out that he couldn’t find Sunday opening hours on the gym’s website or the actual physical site. Wahlberg – a known lover of very early workouts – and his team eventually found their way to another nearby gym, but the rant stuck and racked up hundreds of thousands of views.
Simple, right?
A famous actor wants to work out, goes on a rant, the gym is closed, people vilify the online gym etc.
However, the real facts are more complicated than that.
Lou Puleo, owner of this gym, had some responses to Wahlberg’s rant. Although he didn’t want to respond initially and just wanted to wait for it to end, as the actor’s rant continued to rack up views, he knew he had to respond.
Puleo said The Augusta Chronicle:
“I was like, ‘That’s not true!'”
Wahlberg said his team called ahead to schedule a 3 a.m. practice on Sunday.
In a call that actually went to voicemail on Saturday, a man who was not Mark Wahlberg asked if he and other men could make an appointment for a late night workout and left a number for recall, according to Puleo. When the Puleo manager looked up this message and called the number, the person who answered the phone identified himself as a member of Wahlberg’s team.
Wahlberg’s rep claimed he spoke to Ashley at Workout Anytime and made an appointment, but Ashley is not an actual gym employee. The pre-recorded voicemail – as Ashley – is not a real person.
Puleo reported that Wahlberg’s team member said when they tried to explain the confusion that Wahlberg was not interested and hung up.
Puleo said:
“We’ve worked hard to build a good reputation, and in 30 seconds he’s trying to destroy it.”
“It’s just not fair.”
Puleo, a retired US Marine colonel, said he didn’t want to start a social media battle against someone with 20 million followers.
“I don’t want to denigrate Mark Wahlberg. I think he’s a great guy. I like his movies.”
“But for him to leave like this, given his social media status, is pretty unfair without stepping back and saying… ‘Let me give them a chance to explain why I’m here at 3 a.m. and that there is no one here “.”
Kinda muddy the waters, right?
Was the gym wrong or was Wahlberg’s team unprepared?
The reactions to Wahlberg’s Instagram video are also likely not the one-sided voice of support the actor might have hoped for, though many sympathize with his frustration.
First, there were those who sympathized with Wahlberg’s frustration.
@46and2reptiles/Instagram
@josesmithjr_/Instagram
@ckwoof757/Instagram
Then there were those who timed what was really going on and came to comment after the gym owner’s response.
@tamlynmcl/Instagram
There was additional confusion, as Wahlberg calls the Workout Anytime gym in the video an “Anytime Fitness” which is a national channel.
The nearest Anytime Fitness is 30 miles from Workout Anytime Gym. The Aiken Gym is a small, independent business that is not part of a national chain.
People weren’t sure he knew he was at Workout Anytime, where the gym is open to members 24/7 by appointment.
@jessicamooreaf/Instagram
Finally, there were those who weren’t a fan of Wahlberg showing up in a small town and ranting on his big social media about a local veteran-owned and operated business.
@aj.parrott/Instagram
@mrbillybeaton/Instagram
@shannyleeb/Instagram
@kenlucasfit/Instagram
@rickwilfong/Instagram
What a mix that turns out to help neither the gymnasium nor Wahlberg’s image.
#Mark #Wahlberg #calls #gym #closed #gym #responded
