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Abraham wrote:Politely let it be known to the "gym powers that be" that allowing non-members to hang out for any reason is a not a sound/safe policy.

This! This is the low key, non-alarmist approach I took and will have to wait and see what the results are. He seemed receptive to my concerns, but I think there's further concern that taking any steps in towards making the facility more secure will raise a red flag that there might actually be security concerns and upset those walking around in perpetual White.

I've been looking at fanny packs, too...geez, I really hate those things. Too bad the chest bags from Hill People Gear are so large...

The Annoyed Man wrote:In any case, I think in hindsight you might not have experienced an "interview," as they were A) talking about when one of their moms could come pick them up, and B) they didn't rob the place while they were in there. They left of their own accord, right? If they were hanging around on a nearby corner, and they didn't do anything, isn't it possible that you were alarmed simply because they did not seem to be an ethnic or cultural fit for the normal traffic in that neighborhood? Maybe they were just as freaked out by being stranded where they felt like they did not belong, and they just badly wanted someone to pick them up and get them out of there?

Just a thought....

Thanks to everyone for their valuable input.

I've turned these thoughts over and over in my mind several times, but I keep coming back to bad intent. I drove around the area several times after I'd completed my daily butt-whipping in the gym and could find no evidence of a party van anywhere within several blocks on all sides of the gym. I factored in that the three of us in the gym (hopefully) presented a more imposing presence than a group of women (no sexism or disrespect intended) and, discretion being the better part of valor and all, the pair moved on without causing trouble. In other words, we didn't provide an easy target. Although I delibertately left out the ethnic/cultural aspect of it, these men were not WASPs and actually fit in perfectly with the ethnic/cultural make-up of the surrounding area. They could live in the immediate area or easily faded into the woodwork, so to speak.

First and foremost is how I felt at the time. Their presence there at that time of the morning with what I felt was a rather implausible story set off my alarms. Things just didn't add up for me, and it didn't add up for my workout buddy and the trainer. I could be wrong, heck I hope I'm wrong, but I try not to ignore that little voice in the back of my head telling me that something just ain't right.

The take-home part, I suppose, is that I should/will investigate an alternative way to carry in the gym and that I will definitely recommend to the owner that the trainers keep the doors locked very early in the morning, although that last one may be problematic because the doors currently have no panic hardware installed. I really wish some unicorns or fairies would make 9mm S&W Shields more readily available...

I work out weekdays at a small facility near my home from 0430 to 0530 where we have the benefit of a small class size, good equipment, and a fully competent trainer. Thursday morning just after 0440 with only myself, my workout buddy, and the trainer present in the facility, a man (early to mid-20s) came through the front door with some story about how he'd just dropped off a party bus and wanted to wait inside because it was pretty cool outside at that hour. Note, this man was wearing oversized t-shirt and shorts...no jacket. The trainer agreed that he could wait inside, so he sat down on a machine nearest the door. Within a minute or so, his friend (male, late teens to early 20s) wearing sagging pants and on oversized hoodie walked in without a word and stood against the wall next to the first guy.

Let me tell you, alarm bells and whistles were about to make my head explode at this point. I asked my workout partner if the hair on his neck was standing up like mine, and he replied that it was. Soon, the second man asked me if he could use the restroom, so I referred him to the trainer. The trainer agreed, and the guy disappeared in the restroom for about five minutes. When he finally came back out, he and the first guy had a somewhat quiet discussion about battery charges in their cell phones and who they were going to call to come get them. The second guy made a statement that his mom couldn't come, and the rest of the brief conversation was inaudible.

Finally, after maybe 25 minutes or so after the initial entry, the first guy asked what time the buses started running. We patiently explained that he'd need to walk approximately 5 miles south to get to an area serviced by DART. They left without a word within a minute or so of that little tid bit...Approximately 10 minutes after that, a woman came in to workout with the 0530 group and asked about the guys standing on the corner of the property near the street.

Ok...no concealed weapon on me (no place on/in my shorts to keep it, stored in my bag would not have facilitated the kind of control I'd be comfortable with) and I seriously doubt one in the truck parked outside would have made a difference should things have gotten froggy. Nothing available to us for defense other than dumbells, plates, bars, etc and one serious trainer who I have no doubt could have handled himself provided firearms were not involved.

I'm about 90% convinced that these two gentleman were up to no good and were interviewing us for some shenanigans since I found no evidence of a party bus anywhere near the training gym and their story simply made no sense. Besides, the situation just felt so wrong. My first instinct was to vacate the premises, but I was simply not going to bail out and leave the other two guys I was with. What I should have done was manned up and told the trainer to send them away, lock the door, and call the police to ask them to simply come by or gone outside and done it myself. Lesson learned there.

Although not 30.06 posted, carrying while trying to work out is not a viable option (not impossible, but would require a J-frame and holster purchase at the very least) and leaving a Glock unattended in a gym bag available to anyone doesn't thrill me either. The gym owner and I will have a conversation about this very soon because my biggest concern is the fact that on many days, our trainer would have been a woman (trust me, a real lady in every sense of the word and equally capable of going hands-on with pretty much anyone) and anywhere from two to four additional women there to work out. I think that scenario might have made a much more attractive target and made the two guys at least consider ignoring my workout buddy and myself or convinced them to take us out first.

This is one of the first situations that I've ever encountered in which I felt completely vulnerable to forces outside of my control. I need to be there to work out and simply changing my workout time/location would do nothing about the people who might still opt to be there. All I can come up with is recommend that the folks working there keep the doors locked...

Suggestions, comments, criticisms?