The stinky sock

I went to the gym the other day. I always had excuses not to go before, but now I have ZERO excuses not to go. Plus I want to get in shape to play volleyball for San Diego City College this fall (yes, at 27 I'm going to play sports for a community college), but that's a whole other story/blog.

Anyway, I was surprised to find some interesting contrasts at the 24 Hour Fitness on Balboa Avenue. They have a new fingerprint identification system so you don't have to bring your card (I guess this is something 24 Hour Fitness is trying in San Diego). Cool, I thought, this place is high-tech! With such a neat-o ID system, I expected everything in the gym to be new and slick. Oh yeah, and this is a 24 Hour Fitness Sport, so I expected it to be cavernous, light-filled and in a word, nice (I base this on the experience that every other 24 Hour Fitness Sport I've been to has been top notch).

However, once inside, this gym reminded me of this tiny rinky-dink gym I went to in college that was out in an industrial park. The gym was the cheapest around because it was small and in some places, even claustrophobic. The 24 Hour Fitness on Balboa Avenue reminds me of that gym. The cardio area was dark, had low ceilings and was a touch too small for the number of machines/sweaty people they had in there. The was a light odor of stale sweat that made me think the foam floor was at maximum capacity for sweat absorbency.

After using the stationary bike I went to use a pad for sit-ups. This pad was old and made of a kind of foam that allowed all the dirt and grime to get stuck in the crevices - yuck! While doing my sit-ups I looked up at the ceiling to see water marks.

In 2005 the 24 Hour Fitness company had an annual revenue of $1.1 billion per year and 300 million (!) members. Jesus. With all that dough coming in, you'd think they'd have some cash left over for repairs/upgrades to their gyms. On the 24 Hour Fitness website they have a photo gallery where you can "see inside the clubs". The photos for the sport-style club show you what I was expecting to see, however they cover their ass by saying "Actual club appearance may vary." It's a nice way of saying, here are some photos our flagship clubs and the rest of them may, or may not be, well, crappy.

Anyway, I just wanted to rant about that. My new name for that gym is The Stinky Sock, so when I say, "Well, I went to the Stinky Sock today..." you'll know what I mean.

Actually, I think Stinky Sock is a good name for a laundromat. Anyone want to put up some investment capital to open a Stinky Sock with me? I'll offer you 50% of all the revenue for the first five years and all the dirty, smelly, abandoned socks you could ever want.