Man booted from gym over body odor fights back: 'I wiped down every machine'

A man in China has had his gym membership terminated and refunded after the facility said his body odor was too severe for other customers.

The gym said it had no choice, citing a steady stream of complaints.

According to the South China Morning Post (SCMP) and Zhejiang TV, a man surnamed Shi, who lives in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, received a unilateral termination notice from a gym near his home that he had been using for about a year. The report was published Friday local time.

Shi had purchased a three-year membership last May for 6,388 yuan ($940), which would have allowed him to use the facility through late April 2028.

After joining, he visited more than five times a week. A fitness enthusiast for a decade, he had previously shed 45 kilograms — bringing his weight down from 125 kilograms to 80 — and had been working out consistently ever since.

About a year after he joined, the gym notified him on June 20 that his membership had been terminated, citing multiple complaints about a foul odor.

In a message to Shi, the gym said the decision came "after long and careful deliberation" and offered to refund the remaining balance on his membership.

"We are already under financial pressure amid the economic slowdown and have tried our best to treat all customers well," the gym said. "However, many customers have consistently complained about a strong smell inside the gym, and as a result we have had no choice but to terminate your membership."

The gym reportedly gave Shi a refund of 3,888 yuan along with a three-month membership at another gym.

After the story drew public attention and sparked controversy, a gym representative told local media that Shi sweated heavily during workouts and produced a strong odor. "Many customers testified that the equipment he used and the area around him smelled strongly," the representative said. "No one wanted to use the treadmill near the machines he had been on."

The representative added that the gym had tried to accommodate Shi by assigning him a corner spot and asking him to visit during off-peak hours, but said the complaints kept coming.

Shi acknowledged that he tends to sweat a great deal, but insisted he had done his best not to bother those around him — carrying multiple towels and wiping down equipment after use. He said he still wants to keep using the gym, which is close to his home, and took his case to a local TV viewer-tip program to air his grievances.

The story ignited fierce debate on Chinese social media, with the majority of users siding with the gym, according to SCMP.

Online reactions included comments such as: "He must have bromhidrosis — you don't smell that bad just from sweating"; "He went on TV to complain? I'm on the gym's side"; and "Isn't this discrimination? A gym is a place where people go to sweat."