@austinjoel2001 I’m worried for you. The hair on the back of my neck is standing up. Can you have someone go with you, like waiting in the car to call for help, if they escalate? I grew up in a small, mostly white town where young men, especially from “good” families knew they could get away this stuff and worse.
@austinjoel2001 Do you have a friend who would be willing to go as a guest/witness with you? Preferably female friend since it sounds like these dudes get extra weird about that
@posa I was going to say speak to the trainers on the floor or the front desk. I coach at a gym and if any of us saw this behavior those members would be spoken to immediately.
@tyrannosaurusradio Given that they stop when there are other men around working out, my guess is they don't do it when any of the coaches are around, either.
@austinjoel2001 Go to the manager immediately. That's creating an uncomfortable and intimidating environment. Very similar to bullying.
Their behavior is intimidating, deliberately intruding on your personal space.
They might be creating a safety hazard by dashing around or standing too close while someone is working out.
Forget about the lack of availability of gyms in your area. If the management is unresponsive, mention that you may decide to take your business elsewhere if this continues.
@ucdresearch The sad truth is that many men act like children, but that doesn't actually make them children. They're adults. We should talk about them like the problematic adults they are.
@ucdresearch I understand the intent of the comment. The problem is that it doesn't actually have the effect that you you'd want it to. In fact, it tends to do the opposite.
If this dangerous behavior means they are still "boys" aka children, then that insinuates that they are not truly responsible yet for what they are doing because they don't yet know better and therefore shouldn't be fully held accountable. In essence, it just reenforces the boys will be boys mentality. This shit allows men, especially young men to do fucked up shit and have it excused as some natural and mostly harmless behavior associated with male adolescence, instead of the dangerous and antisocial behavior it actually is.
Edit
I also want to clarify that neither of my comments are meant as an attack against you. This is not personal in any way nor is it a judgement of you in any way.