iPad Gym Bully

Submission 35,017

Part of a series on iPad. [View Related Entries]

Overview

The iPad Gym Bully is an Australian man who took a photograph of a skinnier man lifting weights at the gym and uploaded it to Facebook in an attempt to publicly shame him for his slender physique. After a screenshot of his Facebook post began circulating on Reddit and 4chan's fitness forums, the man was eventually doxed and banned from the gym where the photos were taken.

Background

On July 24th, 2013, an unidentified man shared a photo of a skinny man weightlifting at the gym in a Facebook post titled “Awkward Kunts at YOUR Local Gym,” describing the lifter as “the Amazing Chicken Man" while mocking his physique and choice of equipment. In the background of the photo, the photographer can be seen holding an iPad while sitting on a piece of fitness equipment. Approximately 20 minutes after the status update, a screenshot of the original Facebook post was shared on /r/rage^[1], where it received more than 135,000 views in 48 hours.

Notable Developments

Online Reaction

As the screenshot continued to gain momentum on Reddit, the post^[2] was eventually shut down by the moderators after some commenters began seeking the photographer's personal information to trace his identity. The screenshot was then cross-posted to /r/Fitness^[3], where it gained more than 8,900 upvotes, 3,100 points overall and 1,700 comments in 48 hours. When the story reached 4chan's /fit/ (Health & Fitness) board^[7] as well as other message boards on IGN^[4], Kanye To The^[5], Bodybuilding.com,^[6] many members of the forums similarly demanded his personal information to be doxxed.

Photographer Banned From Gym

By the morning of July 25th, a poster on /r/Rage^[8] shared screenshots of status updates from the photographer’s Facebook page wherein he revealed that he had been banned from every location of the chain gym. In the post, he acknowledged that posting the photo was “a dick move,” but argued that had someone taken his photo and made fun of him for being "fat," the photographer would not have received the same amount of backlash.

Click through for entire image.

This screenshot, along with a handful of other Facebook posts from the photographer, subsequently were shared on /r/JusticePorn^[9] with the title "#JusticeForCurlBro," where they gained more than 6,100 upvotes and 1,700 points overall. That day, the story was featured on a number of news sites and internet culture blogs including the Daily Dot^[10], BetaBeat^[11], Bro Bible^[12], HappyPlace^[13] and Gawker.^[14]