Virgin Active bans alleged masturbator for life

Virgin Active South Africa has taken swift action against a man who was allegedly caught masturbating at one of the company’s gyms. VA said they have banned the man for life from all of their facilities following a social media uproar.

According to reports, the video was taken  at a gym in Stellenbosch in the Western Cape.

The shocking video which showed a man allegedly masturbating on the floor of a Virgin Active gym went viral on Friday. The video, taken by a gym member and shared to Twitter, shows a young man dressed in a red shirt sitting with one hand in his pants while holding his phone with the other. A white towel is draped across his lower body while he sits on an exercise mat.

His phone appears to be pointing at a woman in front of him doing squats, all while other gym members around him seem completely unaware of his actions.

“I want this man’s face to go viral. This was at the Virgin Active in Stellenbosch @virginactiveSA.  Absolutely abysmal behaviour,” the poster captioned the video.

VA  also said that they agreed the  man’s behaviour was despicable. His membership was immediately terminated.

The man in the video has not been identified and it is not clear how hold he is, hence the decision by this to not share the video on this platform.

It is not clear if criminal charges will be laid yet. Gallingly, some social media commentators laughed the incident off as a joke.

The incident has led to women (and men) taking to Twitter to talk about how misogynism impacts them.