Trainer Thoughts

Racked is no longer publishing. Thank you to everyone who read our work over the years. The archives will remain available here; for new stories, head over to Vox.com, where our staff is covering consumer culture for The Goods by Vox. You can also see what we’re up to by signing up here.

A trainer at an unnamed LA gym wrote a confessional for The Cut about how he was educated to "charm, seduce, and manipulate" new members into becoming personal training clients. At the core, Jesse Murphy says, "closing a contract with a potential client means finding out a client's deepest insecurity, then continuously reminding them of it while supporting them through their struggle." Jesus. He's also an aspiring actor; the photo, at right, is from his IMDB page. [The Cut]