Arizona high school freshman accepted a ride to her gym at 4am from a 16yo boy. Then he started acting like her boyfriend and began stalking her

Committing to an intense fitness regimen requires dedication. But early-morning workouts can also expose young athletes to serious safety vulnerabilities. One Arizona creator Riley Meyer (@risprivstory) allegedly found herself in a stalking situation when she used to hit the gym at 4:00 AM during her high school freshman year.

For Meyer, her ambitious freshman-year workout routine turned into an alarming ordeal with an older teen who didn’t understand boundaries. She unpacked the full story in a TikTok storytime sitting at over 81,000 views. According to her, an innocent offer for a commute turned into obsessive, stalker-like behavior in less than a week.

By the time Meyer had realized what was happenning, things allegedly escalated into pre-dawn stakeouts outside her neighborhood and gym. The gravity of the situation reportedly led her to change her routes, and then eventually quit hitting the gym at 4:00 AM completely. 

Meyer’s 4:00 AM commute to the gym led to an unwanted acquaintance

“When I was in freshman year of high school, so I was 14 years old, I’d wake up at 3:15 for the gym every single day,” Meyer recounted. She explained that she had committed to the grueling “75 Hard” challenge alongside her cheerleading schedule. And because cheer practice kept her at school until 8:00 PM, her only workout window was waking up at 3:15 AM to ride her electric scooter through 30-degree weather to the gym.

While training at 4:00 AM, she reportedly noticed a 16-year-old boy who frequently showed up at the same early hours and during occasional afternoon sessions. After striking up a casual conversation, the licensed teen offered her a ride home in his car. Eager to skip the cold commute, Meyer allegedly accepted. 

Sensing no danger yet, she also agreed when he subsequently offered to pick her up for the morning workouts as well. However, the dynamic shifted in less than a week. The older boy allegedly began hovering over Meyer throughout her workouts, refusing to leave her side on the weight floor. 

After obtaining her phone number, he also reportedly began bombarding her with messages. According to Meyer, he began acting possessive and talking to her as though they were in a serious relationship. “He got my number and he started texting me, literally OD and acting like we were dating.”

The boy’s early morning stakeouts forced Meyer to abandon her early gym schedule

Uncomfortable with the sudden pressure, Meyer told the boy she wanted to travel to the gym on her own. However, when she set out alone on her scooter, she allegedly spotted his car parked down her street. The car’s headlights were blazing at 3:30 AM, purportedly waiting to tail her.

Even after Meyer went through the trouble of altering her commute route, the boy adapted by staking out parking spots near to the gym entrance. At this point, Meyer was alarmed by the escalating surveillance, especially because general public is not out during those hours. So, she made the executive decision to protect her safety by quitting her 4:00 AM workout routine entirely.

Young women should never have to modify their daily routines just to avoid predatory behavior from peers. But the reality is far from ideal for most women. So, if your casual friendliness is met with boundary violations, every woman swears by trusting your intuitions and cutting off access. That is the only way to stay safe.