New Jersey black man’s attempt to workout at Crunch Fitness with his son hits a snag over ID. But when the manager came, it was with the police

What would you do if the police were called on you just because you brought your kid to the gym? Andrew Cox Sr. was faced with this situation recently, and the resulting Instagram posts have over 13 million views. He had taken his son to a Crunch Fitness in East Brunswick, New Jersey, when his pushback over an ID policy escalated into a confrontation with local law enforcement.

When they arrived at the gym, his minor son did not have a physical ID on him. So Andrew claimed that he offered his own identification and a student portal profile to verify his son’s identity. When that was deemed insufficient by the front desk staff, Andrew asked to speak with a manager. While they waited, they headed onto the gym floor to begin their workout. When the manager finally appeared, it was with the police to escort Andrew off the premises.

In the caption of his post, Andrew claimed, “my son and I were interrupted by East Brunswick Police today in the middle of our workout. I pay for a membership where I can bring guests home almost every gym I have a membership at @cruncheastbrunswick included. My minor son doesn’t have a license., offered ID from the Genesis portal, my id, not enough… they would rather make a scene with the police, than to allow me to work out with my son.”

Escalation instead of conversation

In the video, Andrew asked his son to wait for him outside the gym before arguing with the reception staff. He told the staff, “But I’m with him because it’s workout time. It’s Saturday morning, and you guys called the cops on me because I want to work out with my son.”

When the police kept trying to stop Andrew’s conversation with the staff, he pointed to the fact that they were called for his son, who was no longer there. He tells them, “right now your purpose of being here no longer exists, does it?” 

He admitted that he is trying to be civil, confessing, “I’m amped up on pre-workout, just want to work out with my son. You guys, like, I should, I’m on 10 right now, right? And I’m trying to keep chill. I’m down at three.” A different content creator found herself angry when Planet Fitness levied a $500 charge with no explanation. Additionally, it should be noted that we only know the information Andrew shared wiith us and havent heard from Crunch.

Later, Andrew uploaded a longer, unedited clip that showed him going from confused when the police arrive, to angry when the staff doesn’t talk to him, to flabbergasted when he was asked to leave with no discussion. In a different incident, a woman wanted to leave Planet Fitness but was locked inside.

He admitted in the caption, “I debated posting Part 2 because it doesn’t paint me in the best light. I’m frustrated. I’m emotional. That’s real. I’m not posting this for sympathy, and I’m not asking anyone to pick sides. I’m posting because I’ve seen so many comments saying, ‘The police were called… he must’ve been belligerent.'”

He clarified his perspective on the escalation, noting, “What bothered me wasn’t the policy. It was that my request for a conversation with a manager was never honored before things were escalated.” He alleged, “I’m also not responsible for assumptions people make because I’m a 6’0” man with a larger build. Existing while physically imposing isn’t the same as being aggressive.”

The viewers were largely supportive of Andrew. One user tagged the company to ask them, “@crunchgym why are yall allowing your locations/franchisees to call the cops on ‘paying members’ for working out with their kids??? @cruncheastbrunswick doesn’t need to be owned/managed by this person when they’re being selective about enforcing policies and calling the police on members. Absurd!!!!!!”

In a later update, Andrew claimed he met the senior vice president from the franchise owner. “He did not waste time to let me know that he had watched both of my videos as well as the security footage from the Crunch Gym. That I had done nothing wrong and he apologized sincerely,” Andrew explained.

Andrew claimed, “I do believe when I spoke to Chris on Monday that there was a little bit of hesitance to receive this situation as racially motivated. And what was probably more important to me in this situation was the opportunity to educate people that racism doesn’t need to be executed by racists.” 

He explained, “That to participate in racist activity does not necessarily mean that you have distinct hate for a group of people. But you can be conditioned to believe certain things to be triggered by certain behaviors.”