Does a video instructor have to be your "friend"?

[Vintage VFer]

Some instructors' plastic surgery bothers me more than their politics!

[DHKWriter]

Originally Posted by Vintage VFer

Some instructors' plastic surgery bothers me more than their politics!

Well... plastic surgery IS politics, isnt it?

Donna H

[Dabbadooey]

There is a very highly respected yoga therapy/ anatomy guy who does nothing but politics on his Facebook page.

[LynnO]

Originally Posted by Dontmindthemess

I'm not sure why any business owner would post their political views on social media. I know some people use their businesses as a platform but I find it to be a turnoff. I recently read a political Facebook post from an instructor (that was later deleted) and I'll never do her workouts again. You're potentially insulting half of your customer base.

Jane

I'm with you. I work in and industry that has people mostly on one side or the other and not many in between. We acknowledge the difference and move on. But, people- take your company affiliations OFF of your social media. Listing your company links that company to your views. If you aren't going to be super careful, don't mix the two.

There are instructors at the gym that I avoid like the plague for various reasons. A couple are really rude people and talk badly about other people while teaching, one is all about looks and talks about weight like it is a moral failure. The instructor behavoir has to be persistent though, a couple have said one or two things where I'm like- you are pretty clueless - one was a joke that could have been taken in a racist context (or not, could have just been making fun of karate, but she couldn't get why no one would laugh), the other reinforcing feminine norms - it being weird to want to be strong (while teaching bodypump with a full sleeve of tattoos )

[athompson10]

I don't care about an instructor being my friend or about an instructor's politics - as long as they're not, like, showing their swastika tattoo during the workout. I want my instructors to be professional and treat me like a respected paying customer, not an inconvenience.

I'm disappointed to learn about Mike Donavanik's reaction to a VF customer's feedback because that's not professional. At various times over the years, I've gotten my hackles up at SNM because that guy Chris (?) who is/was the SNM spokesmouth on the forums, and occasionally Cathe herself, could be defensive, snarky and NOT professional when responding to criticism/questions and when there were freezing or sound problems with DVDs (Sash Series and Hardcores come to mind).

[BunnyHop]

I tend to avoid finding out too much about the people I depend on for my workouts. Sure, I pay enough attention to notice whether or not they're reasonably skilled at running their business, if they have a business plan that doesn't annoy me, if they can routinely interact with their customer base in a courteous and helpful manner, etc. That alone cuts down on the number of people I do business with directly. (I do buy new workouts direct from some smaller companies mostly so they know I'm out there as a loyal customer, in hopes that they'll keep putting out workouts I like.)

The specifics of their political beliefs don't matter too much to me, so long as their business related interactions with the public don't also feature political commentary that interferes with our transactions.

If somebody wants to bring their political beliefs into the center of their lives so they resonate throughout all their dealings, personal and professional, it's certainly their right to do so. Plenty of people do it. I guess for me it's a matter of HOW it's done and whether or not it makes me feel as though I'm being used as a marketing opportunity for their political allies.

[LynnO]

Other than the banning from her forum, there isn't really any bad Cathe gossip. I don't recall reading in the almost 20 years I've been around VF of Cathe doing anything mean or rude to anyone in person. (To be fair- I haven't heard of her doing anything extraordinary for anyone either.)

As for Cathe- the short version-
1) Cathe has a manager that has been very rude to people. That has always caused issues.
2) some people get very upset if others diss their favorite instructor and some instructors have a more "personal" following than others. Many people get very, very upset if others criticize Cathe. This has actually died down in the last 5 or 6 years.
3) At one time, people were banned from Cathe's forum for minor and/or major critiques of workouts or music that were not offensive or personal in nature. And the company treated some of these people very badly.
4) Back when this thread was started, Cathe's veneer seemed to slip a bit and it was unknown if she personally was rude or if a PR person was posting as Cathe.

[cherimac]

Originally Posted by BunnyHop

I tend to avoid finding out too much about the people I depend on for my workouts. Sure, I pay enough attention to notice whether or not they're reasonably skilled at running their business, if they have a business plan that doesn't annoy me, if they can routinely interact with their customer base in a courteous and helpful manner, etc. That alone cuts down on the number of people I do business with directly. (I do buy new workouts direct from some smaller companies mostly so they know I'm out there as a loyal customer, in hopes that they'll keep putting out workouts I like.)

The specifics of their political beliefs don't matter too much to me, so long as their business related interactions with the public don't also feature political commentary that interferes with our transactions.

If somebody wants to bring their political beliefs into the center of their lives so they resonate throughout all their dealings, personal and professional, it's certainly their right to do so. Plenty of people do it. I guess for me it's a matter of HOW it's done and whether or not it makes me feel as though I'm being used as a marketing opportunity for their political allies.

This is how I feel about it too. Heck, I have real life friends that I am poles apart from politically.

[cherimac]

Originally Posted by Vintage VFer

Some instructors' plastic surgery bothers me more than their politics!

Doesn't bother me, per se, but I find it disingenuous to be selling a product that didn't get you in that shape.

[WWWendy]

While the very narrow topic of whether an instructor or vendor expressing political views publicly is a wise business decision is technically on topic, any discussion of those politics/specifics would not be allowed here, so tread carefully or the thread will have to be closed.