“Workout bikini” jab backfires on TikTok

Women’s choice of workout clothing in the gym is offensive, cries two men who need to mind their own business.

“I’m in the gym with semi-clad women” who are “practically wearing workout bikinis.”

These are two quotes from two separate men who have taken offense to women’s choice of gym outfits.

I mean, what’s new?

Robert Crampton of The Times recently published an article titled “I’m in the gym with semi-clad women. Where do I look?”

@jdaniellefit Workout bikini always🤭 #creatorsearchinsights #gymfashion, #activewear, #gymmotivation #dfyne ♬ son original - Lck.ae

In the article, Crampton cries over the lack of clothing young women wear in the gym, saying that he often feels like he’s “wandered into the girls’ changing room by mistake.”

“The tank tops and sports bras far outnumber the yoga pants and ballet cardigans,” laments Crampton, as he tries to avert his eyes.

Vice, who first reported the story, brought up Crampton’s previous article, “No one wants to see a fatty at the ballet. It just doesn’t stack up,” which might demonstrate his attitude towards a certain group of people.

I think you get the picture.

But it wasn’t actually Crampton who sparked the latest TikTok trend. Instead, Paul Byrne’s reaction to the article set a fire under gymgoers.

@cerysmcdowell need some new bikinis too #gym #gymtok #gymmotivation #gymgirlsoftiktok ♬ original sound - Newstalk

On Newstalk's “Lunchtime Live,” Byrne told host Andrea Gilligan, “We have a lot of young girls practically wearing bikinis when they’re working out now.”

By this, he means workout sets that show your midsection, usually a sports bra paired with biker shorts.

Byrne goes on to say that grown men in the gym could be and are very intimated by women’s “workout bikinis.”

“It’s practically narcissistic,” Byrne cries.

But instead of deterring women from wearing their “workout bikinis,” Byrne actually encouraged a trend that shows women filming themselves in the gym “intimidating” other gym goers.

Fitness influencer Izzy Warner posted a video to TikTok with the caption, “Don’t mind me just wearing my workout bikini.”

@izzywarnerrr LOL @DFYNE ♬ original sound - Newstalk

The video and other videos like Warner’s include the audio from the “Lunchtime Live” where Byrne, the owner of an “exclusive” gym, coined the phrase “workout bikini.”

@laurennleach Wear what makes you feel good and gives you the motivation you need. @DFYNE #dfyne #gymbikini #workoutbikini #gymgirl ♬ original sound - Newstalk

Users under Warner’s video expressed that they aren’t dressing for the male gaze and that “we aren’t doing it for you men.”

Regardless, Byrne’s misogynistic deterrent backfired, and now his voice has been broadcast to possibly millions of people, not on the radio, but on TikTok.