It’s nobody’s “fault” (or everybody’s…)- but some really common gym etiquette should have been practiced on both ends, but starting with you.
What gym etiquette is that exactly ?
The problem was the way the whole thing was handled. He should have been told immediately to move his bar somewhere else and stop harassing other members or he’ll be asked to leave.
Instead it took 6 staff members and 2 hours, including involving my gf to finally get them to see some sense.
This was your initial complaint as you explained to us:
I asked staff to come over and tell the guy to stop harassing me, but instead they started blaming me for “not asking him first”, rather than him for actively trying to stop me using equipment he himself was not using and refusing to move his bar back a bit if he needed more space.
Now, you’re making us aware that he was given a warning.
Anyway, if 6 staff members and 2 hours aren’t enough gym input for you then I agree you should find a new gym.
My point is it took 6 staff members and 2 hours to get to that point. It should have taken 1 staff member 5 minutes.
That’s not how due process works.
You don’t just get what you want and what you think is right. However, you did get what you wanted in the end.
There isn’t “due process” in a gym, but in this case it was perfectly obvious he was misusing gym space.
In the UK he would have been told to move and given a warning there and then.
If there is a gym contract there is due process. Anyway, best of luck finding a suitable gym.
Roid Rage
I think it would make sense to think about this situation in the context of the way many Taiwanese people seem to use public space. Literally every day in Taipei, when walking down the sidewalk, I have to move out of the way of a person who has just stopped in the middle of the sidewalk to look at their phone. They could easily just move over to the side of the sidewalk (and to be fair, some people do), but they either choose not to, or it wouldn’t even occur to them that they “should”. I suspect the thinking is something along the lines of “I was in this public space first, and I will do what I want in it. Others can go around me”. In my mind, this is very selfish behavior, but literally every Taiwanese person will just walk around them (indeed, so will I. I would never call anyone out for it). If you genuinely need them to move, for example they are blocking a door, you can say 不好意思 and they will willingly move, but if you just push/squeeze past them, the person will look at you as if you were the bad guy, and by Taiwanese cultural standards, I think it is fair to say that it was you who violated the cultural “norm”, rather than the person standing there. Back to your situation: by western standards, it sounds like he was absolutely violating gym etiquette, and your behavior was fine, but I don’t think Taiwanese, by and large, think that way. I don’t think you should have had to ask him to move for you, but I also don’t think I should have to move around people stopped in the middle of the sidewalk to check their phone. But I do. That’s just life here.
If someone is already set up, you ask before you set up where you interrupt their set or where your ass would be where someone’s face would be in the middle of their set is a really, really basic one.
All that probably needed to happen was you asking “is this free?” or “are you using this rack?” with a point or head nod (or just the universal gym sign language of a point and questioning look!), which I feel like I end up asking almost every time at the gym, even when people are even hovering around the rack and I’m sure they’re not using it - it’s the universal gym way to politely say “get the fuck out of my way if you’re not using this.”. 
In addition to seeing where others screwed up, perhaps you can see your own role in this?:
I looked there… consensus there was you should’ve asked the dude. If almost everyone online who has no dog in this fight things you had a big part to play in this, maybe you screwed up a bit, eh?
And it looks like you posted this in at least 4 places… you just looking for people to tell you you’re right and the other guy is in the wrong?
I sympathize with you. It was near closing time and I wanted to use a bench near the dumbbell rack. I watched a kid stand right next to a bench for 2 sets. He wasn’t using the bench.
I went and set the bench up for my use. As I did so I told the kid he should move somewhere else to do his standing shoulder press. I did a set then stood up, returned the weights and went to stand in a cooler area. I returned and did another set. The kid said nothing to me.
On my next visit to the gym I went to the desk to pay my monthly dues and they said sorry. They presented me with a letter in English. The first sentence said I forcefully took over equipment from another user. It was a full page letter. I didn’t read past the first line. I put the money back in my pocket and left without saying a word.
The gym has signs saying don’t hog the equipment. The signs say you need to share the equipment.
I went to the other gym and gave them my money.
There are plenty of people/gym staff who have no idea how to act/operate or do anything useful in a gym.
Edit - this is my first time telling the story except for sharing this with my wife and daughter. They were amused that I didn’t BLOW UP and have the cops called.
I don’t need to ask if I did the right thing. Young people and novices need to be instructed on how to act in the gym.
This gym has several deficiencies. I would run the place differently.
Finally, there is a certain amount of disdain locals have for white people. In almost any situation, in my opinion , right or wrong - the white person is to blame.
Cutting off your nose to spite your face. There definitely are issues with world gym, but on the flip side, there’s like 30 different branches in Taipei to choose from that will all have different staff.
On top of that, they open earlier and close later than almost any other gym. I have about 6 world gyms within 3km of me in Taipei and rotate between them depending on how I feel or whether I want to go one with a pool/bigger weights area. You don’t get that level of choice with any other gym here.
I told them many times that they were only treating me that way because I’m white, but they kept denying it.
I told them you can ask any foreigner they’ll tell you the same thing.
Finally, the manager admitted he thought about how it would have been handled if the situation was reversed.
Yes, but I also want some rule enforcement. Apparently, that’s something Taiwanese people find very difficult.
Well if it’s a Taiwanese thing then you’re not going to find what you’re looking for at another Taiwanese gym.
Yeah, it’s very frustrating. Also, apparently, Taiwanese people think if they’re standing near a piece of equipment, even if they’re not using it or have any intention of using it, that’s part of their area. So they see it as rude if you use it.
Indeed. Confrontation isn’t likely to happen.
This entire thread is a bit odd.