Despite its name, a 24 Hour Fitness location in Sandy, Utah closed for the night on Saturday, locking member Dan Hill inside.
Hill posted on Facebook that he discovered he had been locked in while swimming laps in the pool.
Hill, confused as to how a gym whose name is 24 Hour Fitness would close and lock him in, called friends and family rather than attempt to walk out and possibly trigger a security alarm.
Hill told Utah ABC affiliate KTVX that his wife’s advice was to “find a comfortable place to sleep,” but instead he called the police, who were able to help him escape without further incident.
“I thought it was kinda funny at the start,” Hill told KTVX. “You know, it was kind of like ‘Home Alone,’ like ‘oh my gosh, I have this gym to myself.’”
The lock-in may have been caused by a recent policy change at 24 Hour Fitness, which, according to the manager, changed the hours of certain club locations around the country. The location Hill was locked inside changed its hours on Dec. 2, closing between the hours of midnight and 4 a.m. Monday through Sunday. The location alerted members via a sign on its door.
In a statement, 24 Hour Fitness explained the situation and apologized:
“On behalf of 24 Hour Fitness, we apologize to Mr. Hill and the unfortunate experience he had in the 24 Hour Fitness Sandy club, 10365 South 1300 East, when it closed Saturday evening. We made the decision recently to close select clubs in the overnight hours of 12:00 to 4:00 a.m. based upon low usage, among other factors. In doing so, we have been helping members locate to nearby clubs that are open during the overnight hours. We clearly did not do a good job of our closing procedures for this club on Saturday night and will reinforce our club procedures so that this incident doesn’t occur in the future. We continue to be committed to providing our members and guests with the best possible fitness experience at a great value.”
Once he was sprung from the club by local police, Hill took to social media to proclaim, “Free at last! Free at last! Thanks to three nice cops I am free at last.”
