Boston woman joined a fitness group to improve her health and wellness. It turned out to be a cult: ‘it’s not a cult, it’s CULTure’
The leader of the fitness group started making demands no average trainer would.
Jill Dresser (@jillsrealitycheck) from Boston, Massachusetts, was looking for a way to get fit right after college. She joined BBJ, and at first, it seemed like a regular fitness studio. But after four years as a member, Dresser alleged that the fitness group was a cult.
“I like to say I would never be in a cult, but I was literally brainwashed and in one for four years,” Dresser alleged on TikTok. When she first got in the BBJ studio, Dresser admired its aesthetics. She described it as pink and girly, with some empowering messages posted on the walls. The members also seemed friendly, and at the end of every class, the leader, whom Dresser nicknamed “Jeana,” would call them all in for meditation.
“Jeana would hype you up,” Dresser said. Jeana would affirm the members and make them feel special. Dresser heard of Jeana through a coworker, and she was deemed a local celebrity. “She’s like, five feet, super [expletive] tan, wicked long hair—the craziest body you’ve ever seen. Truly could stop traffic,” Dresser described Jeana’s appearance. It seemed like nothing could go wrong—it’s the same assumption this woman who underwent CoolSculpting had, only for her procedure to leave her with a $120,000 consequence. But Dresser stayed, and as the group gained more members, she noticed a shift.
“Then, things started to get really exclusive the bigger it got,” Dresser said. She claimed Jeana used to talk about having “enemies,” saying there were people who would slash her tires and break into the studio unprovoked. At one point, Dresser said someone threw a brick in the studio, and Jeana had to move locations.
Becoming the villain
“And so, throughout the four years, she moved studios like, three or four times,” Dresser claimed. During each move, she said the decorations became more grandiose. Gradually, Jeana also allegedly became more vicious.
“For example, in class, she would scream at the top of her lungs,” Dresser alleged. She clarified that Jeana would hurl insults at members and then keep the studio at 100Fº while everyone did hard cardio and weightlifting. Dresser continued, “I threw up multiple occasions. People threw up. They’d have to run to the bathroom, throw up in class, run outside, throw up. Baseline, it wasn’t good for your bodies.”
Dresser said Jeana would say something along the lines of, “Hey, you cellulite [expletive] [expletive], get your squat lower, or nobody’s gonna want to [expletive] you and you’re worthless.” Despite the harsh comments, Dresser said she grew up tolerant of her mother, who used to yell at her. She simply thought Jeana’s comments were something to endure. After having to tolerate the alleged verbal abuse, Jeana would end with the meditation, making her members feel valued and telling them how much she loved each one.
“And I just thought to myself, okay, the mean act is, kind of, like her schtick, and the kind words at the end of the class was the real her,” Dresser claimed. Moreover, Jeana made the classes feel exclusive, and she would throw lavish themed parties that members loved attending. Like many members, Dresser stayed, allegedly convinced by Jeana that she created a “safe space” for women in her studio.
A cult following
But then, Dresser said the insults escalated. At one point, Jeana allegedly told one member, “I’m gonna [expletive] your grandpa on Facebook Live if you don’t squat lower.” But the threat was not directed at one person, as Jeana allegedly threatened to sleep with the family members of her followers. Dresser explained that Jeana allegedly threatened the women to make it seem as though she could take anything from them.
“We had to send weekly progress pictures in our underwear,” Dresser continued. As a result, Dresser felt overly conscious about her body for years. She believes these progress pictures trained the women to feel ashamed outside of class. The body shaming continued in the studio, and Dresser alleged that at one point, she and the other women had to grab their phones and take a picture of their stomachs. Jeana allegedly proceeded to insult the members for the look of their bodies.
Consistent degrading comments aside, Dresser claimed she encouraged members to sleep only three to four hours a night and that they should get by with energy drinks throughout the day. Eventually, members started giving Jeana gifts. Dresser alleged it became a competition among the women over who would give the better gifts, as Jeana allegedly posted them on Instagram.
Even the members’ outfits were allegedly controlled. Dresser said Jeana dictated what brands they could and couldn’t wear. In particular, Dresser accused Jeana of making the women wear Converse to class.
“I went out and bought Converse, and then we would work out outside on the uneven pavement, and I got plantar fasciitis in my feet,” Dresser alleged. While she didn’t grow a sixth toe like this researcher would have hoped for, Dresser suffered from the condition for four years.
While it wasn’t a self-professed cult, Dresser pointed out that they used to have a sticker that said: “it’s not a cult, it’s a CULTure.” She eventually got out and joked that Netflix should contact her for a documentary.
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