Austin woman goes to Gold’s Gym. Then she finds out a man is stalking her in the most shocking way possible
For many gym-goers, seeing the same familiar faces day after day makes the experience feel safe and familiar. But as one Austin woman realized, that doesn’t always mean you’re safe.
TikTok creator Sierra-dee (@sierradeeonline) shared a story about a man she used to see regularly at her local Gold’s Gym.
In a video that has garnered over 1,553 views, she explains how a series of casual interactions led her to realize she had been followed, and possibly stalked, by a gym member.
“This is a story about how I found out a guy at the gym had been stalking me,” she says at the start of the clip.
How She Found Out She Was Being Stalked
Sierra-dee says she had been a member at her Austin gym for years without any issues. Like many regulars, she started recognizing familiar faces, including one man she would occasionally see during her workouts.
“At first, it was nothing serious,” she says. “Just, like, ‘How’s it going? What are you working on today?’”
Over time, she says the interactions became more frequent. He would approach her while she was stretching or leaving the gym, often timing his exit with hers.
“I didn’t have any red flags,” she explains, adding that while she wasn’t a fan of repeated conversations at the gym, she remained polite.
Then the troubling “game” happened. While chatting, the man told her he was “really good at guessing where people are from.” Sierra-dee says she didn’t think much of it at first, even though she’s from a small town outside Seattle.
“I bet you’ll never guess where I’m from,” she recalls telling him.
He began guessing broadly before narrowing it down.
“Are you from Linwood, Washington?” he reportedly asked her.
She says she was shocked by how close he got, but brushed it off.
She Says The Realization Came In The Parking Lot
After the interaction, Sierra-dee says she walked to her car and started putting the pieces together.
She initially assumed he guessed Washington because of her license plate. But then she remembered something more specific.
“My Washington plates… the frame only has the dealership name on it,” she explains.
She says the dealership is located in Linwood, the exact place he had guessed
“Which means he followed me to my car, saw what my car looked like, looked at my plates, and then googled the place I bought my car from,” she says. “That is so creepy.”
She Wasn’t Happy With How Gold’s Gym Responded
After coming to that conclusion, Sierra-dee says she immediately reported the situation to gym management.
“I had an incident with a member,” she recalls telling them.
She says she asked staff to document what happened in case the behavior escalated or affected someone else.
“I don’t want any conflict,” she says. “But can you please write this down somewhere?”
According to her, management told her they were required to confront the man directly.
“They said no matter what happens… they have to confront the member,” she says.
That response worried her. “I said, please don’t do that,” she explains. “I’m afraid that he’s already looked me up… or followed me home.”
Ignoring her concerns, she says the gym insisted they had no choice, and also told her the situation wasn’t serious enough to remove him from the facility.
Sierra-dee says she made a decision on the spot. “Same day, I canceled my membership,” she says.
Commenters Question How Gold’s Gym Handled The Situation
In the comments, viewers were alarmed by both the man’s behavior and how Gold’s Gym staff handled the situation.
“I’m so sorry and the Golds Gym policy is not set up to protect victims,” one person wrote.
“OMG WHAT that is horrifying,” another said.
“Omg what a creep! That gym is [expletive], such a surefire way to put victims in danger for reporting anything,” a third added.
Stalking is a Prevelant Problem
According to the National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey for 2023-2024 by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), stalking is a serious public health problem that can have harmful effects on victims’ well-being.
The agency defines stalking as a “perpetrator’s use of a pattern of harassing and threatening tactics,” such as “following, watching, or spying on the victim.”
In the U.S., 28.8 million women and 11.9 million men said they experienced stalking during their lifetime.
According to guidelines by The Stalking Prevention, Awareness, & Resource Center (SPARC), if a person believes they are being stalked and feels like they’re in danger, they should immediately get local authorities involved. It recommends keeping a record of each contact with the stalker and saving as much evidence as possible.
The organization also included a list of resources for stalking victims, such as a documentation log, a handbook, a risk profile, and more.
@sierradeeonline story time on how I figured out a guy from the gym was stalking me #storytime ♬ original sound – sierra-dee
The Mary Sue has reached out to Gold’s Gym and Sierra-dee via email for comment.
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