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| This photo, posted on CrossFit Mean Streets' Facebook page by gym owner Ronnie Teasdale, supposedly shows a gym member brandishing a gun "mid-workout in response to someone" at a nearby bar. Click on the photo to see a larger version. |
I guess whoever wrote this never lived down their. Those guys who pass out drunk are the scariest ones. I lived down there in a converted warehouse and carried mace because those guys when they are awake are horrible to the people trying to make downtown nice again. They will spit on you, they will try to grab you, and they will ostracize you and try to get you to leave because they know the better the neighborhood gets the more they are going to see cops and kicked out and not be able to do drug deals at 2am like they used to in front of my living room. My guess is that guy got change from someone and then got drunk. Sorry LA times, but you really should hang out just around the corner of skid row for two weeks then you might not see the homeless so homeless anymore because half of them like it. Sure there are those that need legit help, but what is the city doing to help? Not much from what I could tell I saw strangers giving more handouts and helping than any public official did during my time there. : /
I work for Ronnie Teasdale; this is a statement he released to his gym members. I think you should take the time to read this. There are two sides to every story. Why would someone so awful be successful and admired by so many? Please read this and take the time to ask yourself that question.
"Hey everyone.
A few weeks ago the LA Weekly posted an article, which used some photos from our gym’s Facebook account as a frame for a hit piece against both our gym and the CrossFit community as a whole. I been trying to contact the LA Weekly for the last few weeks to get them to correct some of the misstatements in the article, or at least to print a response, and they have yet to reply.
I know some of you are being approached by outsiders and do not know what to say about the comments you are receiving. I want all of you to know that we are all about goodness and all about Downtown Life. That is why we are located here. We love this community and do what we can to help it. So just so you know, here is what actually went down:
Many of the pictures in the article are over 2 years old. Let me be clear about who the people in the pictures are: They are not homeless people. They are alcoholics who are regulars at the bars nearby the gym. We know their names and have interacted with them over the time the gym has been open, including getting them help when needed. I don’t condone the photos, but the implication of the article, which is that the gym was abusing homeless people or refusing to come to the aid of people in need, is false. I could have explained this to the reporter, had he asked me. He did not.
Those who have been to our gym know that we share a building with 3 bars and the block with many more establishments that serve liquor. Making fun of someone on a private forum-- someone I know -- who is passed out in front of my business in broad day light after getting drunk is not abusing the homeless. And, frankly, I don't believe I owe that person any increased amount of respect for being a drunk. This behavior is literally the antithesis of what I stand for. Pretending that behavior of this kind doesn’t exist doesn’t help anyone or make it go away. Our community stands for actually helping people improve their lives, not refusing to confront reality.
Also, just so everyone is clear, when we see people who are in need in this community, we help them. End of story. Many of you have seen us give genuinely homeless people water or food, or call for medical services for people in need.
There is also someone with the first name of "Neon" who has made it her full time job to harass, blackmail, and threaten Andrea's friends and family, and my friends. Please ignore, block, or report her as she has gone off the deep end and has made it her mission to spread hate.
I thank our community for being here. I am proud for everything I have done regarding the gym. I want it to be known that in the article it says I apologized after being "queried by LA Weekly". This is also a completely false statement. I was never questioned by the reporter about the album or homeless people. I have not ever mistreated a homeless person, so I would not and could not have given the apology the reporter describes. It is beyond me that lying like this in the press is legal. But I guess this is the way of the world now.
I am sorry for the fact that someone twisted myself and my actions to attack CrossFit as a program and community. I live my life for CrossFit.
I am also sorry for any friends of mine who are getting harassed due to association with me. Mostly Aris and Wayne who were mentioned in the article.
We will get past this article, continue to help build our downtown community, and move forward. Thanks to everyone for their support.
Below is what I have sent to LA WEEKLY:
I own Crossfit Mean Streets, the gym depicted in Jonathan Maseng’s recent article titled, “Downtown L.A. CrossFit Gym Debases Homeless Neighbors in Photos, Facebook Posts.” I’d like to take this time to comment on the inaccuracy of the article, and request that a retraction be posted.
My gym is located on the corner of 3rd and Main, between 5 bars. As a result of this my members and myself have frequent interactions with intoxicated bar patrons, including many bar regulars, on a day-to-day basis. Those are the persons depicted on the photos included in your article—local alcoholics, not homeless people. While I admit that the photos were juvenile and not in good taste and should not have been posted, they were never intended to mock the homeless, as the article suggests. There is very little I can do in the way of dealing with the bar patrons beyond accepting their presence and doing my best to make light of the situation for the sake of my members. My coaches and myself treat everyone that walks through the doors of the gym with respect - I invite you to come have a look for yourself.
In regard to the article itself - Mr. Maseng took great liberties with this story and apparently did little if any research concerning my gym. He simply does not accurately describe the attitude of our gym or the experience of our members, and he could have learned the truth had he taken the time to adequately prepare the article. He never once reached me, or any of my coaches for comment regarding the issues he describes. The apology he claims I was so quick to give him pertained to a comment he had made on Facebook. A colleague of mine contacted Mr. Maseng to provide the context of the photographs, explaining that all of them were people whom we knew and regularly interacted with, and that none of them were homeless, or mistreated in any way. For reasons unclear to me, Mr. Maseng did not mention any of this, but chose to go forward with a fabricated account of what he felt was interesting in order to sell his story. At a minimum, the photographs contain no newsworthy material. It isn’t fair to present this material in such a way that it so greatly hurts the community, my gym, and myself.
In fact, I deliberately located Crossfit Mean Streets downtown in order to help build a resource for the community, which is an obligation that my staff and I take seriously. We regularly provide water, food, clothing, and shoes to people suffering in the area, including the homeless and mentally ill. Contrary to the article’s suggestion, we have contacted social services or sought medical care for countless people in need of help. Finally, we currently run a fitness training program for at-risk youth. We have done all of this under the radar because it is the right thing to do, without seeking praise or credit for it, and I mention this only because the article attempts to cast our gym in such a radically different light.
I’ve spoken with Crossfit HQ regarding the article as well, and was told that Mr. Maseng’s account of his conversation with them is also false. My coaches and I have already taken a great deal of punishment from the Crossfit community as a result of this story. Please take some action to fix Mr. Maseng’s fraudulent account and provide a retraction.
Finally, I invite absolutely anyone—old or young, male or female, at any level of fitness—to come to Crossfit Mean Streets and see for yourself if the atmosphere matches that described in the article. Our gym requires hard work—because work produces results—but we are an extremely open, friendly, and diverse community, and we welcome anyone with an open mind interested in improving their health and checking out the sport of fitness. I appreciate your help in this matter,"
Ronnie Teasdale
@PRfitness Bros need to get a heart and wise up. If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the problem.
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Your client is an idiot. So are we to understand his defense is "they weren't homeless people, they were just drunk migrant workers?" WTF. Also, if he wasn't apologizing for the photos in question, why did he remove them all from his site. He's a liar, clearly, and he needs to start apologizing and stop making excuses.
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At one point Ronnie had a personal blog on the Crossfit MeanStreets site (i think it has since been redesigned, as this was right when it opened). Anyway, he described his history as a trainer, including how he initially lived in West Hollywood. He complained of being a trainer there and of working with the "typical weho faggots." As a faggot myself, who also does crossfit and would like to find a place to belong closer to home, clearly CFMS IS not the place for me. That type of attitude is nothing I want to be apart of. Add to that the slogan of "we'll shoot you in the fucking face"... blergh.
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I was thinking about joining CrossFit, but now I realize that first should do a test run. I don't want to be around a bunch of guys who have such little respect for other human beings. These are the kind of guys who hang around Dodger Stadium and beat up fans of the visiting team just because they think it's funny. I'm willing to bet that what happened here was not an isolated incident but rather part of the gym's culture. And that culture is set by the management. They acted like street gang members without the guns.
@spinx Try out other gyms then you learn a lot of people are friends to each other and it's a community aspect. I crossfit in NOHO and I'm way stronger than I ever was going to 24 Hour or having a personal trainer at Golds Gym downtown. Seriously don't worry about the story and make your own opinions man if you're out to get fit try it, though it's not for everyone but coming from me a girl who was never in great shape it's an amazing workout and experience and it's never the same class over and over.
"he would have called the police. The minute we heard about it, we did." So you called the police, but you didn't think it appropriate to revoke their license.
"I'll be posting the actual emails at some point to let people decide for themselves." And if you don't end up posting those emails, can we assume you are full of shit, as usual?
...and sleeping on the ground is for drunk dudes. whats your next grand generalization?
Harsh man. I work in Marketing and have a great job and a great place to live and amazing friends inside and out of Crossfit you darling shouldn't judge it's a great workout and I love it only after a month and half of doing it no Neanderthal tendencies at all everyone I've met is incredibly nice.
Anything sponsored by GNC just screams musclehead douchebags! Like the guy with the huge tattoo on his stomach wasn't blackout drunk when he made that artistic decision...I'm sure somewhere in there has a matching tramp stamp.
NEWS ALERT: bros take pictures next to homeless people doing homeless stuff and don't act like the red cross in the process. BREAKING DEVELOPMENT: Everything in skid row remains exactly the same as it was had the bros not taken the photos. Uppity white people outraged morally about things that don't matter riot all over the internet. MORE AS THIS SITUATION DEVELOPS
This is so funny, almost a year.. this is the falsest statement ever. I feel sorry for Ronnie and the people around him. It is too late. And many agree with confused. Claiming to help others , does not excuse your hurting others. If that was so Sandusky would not be going to jail..Plus, how can one be an example to children, while at the same time exploiting the homeless and hitting women in competitions, making t-shirts and spreading a message "that we will shoot you in the "fucking" face. What needs to be done is make an example of all of the members or at the very least the coaches around him who said absolutely nothing ,of Crossfit meanstreets and expose who they all are and who they work for , or what businesses they own. I am sure this is not over, considering one of the coaches at Crossfit mean streets really does work with the City Of Los Angeles, helping at Risk Youth. His name is Gnarly Charlie. The question is: did Gnarly Charlie ever advise Ronnie that what he was doing was wrong? Gnarly Charlie made a video in which he is seen making a reel to send in to America's next Ninja Warrior. I am sure that television reality show would really like to know what type of person Gnarly Charlie really is. Gnarly Charlie's Real Name is : Carlos Hinojosa. Look him up, he is the Parkour Instructor at crossfit mean streets. I am sure the City of Los Angeles is proud of one of their own. Watch the video... another person who seems to use homeless people in his submission to The Next American Ninja Warrior , I wonder who taught him that?
So let me get this straight -- you're a friend of the guy who owns this gym, you clearly knew this sort of stuff was going on, and you didn't at some point go, hey Ronnie, maybe you should stop doing this stuff, or posting it on the internet or you're gonna get in trouble? Some friend you are!
Are you seriously comparing Ronnie Teasdale to a rapist because he posted this photo??? Now THAT is ignorant! The only reason I responded to this article was to give a different perspective to this very one-sided article. I know Ronnie Teasdale personally - obviously you do not. I'm not interested in having a back-and-forth banter with someone who doesn't know what they are talking about. BTW - I have an education from UC Berkeley. Because I use colloquialisms in my informal conversation doesn't mean I'm ignorant. Get a life... BTW - I have an education from UC Berkeley. Because I use colloquialisms in my informal conversation doesn't mean I'm ignorant. Get a life...
Actually the at-risk program has been going on almost a year. Yes without publicity. Not sure why everyone wants to hang Ronnie at high-noon, but I think we all just need to focus on keeping our own side of the street clean. Stop looking to villainize others that you obviously don't know.
I either applaud your satire (cool way to show your anti-bullying cause) or I sympathize your ignorance; not sure which.
Conversate? Seriously chick? Get an education! Also, are you saying that the fact that Jerry Sandusky helped a bunch of kids with his charity excuses his raping some others? Because that's what you'd seem to be saying
I don't know what article you read, but nowhere does the author call all Crossfitters assholes. He spoke to Teasdale, and he spoke to people at Crossfit HQ. That's called giving time to both sides. Now, the fact that Crossfit's spokesperson is an idiot is another story. He had a chance to say something along the lines of what you're saying and he didn't.
How does this blogger KNOW these people are homeless? I work out at CrossFit Mean Streets and I can tell you there is a bar right next door -- a bar, where people get drunk and then stumble in to the gym and start trouble. Honestly, every day I'm there, there are drunk people wandering around outside the bar, puking, peeing, passing out, or stumbling into the gym trying to do the same, or use the equipment, or worse! There are also bar patrons smoking weed right next door and right in front of the bar. There's not a day I don't smell it. Ronnie is not making fun of people, he is having a sense of humor about a situation that sucks and he's putting it into a context of "this is what you have to deal with if you work out here". The people within these posts are seeing a very limited perspective. No one at Mean Streets is going out of their way to harass homeless people or drunk people, or anyone; but fucked-up people certainly come into the gym and harass us. And yes, the police get called.
anyone who has crossfitrocks as a handle sounds like a real tool..and it looks like he has to try 711 times until he could get one that matched so that means there are 710 crossfit rocks dufusses before him
Matter of Fact ill make it my personal mission to see that it gets revoked and you are banned from ever competing in another Games event again! Who pushes a Judge? especially a lady, Your a joke!~ Matt Mizinski
Ronnie tidesdale is a fukin douche bag. Your a disgrace to the CrossFit name. I hope CrossFit HQ sees this and revokes your affiliation. I can't wait till Karma Knocks you the F*** out, such a piece of Sh**!!!!!
I'm not sure why I'm adding to this pointless discussion given that the ignorant people who are responding on here are never going to understand what those with more intelligence are saying. Still - why is it so easy to justify bullying, mean behaviour and then blame the victim? It would have seemed more in keeping with Crossfit to do charity wods that could contribute to a homeless shelter in the area, or offer free classes and training to marginalized youth. Do something that would be a ray of hope and inspiration to the community and try to be a part of the solution instead of the problem - perpetuating negative stereotypes about people who have mental health issues, substance abuse issues and are socioeconomically disadvantaged.
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How does taking pics with homeless people have anything to do with Crossfit? Sure the actions of those individuals who coincidently are Crossfit members were inappropriate but to form an opinion of all Crossfit gyms/members based on the actions of one simply shows a lack of intelligence. Because let's be honest these weren't the first people to take a pic with a homeless person and chances are they were a member of a gym somewhere also.
Since you seem to have all the answers, take your got-it-together ass overseas to fight a war, be subjected to post traumatic stress disorder inducing human carnage as a proud soldier for a country you love, who sent you there under false pretenses and discarded you like a cum rag when you returned. And let's see how much you care about after that. Lack of empathy is a huge symptom of Narcissistic Personality Disorder. It's evident now that there is no bigger blight on humanity than that condition. So when are YOU going to "truly try to change" yourself?
This is what happens when OC bros figure out moving to DTLA is the cool thing to do. Stay in HB please
How about you Crossfit dudes go back to the circle jerk you guys call a frat and leave those people alone?
This is a damn shame. I had the displeasure of briefly meeting Ronnie (owner of MeanStreets) a few months back when checking out the facility and unfortunately the bad reviews on him and his gym were kinda true... Dude had a total stick up his ass and reeked of douche. It's idiots like them that give great things like CrossFit a bad rap. A CrossFit workout/lifestyle can be one of the most beneficial things for your overall health, and it shouldn't be ostracized and looked down upon because of a few knucklheads. I've been to at least two other CrossFit gyms and the environment was absolutely great and pleasant. I hope this story gets more public attention and spots like MeanStreets get ran out of town.
this kinda represents everything about downtown businesses that I hate. Mocking, insulting and trying to make everyone feel unwelcome that they find weird or stupid. I live here and I love the homeless and occupy populations. If you don't like it then move!
And here's their Yelp page if you'd like to leave a comment. http://www.yelp.com/biz/crossfit-mean-streets-los-angeles
I've never understood the motivation for bullies to reach way down to the most vulnerable to pick on them. Wouldn't it be better proof of their mettle to reach up to a more competent person than themselves to pick on?
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