Sporting Club of Sydney suspends member caught taking pictures of women training

One of Sydney’s most exclusive and expensive sporting clubs has been rocked by a scandal resulting in a man’s membership being suspended.

It’s one of the most exclusive and expensive sporting clubs in Sydney and it has been rocked by a scandal resulting in a membership being revoked.

Saturday Confidential can reveal the Sporting Club of Sydney — which has a membership fee of up to $22,000 — had to recently suspend the membership of one of its long-term members after he filmed and took photos of a number of women doing deadlifts.

The deadlift is a strength exercise where a loaded barbell is lifted off the ground from a stabilised, bent-over position, knees free to bend.

“The person’s membership was suspended pending further investigations,” a spokesman for the Sporting Club of Sydney told Saturday Confidential.

“The photos were deleted immediately upon the male patron being spoken to by the women involved and staff.

“We thank the female patrons for raising the matter promptly, and calling out behaviour that is a clear breach of the Sporting Club of Sydney’s standards.”

One woman, who spoke on condition of anonymity said: “Multiple women were filmed by him but they caught him, called him out and made him delete the images.

Women at the club (not pictured) immediately made the man delete the pictures he took on his phone. File picture: Getty

“He was a corporate high flyer, but sadly he was involved in a horrible car crash in recent years and it resulted in a brain injury.

“He has a full-time carer. It’s no excuse, but it may explain why he did it.

“He has been a member for 20 years and never done anything like this before.”

Women who are members of the fitness centre praised management for the way they acted swiftly and appropriately.

“They did everything they could, It was handled really well,” one said.

“We can’t at all fault the club.”

Many said entering the club has changed since the incident.

“They roped off the entry last week before the turnstiles, so that cards could be checked,” another insider said.

“Entry used to be automated.”

It also comes as the club is cracking down on clients sharing their membership cards with friends and family: “They are really checking cards, more than they used to, because usage was way too high last month, so they are making sure only legitimate members are accessing the facility.”

The Sporting Club of Sydney, at the newly built Allianz Stadium, is a state-of-the-art fitness and recreation facility that offers a wide range of up-to-date amenities to its members.

The luxurious $830m “oasis” charges users a minimum joining fee of $5000, up to $22,000 annually.

The centre boasts two gyms — a weights-based indoor gym with “every machine you could want in there”, and a cardio-based gym which includes an outdoor exercise section.

There is also a spin-cycle class room with nine screens and areas for pilates and yoga.

Its “day-spa vibe” features include a 25m indoor cold plunge pool and 50m outdoor heated pool, a steam room, infra-red sauna and recovery room, cabanas with televisions, a bar area, outdoor dining, terrace and cafe.

Oysters are on offer in the cafeteria, and there’s a machine that can dry swimwear in under eight seconds, an instant clothing steamer, a karaoke machine, a virtual golf room and two squash courts.

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