Residents in Alameda, California speak out after a local gym targets Asian Americans with racist language

Residents in Alameda, California are upset and speaking out after discovering racist language used by the owner of The Island Personal Training & Massage. On the company’s website, which is currently down, a message read:

“Our massage therapists are knowledgeable, experienced, and intuitive professionals who use a blend of modalities to treat each client’s specific bodily needs. We are California state certified, speak English (kind of rare for the field round these parts) and communicate clearly with our clients to ensure each massage is targeted to the client. We never give the same old cookie cutter massage you get everywhere else. We never cut your sessions short, answer phones, or walk out when someone walks in the front door mid session like all these shady Asian “massage parlors” do. Do they even change their sheets (a just question based on what goes on inside of those establishments)?”

This isn’t the first time language from the gym has targeted Asian Americans. Pictured above is a Facebook post from the gym’s Redding, California location. People are now taking to Yelp and Google to share their own experiences and reviews.

Language like this is especially hurtful for the Asian community as the anniversary of the Atlanta spa shootings approaches on March 16th.