Blog #33 - How I signed up for and cancelled a Muay Thai membership in a single day

Throughout December in the lead-up to 2025, I kept getting hit by gym advertisements all across social media. I'm sure I'm not the only one, it is the best time both to start a new fitness journey and to attract customers looking to start something new. As well as the standard gym ads I kept getting ads for different MMA, Boxing, and Muay Thai studios and gyms.

I've never considered myself a fighter but these ads started to get to me. I don't keep up with the UFC or any form of professional combat but I liked the idea of a challenge. I wanted to push myself, see myself do something I wouldn't have imagined, get a new hobby, improve my fitness and get to know some more blokes around my age. 

By the first of January, I had signed a couple of expressions of interest forms and was bombarded by missed calls and messages from these gyms who were all keen to "show me the space & figure out my fitness goals!" I was keen to give one a go but I began to grow more and more concerned with the financials. I'm already trying to turn my situation around, do I really need another membership to pay? Concerns aside I went ahead and arranged a free trial class at Genesis Morley where they were running a New Years promotion.

The class took place last Wednesday. I remember waking up that morning second-guessing my choice. I'm way too broke for this what am I doing? Despite those concerns, I convinced myself that I would only use the trial class and treat it as an opportunity to do something new and scary that day and get myself out of my comfort zone.

When I got down to Genesis I was already 5 minutes late and found the group already underway doing some skipping rope sets. My heart instantly dropped, not many people know this but I cannot use a skip rope at least properly. Whenever I "use" them I look like a drunk child stomping around. I reluctantly grabbed the skipping rope and instantly transformed into that drunken child. After trying to teach me how to use the skip rope the Thai guy running the course just took the rope off me and gave me a different warm-up to do.

Things stayed uneasy as I was left doing what I felt to be too basic drills. I'm certainly not a natural at this stuff but I was still confused, was everyone in this class a beginner? It didn't seem that way. The first half of the class I really didn't have that great of a time. It was only the second half onwards when I started getting the feel for the drills and I moved on to some more involved stuff that I really began to enjoy myself.

I quickly realised how great of a workout this class was. After each drill, the instructor would have everyone do situps and push-ups. The session was intense and by the end of it we were passing around weights in a circle whilst doing situps. The energy in the room was great by the end, everyone was smashed and feeling good after an intense hour of workouts. 

As the session wraps up I'm covered in sweat but feeling amazing. I grab my stuff, say goodbye to everyone and start to leave. Just as that happens the hot-tatted girl from reception calls me over and asks me if I enjoyed the session. I did and wanted more. She then got the membership sheet out. It was awkward, I wanted to sign up but also knew I really couldn't afford it. After giving me some discounts and offering a 7-day change of mind period I was convinced and signed up.

I then spent the rest of the day on the phone with the bank applying for a loan to consolidate some debts and help with some traffic fines. During my time on the phone, it became quite obvious how much I couldn't afford this new membership. My roommate gave me all the motivation I needed to cancel that membership before it was too late.

That afternoon I called the gym, explained my situation and asked what I needed to do to cancel. The bloke on the other end of the line asked if he could call me back in 10. 10 minutes later I got a call and who is on the other end? The girl who signed me up. Genesis Morely was not quite ready to lose a new member they set the big guns on me. I was offered even further discounts and as much as I hated disappointing the hot-tatted girl I went forward with cancelling my membership.

What's the lesson from my story? Is there even a lesson? I guess if there was it would be to try new things but protect your interests. Either way, it was a funny little day. I kept thinking back to that one Friends episode where Chandler can't cancel his gym membership because of the hot girl working in cancellations. Ross goes down to help him cancel and is sold on a membership himself by that same girl.

I hope you enjoyed the read and have a nice day. Feel free to let me know if you've ever been sold something you couldn't or didn't want by someone hot. Maybe that's the lesson here, it doesn't matter how hot the salesperson is.