Virgin Active is not for people of colour

Virgin Active is an incredible brand which is fairly consistent with what they offer. I am happy with the facilities and their efforts to make members feel safe especially after lock-down. I currently gym at VA Crossings in Nelspruit.

What bothers me is the lack of diversity when it comes to their advertising and branding. Each and every poster, advert,picture and screensaver inside the gym only has a certain demographic of people. This may seem trivial but when you cater for everyone in this country you need your branding to represent that as well. Currently every single cardio machine only has photos of healthy and happy white people.

The purpose of these images is to encourage us to keep going and pursuit this healthy lifestyle. However if none of the people look like me it leaves a bad taste. How can I feel as if I am in an inclusive gym when none of the branding reflects such? This is problematic and quiet frankly blatant ************** in a country so racially affected. I spoke with the staff at VA Nelspruit and they were unable to assist me,obviously. I urge VA to better the brand in South Africa and make it a priority to include us in their gyms,in all aspects not just memberships. If employing people of colour for these adverts is the problem then use famous powerful, strong and healthy black professional athletes. An image of Serena Williams, Caster *****ya or Wade van Niekerk would serve the same purpose as these images of white people, but will instill a sense of inclusion and belonging for your members of colour.

Please attend to this matter as soon as possible, my trust in the brand is wearing thin and I genuinely enjoy working out at VA.