Seismic Event Sends Sukhumvit Gyms Into Chaos: “People Almost Started Talking to Each Other”
By TRENT MACGUFFIN, EDITORIAL INTERN
BANGKOK, THAILAND —A magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck Myanmar on Friday, March 28, sending severe tremors through Bangkok
The quake, occurring at a depth of 10 kilometers at 1.20 p.m., was felt across Thailand, China and Vietnam and caused a construction site to collapse in Chatuchak causing an as-yet-unknown number of casualties.
There were no reported injuries or major structural damage in the central city, but the psychological aftershocks rippled through the city’s boutique fitness scene well into the afternoon.
Several residents of high-rise condominiums described wardrobe rattling and water sloshing out of infinity pools. But in the mirrored, self-reinforcing world of Sukhumvit gyms, the tremor registered on an entirely different scale.
“I was mid-rep and the Smith machine started vibrating,” said Andre V., 28, declining to give his last name but offering his Instagram, @andre.legacy.mode. “At first I thought it was just my pump.”
Reports emerged of free weights clattering, treadmills pausing mid-sprint, and — in one alarming case — a group stretching class on Soi 39 briefly breaking into spontaneous eye contact.
“I didn’t know what to do,” said a visibly shaken yoga instructor at BASE, who asked not to be named. “One of my students asked, ‘Are you okay?’ I almost cried. Nobody’s asked me that since 2019.”
The brief but unexpected human moment caused widespread confusion.
At a CrossFit club near Phrom Phong, witnesses said several members looked up from their Apple Watches simultaneously. Some even took out AirPods.
Fitness influencer Steve Grieve, who was live-streaming a “core domination” circuit at the time, dismissed the event. “I didn’t even feel it, bro,” he said. “Honestly? If you’re not stable in your core, of course the earth’s gonna shake beneath you.”
But panic spread quickly among those who mistook the shaking for a possible collapse in their supplement stacks. Protein containers reportedly fell off a shelf at a HiSo gym on Soi 26, where a vibration plate was mistaken for the source of the tremor.
“Honestly, it was worse than leg day,” said one gymgoer, looking dazed but physically unharmed. “I had to talk to someone I didn’t follow.”
Emergency services received several calls from fitness centers, mostly requesting confirmation that it was “over” so classes could resume. No injuries were reported, but at least two influencers went temporarily offline after their ring lights toppled mid-livestream.
By early afternoon, most gyms resumed normal operations, though at a Barry’s Bootcamp in Thonglor, attendance remained low. “I think people are just... processing,” one trainer said. “Or they’ve gone to Phuket.”