Life Time Fitness under investigation by Missouri AG Andrew Bailey over 'fashionable' policy of allowing trans-identified males to use women's locker room

Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey announced that he has launched an investigation into Ellisville’s Life Time Fitness after his office was notified of a biological male being allowed to use the women’s locker rooms. This comes after an incident at the Ellisville Life Time Fitness in which a woman complained about a trans-identified male using women's facilities. The woman was told "well, you know, we’re supposed to create a safe space." After Bailey's investigation, the membership of trans-identified Eris Discordia Montano was revoked, though the gym claimed it over over threats of violence made on social media posts.

The notice of investigation, delivered to Life Time Fitness CEO Bahram Akradi, stated that Bailey’s office had been made aware of the policy allowing biological males to use the women’s locker rooms at the facility. "Even more concerning is the fact that instead of taking the safety concerns from your gym members seriously, you rudely correct them and insist they call this biological male by the 'correct pronouns,’" Bailey added.

"While it might be considered fashionable in certain corporate boardrooms to pretend that biology is irrelevant, the American heartland still lives in reality. Missourians recognize that allowing adult men to openly invade and disrobe in spaces set aside for women and young girls is indefensible and places political correctness above public safety. That is why I am putting you on notice that you are under investigation."

Bailey stated that in the case of State v. Girardier, which was decided in 2015, "the Court confirmed that a male’s presence in a females’ public restroom constitutes criminal trespass."

"When restrooms are separately designated for males and females, one is only permitted to use the restroom designed for his or her gender," he wrote, later adding, "Additionally, a male who exposes his genitals in the presence of others in the restroom may be subject to further criminal liability for multiple sexual offenses, including sexual misconduct in the first degree and the felony offense of sexual misconduct involving a child."

"Your policies are enabling potentially criminal behavior, and I am writing to assure you that it will not continue on my watch. As Attorney General, I will vigorously defend and enforce Missouri’s laws. You face both potential criminal and civil liabilities, and you can expect to receive civil investigative demands from my office in short order. If you insist on endangering women and young girls in our state, in open defiance of the law, be assured you will face the consequences," Bailey concluded.

Following Bailey’s launching of an investigation, the membership of the gym member in question, Eris Montano, 52, was revoked. According to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Montano was escorted out of the gym on Monday morning. Montano was using the sauna and sunbathing. 

Montano was brought into the gym administrator’s office and shown multiple screenshots of social media posts Montano had made over the previous few days that some members of the gym believed were threats of violence.

Gym spokesperson Natalie Bushaw told the outlet, "Providing safe, secure environments is paramount for our team members, members and guests. Life Time will continue to operate our clubs in a safe and secure manner while also following the Missouri laws in place to protect and the human rights of individuals." She noted that Montano’s membership being revoked had "absolutely nothing" to do with the investigation.

“These are two separate issues,” Bushaw said. “If any person provides any type of similar posts that contain threats of violence then the exact same action would be taken.”

Montano denied that the social media posts were threatening, and said that Montano had been to the gym throughout the weekend without incident. It is unclear if Montano will be eligible to rejoin the gym. Bushaw did not say which of Montano’s posts were flagged by members as being threatening.

In one post made after being removed from the gym, Montano said, "If these idiots were scared of me yesterday when they were watching me carefully while I was naked and cornered in the shower, wondering how they’re gonna be feeling about me after today."



In another post leading up to the removal, Montano, an AI engineer, wrote, "cool thing about ISP logs and telecom logs is that if you know what you’re doing, you don’t need someone’s computer to subpoena their entire internet usage."


 

The woman who first spoke out against Montano in the locker room, Cindy Zykan, told Jason Whitlock that she has spoken to other women and girls at the gym who have paused or canceled their memberships at the gym over safety concerns. "I think the community definitely feels scared, for sure."

Cindy Zykan said she was in the indoor pool area waiting for her husband so they both could go to the sauna. She noted that that area was a co-ed one. She looked over to see what she thought was a "man walking in in a bikini" with "the full genitalia." She said she instantly had a "bad feeling in my stomach."

While her and her husband were in the sauna, Cindy Zykan said she saw Montano go into the women’s locker room. She tried to get the manager but the manager wasn’t there yet. She tried to tell the ladies at the front desk that there was a man in the ladies’ loocker room, with the front desk ladies responding, "well, you know, we’re supposed to create a safe space," Cindy said. 

Cindy went to confront Montano herself, saying that she felt she was "upset" but "polite," telling Montano that the gym member should be in the men’s locker room. 

Cindy said that Montano "lifted up his shirt and grab his, you know, pecs, I guess you could — he called them his boobs, but, you know, male boobs, and kind of shook them a bit and said, you know, 'these don’t belong in the men’s room.' And, you know, I said, 'well, you know, you have a penis and that definitely does belong in the men’s room. And then he told me that he had more estrogen in his body than I do, and at that point I was thinking, 'I’m not going to have a constructive conversation with you." She said she had hoped that when management got there, everything would be sorted out. 

Cindy said that Montano’s ex-wife had worked at Life Time Fitness for around seven years. She said that Montano was a member of the gym at the time with the couple’s little girl. The two recently got divorced after 23 years of marriage, and now Montano attends the gym identifying as a woman. She said what made the situation an "extra level of disturbing" was the fact that Montano, a biological male, identifies as a lesbian.