Video Shows Gym Manager Chasing Evasive Tortoise Around Machines
Wild animals aren't exactly something you expect to confront at the gym. But the manager of Iron Knight Gym in Port St. Lucie, FL was in for quite the surprise when a tortise found its way into the gym—and quickly started making its way around the machines.
Iron Knight Gym is touted as Port St. Lucie and the Treasure Coast's premier strength and conditioning gym. With a wide garage door entrance, it's also easy for outside critters to sneak in. When manager Nikki Baker came in one day, she noticed one of these intruders—a gopher tortoise—scurrying around the floor of the gym.
Surveillance video captured Baker's attempt to corral the animal by trying to wrap it in a towel. She uploaded the clip to TikTok and added voice commentary from the perspective of the tortoise, with commenters alluding to the new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie and his need to train to defeat villain Shredder.
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Speaking to CNN about the viral clip, Baker admitted she didn't know what to do and how to handle the loose reptile.
"I don't know if I should pick you up, I don't want you to snap at me, and I don't want to hurt you," she said of her thought process at the time. The animal's fast movements caught her off guard, and at one point she points to the door and seemingly tells him to scram. "You always think turtles are slow, but no, this guy was going."
Someone even took the fun one step further by leaving a five-star Google review for Iron Knight Gym as if they were the tortoise itself. "Thought I’d give them a try [because] the door was open," the review read. "After a few minutes of showing myself around, the manager came over to finish my tour. She was great and provided me all the information about getting a membership, showed me the leg press machine, and even offered me one of their towels."
In the end, the TMNT extra jokingly decided he'd rather work out elsewhere. "All in all it seems like a great facility," the reviewer said. "However, I decided not to enroll because I am a turtle."
If this tortoise is able to keep working on his speed, he may someday outrun the hare.
