Popular KL Fitness Instructor Slammed For Gaslighting Sexual Harassment Allegation On IG
Responding to SAYS, FLYPROJECT said any feedback regarding the class can be directed to them.
By Yap Wan Xiang — 08 Dec 2022, 06:39 PM — Updated almost 2 years ago
A spin instructor at a popular fitness studio in Klang Valley received backlash for gaslighting a sexual harassment allegation in an Instagram video published on Tuesday, 6 December
In the now-deleted video published on FLYPROJECT's Instagram page, instructor Ishaq Vadillo goes through several reviews found on the club aggregator platform, ClassPass.
The video begins with a clip of Ishaq seemingly shrugging off a one-star review of his cycling class as the footage shows him laughing about it after reading it.
Of the three reviews he talks about, one is a lengthy 280-word testimony that voices their dissatisfaction with Ishaq's alleged preferential treatment and sexual harassment during his class.
"I'm not one to usually complain about classes but this class was really quite horrible in my opinion," Ishaq scowls upon reading the first sentence of the review.
"Pacing and moves were incredibly misdone and misplaced, there wasn't much rhythm or coordination to his class. On top of that, it wasn't a beginner class at all, as so many newbies were struggling."
The review then discusses the lighting in the spinning class, as Ishaq allegedly failed to warn class-goers about the flashing beams that could cause epilepsy in some people
In response, Ishaq merely rolls his eyes without addressing the issue.
He continues reading, "The worst part was how inappropriate this instructor was. He was constantly only focusing on five girls who were in the front of his class, [whom] I am guessing are his regulars [and] he named (them) numerous times throughout the class, also calling them 'baby' at times."
Ishaq admits that the five women are indeed his regulars, before adding, "I like to call people 'baby' you know... spice it up a little bit."
When the review claims that Ishaq touched women inappropriately without their consent, he replies by saying he touches men, too
"And people were cycling, he was touching random girls' hands, holding them. And, obviously, they didn't do anything as they were scared, but this was completely inappropriate and borderline harassment as there was no consent," Ishaq reads.
Instead of addressing the allegation, the fitness instructor says, "First of all, it wasn't just with the girls. I did it with some guys as well."
He continues, "As a guy, he just walked past and ignored me while going on to caress my female friend's hand. This is insanely unprofessional and I don't know why I am the first person to speak on such things as everyone who was with me complained about this."
"Hope something can be done about this FLYPROJECT as this should not be happening whatsoever."
After reading the review, Ishaq, who also runs two businesses, apologises for the reviewer's experience without addressing the sexual harassment allegation, reiterating that he touches both women's and men's hands.
SAYS managed to find all three reviews Ishaq features in the video on ClassPass. The testimony containing the allegation of sexual harassment was written about three months ago.
However, it is worth noting that the majority of reviews for Ishaq's classes were positive.
One negative review that stood out when this SAYS writer was skimming through some 1,400 entries was from a person saying Ishaq only interacts with "PYT", an Internet slang for "pretty young thing".
At the time of writing, the video on FLYPROJECT's Instagram has received over 11,500 views and 44 comments
While a sizeable number of comments were supportive of Ishaq, many of them were also critical of how FLYPROJECT and Ishaq responded to the reviews, especially the one that contained a sexual harassment allegation.
SAYS has reached out to both Ishaq and FLYPROJECT for comments
FLYPROJECT said that they are unable to comment on the allegations as the reviewer is anonymous.
"We would like to [help the] affected parties. Please write to us at [email protected] to discuss this further and we will address it," they said in an email.
When asked further about the purpose of the video and the questionable way they addressed the sexual harassment allegation, a spokeperson said, "FLYPROJECT promotes gender-inclusivity."
"Our FLYPROJECT community we term FLYFAM is [a] tight-knit and close community where everyone's familiar with each other. Regular members often attend Ishaq's class as he was one of the first instructors when we opened in 2016."
"We'd like to invite you to try a FLYPROJECT class to experience [it] on your own. Every instructor has a different style."
"One very important thing to note is that the video we posted has a lot of positive comments too."
As for Ishaq, he directed us to FLYPROJECT for matters in regard to the controversy.
If you or someone you know may be at risk or has experienced sexual abuse or assault, please reach out to these Malaysian organisations:
1. WOMEN'S AID ORGANISATION (WAO)
Operating hours: 24-hour
Contact: +603-30008858
SMS/WhatsApp: +6018-9888058
Website | Facebook | Twitter
2. ALL WOMEN'S ACTION SOCIETY (AWAM)
Operating hours: Monday to Friday (9.30am - 5.30pm)
Contact: +603-78770224
WhatsApp/Telegram: +6016-2284221 | +6016-2374221
Email: [email protected]
Website | Facebook | Twitter
3. WOMEN'S CENTRE FOR CHANGE PENANG (WCC PENANG)
Operating hours: Monday to Friday (9am - 5pm)
Contact: +604-2280342 | +604-3988340
WhatsApp: +6011-31084001 | +6016-4180342
Email: [email protected]
Website | Facebook | Twitter
4. SARAWAK WOMEN FOR WOMEN SOCIETY (SWWS)
Operating hours: Monday (7pm - 9pm),Tuesday to Thursday (9.30am - 11.30am), Saturday (2pm - 4pm)
Contact: +6082-368853
SMS/WhatsApp: +6016-5822660 | +6013-8044285
Email: [email protected]
Website | Facebook | Twitter
5. SABAH WOMEN'S ACTION-RESOURCE GROUP (SAWO)
Operating hours: Monday to Friday (9am - 5pm)
Contact: +6088-280200 | +6011-27908020
Email: [email protected]
Website | Facebook | Twitter
6. PROTECT AND SAVE THE CHILDREN (PS THE CHILDREN)
Operating hours: Monday to Friday (3pm - 12am)
WhatsApp: +6016-7213065
Email: [email protected]
Website | Facebook | Twitter
7. INTERNET WATCH FOUNDATION (IWF)
Anonymously and confidentially report child sexual abuse content and non-photographic child sexual abuse images with IWF's Reporting Portal.
