Editor’s Note

The following article reflects my personal experience and recollection of events involving 24 Hour Fitness Woodland Hills and related interactions that took place following the theft of my son’s belongings in November 2025. This account is based on my observations, conversations, and experiences during that time.

What Happened at 24 Hour Fitness Woodland Hills

24 Hour Fitness Woodland Hills has a policy requiring members to place a lock on their locker.

In November 2025, my son brought two new laptops and an iPad to the gym. He placed them in a locker and locked it.

After locking the locker, he worked out for a couple of hours. When he returned, the locker was open and his entire backpack was gone, including his clothes, shoes, and toiletries.

I was in the gym as well. He called me immediately, and we met in the check-in area. He told a staff member what had happened. The staff member immediately texted one of the managers, Jazzy. She responded without a sense of urgency. She told him she would be in within a half hour, but that was not the case.

As we waited, my son was trying to track the devices. He asked if they could check the cameras or call security. The staff member then contacted the general manager, James. The general manager said he was on vacation and would deal with it when he returned the following week.

As this was being poorly handled, my son broke down in tears of frustration. All I could do was hold him and pray for him, while a concerned staff member watched with compassionate eyes.

During this time, my son was able to see that one of the devices had been turned on. He could see it was traveling east on the Metro line. We immediately went to our car and followed the location. It led us to the North Hollywood 24 Hour Fitness.

When we arrived, we informed the front desk of what was happening. We wanted to speak with a manager or receive some assistance because we believed the person was inside the gym. The front desk employee rudely informed us there was no manager on site.

My son and I went into the locker rooms and looked to see if anyone had his backpack or devices. We left feeling defeated. We circled the area and waited.

While waiting, we called the Woodland Hills location to see if Jazzy was there. We were told she was, but that she was busy. I explained to the staff member who answered that it was imperative we speak with her.

When Jazzy got on the phone, she spoke in a condescending tone. I began expressing my concern that she had not contacted me, especially considering she was fully aware of what had happened. I was appalled when she told me that she had a life outside of 24 Hour Fitness.

I agree with that. However, saying that to a member whose son had just had thousands of dollars worth of belongings stolen demonstrated a lack of professionalism. It is not as though I asked her coworker to contact her during her personal time. The staff member had told me exactly what he was texting her and had been very detailed. Jazzy was unaware of that.

She then told me she did not know it was my son and me, and that she was unaware of the value of the contents. She said she would reach out to James again.

I explained that the devices had been purchased for my son’s education. He is majoring in audio engineering. The devices contained plugins that had been purchased over time, along with music his deceased father had written and produced. My son could have been in jeopardy of losing his scholarship.

I asked that they check the cameras. She said James was the only person who could do so. She also told me to contact the police department, which I had already planned to do based on our ability to track the thief.

My son and I drove to the North Hollywood police station and filed a report. We explained that the value of the stolen items was between $25,000 and $30,000 when accounting for the devices, plugins, and other purchases associated with them.

We were told someone would be in touch.

We never heard from anyone.

After leaving the police department, we returned to the gym and met with Jazzy. We explained everything all over again.

Jazzy then sympathized with us because she and her children had experienced losing her husband. She said James would review the camera footage, and they offered our family of three two months of free membership.

After a week or two passed, I followed up with Jazzy to see whether James had reviewed the footage. She said he had. According to her, he only saw my son entering the locker room with his backpack.

When asked whether anyone else had been in the locker room at the time, my son recalled a young man lingering there. He strongly suspected that individual may have been responsible.

Jazzy said they did not see anyone leaving with a backpack. We explained that whoever took the items could have placed them into another bag.

We continued going to the gym. James returned from vacation, yet he never contacted us.

Five months later, my account began experiencing billing issues. The funds were always available in my account, and I informed the staff of that fact. Nevertheless, I was charged late fees.

James instructed the staff to tell me he would resolve the issue. It remained unresolved for two months.

One day, as I was leaving the gym, James approached me and asked how my workout had been. At the time, I had not been feeling well.

When he asked, I was offended.

I told him I was offended because we had never heard from him regarding my son’s stolen belongings. We had also never heard from him regarding a gym member who had been harassing me and continues to do so. In addition, he had not removed the late fees that had accumulated despite the issue being outside of my control and the responsibility of 24 Hour Fitness.

He claimed that he had called my son. I told him that was impossible. My son and I had discussed at length how poorly the situation had been handled. He also said that he saw my son all the time.

I explained that seeing him did not mean anything.

He had not addressed our concerns and did not appear interested in resolving them. My son’s scholarship had been at stake. We had to purchase replacement devices and repurchase the plugins and other tools he needed.

Regarding the member who had been harassing me, James said he had been told about it. I informed him that he had not done anything about it, nor had he contacted me.

A couple of weeks later, as I was leaving the gym, James approached me again and asked, “We’re good, right?”

I told him that I meant what I had said, but that my delivery was out of character. I had been dealing with significant pain related to a health issue.

Since then, we have remained cordial.

However, my experience left me feeling that the management at 24 Hour Fitness did not handle this situation properly. Throughout this process, I did not feel that our concerns were treated with the urgency or care they deserved. As long as everything is working in their favor, everything appears fine.

In the end, you truly get what you pay for.