A fitness business from Maastricht wants to terminate a customer’s membership because they say the man smells too much.
According to the business, other customers have been complaining about the man’s sour sweat odor for a long time. Several conversations were held with the man. In his own words, this would have been done “carefully and with integrity”, due to the sensitivity of the subject. However, the man ignored all recommendations – taking a shower and using more deodorant – according to reports. “Unfortunately, the man did not really respond well to the criticism,” the unnamed suit said.
Dutch fitness businesses can ban those who cause nuisance on the basis of their internal regulations. A judge once ruled that “nuisance in the form of an unpleasant body odor” can be a reason for taking measures, such as banning people. This happened at the time at a library that wanted to keep out a man with smelly sweaty feet.