Two teenagers are accused of using a stolen Anytime Fitness membership pass to gain entry into a gym in Port Melbourne on Friday, January 16. This unexpected intrusion caught the attention of the gym’s owner, Emily Cook.
“Their behavior was peculiar, but initially, I chalked it up to them being unusual individuals,” Cook recounted. Her suspicions were soon confirmed when CCTV footage allegedly captured one of the teens rifling through lockers and leaving with a set of car keys.
Shortly after, a gym member approached Cook, expressing uncertainty about the whereabouts of their car keys, saying, “I’m not sure if I misplaced my car keys or not.”
Trusting her instincts, Cook immediately sprang into action. “Without hesitation, I ran out the door and chased after these kids,” she explained.
Unfortunately, despite Cook’s swift response, the teenagers managed to escape in what is believed to be a stolen vehicle, the same one they reportedly used to arrive at the gym.
Despite her efforts, the pair fled allegedly in a stolen car they arrived in.
The same offenders stole a gold Subaru Liberty from a gym carpark in Nunawading later that day, police allege.
Officers spotted the allegedly stolen Subaru speeding through Reservoir the next morning.
The car was followed to Richmond, where police tried to intercept in in a carpark, but the driver sped away and crashed through a boomgate.
The Subaru was dumped a short time later near the intersection of Lennox Street and Rowena Parade.
Police moved in and arrested four alleged occupants of the car, including the alleged driver, an 18-year-old Albert Park man.
He was charged with a string of offences, including car theft, theft, burglary, unlicensed driving and various bail offences.
He was remanded to appear at the Melbourne Magistrates Court on 27 January 2026.
The three other teenage boys were charged and bailed to appear before a children’s court at a later date.
In 2022, there were more than 80 thefts and break-ins across Victorian gyms.
That number is now nearly 20 times higher, surging to more than 1600.
Gym members are encouraged to make use of lockers that require a code, which generally don’t come at any extra cost.
Gyms are also shifting away from the physical fob key.
“Instead we encourage them to download the Anytime Fitness app on their phone and use your phone to swipe into the club,” Cook said.
“That way to get into your phone, you need face ID or a passcode.”
Cook’s Anytime Fitness gym had only been open for three weeks.
“As soon as I told everyone in Sydney I was buying a gym in Melbourne and moving here, almost everyone’s reaction was, ‘but haven’t you heard about the theft and the crime in Melbourne?’,” Cook said.
