A heavily tattooed fitness influencer accused of steroid abuse has pleaded guilty to breaking another man’s face during a dispute inside a Florida gym.
Wesley Watson, 42, entered a guilty plea Thursday in a Miami-Dade County courtroom to aggravated battery, admitting his part in a fight that left Hakeem Ibrahim with a facial fracture and concussion, according to the Miami Herald.
Watson, who has roughly 510,000 YouTube subscribers, built an online following through motivational fitness content. He also previously spent nine years in prison in California after a robbery conviction.
The altercation happened on December 29, 2024, at Elev8tion Fitness in the 1600 block of North Miami Avenue, the outlet reported.
Watson was exercising at the gym when Ibrahim approached him, later acknowledging that he had traveled from New Jersey to Florida specifically to confront him.
Police said Ibrahim positioned his phone to film the encounter before pushing Watson.
Watson then took off his weight belt and began striking Ibrahim, continuing until a gym employee intervened and stopped the fight.
Prosecutors are asking that Watson receive 21 months behind bars, followed by seven years of probation, according to NBC Miami.
Fitness influencer Wesley Watson, 42, pleaded guilty on a Thursday to a fight in a Miami gym that left another man with a face fracture and a concussion
The altercation happened at the Elev8tion Fitness gym in the 1600 block of North Miami Avenue in December 2024
However, Watson’s legal team is still negotiating with prosecutors in an attempt to lessen his prison time.
One of Watson’s attorneys, Eric Clayman, said that discussions about his eventual sentence had taken a psychologist’s testimony into account.
The psychologist claimed Watson abused anabolic steroids, according the outlet.
Watson also had untreated mental health concerns, the psychologist added.
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As part of the plea deal, Watson will have to record a video about the harm of substance abuse, as well as the importance of mental health treatment.
Clayman said Watson was looking forward to filming the video since he wanted to ‘use his platform to help others.’
Watson’s YouTube channel has remained active in recent weeks, though the videos have only featured still images and voice messages from the fitness influencer.
Watson is scheduled to be sentenced on July 17. He is currently being held at the Metrowest Detention Center in Miami
The spat that resulted in Watson’s plea happened in December 2024, but Ibrahim did not tell Miami police about a month later about his specific role.
He claimed that he had sought out Watson to find out why he ‘went around fighting people,’ according to the outlet.
Ibrahim alleged that Watson had hit and kicked him in the face several times, resulting in his myriad injuries.
Watson’s attorney, Clayman, noted how Ibrahim ‘sought somebody out because of his presence online.’
‘It then turned into something else,’ Clayman said, per the outlet. ‘I don’t think there was any dispute at the beginning of this that Wes was able to use force.’
However, the attorney argued that the ‘tricky part in this case’ was determining when said force needed to be ‘stopped.’
‘When you get in a fight, you kind of lose your way,’ Clayman said.
He claimed that Watson had experienced ‘adrenaline’ and that ‘things happen.’
Watson, who is in custody at the Metrowest Detention Center in Miami, is set to be sentenced on July 17.
The Daily Mail has reached out to Clayman and McPharlin for further comment.
