The need to shoot content has led to some crazy situations, including a camera crew at the New York Marathon. Is this getting too much?
At this year’s New York Marathon earlier this month, running content creator and influencer Matt Choi brought a two-man camera crew to follow him on e-bikes and film him as he did the race. As a result of the unauthorized incursion of the vehicles in the race, Choi was disqualified and banned from the marathon.
To be totally fair to Choi, the Austin, Texas-based athlete and video producer completely owned up to his mistake. “I was selfish to have my brother and videographer follow me around on the course on e-bikes, and it had serious consequences,” he quickly admitted in a TikTok video he posted following the event.
“I was selfish to have my brother and videographer follow me around on the course on e-bikes, and it had serious consequences,” Matt Choi quickly admitted in a TikTok video he posted following the event
“It had serious consequences. We endangered runners, we impacted people going for personal bests, we blocked people from getting water, and with the New York Marathon being about everyone in the community, I made it about myself,” he added.
Despite holding himself accountable, he still went ahead and posted content (that he shot from holding his own phone) from the 2024 race.
@mattchoi6E-bikes don’t belong in races. No excuses. I was selfish & take full accountability of my actions. I apologize to all the runners impacted. I accept my DQ & lifetime ban from @nyrr Never again.
While Choi was gracious enough to admit his potentially dangerous stunt, the bigger issue is that he had the audacity to bring in vehicles into a footrace all for the content, as the kids say. This certainly isn’t the first time someone was being intrusive in a sports or fitness space just to film content for their social media accounts or YouTube channels, and Choi’s case certainly isn’t going to be the last, even with the organizer New York Road Runners’ harsh penalty of banning him from the marathon altogether.
On one hand, the proliferation of visual social media, especially platforms like TikTok and Instagram that have allowed everyone to easily create and share video content, can be an empowering tool for people who are finding their confidence to be their best selves.
On the other hand, people getting in the way of others in the gym, on the court, on the field, or wherever just because they need to shoot with their phones or cameras can get really, really annoying.
So where do we draw the line?
Speaking as someone who films himself at the gym and during wrestling training, the key considerations are simple: First, you need to make sure people are okay with being in your shot; and second, you need to get out of the way.
As popular bodybuilder and TikTok creator Joey Swoll likes to call out in so many of his videos, the gym and playing field is a public space: While you are free to shoot, everyone is also free to get in your way because you don’t own the place
As popular bodybuilder and TikTok creator Joey Swoll likes to call out in so many of his videos, the gym and playing field is a public space: While you are free to shoot, everyone is also free to get in your way because you don’t own the place. They also have the right to go about their workout or play unimpeded by your camera setup or even without being seen in your footage. If you have a problem with either of these, Swoll likes to say, build your own private space.
If you’re in a public gym or playing area and you’re not permitted to do a professional shoot, use your phone and nothing else. Have only one or two other people with you while shooting, and while you can use a tripod or stand, try not to take up too much space as possible. It’s that easy. (While Choi limited his team to his brother and videographer, the way they went about it was clearly obtrusive.)
For the most part, creators I’ve shared active spaces with are generally unobtrusive about their business, while I try to be the same with mine. It’s really not hard to do, and if you can’t, there are some places that allow greater privacy and freedom to shoot yourselves without others being in the shot.
Perhaps the wildest thing about Choi’s issue is that not once did he think about whether taking e-bikes with him in the marathon would be annoying, let alone hazardous, to others in the race. While hindsight is fine, the lack of consideration before even doing it is pretty telling, and it speaks to the admittedly selfish culture that social media is cultivating among even ordinary people (that is, non-celebrities and popular personalities). So many of these situations keep happening now if you pay close attention.
But as long as we always remind ourselves that there are other people around us, who are here to do the same things we’re doing, we should be able to remember to act right all the time.
Well, hopefully most of the time.
