'AITA for defending my friend's reputation as a fitness coach?' 'Someone passed out in her class.'

"AITA for defending my friend's reputation as a fitness coach after someone passed out in her class?"

My (28/f) friend (26/f) recently became a fitness coach at a new spin studio in town. She was really nervous that no one would show up to her first class. The studio offers a free first class, so we both texted a bunch of people to help fill it up. It worked. We ended up booking the entire class.

One of the people who showed up was a 34/M, let’s call him Mike. He’s one of her friends and is on a big weight loss journey. He’s already lost 50 pounds and still has a ways to go. I really admire how committed he is.

Halfway through the class, I heard some commotion and someone screamed. I was across the room and couldn’t see what was happening. Turns out Mike had fainted and fell, hitting his head. He came to pretty quickly, and the ambulance arrived in about 10-15 minutes.

He kept telling everyone he was fine and that he had been doing a 24-hour water fast, which is probably why he passed out. Later, he said a doctor saw him for less than two minutes and just told him to go home and eat something.

After that, people started saying my friend’s class was so intense that someone passed out. It scared off some people but also attracted some hardcore gym folks who wanted to try it. I got kind of defensive and explained that her class isn’t extreme or unsafe, it was just a one-time situation with someone doing an extreme diet.

One of our mutual friends thought I was downplaying my friend’s skills or saying she doesn’t teach a good class. That wasn’t what I meant at all. I just didn’t want people to be scared off for the wrong reason. So now I’m wondering, am I the ahole for trying to explain what really happened?

Note: My friend was upset about this situation. She tells everyone to please eat before her class. She doesn't want people passing out ever. Water fast means he only drank water for 24 hrs and ate no food. He passed out from over exercising/low blood sugar.

Here's what people had to say to OP:

GrizzRich said:

NTA. Any dummy can tell people to keep pushing through it until they pass out, and I would think less of a trainer that managed to get their student hospitalized because of their lack of knowledge.

PerelandraNative said:

NTA. I really hate it when people try to tell me what I mean. It's so rude.

OkReward2182 said:

NTA. Your friend isn't responsible for one class participant going on a water fast. I admire Mike's determination to improve his health, but dehydration is excessive.

NSA_Chatbot said:

NTA. I've had someone pass out in my spin class before, it happens sometimes when people push their limits to failure.

Suspicious-Eagle-828 said:

NTA - what idiot/motivated person doesn't eat for 24 hours before exercising? It is an invitation for problems. And that was not caused by the instructor.

Bey_World_101 said:

NTA. It was Mike’s fault for not eating and passing out in the middle of class. He’s going to be the reason no one’s going to come to your friend’s class.

Roddyrod18 said:

NTA. The mutual friend needs to STFU; the OP is being a strong supporter and loyal friend. Mike entered that class knowing that he was on a water fast so he put himself at risk because it's common knowledge that people need to hydrate while exercising.