John Romaniello /r/GymSnark Sexual Abuse Allegations

This entry contains content that may be considered sensitive to some viewers.

Submission 2,016

Content Warning: Portions of the following entry contain mentions and/or depictions of sexual violence or abuse. If you need support or you or a loved one are in an abusive situation, please contact the National Sexual Violence Resource Center or call 1-800-656-HOPE.

About

John Romaniello /r/GymSnark Sexual Abuse Allegations refers to discussions about multiple accusations of abuse and sexual assault launched against fitness influencer and "male conscientiousness" coach John Romaniello. In July 2024, the Seggs Talk Radio podcast posted multiple testimonies from women who gave their accounts of times when they were allegedly assaulted and drugged or coerced into sexual acts by Romaniello. As of late July 2024, Seggs Talk Radio claims to have gathered over 50 testimonies, with more women attesting to the news in the podcast's Instagram comments. The accusations were also prominently discussed on the Reddit forum /r/gymsnark, following which Romaniello deleted his Instagram account.

Background

John Romaniello is a former fitness coach, writer and consultant who began his career as a fitness writer and later pivoted to working as a life and relationship mentor. He discusses his work in fitness in a May 21st, 2015, Reddit AMA,^[4] while his personal website advertises him as an "amazing kisser," lifestyle coach and writing mentor.

I am John Romaniello: bestselling author, investor, lead fitness advisor for Arnold, and creator of "The Omega Body Blueprint." Ask me anything! AUTHOR submitted 9 years ago * (last edited 9 years ago) by John_Romaniello Arnold's Lead Fitness Advisor Oh, snap. Let's get into some good stuff. This is a 2+ HOUR AMA beginning at 1PM PST on Thursday, May 21. As for the bio stuff: "John Romaniello is an entrepreneur, angel investor, and New York Times bestselling author. An advisor to dozens of fitness and tech companies, Romaniello has written for a myriad of publications covering topics ranging from insulin sensitivity to investment strategy, and has appeared in magazines, on TV shows, and more than a few leaked photos. He loves the NY Jets, unicorns, sarcasm, and writing about himself in the third person." So. Yeah. I've trained all sort of fun clients music producers[1], musicians and DJs [2], p--- stars [3], actors, athletes. But, tons of "regular" people, too. Two years back, I wrote a bestseller called Engineering the Alpha [4], and more recently released a new program called The Omega Body Blueprint[5]. I know some stuff about some stuff, and I am known for not pulling any punches so I request you do the same. If you're curious about anything, i'm happy to answer as best I can. Again, I am here for a 2 hour, no hold's barred Q&A. Ask me absolutely anything you like about myself, my business, my products, or my dog. More cogently, you can also ask me about fitness stuff: training, nutrition, supplementation, and anything related. Or, anything unrelated. Proof that this stuff is true: • • 1) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Romaniello [6] 2) http://www.amazon.com/Man-2-0-Engineering-Alpha-Muscle/dp/006222087X/ref=sr_1_1? ie=UTF8&qid=1431984670&sr=8-1&keywords=engineering+the+alpha[7] • 3) http://omegabodyblueprint.com/[8] • 4) http://romanfitnesssystems.com/[9] Proof that I am indeed the one and only John Romaniello: . 1) My tweet about this AMA[10] 2) My facebook post about this AMA[11] 223 comments source share save hide report crosspost hide all child comments

John Romaniello Author: Overview Books DOT ☑ jr johnromaniello.com https://johnromaniello.com : John Romaniello is an AMAZING Kisser (and writing mentor) Hi, I'm John. I'm a writing mentor and business coach based in NYC. I help entrepreneurs build and scale businesses through writing and branding.

On July 20th, 2024, the Instagram^[1] page of the Seggs Talk Radio podcast, @seggstalkradiopodcast, posted a series of vetted testimonies anonymized for the public, all of which detail fitness influencer and polyamory advocate John Romaniello's history of alleged sexual coercion and assault.

The allegations were reposted to /r/gymsnark,^[3] a subreddit where accusations of Romaniello being a supposed "creep" can be traced back as early as July 2021 when Redditor /u/jdeml14 notes that fellow influencer @Ohilyssa described him as a "rapist."^[2]

Romaniello had gathered over 30,000 Instagram^[8] followers before he deleted his account in late July 2024.

Spread

In the days following @seggstalkradiopodcast's post in late July 2024, various influencers who collaborated with Romaniello in the past came forward with their statements, including Instagram users @biancataylorm^[5] and @em_dunc^[6] (seen below).

biancataylorm⚫ 45m This is 1 of 3 very triggering posts. Х @seggstalkradiopodcast I don't share this lightly but I believe women and believe that these victims deserve to have their voices heard. The person mentioned in the posts was a former friend who me and my husband Nimai have cut ties with over a year ago. He was uninvited to our wedding in 2023 after we were deeply offended by some behaviors from him and it became clear that he was not as safe of a person as we thought. We were blind to how horrible his actions actually were as we were lied to about the stories from his exes (victims). If I would've known the truth sooner, I would've acted sooner We always believe women. I am so sorry to the victims. I hope only to create a safe space for women on my page and in my life. Read with caution. Visit the seggstalkradiopodcast @seggstalkradiopodcast Part 3... page to see the other 2 posts. Trigger Warning: The following submissions discuss themes of SA, Rpe, Substance Ab*se, drugging. These themes are mentioned in the context of personal experiences. Please read with caution Individual Entries: 25 and counting, not all shared due to confidentiality requests. Additional Submissions: The form will remain in our link-in-bio for the rest of July 2024. Disclaimer: These accounts are copied verbatim from the submissions received. For some accounts, only excerpts are shared due to their length. The phrasing and wording are as originally submitted. seggstalkradiopodcast ♥♥♥ Send message

em_dunc 5m There is another victim who told me her story in 2022, and I believed her. It was horrific, disgusting, and jarring. I was then told MUCH different stories by JR and others who were around in the group about this same experience. I truly feel so ashamed that I was convinced with lies into believing that her story was false. I, like so many others, was manipulated into believing that JR was the person he pretended to be to me to everyone, and that was clearly not the case. To this woman and the other victims: I am so sorry it took a situation of this magnitude for me to take a firm stance. If I had taken a firm stance sooner, there is a chance that fewer of you would have been harmed. I cannot express how hurt, disgusted, betrayed, and deeply shameful I feel, and how truly sorry I am for falling for this.

On July 23rd, 2024, @seggstalkradiopodcast^[7] posted more testimonies they received regarding John Romaniello, with the total count of allegations reaching over 50.

More of Romaniello's former associates came forward with statements about the accusations levied against him in late July 2024 (examples seen in screenshots below).