2 more women sue SLO County gym where man allegedly filmed them naked
Two more women sued Planet Fitness last month after a man allegedly filmed them and 45 other women partially or fully naked in the tanning booths at the gym’s Arroyo Grande location.
The lawsuit said gym staff should have stopped the man from filming and accused Planet Fitness of “gross negligence, invasion of right to privacy, as well as intentional and negligent infliction of emotional distress,” the news release said.
The law firms of Galine, Frye, Fitting & Frangos and the Law Offices of Tristan Verburgt filed the complaint on May 28 on behalf of the women, who are using aliases Jane Doe 1 and 2 to protect their identities.
An 18-year-old woman filed a similar lawsuit against the gym and its national franchiser in April.
An amended complaint filed on June 9 alleged that California resident Kyle Combs took the videos when he was a member at the Planet Fitness in Arroyo Grande.
The Arroyo Grande Police Department identified Combs by matching video footage to his Planet Fitness profile picture, the complaint said.
The Arroyo Grande Police Department did not immediately respond to The Tribune’s requests for comment on Monday.
Man filmed 47 people undressed in Planet Fitness tanning booth
The two women from the latest lawsuit, ages 40 and 46, regularly used the gym’s tanning booths between 2022 and 2026, the complaint said.
They each held a “Black Card” membership, which granted them access to the spa with the tanning booths.
Combs allegedly took at least two videos of one of the women undressed in a tanning booth on Jan. 19, 2025, and Sept. 2, the complaint said.
He allegedly took at least three videos of the other woman on May 7, 2025; May 13, 2025; and May 16, 2025, the complaint said.
The tanning booths are in a separate room in the back of the gym behind glass doors, which are next to a customer service area normally staffed by a gym employee. The spa includes a small waiting area with couches, lounge chairs and a television.
The tanning booths are behind locked doors, the complaint said.
Combs allegedly used his thumb and thumbnail to unlock the door without a key, then used his cell phone to film the women through a gap in the tanning booth, the complaint said.
The Arroyo Grande Police Department secured a warrant to search Combs’ phone back to January 2025, and officers found videos of 47 people partially or fully naked in the tanning booths.
On April 17, the Sheriff’s Office told the women that they were among the people filmed in the tanning booths.
“In order to take these videos, Combs would have had to repeatedly patronize the Planet Fitness Arroyo Grande and enter the Black Card Spa area where his actions would have been visible to employees working at the desk near the tanning booths and checking members into the gym, and monitoring the building’s entrances and exits,” the complaint said.
The lawsuit said Planet Fitness employees should have seen Combs taking the videos and stopped him.
“Gym members have a reasonable expectation of privacy while using tanning booth rooms in Planet Fitness facilities, and Planet Fitness had an ongoing responsibility to take measures to prevent circumstances like this from occurring,” attorney Ilya Frangos said in the news release. “No one should have to wonder whether they are being secretly recorded while undressed in a place that is supposed to be safe and private.”
