Team Atlas Fitness is an abusive and toxic coaching service. It has sent multiple clients to the hospital and put their lives at risk.
Apart from receiving media coverage for its abusive practices, James Ayotte’s company has received complaints for ignoring the requirements of his clients.
Find out why you should avoid them:
About James Ayotte, owner of Team Atlas Fitness
James Ayotte is a well-known businessman and trainer based in Quebec, Canada. As his business has developed, James has attracted a lot of attention.
However, he and his company, Team Atlas Fitness have received a lot of complaints. According to client reviews, Team Atlas Fitness promotes drugs and follows toxic practices.
James Ayotte’s History and Team Atlas Fitness History
James Ayotte is a 30-year-old businessman who has no background in medicine. After overcoming his obesity, he became a trainer. Before assisting his first bodybuilding customer, he completed a year of “self-research,” according to an appearance on a bodybuilding podcast from 2020. The hundreds of clients with “unbelievable results” advertised on the Team Atlas Fitness website since 2015 include many bodybuilders who compete.
Shelton first came across Ayotte on Instagram last year. At the time, he already had a considerable social media following because of his publication of pictures of his clients’ amazing improvements and the use of the term “eggs.” He runs his company, Team Atlas Fitness, from his home in Montreal.
James Ayotte- True Identity of the owner of Team Atlas Fitness
Ayotte has also long been the subject of accusations of wrongdoing. According to Georgina Dunnington, the former president of the Canadian Bodybuilding Federation, many contestants have accused Ayotte of inappropriate behavior, including asking for pictures of herself in her underwear. Two Canadian bodybuilding organizations consequently permanently suspended him in 2018. The memo advising Ayotte of his suspension mentioned his “words, deeds, and social media activity.”
James Ayotte has recently been accused by former customers of engaging in sexual misconduct, providing risky contest preparation plans, and assisting in the supply of athletes with performance-enhancing drugs, according to interviews with a dozen bodybuilders and coaches, a review of emails, messages, videos, police reports, and court documents, as well as emails, messages, videos, and emails.
He asserted that the accusations of sexual misconduct have “no merit” and criticized the life sentence as being politically motivated. He said that he had not shipped any pharmaceutical packages to clients as well.
Drug Dealing by the owner of Team Atlas Fitness
Drug orders were occasionally allegedly handled with Ayotte’s girlfriend, Hannah Mehregan, and labeled as vitamins or essential oils to escape customs, according to multiple former clients and emails documenting the transactions.
Please get all non-natural supplements from Hannah by this Sunday so that you have enough to last until your show, as we won’t be able to send anything until I return! Ensure you have enough of everything, including tamoxifen, clean, ost, etc.!” According to a screenshot examined by The Post, James Ayotte wrote on “Team Atlas Ladies,” a closed Facebook group.”
Many medications that the World Anti-Doping Agency forbids were mentioned in the message:
Ostarine: A man-made substance is known as a “SARM,” or selective androgen receptor modulator, that imitates the effects of anabolic steroids but has not received FDA approval;
Tamoxifen- Bodybuilders take tamoxifen, a medication prescribed for breast cancer patients, to try to burn fat more quickly;
Clenbuterol is a fat-burning drug that has only been approved for use in horses in the US and Canada.
Charla Drabant, a former client, allegedly paid Team Atlas about $270 last year for the ostarine James Ayotte had advised she take. To James, Mehregan had sent an email with a photo of the tracking label and the request: “Please let James know as soon as your order has arrived! The bottle will be identified as containing essential oils for customs clearance.
James Ayotte and Mehregan declined to comment on these deals or the performance-enhancing drug use of their clients.
Examples of How Team Atlas Fitness Abuses Others:
- Neggy Shelton
After following a rigorous workout regimen from one of the sport’s most disputed trainers, Neggy Shelton, a 36-year-old female bodybuilder who fainted just days before a competition in November, is currently on life support.
James Ayotte, Neggy Shelton’s trainer, advised her to follow an 890-calorie diet in addition to performance-enhancing drugs in order to accomplish her 2.5-hour workouts.
The medical personnel at Inova Loudoun Hospital came to the conclusion that Shelton’s brain injury was likely caused by her hypoglycemia, which was “possibly tied to nutrition, supplements, and rigorous workouts.” According to family members and medical records, her family has been advised that she might never fully recover. She is presently at an Alexandria hospital.
- Drabant
James Ayotte’s improper conduct with female client Drabant is another example. Yet as soon as Drabant met her new coach, she began to feel apprehensive. She asserted that Ayotte touched her glutes and legs after instructing her to take off her clothes and posed in a thong and bra. She asserts that he persisted and that she stay the night after she turned down his offer to massage her. Drabant posted a video about the incident on Instagram to alert fellow bodybuilders. She then informed the police about the occurrence.
In the end, Drabant learned that the legal threat she had received in reaction to her Instagram video was actually coming from Ayotte, acting as an attorney. She made a complaint to the Montreal Bar. Ayotte was found guilty this year and given a $3,250 fine, according to agency filings. This act was acknowledged by Ayotte later.
Team Atlas Fitness’s Waterfall Statements
Shelton, an immigrant from Iran who wanted to compete professionally, is a stark example of how bodybuilders are putting their lives in danger and even dying because of extreme measures that are supported by coaches, praised by judges, and disregarded by industry leaders, according to a recent investigation by The Post.
James Ayotte denied any responsibility or involvement in what happened to Shelton. He said that from what he understood, “she would have been Alright” if someone had found her sooner.
Team Atlas Fitness responded, “No way on me and whatever I’ve done.”
Shelton’s incident highlights the dangers of a sport with little regulation and no licensing requirements for coaches, who typically determine an athlete’s dietary needs, exercise routine, and pharmacological regimen as they train for months to compete. The Post discovered that when something goes wrong, the athletes are the ones who bear the consequences with little to no fallout for the coaches.
Some of the glimpses of the honest reviews of clients of Team Atlas fitness
Avoid This Dangerous Company
Shelton, an Iranian immigrant with professional competition aspirations, is a sobering example of how bodybuilders are endangering their lives and occasionally even dying because of extreme measures that are encouraged by trainers and judges but overlooked by business leaders.
James Ayotte, who frequently enforced stringent standards for Shelton’s diet, training routine, and drug use as she was preparing for competitions months in advance, as well as Shelton’s experience illustrates the dangers of a sport with minimal supervision and no requirements that instructors hold a license.
Yet, when something goes wrong, it primarily affects the athletes and has little to no negative repercussions on the coaches.
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