Today, each training session can become content, but as digital exposure grows, new precautions become essential, especially when using images on the internet.
The sector is experiencing a moment of digital, commercial and reputational transformation. In this new scenario, it stopped acting solely in the management of contracts and liabilities to become an important partner in protecting the brand, the student experience and digital governance.
Today, each training session can become content, each post can generate engagement and risk. A digital presence strengthens the business, but requires academies and professionals to adopt legal practices that are as modern as their marketing strategies. The Brazilian sector is one of the most dynamic and professional in the world, and has demonstrated significant advances in management, safety and student relations. But, as digital exposure grows, new precautions become essential, especially when using images in .
From motivation to responsibility
Training is no longer just a physical practice and has also become content. An exercise recorded on a cell phone can be turned into a video on social media, boosted by motivational hashtags and used as a showcase for results. This strategy brings students and teachers closer together, generates engagement and contributes to the academies’ brand identity.
But the same post that inspires can expose. The use of students’ images in publications made by academies or their professional partners is a sensitive legal issue, directly linked to personality rights, the protection of personal data and contractual liability.
With the advancement and strengthening of the culture of compliance, the requirement for informed, formal and specific consent for the use of images grows. Authorization cannot be presumed or generic: it must be clear, documented and restricted to the declared purpose.
The most sensitive point: teachers and personal trainers
Many gyms have already incorporated contractual clauses providing for the use of images, which represents an important advance in preventive management. Still, it is common for some of these clauses to be generic or poorly written, without specifying the context of use or dissemination platforms.
The challenge intensifies when teachers or personal trainers publish photos or videos of students on their own personal profiles, often without formal authorization and based only on informal interactions. This practice, although well-intentioned, can generate discomfort and legitimate questions.
The problem is not in the exhibition itself, but in the lack of clarity about who authorizes it, for what purpose and for how long the image can be used. Even when there is good faith, the absence of formal registration opens the door to allegations of violation of image rights and reputational risks for both the professional and the academy.
The solution is simple and strategic: create standardized authorization procedures and guide professionals about the legal and contractual limits of image use. This type of guideline protects the academy, the teacher and, above all, the relationship of trust with the student.
Well-oriented professionals, safer environment
The legal maturity of the sector is visible. More and more gyms are reviewing contracts, standardizing authorizations and training their teams on good communication and privacy practices. This is a movement that strengthens the culture of responsibility and consolidates the sector’s reputation.
Many physical education professionals are still unaware of the legal scope of these issues. Therefore, investing in training is as important as investing in infrastructure. Academies that align motivational speech with responsible digital communication practice demonstrate a commitment to ethics, governance and respect for students.
Training teams and formalizing internal policies reduces risks and increases credibility. This is the basis of the legal maturity that has characterized the new moment in the fitness sector.
Legal governance and digital reputation
Protecting a gym’s reputation goes beyond good marketing campaigns. It involves consolidating legal governance adapted to the digital reality, capable of anticipating risks and guiding the behavior of those who represent the brand on networks.
The topic has already been treated seriously by many managers and legal departments, but it requires constant updating. The use of images, like any personal data, is subject to legal reinterpretations, regulatory changes and new social sensitivities.
In this context, the legal department takes on a leadership role: it translates standards into simple guidelines, creates efficient authorization flows and ensures that respect for students is perceived as an institutional value and not just a legal obligation.
Treating the use of images responsibly is a sign of maturity. Demonstrates alignment with good governance practices and sensitivity to privacy expectations that govern the digital environment.
The path to legal maturity
The advancement of the fitness sector is undeniable, and legal maturity accompanies this growth. Gyms that invest in governance, well-structured contracts and training their teams transform compliance into reputation and prevention into brand value.
Reviewing contracts, updating authorizations and reinforcing digital conduct policies is not bureaucracy, it is management. This stance protects rights, avoids wear and tear and consolidates a culture of trust.
More than avoiding risks, it is about translating respect for the student into organizational value. Gyms that treat image and privacy as part of the experience deliver trust, belonging and institutional solidity.
The legal role is precisely this: converting good intentions into consistent practices that protect the brand, strengthen the business and position the Brazilian fitness sector as a reference for professionalism, ethics and sustainability.
*This text does not necessarily reflect the opinion of Jovem Pan.
