There are places in the world where people don't feel safe even sitting at a table in a restaurant, due to the high crime rate.
Places where citizens are constantly alert and react instinctively to any situation that seems worrying.
I come from this reality, I lived it on my skin until I was 18, which is why I decided to move permanently to Italy, where security is still (largely) guaranteed.
Some time ago I came across a video, which made me smile… because probably if I had found myself in that particular situation, I would have reacted the same way!
Now I'll tell you!
Index
Crossfitters mistaken for robbers
One evening at the end of September, some customers of a restaurant in the Brazilian city of Recife met frightened by seeing a group of crossfitters running down the street, who have been mistaken for robbers.
Fortunately nothing happened, just a big misunderstanding, but the footage captured by the surveillance camera has spread all over the world, precisely because of its particularity.
At that moment, the outdoor tables of the Alphaite Brewery restaurant were full of people enjoying the evening. At a certain point, total chaos begins due to some people running towards them.
Immediately, everyone leapt off their chairs and ran as fast as they could, overturning tables and chairs.
In a post shared on Twitter along with the video, we read:
“What about patrons at a bar in south Recife who thought they were about to be attacked when in reality it was a group of CrossFit® men running down the street?”
And what about the customers of a bar from the area on the Recife side who acharam que tava rolando arrastão when na verdade was a turma do crossfit running in the street? pic.twitter.com/TlX6gJjpzb
— Bernardo (@BernardoBcabral) September 22, 2022
You can even see it in the video a waiter who is shocked to see all the customers running away, but after a moment decides to follow them too, not knowing exactly what is happening.
Towards the end of the video, when the restaurant is nearly empty, five people in overalls can be seen running down the sidewalk.
Surgeon Amyr Kelner, a customer of the restaurant, said in an interview:
"It all happened very quickly. Passers-by walked normally, then when they approached our table they started running. At that moment someone shouted that it was a robbery. So I got up and I too yelled that there was a robbery in progress and I ran away. When I got up, I put my cell phone and wallet in my pocket. There were people who even thought that someone had a gun. This is how you live in an insecure city like ours. After a few minutes we saw that nothing was happening and that it was just guys who were training. We all laughed and went back to our tables as if nothing had happened".
lThe creative response of the restaurant
Days after it happened the restaurant staff decided to recreate the scene which has gone viral on social media. Running along Avenida Boa Viagem in south Recife, employees simulated a crossfit workout like the one that caused the general commotion.
In the video, the bar waiters appear in uniform, complete with ties and run to the sidewalk where the commotion has occurred. “The Alpha Crossfit® team in action,” reads the caption.
In the reel we see the waiter José Maciel da Rocha, who invites the crossfitters to the club and takes a sip of draft beer, complete with a beer mustache.
“Hello, crossfit® guys. After training, come here for a beer. Don't forget to pay the bill, okay?” the employee joked.
Visualizza questo post on Instagram