Florida woman tries pull-up challenge in downtown Saint Petersburg. Then she claims the game was rigged: ‘I’ve posted winners on my page’

A Florida woman thought she would make a quick buck by participating in a pull-up challenge. Instead, she lost money and got called out after saying the challenge was a scam.

It started when Abby (@abbybbq1) criticized an athletic challenge she participated in while strolling in St. Petersburg.

“Just got scammed, downtown St. Pete,” Abby said in the clip.

Allegedly, someone asked her to hang on a bar for two minutes for $100. Instead of winning the money, she left $20 poorer.

“You're just gonna end up with $20 less… and [expletive] up hands,” Abby added.

A person who was with Abby chimed in and said that the bar was “extra large” and couldn't even be gripped.

“It was the bar,” Abby assured her audience.

She also showed viewers that the bar left a mark on her hand.

Was the pull-up challenge a scam?

According to online blogs and discussion threads, the challenge's difficulty comes from the size of the bar. On Reddit, one post highlighted just how much harder it is to do a pull-up on a thicker bar.

“Thick bar training” is a specific style of workout, which is also referred to as “fat grip training.” While a standard barbell is usually a little over 1 inch thick, thick bars can range from 2 inches or more in thickness.

These thicker bars activate more muscles, which results in a more challenging workout. Bodybuilders and “strong men” sometimes use these bars to increase their overall strength. People who have never worked out using a thicker bar, then, could face more difficulty.

“You gotta have grip strength,” one person commented. “A lot of rock climbers do well on the challenge.”

The man from the beach who convinced Abby to participate in the pull-up hang challenge left a comment for the content creator.

He lambasted her for calling his challenge a scam.

“You were told beforehand that the bar is thicker than a normal pull-up bar and that it's designed to be difficult,” the man, who posted under the username GKO (@gkoclub), said. “That's literally the challenge. I also warned everyone about the center section and how it could be uncomfortable on your hands. Nobody is forced to participate, and if you had any concerns during or after, you could have talked to me directly. Instead, you're calling it a scam after voluntarily taking part in a challenge that you knew would be difficult. People win, people lose. That's how challenges work. I've posted winners on my page, and there are plenty of similar hanging challenges out there using the same style bar. I respect anyone who gives it a shot, but not winning doesn't make it a scam.”

On the GKO TikTok page, there appears to be videos of both winners and losers of the challenge.

Abby responds to the callout

Abby seemed shocked that the man left a response in her comment section. In her response, she cleared the air regarding the intent behind her video.

“Dude, respectfully you're taking this post way too seriously. I'm poking fun at myself and the situation, and if you read the comments you can see that. It ain't deep and I didn't name you bro. All the best!!” she said.

Commenters seemed to to mutually agree that the challenge was difficult. They did not necessarily agree it was a scam.

“U also have to be strong enough,” one person wrote.

“You gotta have grip strength a lot of rock climbers do well on the challenge,” another person commented.

Others said that they were able to successfully complete the challenge and win cash.

“I held on for 4 mins for $50,” another person added.

Buzz News reached out to Abby and @GKOclub via TikTok direct message for comment.

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