Andrew Jones has been working at the same personal training studio in a large city in the north-eastern part of the US for over ten years. He is the onsite manager, responsible for hiring new trainers and taking care of the equipment. He works exclusively at this studio, which advertises its individually tailored sessions with highly skilled trainers. Although the trainers are central to the studio's mission, they are not considered employees of the gym and do not receive a fixed wage; instead, they are classified as self-employed independent contractors. Andrew rents space at the gym and receives a percentage of the fees paid by his clients. As the manager, he also receives a share of the payments collected by the other trainers. Because he has been classified as an independent contractor, there is no withholding from his paycheck for taxes, Social Security (the US federal retirement, disability and survivors income programme), or Medicare (the federal old-age health insurance programme). He is responsible for the paperwork of quarterly estimated tax payments and the financial burden of paying the employer's share as well as his own share of Social Security and Medicare taxes. The gym owner does not provide any health insurance, paid vacations, paid sick days or retirement benefits. Since he is classified as self-employed, Andrew is not subject to minimum wage laws, overtime pay laws, unemployment insurance if he loses his job, or workers’ compensation if he sustains an injury on the job. He would not be permitted to join a union – a moot point, since to date no personal trainers in the US are unionized (Club Industry, 2017). Yet, although the fitness studio has absolved itself of legal responsibility for the trainers it depends upon, Andrew remains dedicated to it. When I asked whether he would consider taking another job that provided health insurance and other employee benefits, Andrew replied, “I believe in my brand very much and believe in the environment I’ve helped create for clients and trainers. Believe strongly.” Paradoxically, he expressed loyalty to an organization that seemed to lack loyalty to him.