Police Find Six Shirtless Exercise Videos Filmed Inside a Functional Engine

A baggage handler turned TikTok user has been hit with a $1,500 fine for filming and posting shirtless workout videos inside a functional turbine engine. While he called it a “totally safe” and humorous act, judges used different words to describe it: “stupid,” “vain,” and “irresponsible.”

23-year-old Preslie Ginoski is a former baggage handler at Australia’s Sydney Kingsford Smith Airport (SYD). Before quitting his job, he filmed several videos inside an aircraft’s turbine to use as bodybuilding content for his TikTok page. The clips, showing him flexing and doing pushups shirtless, were filmed in June 2024 and only posted after he quit in February.

The video went viral fairly quickly, amassing upwards of two million views before it was removed for violating guidelines. That’s when the case was picked up by the Australian Federal Police, leading to Ginoski’s arrest. They counted six separate videos of him near or on the turbine.

A hearing took place at the Downing Centre Court on April 2, pinning Ginoski with charges of endangering aviation safety and failing to wear proper security permits in a restricted airport zone. The influencer pled guilty to both, earning him a $1,500 fine.

The defendant’s lawyer, Ahmed Dib, claimed that the videos caused Ginoski to lose a work apprenticeship and get backlash from his professors.

“A lot of people have missed the fact that it was totally safe,” Ginoski asserted, saying that the engine was not running and merely “moving in the wind.” He also stated that flight attendants “always sit in the engines,” not mentioning that they are likely not doing so half-naked.

Judges didn’t agree with Ginoski’s side of the story, calling the conduct “stupid” and “vain.” Magistrate Greg Grogin said what the rest of us were thinking: “I am really at a loss as to what motivates people to do such things.”

“Airside security zones are highly regulated and secure areas, and the AFP will not tolerate breaches which may compromise the safe operations of the airport, no matter how harmless they may seem,” noted AFP Sydney Airport police commander Davina Copelin.

FMI: www.sydneyairport.com.au