NYC gym culture has its own language, anyone else notice how regional the scene is?

Been lifting in New York my whole life and when I travel for work it is immediately obvious how regional gym culture is. Gear talk is open and casual here, people actually know their compounds. Flew to Charlotte last month and guys at the gym were genuinely shocked I was talking about bloodwork and AI management like it was normal. Anyone else notice this? Where are the most knowledgeable scenes outside NYC in your experience?

South Florida is surprisingly good for open gym culture. Lots of competitive bodybuilders around so gear talk is just normal conversation. I have trained in the midwest and midwest guys treat it like a secret society. Europe seems most open from what I hear - is that accurate for you UK and German guys?

UK is pretty open in the serious gyms. Powerlifting and bodybuilding gyms especially - nobody is hiding anything. Commercial gyms are different, gear talk stays quiet there. Not because of judgement, just different crowd. The knowledge level varies massively though. Plenty of guys running cycles with no bloodwork, no AI, no plan.