Matt Sauerhoff, founder and CEO of personal training business The LIV Method, was caught on camera yelling at a neighbor who asked him to put a leash on his dog.
On Feb. 24, a social media user named Eddie Huang posted a video on TikTok of his interaction with the wellness guru, which began outside of their building in New York City when both residents were with their pets.
Huang — who recounted the incident on his Substack — said he was taking his Doberman, named Mr. Chow, outside around 8:30 p.m. on Feb. 22 when he claimed Sauerhoff’s unleashed dog ran up to them.
“We were minding our own business sitting on a bench watching UFC Saturday night when all of a sudden, another dog ran up behind Mr. Chow surprising both of us, knocking us off the bench,” Huang wrote on the blog. “I scrambled to my feet with the leash still in my hand, nervous about the loose dog knowing that Mr. Chow is trained to protect us. Once I had Mr. Chow calm and could assess the situation, I saw the dog’s owner about 30 feet away with a leash in his hand.”
“I asked politely over and over for the guy to leash his dog and he kept going off on me,” he added.
Huang then filmed himself as he confronted Sauerhoff about not having control of his dog.
“Yes, I walk my dog without a leash,” Sauerhoff said in the clip. “She’s walking around. Does my dog look like she’s bothering you?”
Huang took his Doberman back inside their building where the situation allegedly escalated. He claimed Sauerhoff started telling him who he was and “asking to have me removed from the property.”
In another video, Sauerhoff can be seen asking the doorman who Huang was.
“I asked to put his dog on a leash and he’s losing his mind,” Huang explained. “I live here.”
“Get the f— off the private property, get the f— out of here!” Sauerhoff yelled in the building lobby before approaching Huang with the doorman. “This guy’s got a f—ing problem. This guy started with me. F—you! Suck a d—, dude. F— off!”
The celebrity trainer then stormed off as his unleashed dog followed behind him.
On his blog, Huang said Sauerhoff later returned and claimed he was “holding up the logo of his gym on a phone to intimidate me.”
“I asked [our doorman] Kosta to help me report it to management and he did it immediately,” he wrote. “I went upstairs to my crib and researched the law about unleashed dogs in New York City. I discovered that Matt Sauerhoff was in violation of the law and I reported his unleashed dog.”
In New York City, all dogs in public places are required to be leashed, and the leash cannot be longer than 6 feet. Additionally, unleashed dogs in parks, apartment buildings, and other public spaces can be reported.
“I thought about sending a legal letter, I thought about a restraining order since we live in the same building, but I’m going to settle on speaking to this asshole face-to-face and demanding an apology,” Huang added in the blog post. “Apologize, know you’re wrong, and do f—ing better Matt Sauerhoff.”
