Lenny Kravitz defends viral video of himself working out in leather pants and boots

‘If I’m lifting weights, I don’t sweat so much,’ Kravtiz explains

Lenny Kravitz has defended a viral video of himself working out in leather pants and boots.

The 59-year-old musician addressed how his workout attire made headlines last month during an interview with Variety, published on 30 April. When asked why he believed the Instagram video of his workout got so much attention, he said he “had no idea,” before defending the outfit he wore in the footage. He also acknowledged that he doesn’t always wear leather pants and boots when at the gym.

“Because I’m always working out in leather pants or jeans and boots and whatever – if I’m not doing cardio,” he said. “If I’m doing cardio, obviously I’m going to wear sweats because I’m going to be sweating all over the place. But if I’m lifting weights, I don’t sweat so much.”

Kravitz shared that, amid his busy schedule, he often wears what he’s had on for the day at the gym, especially when he’s going to be there for less than an hour.

“So, a lot of times I’m coming from somewhere or I’m going somewhere. And I just don’t care,” he continued. “I’m gonna pop in, I’ve got 45 minutes, we’re gonna hit it and I’m gonna go run to where I’m going. So I don’t do it for effect.”

The “Fly Away” singer then expressed that he doesn’t wear these workout outfits for the sake of going viral.

“So I don’t do it for effect. I didn’t do that to be like, ‘Oh, let me be just so different and wear leather pants and glasses.’ No, it’s just me walking in off the street,” he said.

When asked about the online criticism over his workout attire, he once again acknowledged that he “knows what” he’s doing at the gym and so does his trainer. Without mentioning names, he also specified that he’s trained with some famous athletes.

“I know my body and what my body does and what it can do and how it feels and it’s all good,” he explained. “I trained with elite athletes, I trained with football players, NFL and NBA stars. I trained with MLB stars, wrestlers, boxers. I’ve played with them all.”

He then opened up about a previous experience with his now trainer of 25 years, Dodd Romero, where a bunch of athletes were surprised to see the musician workout out in jeans.

“These big athletes saw me walking in and my trainer said ‘He’s gonna work out with us.’ And they all started laughing,” he recalled. “Because I was wearing jeans and a belt and boots and whatever shirt I was wearing, and they were like, ‘We’re gonna work out with this little rock star dude?’ Like, they were making fun of me. And I destroyed them. And they didn’t see it coming.”

Last month, Kravitz first shared the video of himself and his trainer at the gym. “Thank God for today! Grateful. Never been better. There are no shortcuts so seize your day. It is all possible. Love!” he wrote in the caption.

The clip featured Kravitz doing sit-ups and holding a barbell while a personal trainer held his legs down. The workout itself wasn’t what gained attention from his followers, but the fact that he was wearing leather pants, black boots, and a sheer tank top at the gym.

Many people turned to the comments section at the time to note that while the outfit may not make sense for people doing a workout, it did make sense to Kravitz. “Who trains in leather pants???” one commenter questioned. “Only Lenny does.”

Meanwhile, others joked that not having leather attire was holding them back from regularly working out themselves. “Reasons why I haven’t started working out: 1. I don’t own any leather pants. Yea that’s it,” one comment read.

While receiving his star on The Hollywood Walk of Fame in March, Kravitz’s daughter, Zoë, also quipped about how her father likes to showcase his figure with the help of his see-through shirts.

“According to my dad, if it doesn’t expose your nipples, it’s not a shirt. And sure, it used to embarrass me when you picked me up from school as a kid, but I gotta say, at this point, I respect it,” she shared during her speech, according to Variety. “You really do pull it off. Your relationship with a netted shirt is probably your longest one, and it works. You two make each other better, and if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. It’s a beautiful thing.”