RFK Jr. hit an exclusive NYC gym in jeans and hiking boots — it shows he's part of the elite and an outsider at the same time

• RFK Jr. was spotted wearing jeans and hiking boots in one of America's most exclusive gyms.
• His unusual workout gear reflects the contradictory nature of his persona and views, experts said.
• Showcasing his fitness at 70 helps to signal that his controversial views on health are legitimate.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. wants you to know that he's healthy, rugged, and has an Equinox membership.

Donald Trump's pick for the secretary of Health and Human Services was spotted working out at the elite gym in Manhattan's swanky Hudson Yards wearing jeans and hiking boots, Page Six reported on Sunday.

The 60,000-square-foot fitness complex contains both a saltwater lap pool and a heated outdoor pool, a sundeck, a restaurant, pilates studios, and saunas. Membership costs $405 a month.

We can't know for sure why Kennedy chose that outfit, but consciously or not, it sends a certain message. The combination of denim and sturdy outdoor footwear against the backdrop of a luxury gym encapsulates his "insider/outsider vibe," which helps him to appeal to his varied audience, experts told Business Insider.

Many find it curious that Kennedy on the one hand is aligned with discredited causes such as the link between the MMR vaccine and autism, while his assessment of certain health issues, such as the potential link between chronic disease and ultra-processed foods, seems sound. His gym clothing reflects this dichotomy.

Since the COVID pandemic, groups of people with seemingly opposing political stances have converged in unexpected ways. This includes libertarian conspiracy theorists, "crunchy" moms, and "manosphere" figures like Joe Rogan, whose views on some healthcare issues now align, Peter Knight, a professor of American Studies at the University of Manchester, UK, said. Kennedy, who is anti-fluoride, anti-vaccine, anti-UPFs, and believes the FDA is suppressing public health, taps into all of these audiences, he said.

"This is the world that he's been moving in for a long time, and a lot of it is not pre-planned, but there is an awareness of appealing to these different kinds of groups that have really come together since the pandemic," he said.

The 70-year-old is signaling that his brand of wellness works

Earlier this month, the swole 70-year-old shared a video in which he wore the same jeans and boot combo but was shirtless and flexing his muscles in an iconic body-building gym in Venice, California.

Promoting exercise, and showing off his own personal strength, is "absolutely" part of his political identity, Mehlman Petrzela said. It implicitly signals "the efficacy of his own, unconventional, ideas about health."

Other politicians, including Teddy Roosevelt, John F. Kennedy, and Jimmy Carter, have used their personal exercise routines to convey their fitness for office, Mehlman Petrzela said.

"But in doing so at the age of 70, and so clearly to show off his looks as much as his health, he is almost painting himself as superhuman, able to transcend the traditional rules of aging," she said of Kennedy.

Sonya Abrego, a design historian specializing in the history of American fashion and an assistant professor at Parsons School of Design, said the image of Kennedy working out shirtless was reminiscent of an '80s or '90s movie action figure.

"Like someone who just sprung into action, ripped off a shirt, and started lifting weights," she said. "I mean, obviously it's showing off the way his body looks as an older person and promoting his ideas about health and diet."

The outfit evokes traditional, rural American masculinity

While jeans are ubiquitous today, historically, they were worn by blue-collar workers, and they still signal the American West when worn with cowboy boots and hats, Abrego, who has studied denim, said.

For someone of Kennedy Jr.'s generation, there would still likely be an association of jeans with cowboys and "the kind of rugged masculinity" they exude, she said: "Something of an outlier, something a little bit rebellious, especially someone coming from an elite background that he comes from."

"He's rich and cool and aspirational enough to have access to elite circles, but still sufficiently a man of the people such that he seems out of place there," Mehlman Petrzela said of Kennedy's Equinox visit.

The choice to wear jeans could be read as him positioning himself as "more of an everyman," or possibly a nod to a more rural, traditional American masculinity, Abrego said. The hiking boots also signal the outdoors and possibly his connection to environmental causes.

"He often just dresses like a typical politician in a suit. So it does feel like an intentional break from how he presents publicly," she said. "It also sort of tracks with his unusual and often kind of inconsistent persona and ideals."