What are "gym trainers" doing exactly?

I don't hear this spoken about much, but I've always been curious. What do you think the people who block you on the way to the gym leader are doing? Are they employed by the leader, simply there to train, volunteers, other people arriving to challenge the leader?

From dialogue it seems they usually admire the gym leaders. Most of them just stand around in the gym not doing much, as opposed to the trainers in the overworld who spin around and sometimes run.

I feel like they're hired by the gym leaders, or are just fans of them so they're there to challenge you before you fight the leader. I don't think it's any deeper than that, really.

In our RPs (and the anime too irc) they're usually either hired workers, like PTs and people who maintain the gym, or they're gym-goers, fans and followers who come there to train themselves and their pokemon.

My head cannon is that they train there and the leader is there teacher and role model

I always thought they were hired by the gym leader to work there. In some cases though (from text they say in game) it feels like they're just ordinary people who train there and look up to the leader.

Like some others said, I think they're there to make it tougher for you to get to the gym leader... but I also think they're responsible for things like cleaning/maintaining the gym. I'd love to see more trainers in action in the anime to give them more depth and definition!

I think one important aspect is that they show the challenger what the gym is about. By that I mean less what type is being used, but rather how it is being used. They show the challenge that lies ahead but in a very basic way so the challenger has some time to prepare for the Gym Leader.

Other than that they probably make sure to keep things in the gym maintained. And they may also practice their own skills as battlers. Some of them are probably also meant to serve as successors when the old Gym Leader steps down from their post.

It depends on the gym.

For example, I think Blaine's gym is staffed by people he met in Cinnabar Mansion. He offered the burglars a legitimate gig and the super nerds a mentorship (Remember, Blaine's a scientist!).

One of Surge's gym trainers is an old war buddy.

In Sootopolis, all the gym trainers are fangirls of the gym leader (And with Wallace, I can't blame them!).

Almost all the Unova gyms double as some other type of facility, with the trainers being patrons or employees. Cheren's trainers are his top students, Striaton's trainers are waiters, Lenora's trainers are library volunteers, Skyla's trainers are pilots and stewardesses, Burgh's trainers are artists, Elesa's trainers in BW1 are rich kids who can afford to frequent the amusement park, Elesa's trainers in BW2 are fellow models, Clay's trainers are the employees in his mining business, and Roxie's trainers are her band.

I personally like when context is given to why people are at a gym. Even just having people say they're training under the gym leader to become better at a type makes things feel more real.

I think gyms actually feel like some sort of mafia. The people are just followers who maybe get paid when anyone trashes a opponent

honestly thought that they were just volunteers to help the gym leader test out any challengers that wanted to challenge the gym. :o although reading BoulderSmolder's post gives some interesting context as to why some gym trainers are there, too!

If Gyms actually made sense and were actual gyms, I would imagine them functioning as some sort of training ground designed for the corresponding type.

So, a Grass type Gym would be a natural, grassy environment with moderate sunlight and adequate climatic conditions designed for these Pokémon to train and improve their skills more efficiently, to fight at their full potential. Therefore it would make sense for other trainers who focus on that type to be training in that gym.

If you had to build a Flying type gym, you would certainly want to have a big arena with a high ceiling, or no ceiling at all, so that Flying types have a lot of room to maneuver and can cover long distances faster, allowing their superior mobility to shine. Same if you want to build a Ghost gym, you'd likely want to have a somewhat dark and more confined place, so that Ghosts can blend easier in the darkness, and hide and surprise their opponents more efficiently.