Fitness and movie Icon Arnold Schwarzenegger attended former Toowoomba local Tim Gabbett’s workshop

One of the world’s most recognisable Hollywood stars surprised a former Toowoomba man at his Los Angeles fitness workshop. Here’s how it happened.

Former Toowoomba local Tim Gabbett was shocked when Arnold Schwarzenegger turned up to his Train Smarter and Harder LA session recently. Wednesday, February 15, 2023. Picture: Facebook.

A former Toowoomba resident who works across the globe with elite athletes and high-performance teams was shocked to see a Hollywood legend walk into his workshop.

Tim Gabbett of Gabbett Performance Solutions hosted a two-day Train Smarter and Harder workshop in Los Angeles recently, part of a short United States tour, when suddenly fitness legend and movie icon Arnold Schwarzenegger arrived.

“I was just as surprised as anyone,” Dr Gabbett said.

“I grew up watching Arnold Schwarzenegger movies. He’s probably one of the most recognisable people on the planet.

“It’s not something that happens everyday, that’s for sure. It was quite the surprise.”

Former Toowoomba local Tim Gabbett was shocked when Arnold Schwarzenegger turned up to his Train Smarter and Harder LA session recently. Wednesday, February 15, 2023. Picture: Facebook.

Dr Gabbett, the 1991 St Mary’s College Captain, has spent more than 25 years working as an applied sports scientist, and helping athletes and coaches from across the world.

His workshops focus on load management, rehabilitation and training programs, and more.

During his time, he has worked with countless high-profile athletes including Queensland rugby league legend Nate Myles and Philadelphia 76ers star Joel Embiid.

Former Toowoomba local Tim Gabbett was shocked when Arnold Schwarzenegger turned up to his Train Smarter and Harder LA session recently. Wednesday, February 15, 2023. Picture: Facebook.

However, he said it was not often he had a chance to sit down and have a genuine conversation with someone as recognisable as the former California Governor.

“That to me was the most special part of it because of his humility and being able to just talk to the average person about the ways he’s gone about his life,” Dr Gabbett said.

“He’s very driven and very humble about what he's achieved.

“It probably just reinforced to me that if you’ve got a talent, you owe it to yourself and to the people who believed in you as well to share that talent and get the most out of yourself with that talent.”