Unearthed Video Shows Arnold Schwarzenegger Working Out With His 5′5″ Tall Legendary Best Friend

Five years before Arnold Schwarzenegger captured the Mr. Olympia title, the young Austrian met Franco Columbu during a powerlifting meet. The friendship they struck up on that day became an inseparable bond that remained intact until Columbu’s death in 2019. After reaching the pinnacle of bodybuilding together, Schwarzenegger embarked on his Hollywood journey. Columbu also appeared in many of Schwarzenegger’s movies. However, in 1993, Franco Columbu produced and starred in Beretta’s Island. In the film, Columbu’s best friend made an appearance, and nearly two decades after Pumping Iron (1977), the two friends worked out in front of the camera. 

An unearthed clip from the rare movie shows the duo training together. Let’s have a look at the same.

Just like the good old days

In Beretta’s Island, the two-time Mr. Olympia played a retired Interpol agent who is thrust back into action after a drug lord kills his friend. Schwarzenegger appears in the movie as the 5’5″ tall bodybuilding legend’s trainer. In the three-minute clip, the former Mr. Olympias relives their bodybuilding days when they helped one another train.

The scene begins with the Austrian Oak in the gym, motivating Columbu to work out. The seven-time Mr. Olympia instructs his friend to start with the bench press and counts the reps in Italian. The duo then move on to bent-over rows. After Columbu does the first set, Arnie jumps into a set of his own. The friends then move on to close grip lat pull downs.

Just like Schwarzenegger counted in Italian, Columbu counted in German for his best friend, and the two push one another to work harder. While an avid fan of cinema might question the narrative value of the scene, the energy and chemistry of two best friends reliving their bodybuilding days couldn’t be replicated by probably any other acting pair.

READ MORE | Despite Different Backgrounds, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Franco Columbu Had an Unlikely Cardio Friendship

While the 1993 movie might have been their final workout to feature on the camera, the two friends continued to pump weights together at Gold’s Gym. In fact, through his daily newsletter, Arnold Schwarzenegger recently urged his fans to experience the joy of working out with a partner.

Arnold Schwarzenegger made a heartfelt request to his subscribers

After starting his fitness newsletter in January of this year, over 300,000 people have subscribed to the 75-year-old’s newsletter. Recently, the Terminator actor urged the members of his “village” to find a workout partner. “Be a training partner to someone this week,” Arnie told his readers.

After training with his best friend for decades, the bodybuilding legend knows the joy of training with someone who pushes another to do better. “I think that you’ll find that going out of your way to help someone else helps you,” wrote the bodybuilding icon in his newsletter.

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What did you make of the clip of Arnie and Columbu from Beretta’s Island? Let us know in the comments.