Baffling gym intruder
Cops called after ex-Titan walks in on ‘Bobby’
An alleged intruder has consumed seven pre-workout supplements, set up an inflatable Santa and done a bathroom deep-clean in a bizarre Gold Coast gym break-in.
Around 6pm on Sunday December 7, a man calling himself “Bobby” allegedly broke into the ACTV Gym in Ashmore, a franchise created by surf ironman Ali Day and owned by state-league Australian rules players Paris Lightfoot and Jackson Fisher.
Lightfoot was first made aware of Bobby’s alleged intrusion when club member and ex-Gold Coast Titans NRL star Zeb Taia asked her if they had a cleaner.
Ex-backrower Taia had opened the gym on Monday for his workout at 4.20am and came across “Bobby” who told Taia he was the cleaner.
Lightfoot told the Bulletin: “There was this guy just down the back of the gym. He was in the bathroom doing something or just cleaning, not 100 per cent sure.
“It turns out this guy had been there since 6pm the night before. He ended up drinking seven energy drinks, some protein powder.
“He blew up the blow-up Santa we had up for Christmas that was under the desk, which we all kind of laughed at.
“He spent the whole night in there, had a shower and looked like he enjoyed himself.”
CCTV shows “Bobby” walking around the gym, mainly staying behind the desk looking for food and drink.
“We did have a laptop, an iPad, some money, those drinks, a couple of jumpers that were stolen,” Lightfoot said.
“We did report it to police and they have come and taken fingerprints and DNA from the bottles he drank out of.
“It is pretty scary to think how he got in. He has picked the lock to one of our doors from inside the garage and in that area is this full big bed where it looks like he has been camping out.
“We haven’t seen him in the gym on nights before, having gone back through footage.”
The former Titan said he heard a noise inside when he went to unlock the door.
“Immediately I thought something wasn’t right and I was a bit cautious when I went in,” Taia said.
“Then I saw this guy and he said to he was the cleaner and told me his name.
“He didn’t look dangerous but you never know. When you hear people have robbed places, they bolt. But this guy just hung around and spoke to me.”
On entering the gym, footage shows Bobby going through a fridge, turning on the airconditioning and heading to the bathroom.
“I noticed how cold it was when I first walked in, that as well as the noise was what first alarmed me,” Taia said.
“He didn’t look homeless, but I will say he looked like he has had a hard life.
“Around this area, we do have some issues with the homeless who are just looking for a place to crash.”
Taia has shared a video of him shaking Bobby’s hand and chatting.
“As much as it isn’t funny because things were stolen, you can laugh about it because it was such a strange interaction,” he said.
Police confirmed they are investigating the alleged break-in, confirming the intruder stole around $9000 worth of gym and electrical equipment.