Gym buddies speak about Gold Coast pharmacy robbery
Two buff gym buddies who heroically stopped a pharmacy robbery while on a date night with their partners have opened up about the terrifying burglary.
Andy David and Gerard Pashkevich were finishing dinner with their girlfriends on Sunday night when they saw a man holding up a Gold Coast pharmacy.
'We were out for dinner and saw a fella run in with a balaclava, he was behind the counter getting money out,' one of the men explained on Sunrise.
Speaking to Sam Armytage, who joked she 'wouldn't want to run into them in a dark alley', the men said the robber told them he had a gun.
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Revealed: Gym buddies Andy (left) and Gerard (right) have been revealed as the buff heroes who thwarted a Gold Coast pharmacy robbery
The men stopped an alleged thief (centre) who tried to escape after robbing the chemist
Throwing caution to the wind, they tackled the suspected thief to the ground - with one snapping his finger in half and losing his flip-flops in the process.
'He was pretty wide-eyed, he looked up and re-thought his situation,' Gerard joked.
CCTV captured the moment the men brought the alleged thief to the ground - ironically knocking over a stand of protein bars in the process.
The men explained that their girlfriends, who were watching on in horror outside the Southport chemist, were only able to relax when police arrived.
'They weren't very happy, during and after they were very angry... but they are happy now,' they laughed.
The two men manage to wrestle the man away from the door and back inside the pharmacy
The men explained that their girlfriends, who were watching on in horror outside the Southport chemist, were only able to relax when police arrived
The alleged robber, a 47-year-old man from Burleigh Waters, was arrested and charged with one count of armed robbery.
He appeared in court on Monday but his case was adjourned to a later date.
The quick-thinking men were praised by the hundreds of thousands of people who watched the video, with one writing that they deserved 'a big kiss'.
'Good on ya boys, you should be proud of yourself to have protect[ed] your part of the community,' wrote one admirer.
Another wrote that we need 'more heroes like them' in Australia, and another agreed that their actions to save the shop from robbery was 'the true meaning of community'.
The pharmacist (second from left) gave wire to one of the men to make temporary handcuffs as the third man (far right in red shorts) helped them keep the thief lying on the ground