It is easy to see why.
They powerlifted, travelled overseas for the first time and created a piece of New Zealand history together, and remain friends five decades later.
Fifty years ago, Voight (72) and Smith (73), both of Dunedin, were part of the Otago powerlifting team that competed in Australia, the first New Zealand powerlifting team to compete internationally.
Alongside fellow team members John Burbery and Rod McLaughlin, who have since moved to Australia, and the late Bernie O’Driscoll, they competed at the Sydney Combined YMCA championships, under the watchful eye of their manager, the late John Gibson.
Before competing against four Sydney YMCA teams in Bankstown, the men in black had no idea what to expect.
Once they stepped on to the mat it was a different story, when Otago won gold in all three of its divisions, through Voight (middleweight), McLaughlin (light-heavyweight) and O’Driscoll (heavyweight).
It was a triumphant first international outing for the Otago lifters.
"It was good fun competing against Aussie guys because the competition against the Aussies was the same as it is today for the All Blacks and everything — we don’t like being beaten by the Aussies," Voight said, laughing.
He reflected fondly on O’Driscoll — "a terrific man" — captaining Otago and deadlifting 272kg to win the heavyweight title.
Then came the adventures off the mat.
It was an eye-opening first trip overseas for the Dunedin men who, in their words, were a "bit green".
From driving around Sydney in a flash red Ford Falcon, to visiting Taronga Zoo, Manly Beach, rugby league clubs, and staying at Kings Cross, it was a life-changing experience.
"I’ve flown a lot since then but nothing can beat that first trip.
"It was just marvellous. We had a lot of fun."
But it took a lot hard work and sacrifice to get there.
Voight and Smith met at the former Dunedin YMCA in Moray Pl, where they were both getting into powerlifting.
Standing at 193cm, Smith was a powerful man in his own right but only weighed about 80kg.
"People used to say ‘you’ll never put on weight’ and I thought, ‘bugger this’," Smith said.
Through the gym, Smith eventually did gain weight, getting up to 102kg before heading to Sydney — earning himself the nickname "Tiny" from his team-mates for his size.
Once the pair, and other powerlifters, qualified for the international competition, they had to raise the funds to get there.
Powerlifting was a "purely amateur sport", and with no funding from sports bodies available, the players sold chickens and visited Dunedin pubs and bars for nearly a year selling raffle tickets to raise the money.
"Then we got sponsorship for our tracksuits," Voight said.
"We had everything that we needed, except spending money."
The team prepared under great mentors at the gym and even entered a rugby team in the local club competition to gain aerobic fitness.
And when they set off to Sydney, Smith never viewed the trip as the team making history.
"It was just a personal thing for me.
"I didn’t sort of look at it as the first team going over.
"It was just the experience to be with a group of guys that you get on with doing the same thing, but to travel over the country and meet like-wise people was really good."
When they returned to Dunedin, the pair went on to improve their personal bests. Smith competed in the South Island championships and Voight won the Otago championships in 1973, his final year of competitive lifting.
The men still share a laugh about the trip, looking back through old scrapbooks of Otago Daily Times articles and photos in Voight’s home lounge dedicated to sport.
