[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”][et_pb_text module_class=”custom-post-title” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” header_font=”Black Han Sans|700||on|||||” header_text_align=”center” header_font_size=”46px” header_letter_spacing=”4px” custom_margin=”25px||5px||false|false” custom_padding=”0px||0px||true|false” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content” sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n
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Words by Simon Newton [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/flatplan-plus-content.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2024\/08\/DSC_7617-copy.jpg” alt=”Jennifer Aniston” title_text=”DSC_7617-copy” force_fullwidth=”on” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content” sticky_enabled=”0″][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” min_height=”107px” custom_padding=”||0px|||” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content” sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n Having worked as a bodyguard for some of the world\u2019s most famous faces, I know a thing or two about the realities of being a celebrity. Some of my A-list clients include Kendall Jenner, Bella Hadid, Rita Ora, and the late-Michael Jackson, alongside an array of high-net-worth individuals. When working as an A-list bodyguard, the stakes are high \u2013 if anything goes wrong, you\u2019re the one who gets in trouble. But it\u2019s also incredibly rewarding and has led to many other opportunities, including becoming famous in my own right.<\/p>\n My career started off in the military, which is a natural progression for a lot of bodyguards. When I left the army, I was a bodyguard for the Foreign Commonwealth Office in Iraq for three years. I have also worked in Afghanistan and done anti-piracy work on the tankers in the Gulf of Aden. Between this, I worked as a freelance bodyguard alongside model agencies, tour managers and record labels. Later, I set up my own private security company based in London. <\/p>\n I was coming home on leave from Afghanistan in 2006 when I got a call asking if I could do a job looking after a guy coming to London for ten days. It turned out to be Michael Jackson, who was in the UK to attend the World Music Awards. I was just 26 at the time, but he\u2019s still my most famous client to date.<\/p>\n Madness followed Michael Jackson everywhere, so there were five bodyguards on that job to look after him. Out of all my celebrity clients, Michael was the one I had the least contact with because his entourage was so big \u2013 he had fifteen or sixteen staff come over from the states to do various jobs. Fans would fly from all over the world, and some of them had black cabs running on meters all day just so they could follow us around. Others paid fortunes to stay in the hotel he was in so they could sit in the lobby and try and catch a glimpse of him. Sometimes they would even try to crawl between your legs to get to him. <\/p>\n The fans weren\u2019t hostile, but the sheer volume of them meant it was a hard crowd to control. We couldn\u2019t move Michael around much because of all the crowds \u2013 there was no casual walks in the park or popping to the shops. We stuck to taking him places he was booked to go to, otherwise it would have been a disaster. The only place we went was Topshop at Oxford Street, which they opened at midnight for him so he could get free reign.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text module_class=”custom-quote” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” header_2_font=”Libre Bodoni|||on|||||” header_2_text_align=”center” header_2_text_color=”#333333″ header_2_font_size=”40px” header_2_line_height=”1.2em” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content” sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” custom_padding=”|||0px||” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content” sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n My favourite client I\u2019ve ever worked with is Bella Hadid. I was her bodyguard for two years whenever she came to London \u2013 she\u2019s lovely and working with her was always a good day out. She listened to my advice, and we had a good working relationship. I also worked for other models, such as Kendall Jenner and Gigi Hadid who, like Bella, were always very polite and accommodating.<\/p>\n How much contact you have with a celebrity all depends on what they prefer \u2013 some like you close by, while others prefer you to stay in the car. Some celebrities could be divas, particularly the ones who didn\u2019t like having security. I tried to avoid those clients. If I saw a job come up with someone who was known for being a nightmare, I\u2019d say no. <\/p>\n Spending so much time with celebrities has opened my eyes up to the realities of fame. One of my main takeaways? It\u2019s a nuisance. Not being able to go to the petrol station or buy milk without ending up in the tabloids is a huge infringement on your life. It\u2019s all well and good if you can make money from it, but if you can\u2019t its absolute hell. That\u2019s something people who go on reality shows to find fame don\u2019t understand.<\/p>\n I\u2019ve learned that celebrities are, underneath it all, just normal people. At the end of the day, they cry, go to the bathroom, sleep, and eat like the rest of us. Quite a lot of them struggle with their mental health, too. When you remove the ball gown, or take them out of the movie they\u2019re in, they\u2019re not all that different. Some of the celebrities I was friendly with would open up to me if they were having a bad day. I\u2019d spend some mornings just chatting to them when they were feeling a bit emotional. <\/p>\n The celebrity landscape has changed a lot since I was working as a bodyguard. The early noughties were a very different time. There are so many more celebrities now, from D-listers to influencers. Cancel culture is massive, too \u2013 once you get cancelled, that\u2019s it. There\u2019s a lot of sadness to it. There was also much more paparazzi back then, as it was before the days of Instagram. I always had a good understanding with the paparazzi in London. I tried to keep them on side – if there was a time when we didn\u2019t want to be photographed, there was a good chance they\u2019d listen to me if I said no.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text module_class=”custom-quote” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” header_2_font=”Libre Bodoni|||on|||||” header_2_text_align=”center” header_2_text_color=”#333333″ header_2_font_size=”40px” header_2_line_height=”1.2em” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content” sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” theme_builder_area=”post_content” hover_enabled=”0″ sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n There\u2019s no typical day in the life of a celebrity bodyguard \u2013 it all depends on your client. If you\u2019re looking after an actress, you might start at 4am if they have an early call time. With models, I\u2019ve done 24-hour shifts before. You wake up before your client and go to bed after them, so you need to be able to think clearly when you\u2019re severely tired. Even when you\u2019re in a restaurant, you need to have finished your food before they have. You might get to eat a meal at a fancy restaurant, but you don\u2019t often have time to enjoy it because you\u2019ve got to pick something based on how quickly you can eat it.<\/p>\n One of the misconceptions people have is that you need to be big and tough. Of course, you have to be able to look after two people if something does go wrong \u2013 yourself and the client. But a big part of the job is mental agility, too. When celebrities have a day off to do what they want, it\u2019s your job to advise them on whether it\u2019s a good idea, and to be prepared in case anything goes wrong. That\u2019s especially the case for celebrities who have paparazzi following them all the time \u2013 they can\u2019t wait for something to go wrong so they can get a picture of it. Other than that, unless a celebrity has a stalker, which lots do at some point or another, I\u2019m mostly just protecting them from over excited fans and stuff we all experience, such as theft.<\/p>\n Looking after billionaires is a different ball game all together. They aren\u2019t as widely recognised as celebrities, so it\u2019s easier from a security point of view. But there\u2019s often a lot more to look after \u2013 they have boats, houses all round the world, expensive watches. Your advice is responsible for all of that.<\/p>\n In a strange turn of events, my career as a celebrity bodyguard led me to become famous in my own right. That took a bit of getting used to. I got offered to do a film in 2010 while I was a working bodyguard. Over the pandemic, I went to acting school and got an agent, which landed me more roles, including in Green Zone Thriller and Sherlock Holmes, A Game of Shadows. I also became recognised for my fashion sense while working as a bodyguard. Vogue published a picture of me when I was working with Bella at London Fashion Week, with the headline \u2018Bella Hadid\u2019s Bodyguard Is the Real Style Star of London Fashion Week.\u2019<\/p>\n
<\/strong><\/p>\n‘Spending so much time with celebrities has opened my eyes up to the realities of fame’<\/h2>\n
‘Looking after billionaires is a different ball game all together’<\/span><\/h2>\n