A top bodyguard who protects the likes of Naomi Campbell and Bella Hadid tells how he broke into VIP close protection almost by accident after his army career
A former soldier ended up as a bodyguard to some of the biggest stars including Michael Jackson – and recalled just what he was like.
Simon Newton, served in Iraq during one of the most dangerous periods in the troubled country’s history. But after leaving the army, he moved into the field of private security.
It was while he was on a break from the Afghanistan job that he was launched into the world of celebrity, which has seen him accompany the likes of Rita Ora and Bella Hadid at red carpet events around the world.
Appearing on Dodge Woodall’s podcast, he explained that he was visiting a mate up in Edinburgh, planning to have “a couple of nights on the p***” before returning to Kabul, when he received a call from a contact in the private security business.
“He said ‘Are you are you available to work tomorrow and the day after?’ And I said, ‘Well not really, I’m on leave from Afghanistan – what is it?’”
Simon’s pal explained that there was a call for a short-term close protection job, starting in Luton. While Simon didn’t really want to let down his friend in Edinburgh, he had been keen to get some work back in the UK, so he decided to give it a go.
Rather than walk out on his mate within hours of arriving, he agreed to have one night out in Edinburgh before heading back to Heathrow. Unfortunately, one thing led to another and Simon missed his flight, ending up having to get a later plane.
He went on: “At the time I lived in Eastbourne, so I thought I hadn’t got a time to land, get a train down to Eastbourne get all my kit get back up and go to Luton so I landed, went straight down the shops bought the suit and all the bits – shoes and everything.”
After hurriedly getting changed in the loo, he recalls feeling uncomfortable in his brand-new clobber as he waited in Luton Airport to be told exactly who it was he’d be looking after: “I sat down in this room with a few other people who I didn’t know at the time, and they handed me this document. They said ‘OK, this is the gentleman who’s coming in, in the next hour,’
“I looked at it and Michael Jackson was on the front of the thing. I didn’t register, I just thought ‘Oh Michael Jackson’s on it, when I open this up I’ll see who it is’ – and it was him all the way.”
It was only then that Simon realised he’d be guarding one of the most famous people on Earth.
On the few occasions that they chatted, Simon said Jackson was a quiet, often childlike character. He explained: “He’d say some things that maybe you’d expect to hear from a much younger person.”
After setting up his own UK private security outfit in 2010, Simon has gone on to work with innumerable other celebrities such as Bella Hadid, Kendal Jenner, Naomi Campbell and Rita Ora
He described Bella being as a particularly good client to work for. “She was always nice, we always got on, and she always made sure I had everything I needed. She always listened to what I had to say,” he said.
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