Growing up, people imagine themselves in all sorts of fields of work, from businessmen and businesswomen, to princes and princesses, presidents, dancers, chefs, and beyond. Though,as kids, many of them aspire to do something to make the world a better place – a safer place, a nicer place, which often means trying to become a nurse or a police officer.But guardian angels come in all shapes and forms, and for many people, it’s bodyguards that make the world a safer place. Some people on Quora were curious about what being a bodyguard entails, so they started discussions about what it’s like to be responsible for the safety of acelebrity, a wealthy person, or abillionaire. Many representatives of the profession shared their stories, so if you, too, are curious to learn about their experiences, scroll down to find their answers on the list below.This post may includeaffiliate links.
Growing up, people imagine themselves in all sorts of fields of work, from businessmen and businesswomen, to princes and princesses, presidents, dancers, chefs, and beyond. Though,as kids, many of them aspire to do something to make the world a better place – a safer place, a nicer place, which often means trying to become a nurse or a police officer.
But guardian angels come in all shapes and forms, and for many people, it’s bodyguards that make the world a safer place. Some people on Quora were curious about what being a bodyguard entails, so they started discussions about what it’s like to be responsible for the safety of acelebrity, a wealthy person, or abillionaire. Many representatives of the profession shared their stories, so if you, too, are curious to learn about their experiences, scroll down to find their answers on the list below.
This post may includeaffiliate links.
I have protected wealthy folks, but generally steered clear of celebrities. I have protected famous people from Michigan on short-term contracts lasting only days or weeks and have worked with other security professionals when celebrities have visited Michigan.The primary reason that I refrain from celebrity security is the stress, hours, and peril. Crowd control, Paparazzi, stalkers, obsessive fans, the celebrity’s entourage all tend to suck and create a lot of unnecessary stress. The hours depending upon who the celebrity is can be long, manic, and inconsistent making it impossible to have a life of your own. By peril, it’s not what most think; protecting most celebrities isn’t all that dangerous per se. It’s the legal peril; d***s, recklessness, civil liability, domestic disputes, many celebrities who need protection or at least think they do are dysfunctional persons. That’s too much liability for me, I don’t want negative publicity attached to my name, I don’t want to be named in a civil suit, etc.I have friends, colleagues, and acquaintances that work in NYC, LA, and Palm Springs. When I was getting started in the business I considered pursuing that avenue, there are advantages, but I ended up focusing on corporate security more so and it paid the bills so I stuck around.My personality is firm, dry, quiet, and calculated when I am working. This is congruent to most executives, they don’t bother me and I don’t bother them, we both have a job to do and respect one another. In situations that become long-term my personality softens, most of the time the protectee does as well. It’s not uncommon to become friendly with one another, have a drink at the end of the day, bounce ideas, or ask advice of one another. I have four degrees, including a masters in business, so I often have an understanding of what the protectee is working on. In other words, I relate to the corporate world. Since I was a partner in my firm, I was the point-of-contact for the client, ancillary security and drivers’ didn’t have as much interaction as I did with the client. Often, I was in arm’s length of a client all day long.Wealth is an interesting status, it means different things to different people. Some inherited wealth through a family business, some built the business, some squandered the business. Some are generous, some are cheap. I had a client who would reheat hours old coffee, and another who threw away $500 dress shirts after one use. I ate White Castles in a Rolls Royce, drank $8/bottle rum on a million dollar boat. I had a client attempt to open the door of his jet while we were airborne, he was black-out drunk. Conservative, liberal; Compassionate, Spiteful; People come in all varieties and some hold their cards close to the vest and it’ll take a while to figure them out.The largest driver for me was a normal lifestyle. Most of the wealthy clients who worked in the business world were fairly predictable in their needs, which allowed myself and contractors to have our own lives. Most don’t require 24/7 security, anonymity is their best protection, many won’t recognize a CEO of a Fortune 50, let alone a Fortune 500, and those that do aren’t really a threat. Much of the work is threat assessment, client awarness, travel surveillance, and possessing emergency/contigent plans in place for catastrophic events to the business. Very few have Secret Service-like security details, although all the clients have access to emergency security that will bring a SWAT team pressence to their home or business if needed.It is just one more facet of people I was able to observe and learn from, all the good things and some of the bad things.
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It depends on the client. But generally it’s a little different from company senior execs, business world leaders or other clients as you have a very visible public image to contend with. Quite often, Celebs have an idea of how they think an Executive Protection (EP) agent/officer should dress or act and they want their teams to act in that manner. You will sometimes see a large thug that is with a celebrity, this is purely for image and does not necessarily add to their protection. In fact, a professional EP team would effectively blend in with the clients lifestyle and is often undistinguished from the rest of the clients friends/family and admin team.One of the hardest things to contend with in the celebrity industry is that there are a lot of cowboys out there that think because they are large/strong, have trained in martial arts or are legally able to carry a firearm, that this gives them the ability to work as an EP officer. This is not the case, a professional EP officer should have a full understanding of current industry standards and processes (standard operating procedures), as well as continual development training in skills such as medical. It is my belief that you are not an effective EP officer if you are not qualified in basic/intermediate life support.Most people think that an EP officer or “bodyguard” is purely reactive, but in reality, the true professionals are pro-active in identifying, analyzing and transferring or mitigating any risks to their client. Something that probably 75% of people that claim to be in the industry do not understand. Instead, people just try to muscle their way into positions but that are not actually trained to a high enough standard.
It’s thrilling, & can be complex at peak times, normal or even boring at other times. It depends on what the job is.I took a job where I provided around the clock protective services for the entire family of a major household appliances (think of it as Mr. Whirlpool, or Mr. Bosch) owner. He was remarrying & there was a reason we were there, his “need” for protective services won’t be discussed, but it came down to assigning teams for the clients, house monitoring, roving patrols and scouts. It was a very pleasant job, with nice people celebrating, amazing catering, and the clients friends were feeling safe, & were enjoying the wealth of the family, at every turn during that weekend.On the night before the big day, I was on house duty when the big boss came home pretty drunk. He asked me to join him in his study for a nice chat. And I realized that I had a chance here to talk comfortably with a billionaire about anything. It was fascinating, there is a difference in how these people think. That’s a fact. The most intriguing part was the question; he asked me, if I could do anything I want; if money is not the problem… What would I do?I told him, he quietly pondered for a few minutes, constantly running his finger around the rim of his glass of scotch, pulled me closer to him, & whispered in my ear; “you’re not dreaming big enough.“I’ve been pondering this ever since. So if you ask me, what’s it like to be a billionaire personal protective agent? I’d say; it depends on your client. I just told you the story of a “cool” client, other clients make you pick up their dogs poop during a “walk with the dog.“Most of the clients we have are businessmen or women who spend absurd amounts of time at work. When they work, you work. You are in a holding pattern. You hangout a lot in hallways and corridors, Drink a lot of coffee, pace & watch your surroundings.When they go on trips, you’re already there, you’ve ran reconnaissance & have routes (as in multiple) to travel. Ground teams, etc. There is a lot of communication going on between the “hats” (protection team).There are formations we form and ways we have our client covered from all angles, usually unseen to the majority of the people, it is in these moments work is intense.You know what we look for? Faces/hands.That’s what we are scanning. Emotions on the face, activity starts with the hands, so that’s what we are watching in your red carpet scenario.It depends, but is always intriguing.
Bodyguard/ driver that worked for a section of the Saudi royal family for a few summers Here. Really the craziest thing I ever saw was the sheer amount of money these people spent. I watched the grandmother go in to I can’t remember what big store in LA, sit on each floor on the way up and shopped while sitting down visually, and through a catalog. The entire bill at the end of her 1 hr trip to this store came out to about $150,000. She was buying gifts for her family back home and or where ever else they lived. It took 3 escalade to go back to their house just with the stuff we were able to carry out of the store to bring back to their home in OC. Everything else was shipped home on a private cargo plane.Also when they were finished with their stay, an entire 3 car garage was filled to the max with boxes of purchases from that summer and had to be shipped as well. I never thought I could see that much money spent in a two month period. Upwards of close to $1,000,000 of stuff. They just carried wads of $100’s each new time they went out, and would not stop shopping until it was all gone. Not including purchases on their “black cards"I should mention the certain part of the family I worked for was only two steps down from the the crowned family.On that same summer I actually got to meet one of the crowned princes. Nicest guy I ever met. Wentry up to his home in the hills of LA, and spent about 12 hours there just hanging out. They made me take my suit down to where I was as comfortable as can be, then kept bringing drinks too me, food, you name it. He even gave me a couple hundred bucks just for being there.The cars at his house, my god the collecton he had was just baffling.Edit: own my phone, don’t really feel like formatting/grammar. Come at me yo..
Most executive protection (bodyguard) assignments are 1% pure adrenaline mixed with 99% sheer boredom. Consequently, training oneself to stay mentally focused (i.e., poised to respond when that “1%” pops up) through hour after hour of a routine, uneventful shift is key. Another point that most outsiders (as well as many in the E.P. industry) don’t realize is that, especially for a longer-term assignment, your principal (protectee) has to like you or at a minimum, not dislike you. Too many newbies flounder in this business because they fail to recognize that it’s not just about being a “bad a*s” or even just about being good at your job. To succeed, it helps to have a personality and some people skills.
I specialize in executive and personal protection, and over the years I have guarded many well known clients.Celebrities are always some of the most ‘difficult’ clients. Not because they are rude or don’t listen, but because they are well known. My job is to provide security and protection to my client, and to be discrete and not known that I am there.I’ve done everything from special formations around the clients, to checking guest lists, to background checks, and even as far as special vehicle formations, where others don’t know what vehicle my clients are in. I have been in multiple situations where my goal is to protect my client and get out of the area we are in. If my client is threatened or in a compromising position, me and my team have roles we take. At the start of our shift or rotation, me and my team go over what our roles are.Say I have a client named ray. Say ray is a celebrity and well known, and has a 5 person security detail. If Ray is entering an event where there are many potential threats, we will have a formation that has been pre-decided. It may change once we get there due to conditions, and it may change many times over the course of our shift.If Ray is threatened, that’s when we really need to step into place. I am typically the guard in charge, and out of say 5 people, if there is one attacker, I would have 3 guards with my client, the other 2 would engage the threat if visibly seen, and our goal is not to chase the threat and take them down, our goal is to protect our client. I have been in situations where we rush our client into either a pre-decided safe spot or into their vehicle, and we get to safety. We don’t engage into the threat unless we really need to (If they are right in front of us, or coming after us that’s when we engage)If I have to, I would take my life for my client. It’s part of my job, and all guards are expected to. I hope I never have to be in that situation, but I need to be prepared. When I’m with a client I always need to be ready. Wether it’s protecting them, engaging in hand to hand combat, or even using my firearm I need to be ready. I am trained in self protection and protection of others, and pursuit driving. The vehicle I drive for work is typically a Chevrolet suburban or a Range Rover. Both are armored and have reinforced body panels and glass, which makes them much heavier. I drive a Ford Expedition and Cadillac Escalade, as well as my wife Lincoln Navigator for work. All of these vehicles are extremely similar to a suburban, but since the suburban is reinforced, it weighs and handles a lot differently. Acceleration is much slower, and braking power is reduced. I need to be able to safely and effectively drive my clients around to wherever they wish to go, and if I’m in the situation where I need to drive aggressively to keep my clients safe, I need to know how to do that. The company I work for does not go easy on training. It’s constant, and random, so we don’t always know when or what we are doing for it. It keeps us on our game, and if we can do maneuvers while under high amounts of pressure, we can do it when we aren’t under much pressure.So when I protect clients I do sometimes have to take risks and measures that typically wouldn’t be taken, but it’s part of the job, and it keeps my clients safe.
Billionaires are usually pretty smart people (which is why they are billionaires). They may have loads of money, but only one life. So they give respect and attention to the people they’re paying to protect them.The days can be long and sometimes a bit boring, but you also get the opportunity to experience some events (private yachts/jets, fancy cars, restaurants, travel, high priced sporting events) that you likely would never have experienced otherwise.I remember one particular client who treated his office staff like school children. He would yell at them one minute, then in the same breath, turn and speak to me like he’s supposed to.During my initial interview with a client to get all personal information (blood type, illnesses, medications etc.) required for the job, I’ll also take the opportunity to set the ground rules for my team. We’re being paid to protect. And in order to do that effectively, we require that our hands to be free at all times. Therefore, we don’t carry shopping bags, walk the dog etc., etc.
I have had bodyguards most of my teenage years as my father was a senior minister of government which required the family to have a security detail.At first i thought it was fun and “cool” but as the years rolled on it was more cumbersome than anything else. I liked to get into a bit of mischief here an there but the moment i tried something they would stop and/or immediately inform my parents. Everything i literally did was logged and reported back. We also lost all our privacy at home as having a details at home all the time took that away.I remember one time on the way back from school i wanted to stop and get some food from mcdonald’s but since that wasn’t on plan i was not allowed (this was quite common). Every time i tried to sneak out to go meet my girlfriend i would be stopped.There were times when the threats were all too real and at those moments we were all glad they were around no matter how much we had to sacrifice our privacy.
Define “celebrities”.There are a number of private security agencies which hire out “bodyguards” of all levels of training and competence. The celebrity, their management, or occasionally a production company or a studio can approach these businesses and hire them to provide security. This is a mixed bag as again the training levels and competence of the people who are employed cover a wide range and you often have no idea who its is that you’ll be receiving.Here’s the thing, questioner: Real life isn’t like the 1992 Kevin Costner/Whitney Houston film.Most bodyguards escort stars for brief periods of time until either the threat (real or imagined) dissipates or until their services become unaffordable. Very few wealthy people have full time security as the majority don’t need it; or it’s so cost-prohibitive that after a few weeks or months they can no longer afford it. If you are seeking to get into the career field expect to “bounce around” a lot and even to potentially not be paid for some assignments.Finally, most of those roles are reported to be rather dull. The bodyguard escorts the celebrity to routine appointments, they take their children (if any) to school, and they take their single clients to nightclubs and bars. They mostly sit around or stand around for hours on end with nothing happening. if something DOES happen, their primary job is to get the celebrity away from the scene, not to fight assailants, nor engage in shootouts. The money that can be earned is the main attraction for most people.Sooo…if you are former military or law enforcement, especially skilled tactical response situations or have received specific training in security, then you can apply with those businesses and after a background check (or two) they might hire. I would expect that the roles are contract, so you may find yourself with lengthy periods of unemployment until a new contract comes along.
I have worked for some of the top musicians in the USA and one from England. As a “professional “, I will not reveal their names, but I guarantee you have heard of all of them. Aside from being paid very well ( as you should be because you are risking your life) sometimes there are some good and bad benefits. The bad, working with the clients “staff”. They think they are your boss and will often try to boss you around and tell you what to do. They then get very angry when you tell them you do not work for them! Some times the client will want to do something not advisable to their safety. Like mingle with Fans. Some get drunk and/or high and do stupid things, and when you advise them not to they get very angry and say “ you work for me!” As for benefits, you meet a lot of famous people. But you never ask for an autograph. (that is one of the fastest ways to get fired). Sometimes if you are just working a shift, when it ends you may get invited to stay for the party. One very well known Musician invited me in to his dressing room and shared shots of Jaegermeister and beer with me. Another time the musician from England ( I will not say his name, “but every picture tells a story”) made me guard his car while he went off and got major f**ked up and came back and vomited all over.The majority of celebs are very nice because they realize the position you are in….that you are looking out for their safety and may have to put your life on the line. But the pay and the benefits outweigh the bad.
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that is very depends on who is the a high-net worth, if is a businessman, celebrity, politician or high risk person who is on the police’s radar.Anyway the work is very fulfilling although it is not as glamours as people might think. you are travel a lot and exposes to amazing lifestyle but at the end your are working to protect someone live ,not to have fun.for me in Johannesburg there is the high crime rate aspect which make the work very different compare to secure someone who lives in Zurich.
While I served as personal protection for several celebrities, and continue to do so on a limited basis, I was actually initially surprised at how rare the presence of dedicated protection agents, actually is. The most common situation in which the presence of personal security is advantageous would be a high profile celebrity making a public appearance where they will be mixing with the general public while representing an entity or concept that attracts conflict. Some celebrities seem to be in a constant state of increased need of security due to their personal political issues or the particular mix of philosophical, religious, or moral perceptions of the crowd or audiences. I also served in this function on productions where there were Union issues. The short answer, (yeah, I know: too late for a short answer…) is that most of the time, celebrities live their lives very much like the rest of us. They go about their daily business, driving themselves to work, the grocery store, picking up the children from school, going to doctor appointments and visiting friends, having lunch at Denny’s… Pretty much like you and me.
You get used to them always being there simply because they have to be. Michael preferred to have bodyguards around because he had experienced what it was like if they were not. I found it strange at first but, you get used to it. Also, they know when to be discreet. It is all part of their job to be so. Plus, they are respectful, again, it is part of their job.
I own and work at an executive protection company. I have specialists with all sorts of working backgrounds, some from military, federal law enforcement, law enforcement, and backgrounds of working a “regular” 9–5 work schedule at a regular business.Obviously I pay some employees differently than others. I have/have been in the position where I’ve payed a specialist right around $150,000 a year plus benefits and insurance. Obviously that specialist was highly trained and was a great employee to work with. On the other hand, the lowest salary I pay currently is around $57,000 plus benefits and insurance.It takes time to earn a salary, and even more time to earn respect. If you wrap your mind around only getting paid what you want you won’t be happy. You need to earn the salary you get paid, and be accepting of it. If you want more pay, work harder, and show more commitment. Don’t complain you get a lower salary than others when you often get complaints and warnings, even if you’ve worked at your job for several years.
My dad was a sort of improvised bodyguard for a Chinese singer once. He was playing in her band which was on a bit of a national tour of China; he was asked to act as a bodyguard. He was of course skeptical, as my dad is one of the least violent people in the world (heck he’s only been in one fight, though he won it). He protested, saying he doesn’t know any martial arts or anything.Her response, which turned out to be true, is that since he was a 6'2” portly man he would be much bigger than almost anyone around. Long story short, many fabulous concerts happened and everyone was slightly intimidated.
Not totally related, but a fun story nonetheless.My dad worked in dignitary protection in the late 80s/early 90s. One person he had to escort around was Nelson Mandela. On a long private flight with Mandela (maybe 12 passengers on board) a pork chop dinner was served. Unfortunately, the crew only brought enough meals for everyone to have one serving. Unknowingly, Mandela asked for seconds before my dad had a chance to eat, so my Dad had to starve on this eight-hour flight. When news broke that Mandela died in 2013, my dad texted me something along the lines of “That pork chop-stealing SOB finally got what was coming to him!”
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You can see their wealth, lifestyle, but can never have it ever, you know that and need to leave with it.
One of my old work buddies I use to do contracted work with through the Government heard of a job as a bodyguard opening for extra cash for me. Some pop singer was touring and had a concert in the area. She was a massive b*tch even to me, her bodyguard. I asked her to sign an autograph for my daughter as she was a big fan, but snubbed me. After the concert we were escorting her through the rear entrance of the arena where a crazed fan with a shank charged towards her and tried to thrust the knife toward her abdomen. Luckily he didn’t see me standing 2 feet away from her. Disarmed the man and immobilized him. Handed him off to the cops and the singer praised me for it, signed the autograph I previously asked for and agreed to do whatever I wanted from her.. Ended up asking her to give my daughter vocal lessons
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