These days it seems that any man of great stature calls himself a bodyguard or executive protection specialist. He gets resumes all the time, and unfortunately the information on it is usually something like: 6″ 5′, 400 lbs, forty times 4.5 bench press 450 lbs. There isn’t usually much else.
The truth is, any time a client really needs strength, it means someone wasn’t using their brain. And that someone could be you, if you think this race is all about lifting weights and packing up the heat.
I recently had the great pleasure of working on a detail to protect former President Bill Clinton on a visit to my state. It was a highlight in my long career serving as an Executive Protection Specialist for many reasons: Firstly, Mr. Clinton was a kind and genuinely nice man to be around, and secondly, the Secret Service team was made up of by incredibly well-trained professionals. and imposing gentlemen.
Now let me share something very important with you: The Clinton detail team leader was maybe 5’8″ and 160 pounds. He’s not what you could look at and call physically intimidating. He’s certainly physically fit and probably beyond average EPS on abilities that require physical confrontation, but here’s the thing:
You will probably never need to use those abilities.
Because? Because the successful EPS will spend most of their time and effort anticipating potential problems. He manages to keep the protected individual, be it a president or the lead singer of a rock band, out of harm’s way by preparing for all possible scenarios. Time spent working out in the gym is worthless if a bodyguard does not understand the importance of these important skills and personal traits:
Confrontation Avoidance and Deflection Ability: If your energy and focus are on a physical confrontation with a stranger, your client will be unprotected from others.
Advanced work: know the location that the client visits, know the emergency exits, plan the route
The ability to follow instructions to the letter and communicate clearly and specifically.
Detail-oriented: always planning and thinking ahead
Ability to “blend in” with others, thus attracting less attention to yourself and less attention to your customer.
Discretion: Do not share ANY personal information about your client with anyone.
Let me address the last point, discretion. Lately, celebrity bodyguards Kobe Bryant, Anna Nicole-Smith and Lindsay Lohan have chosen to speak to the press about their clients. I hope whatever big payday you’re looking forward to is worth it, because it’s career suicide to discuss your employers’ personal habits. It’s kind of classless and unprofessional. If your client is doing something illegal and you have a problem with it, then you must make a decision for yourself as to whether or not you want to work in those circumstances.
In addition to being tacky, a bodyguard sharing personal details about an individual also potentially increases the opportunities for threats to that client. The more information the public has about a customer’s personal life and tastes, the more objective that person might become.
It’s enough that celebrities are often held hostage to their lives by the general public. They are entitled to some privacy, just like everyone else. As a Bodyguard or EPS you are trusted to do a specific job and you are paid very well for doing this job…and if I’m being honest here…part of the reason for the high salary is the understanding that you will keep Mouth closed. Making more money from books or news by divulging sordid details about your employers’ private lives is greedy and breaks the trust factor that is so necessary in this line of work. Indiscretion reflects badly on all of us.