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Hucky Austin

No Shortcuts

Career Advice, Hucky Austin

By Hucky Austin

A large number of people contact me daily about getting into the Executive Protection (Bodyguard) business. At the risk of bursting bubbles, I must tell you this: There are no short-cuts when you are protecting lives.

Think first about protecting yourself and your money when selecting a training program. This is your first assignment on this career path: Do the research and conduct due diligence in assessing schools and “employment opportunities.” Go beyond believing online hype and guarantees of employment. No program can promise you work upon completing coursework. If the school advertising or facilitators are telling you this–IT IS NOT TRUE!

There are countless unscrupulous and dishonest people out there who are taking advantage of people eager to get into this field. Do not be fooled. [Read more…] about No Shortcuts

A SLIPPERY SLOPE: Balancing Ethics with Discretion as a Bodyguard

Executive Protection Articles, Hucky Austin

By Hucky Austin

You may not think it, but celebrities, for all their fame and money, are just like us–they have personal problems, too. Problems/habits can include addictions ranging from drugs to alcohol to sex. Some engage in illegal activities, or exhibit immoral behavior. Because these individuals are famous, when they stumble, often a bodyguard is the one to catch them when they fall–and therein lies one of the real dilemmas of this line of work–the fall can be very public and very damaging to everyone around them. (Think Michael Jackson, Britney, Anna-Nicole).

Sadly, it seems some of the rich and famous have distorted views of themselves, in which they are above the law. They often expect those closest to them (including personal assistants, bodyguards, drivers and the like) to turn a blind eye to their various unethical or illegal proclivities, and in some cases may even ask employees to participate in procuring drugs or prostitutes.

Once a celebrity has been busted, some bodyguards breach the “confidential” aspects of a client’s lifestyle, in hopes of a high pay-out from the tabloids. It is greedy, mean-spirited and two-faced. If a bodyguard has taken a job and been witness to or participated in illegal or immoral activities–and accepted a paycheck–then (s)he was paid for their silence. [Read more…] about A SLIPPERY SLOPE: Balancing Ethics with Discretion as a Bodyguard

Advance Work First Line of Defense

Executive Protection Articles, Hucky Austin

By Hucky Austin

Kudos to Kid Rock’s bodyguard “Little Bear” for conducting advance work and finding a kid.jpghidden surveillance camera that was installed in Rock’s dressing room. The performer was in St. Paul, Minnesota at the Myth night club, where his personal security team discovered the illegal spyware.

As someone who has worked for years with entertainers, I cannot express enough how important it is to be diligent conducting advance work. It will not only protect the client, but help you to keep your job! I am not going to lie–it’s not exactly the most interesting or exciting aspect of working as a bodyguard, but it can make everything go smoothly.

I remember times when I’d have already put in a long day with a particular celebrity, who would then tell us he’d like to go to a local club after the concert. As exhausted as I might have been, it was important to never become lax in advance work. I’d run out ahead and figure out the best route, how to get the celebrity in through an unobtrusive entrance, find a safe “holding area” for him, locate the restrooms, all emergency exits, and anticipate and watch for any fans or paparazzi who had somehow managed to figure out where we were going, and followed. I’d take notes of where everything was and the security team would all be apprised of the venue floor plan.

You work with a lot of maps when you’re a bodyguard–when we traveled out of the state (or the country) we were constantly consulting maps. We may have flown in a private jet, but once landing in a city that is on the look-out for a celebrity’s arrival, life is anything but private, and we’d need to know exactly how to get from the airport to the hotel. [Read more…] about Advance Work First Line of Defense

Have Body, Will Guard

Career Advice, Hucky Austin

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By Hucky Austin

Recently the following question was posed: “what is the age cut-off to for this type of work?  When is a person considered too old?”

Truth be told, it depends partly upon the assignment. Every job requires different skills from an EPS/Bodyguard. Surprisingly, many positions don’t demand someone to be in top physical form, (although that is most often preferred) it is to a certain degree, an industry expectation. However, there is no industry standard that says you must lift X amount of pounds, or run a mile in X amount of time in order to do this type of work.

SIDE BAR: If you can’t go up several flights of stairs without getting out of breath or can no longer bend over to tie your shoes, you might be in trouble with this type of career!

I continue to work out and stay strong. The thing is, I’m of an age where I just no longer want those celebrity details that keep me up all hours of the night at a club or in a recording studio. I’m strong and have a lot of stamina, but my MIND gets too bored with all that. And truthfully, I don’t care to bench 350 lbs any more and spend so much of my life at the gym. I am more interested in the organizational and recruitment aspects of protective services now.

Certainly, to have the most opportunities, potential bodyguards need to be physically strong, quick and flexible. Also mentally bright, articulate, and an outstanding problem solver. The ability to handle firearms and shoot with accuracy is certainly a bonus. If you can speak other languages, then your opportunities (and salary) certainly go up from there. Lastly, if you have keen insights and experience with a foreign culture or military training, you are fortunate and certainly well-rounded and the most likely candidate to garner top jobs in terms of responsibility and pay.

The range of work and range of skills needed in this business are wide. The scope can start at the big burly front door guy and move into celebrity protection all the way to protecting foreign dignitaries and the like.

Age is not necessarily relevant in this line of work. Some of the best tactical skills and problem-solving skills come with age, and much is to be said about on-the-job experience. A physically fit body is not the only criteria for success. I will state however, that most individuals who want real longevity in this field are in excellent health, take good care of themselves physically and mentally and could pass physical fitness tests that the general public would most likely fail!

Hucky

Working in a Celebrity’s Universe: It Won’t Make YOU a Star

Hucky Austin

“Celebrity current news”

CLEINTPAGE.jpgBy: Harlan (Hucky) Austin

Lots of people want to be bodyguards to famous people. The truth is, Celebrity Details are probably the most coveted positions, but represent only one small sector of Executive Protection. Details can range from accompanying a CEO of a Fortune 500 company to a shareholders meeting, to acting as a bodyguard/personal assistant to a celebrity, to the reaches of the upper echelon and most dangerous work–protecting political dignitaries from terrorist attacks.

Sasops from Tactical Forums describes a detail representative of the kind of work other people won’t ordinarily do, and which is rarely noted in the job description:

“I got to work in a huge trash dump recently and realized that the location was not one that anyone ever advertised as a lure into the profession¦surrounded by mountains of filth, rotting corpses, pigs (eating the flesh off the corpses) and gun toting bandits.”

Makes fetching a mocha latte for a celebrity employer seem like a walk in the park, right? I have been fortunate in that the scope of my duties as a Bodyguard have never included flesh-eating pigs–rather, I have protected the famous, the beautiful, and the self-absorbed. Yup. You read that last bit right.

[Read more…] about Working in a Celebrity’s Universe: It Won’t Make YOU a Star

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