Having toured the war zones of Iraq and Afghanistan with the British Armed Forces, Simon Newton thought he had seen it all.
That is, until he found himself trying to get Bella Hadid to a Paris Fashion Week show unharmed.
Simon, a military man turned celebrity bodyguard, has been entrusted with the task of protecting the lives of his comrades and a host of wealthy and A-list clients.
Now, in an exclusive interview with MailOnline, Simon has revealed the secrets of his trade, including his interactions with Hollywood celebrities and the clients he would refuse to take on.
His foray into the exclusive celebrity bodyguard business came when he was assigned to a personal protection team in Afghanistan and Michael Jackson’s team reached out to inquire about his services.
Military man turned celebrity bodyguard Simon Newton has revealed what stars are really like behind closed doors and who he would never work for.
In an exclusive interview with MailOnline, Simon revealed the secrets of his trade, including his interactions with Hollywood A-Listers (pictured with Kendall Jenner).
Simon was one of five experts called to accompany the King of Pop to the World Music Awards in 2006, and the singer’s level of fame made it difficult for him to move.
And the bodyguard revealed the lengths to which crazed fans would go to see Michael.
Fans pushed each other aside in hopes of touching the singer, sat in black cabs all day with the meter running to follow Michael’s car, and booked expensive hotel rooms just so they could sit in the lobby all day. For a while. glimpse of the star.
“They spent thousands and thousands of pounds,” he reflected.
It is a phenomenon that goes unnoticed by Simon, who is not easily dazzled.
Michael was “fine” in Simon’s words. He was more focused on the work at hand than chatting with the star.
Revealing that he has never been one to fawn over his clients, he explained: “It’s just another job.
‘Whether you’re looking after a politician, or a high-profile family, or a celebrity, it’s all the same. Everyone needs to wash up and use the bathroom!’
Simon didn’t have time to reflect on Michael’s work as he then flew straight back to Afghanistan.
However, he will be taking time to watch the Michael Jackson biopic starring Michael’s nephew Jaafar, so the singer must have made some impression.
His foray into the celebrity bodyguard business came when he was assigned to a personal protection team and Michael Jackson’s team reached out to inquire about his services.
Simon (far left) was one of five experts summoned to accompany the King of Pop to the World Music Awards in 2006 because his level of fame made it difficult for him to move.
Simon revealed that he was not one to fawn over his clients, explaining: “It’s just another job. ‘Whether you’re looking after a politician, or a high-profile family, or a celebrity, it’s all the same. Everyone needs to wash up and use the bathroom!’ (pictured with Bella Hadid)
Michael is by no means the only star Simon has worked with.
Despite her relatively short foray into the celebrity bodyguard business, she landed clients such as Kendall Jenner, Gigi Hadid, Naomi Campbell and Rita Ora.
However, he insists that he doesn’t have a favorite because he would only work with clients he gets along with.
“If I thought I wouldn’t be a good fit, I’d say I’m not available,” Simon explained. ‘You are quite integrated into people’s lives.
With the exception of Michael Jackson, every other time I have worked alone.
“You can see and be close to people’s daily lives and it shows that celebrities are no different from anyone else.
‘They like the same things. Everyone cries, everyone sleeps, everyone laughs.’
While Simon could relate to his clients, he revealed that there was one job he would always refuse to be a part of.
He said he would never tour with a rock band, explaining, “It wouldn’t be for me to be away for three or four months on a tour where they’re jumping every night and crowd surfing.”
They are all the things that rock and heavy metal bands do, I don’t like them and in a job you have to integrate into that lifestyle, so I would say that I am not available.
Despite traveling the world and earning a decent living from his job, Simon decided to give up being a bodyguard and co-founded specialist security company Askari Secure Ltd in 2009.
Revealing why he walked away from the industry, Simon explained: “I’ve had enough.
‘For 17 years I traveled all over the world. I did all the work in hostile environments in places like Afghanistan, I was on ships doing anti-piracy work in Somalia.
“I worked all over Europe, South America, tons of stuff in the UK, I just thought there was nothing else in the industry I wanted to do.”
He added that with his job as a bodyguard, a lot of what he did was done when he wasn’t on work hours: checking places in advance for security reasons.
“It’s hard work and you don’t get much sleep,” Simon reflected.
Despite traveling the world and making a decent living, Simon decided to give up being a bodyguard and co-founded specialist security company Askari Secure Ltd in 2009.
While Simon has spent time protecting those who appear in front of the camera, he has ambitions to follow in their footsteps.
He landed his first role in 2010, playing a soldier in Matt Damon’s Green Zone, and after enrolling in acting school he has focused on going to auditions.
Having seen the lengths to which crazed fans go to interact with their favorite celebrities, Simon insisted he has no desire to chase “fame”, reflecting: “I just want to be able to do it.” something that I enjoy and make a living from it. “That’s my top priority.”
Simon has also launched his own clothing collection, available at simonnewtonlondon.com
