Having toured in 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 into a Paris Fashion Week show unscathed.
A military man turned celebrity bodyguard, Simon has been trusted with protecting the lives of his comrades and a host of wealthy and A-list clients.
Now, in an exclusive interview with , Simon has revealed the secrets of his trade, including his interactions with Hollywood A-Listers and the clients he would refuse to accept.
His foray into the exclusive celebrity bodyguard business came when he was assigned to a Close Protection Team in Afghanistan and Michael Jackson’s team reached out to ask after his services.
Military man turned celebrity bodyguard Simon Newton has revealed what the stars are really like behind closed doors and who he’d never work for
In an exclusive interview with , Simon revealed the secrets of his trade, including his interactions with Hollywood A-Listers (pictured with Kendall Jenner)
Simon was among five experts called in to escort the King Of Pop to the World Music awards in 2006, with the singer’s level of fame making it difficult for him to move around.
And the bodyguard revealed the lengths crazed fans would go to in order to see Michael.
Fans would push each other out of the way with the hopes of touching the singer, sit in black taxis all the day with the meter running to follow Michael’s car, and book expensive hotel rooms just so they could sit in the lobby all day for a glimpse of the star.
‘They spent thousands and thousands of pounds,’ he mused.
It’s a phenomenon that is lost on Simon, who isn’t easily starstruck.
Michael was ‘alright’ in Simon’s words. He was more focused on the job at hand rather than schmoozing with the star.
Revealing that he hasn’t ever been one to fawn over his clients, he explained: ‘It’s just another job.
‘Whether you’re looking after a politician, or a high network family or celebrity, it’s all the same. They all need to to wash, use the bathroom!’
Simon had no time to reflect on Michael’s gig, having flown straight back to Afghanistan afterwards.
He will, however, make 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 Close Protection Team and Michael Jackson’s team reached out to ask after his services
Simon (far left) was among five experts called in to escort the King Of Pop to the World Music awards in 2006 because his level of fame made it difficult for him to move around
Revealing that he wasn’t one to fawn over his clients, Simon explained: ‘It’s just another job. ‘Whether you’re looking after a politician, or a high network family or celebrity, it’s all the same. They all need to to wash, use the bathroom!’ (pictured with Bella Hadid)
Michael is by no means the only star Simon has worked with.
Despite his relatively short foray in the celebrity bodyguard business, he secured clients including Kendall Jenner, Gigi Hadid, Naomi Campbell and Rita Ora.
Yet he insists he doesn’t have a favourite because he would only work with clients that he got along with.
‘If I didn’t think it would be a good fit I would say I was unavailable,’ Simon explained. ‘You are integrated into people’s lives quite a bit.
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With the exception of Michael Jackson, all the other times I’ve worked on my own.
‘You get to see and be around people’s day to day life and it shows that celebrities are no different to anyone else.
‘They like the same things. They all cry, they all sleep, they all laugh.’
While Simon could relate to his clients, he revealed there was one job he would always refuse to be part of.
He said that he would never go on tour with a rock band, explaining: ‘It wouldn’t be for me, being away for three or four months on a tour where they’re jumping up and down every night and crowd surfing.
It’s all the things that rock and heavy metal bands do, I’m not into it myself and on a job you have to integrate into that lifestyle, so I would say I’m not available.’
Despite touring the world and earning a decent living with his work, Simon decided to step away from bodyguarding and co-founded specialist security company Askari Secure Ltd in 2009.
Revealing why he took a step back from the industry, Simon explained: ‘I just had enough of it.
‘For 17 years I travelled all over the world. I did all the hostile environment work in places like Afghanistan, I was on ships doing antipiracy work out in Somalia.
‘I worked all over Europe, South America, tons of stuff in the UK, I just thought there’s nothing else in the industry I want to do.’
He added that with his bodyguard work a lot of what he did came when he was off the clock – checking out venues in advance for security concerns.
‘It’s hard work and you don’t get much sleep,’ Simon mused.
Despite touring the world and earning a decent living, Simon decided to step away from bodyguarding and co-founded specialist security company Askari Secure Ltd in 2009
While Simon 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 been focusing on heading to auditions.
Having seen the levels crazed fans go to in order to interact with their favourite celebrities, Simon insisted he has no desire to pursue ‘fame’, musing: ‘I just want to be able to do something I enjoy and make a living out of it. That’s my main priority.’
Simon has also launched his own clothing collection, available at simonnewtonlondon.com