“I enjoy saving people\u2019s lives.” – Olu<\/b><\/p>\n
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In our latest edition of Behind the Licence<\/b>, Get Licensed speaks with bodyguard to the stars Olu \u2018Henchy\u2019 Johnson.\u00a0In this candid interview, Close Protection<\/a><\/b> Operative Olu lets us know his thoughts on the security industry and what it\u2019s like being an international bodyguard.<\/p>\n I got into the security industry by accident. My background is actually law and I worked in criminal law for three years. My friend Shayne went to apply for a SIA licence<\/b><\/a> and told me that I should do this and I was like \u201cno thank you.\u201d Shayne said \u201cyou should do this with me\u201d and he told me that I\u2019m a people person and I will do well. The day I did it, I literally got the last place on the course and now I\u2019m an international bodyguard.<\/p>\n I have done everything. I\u2019ve done venue security, CCTV, worked with dogs, events, asset protection, residential protection, transit protection, and undercover work; worked with the police and worked with the council.<\/p>\n 100%. The more you know about people, the more valuable you are. People have this idea that security is about saying no to people; sometimes security is about saying yes or asking what\u2019s wrong. And if people tell you something\u2019s wrong and you can\u2019t do anything about it then there\u2019s no point in you asking. Your job primarily might be to keep people safe and if you\u2019re useful enough you can help to stop someone bleeding, a pregnant person or someone over-dosing. What you do in the first three minutes can determine if someone lives or someone dies. So it\u2019s definitely worth it.<\/p>\n Yes. A fight took place; someone had been stabbed and didn\u2019t know that he had been stabbed. A guy comes over, collapses and now he\u2019s pouring out with blood on his side. You have to stop the bleeding and equally you have to know how much not to do because then you become responsible for anything that happens to that person. Immediately apply pressure to where the blood\u2019s bleeding from and clear the area because you need to operate. This guy actually had two stab wounds. At first we were just closing one and until people moved back we couldn\u2019t see.<\/p>\n A second instance, someone had overdosed on something. Their friend had lied about what they were taking \u2018cause obviously it\u2019s illegal. At this point that\u2019s not important to me. It was important to find out the truth about what this person was taking.<\/p>\n There are two answers to this. It is important because if you look good you get booked. But some of the best paid guys don\u2019t necessarily look good; they\u2019re not huge and they don\u2019t have massive biceps. There is also a divide in America that there are many tall guys who get hired but they are skinny. People assume if you\u2019re tall you\u2019re great at it because you can see from a distance. Equally, if you\u2019re tall it can take a long time for you to pick someone up.<\/p>\n Looking good helps but what you know is more important than how you look. There\u2019s no point looking good but you are constantly attacked or can\u2019t plan an entry route. Is it important to be fit? Yes, fit doesn\u2019t always mean looking the stereotype. There\u2019s a stereotype of big muscles, tattoos and bald head. But looking good does help.<\/p>\n 100%. There\u2019s a huge gap in the market. The more variety of women there are it\u2019ll be easier for people to relate to those who look like them. So women jump on board.<\/p>\n Through being a bodyguard for R&B singer Omarion. I am a musician, and I used to play for the Afrobeats artists who came over. Cokobar were one of the biggest promoters at the time and they used to put on all the shows. I used to pester them and tell that I have a CPO licence now and I\u2019m a bodyguard. One day they phoned me and told me Omarion was coming and they needed a Close Protection Officer. Being Omarion\u2019s bodyguard was my first celebrity job, and that\u2019s when I knew when things get off the ground that\u2019s all I\u2019m going to do.<\/p>\n Omarion, Ace Hood, Prince, Migos, Jason Derulo, Naomi Campbell, Michelle Williams, Wizkid, Davido, Olamide, Kate Moss.<\/p>\n The London Motor Show and Get Licensed were fun. They had a really cool Lambo out. People were queuing up for Yianni.<\/p>\n When you\u2019re working anything can happen, especially with entertainers cause it\u2019s about whatever they want to do. The itinerary might say it\u2019s a four or six hour day but it ends up being a sixteen hour day and literally anything can happen.<\/p>\n Taz\u2019s angels were in town. This was when DSTRKT were still open. There were some females who really wanted to get into their VIP table and I told them no. This girl comes up with her friend and rubs my knee and asks what can she do to get in and I told her she can step back. And she whispers to me that she will do anything, and I tell her to step back and she pops her boob out and we are in the middle of the club and I\u2019m like \u2018you\u2019re gonna have to put that back in because you\u2019re not getting in.\u2019 Her friend was like \u2018hold on, I got this,\u2019 and she reached out and I told her to put her hand down. Then she kisses her friend, and I told them they need to go away cause I refuse to be caught out.<\/p>\n If you asked me this five years ago, I would have said travelling and being around the music because I play music\u2026I enjoy everything about it now. As weird as it sounds, I enjoy saving people\u2019s lives. I\u2019ve never had to save people\u2019s lives like that but that\u2019s my responsibility whilst I\u2019m there. So every time we get back the same way we left that\u2019s it. It\u2019s not a job for me, it\u2019s a career. When my days are done, they\u2019ll be like nothing went wrong on his watch. I feel like a boxer. That nothing bad happens.<\/p>\n Nobody\u2019s died on my watch, nobody\u2019s been robbed. I know it sounds mundane. At the level I\u2019m at now I\u2019m not interested in how famous you are. Can you afford me? Half of my better clients aren\u2019t famous, they\u2019re just wealthy. My achievement is being worth the money that I charge\u2026 that a) you can\u2019t afford me and b) You don\u2019t understand how I work. I now don\u2019t negotiate on how I\u2019m going to do my job.<\/p>\n Learn about people. As big and as strong as I look and I am, I say sorry to people all the time. I massage their egos, I compliment their shoes. You need to find an easy common ground. As big and strong as I am I you need to learn about people because you can\u2019t have any enemies. You can\u2019t afford to have any personal beefs \u2018cause you\u2019re easy to find. Learn how to say sorry, how to say please.<\/p>\n I have a Close Protection Licence<\/b><\/a>, driver\u2019s licence and I\u2019ve completed the Emergency First Aid at Work course<\/a>.<\/p>\n Are you interested in becoming a Close Protection Operative like Olu?\u00a0 Click below to view more information<\/b><\/p>\nWhat made you decide to get into the security industry?<\/h2>\n
What types of security have you worked in?<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Do you think it\u2019s important to do additional courses such as First Aid?<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Have you had any instances where you had to use additional skills you learnt?<\/strong><\/h2>\n
\u00a0<\/strong>How important is your physique for your career?<\/strong><\/h2>\n
\u00a0<\/strong>Are more women needed in the security industry?<\/strong><\/h2>\n
How did you become a celebrity bodyguard?<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Can you give us some names of people you have guarded?<\/strong><\/h2>\n
You were Yianni\u2019s (Yiannimize) bodyguard at the London Motor Show. Tell us a bit about that.<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Do you have a typical day?<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Can you tell us about a crazy story that happened to you whilst working?<\/strong><\/h2>\n
What do you like most about being a bodyguard?<\/strong><\/h2>\n
What have been your biggest achievements as a bodyguard?<\/strong><\/h2>\n
What advice would you give to those who want to get into the security industry?<\/strong><\/h2>\n
What licenses do you have?<\/strong><\/h2>\n