Swindon Lives - Matt Fiddes

To celebrate the arrival of Jackson Live In Concert at the Wyvern Theatre this June, TGtS chatted with martial arts expert and MJ's former bodyguard Matt Fiddes.

How did a boy from Greendown School end up with the job of being Michael Jackson’s bodyguard in the UK?

It's quite a long story but here goes, after getting bullied at School I turned to martial arts as a form of self-defence. I felt really strongly about helping kids that were in similar situations to me, so after moving to Barnstable I set up my own martial arts school. I was overwhelmed by the success of the school so decided to roll them out across the country. At this point a lot of the red top papers picked up on my success story and I became a bit of a minor celebrity. I believe the headline in The Sun was  'Bully Boy Becomes Millionaire' following this I appeared as a trainer and martial arts expert on a lot of day time telly shows like Tricia, This Morning and GMTV. 

My agent at the time also represented Uri Geller and he expressed an interest in working with me. He'd seen the work I'd done campaigning against bullying in schools and he wanted me to help on a project he was working on. We got on like a house on fire and it was because of my connection to Uri that I got to eventually meet and work for MJ.

What did you enjoy most about working for Michael Jackson?

The reason that I started working with Michael in the first place was to continue his martial arts training. For obvious reasons he couldn't train in a normal gym because he'd get mobbed by fans, so knowing my background, Uri suggested that I become his personal trainer. One of the hardest things about working for Michael was not being able to tell my friends and family about it. I used to go everywhere with him, I'd accompany him on public appearances and even sleep next to his bed - He trusted me more than anything. 

Which martial artists did you admire growing up?  Who inspired you?

I admired the greats; Bruce Lee and John Claude Van Damme. Growing up I really admired the way that they kept themselves in shape and the way that they dealt with their childhood problems.

You opened your own martial arts school at a young age, did you ever anticipate it would become one of the biggest in the country?

Bullying is probably the best thing that ever happened to me. My Dad always wanted me to go to college and get a trade, he used to refer to martial arts as 'legalised violence' so I think he was the person who was most proud of my success. Funnily enough he even came to work for me at one point. 

You’ve worked with a number of celebrities, who have you enjoyed training the most?  Who works the hardest?

I've trained everyone from Peter Andre to Dani Harmer. Recently I've worked with the cast of Strictly Come Dancing, Sid Owen and Danielle Lloyd. I think Pete has to be my favourite client though; what you see is what you get. He's an amazing family man and he has this fantastic focus and dedication. 

You and Michael obviously had a great relationship, did he ever visit Swindon?

We really did become great friends, I never charged him a penny for my services and I became someone he could really trust. Michael visited me in Swindon a number of times, he would always stay at the De Vere Hotel and we used to have to sneak him in and out of the back door so that nobody would know he was staying there. He was fascinated by the Magic Roundabout and would make me drive him across it over and over. It's funny, people have probably rubbed shoulders with him and not even noticed! We would take him around Swindon dressed in a Burka so nobody would recognise him, he's been to the cinema over at Green Bridge, The Link Centre, HMV in town centre and also the Outlet Village. 

Did you ever visit Neverland, and what was it like?

It was a crazy! It was almost an exact repeat of Disney Land. For Michael, Neverland was the only place that he could really escape. It used to upset him that journalists and photographers would parachute in trying to take photos and get exclusives. Not only did Neverland have its own fire station but it also had a rubbish tip on site too. Things like post all had to be incinerated because fans and the press would trawl threw the bins trying to get souvenirs and leads for stories. 

Keeping Michael safe mustn’t have always been an easy job, what was your worst experience with fans?

Michael always hated flying in helicopters when the weather was bad and being trapped in cars for long periods of time, so on a particularly rainy afternoon in London we were forced to leave the city by train. It was absolute pandemonium, hysterical fans were absolutely everywhere! It was horrible, during the chaos I got shoved onto the track and Michael was knocked to the ground. This kind of madness followed him everywhere, hotels were always the worst, other guests would complain and getting him in and out was absolute carnage. 

How did Michael's death affect you?

I was heartbroken. I hold AEG personally responsible for his death. He wasn't ready for his 'This Is It' tour and they worked him too hard. After his death I just had to get away, so I moved over to South Africa for a while. That's where I met my beautiful wife Monique. If Michael's looking down on me now, I know he'd be really proud.