ERROL FRANCIS
Meeting Errol Francis was an extraordinary experience. What did I expect? An awesome, frightening bodyguard perhaps? A larger-than-life, in-your-face bully type? Whatever I expected, what I actually got was a surprise. Quite a lot of surprises, actually.
The first thing that struck me was his shyness. Errol is an extremely modest and reserved man. He is smaller than I’d expected but much broader than I’d imagined. In actual fact, he’s colossal – a whopping monster of a man. Even more of a surprise is that his size is natural. Errol doesn’t use any growth-enhancing substances like steroids. His bulk is just the result of pure hard work and clean living. He’s not a man who goes out boozing with his mates or womanising. Errol is a family man. His wife Sandra and their children come before anything or anybody. That was evident the first time I met him.
The other thing I didn’t expect was his warmth. On our first brief meeting, he grabbed my hand and shook it like he really was genuinely pleased to see me, before ushering me into a room where ‘we could talk’.
Errol found it difficult speaking about himself and his many achievements. I had to coax every single word from him. It was a long, drawn-out process and Errol said that he’d rather have had a tooth removed. He didn’t want to seem a big-head or a braggart, but the truth is that Errol is the World Kick-Boxing Champion, he is Steven Spielberg’s personal bodyguard and at the time he was contracted to Warner Bros looking after the stars on the film Matrix.
That’s to name just a few of his accomplishments. But it hasn’t always been an easy ride for Errol. His life has been a roller-coaster of turbulent twists and turns. He’s a complex character full of deep, dark secrets still to be uncovered. There are parts of Errol’s life that he is still unable to speak about. The things that have happened to him are just too painful for words. Errol has stared adversity in the face and overcome it through sheer hard work and determination. This is the reason why he is a hard bastard, and the most sought-after bodyguard both in this country and America. Cross him and you’ll see why.
BACKGROUND
I was born in Jamaica. I was five years old when I came to England. I went to live in Goose Green, East Dulwich in London. My father was the first black man to be a manager. It was a furniture shop in Brixton called Williams. At that time, most black men were either bus or train drivers but my father was always suited and booted. He had a good job and, on the surface of it, he was a good law-abiding citizen. But behind closed doors he was a tyrant and my worst enemy.
My dad had a saying: ‘Bend a tree while it’s young,’ and that’s what he tried to do with me. He beat me terribly.
I started going to the gym to let out some of my aggression and to get some attention. My trainer was the only man ever to say, ‘Well done, Errol,’ and I liked it. I started boxing and took up martial arts. At the time, Bruce Lee was popular and I’d go to late-night showings at the pictures and study his every move. At last I’d found a niche in life and the one thing I was good at – knocking people out, no argument.
I worked hard and I became the World Kick-Boxing Champion and a celebrity bodyguard. I now run the biggest club in South London and take kids off the street, training them to be British champions.
At the moment, I’m training for Mr Universe 2000. Training keeps my aggression in a safe place.
LIFE OF CRIME
Violence has always been part of my life – it’s the only thing I really know. As a child growing up that’s all I experienced and thought that’s what adults did – bash each other up. I went from an approved school to a detention centre and then eventually to prison. All for violent crimes, inevitably ending in murder. I served six years inside but have been sentenced to ten.
WEAPONRY
I’m a great thinker. All my fights take place in my head first. So my mind is my greatest weapon.
TOUGHEST MOMENT
I’ve got to say preparation for any fight. I’ve always found that tough. Preparing to knock out an opponent or to defend myself. To gauge how hard to hit someone so as not to kill them. Just enough to maim, break a bone, knock out or stun. I think about every move carefully and will only hit someone according to what they have done to me.
IS THERE ANYONE YOU ADMIRE?
God. There is no one higher.
DO YOU BELIEVE IN HANGING?
Yes, I do for child abusers.
IS PRISON A DETERRENT?
No. It’s a criminal breeding ground.
WHAT WOULD HAVE DETERRED YOU FROM A LIFE OF CRIME?
Nothing.
WHAT MAKES A TOUGH GUY?
Truth and being straight. A man can’t be wrong and strong. If a person is wrong, he’ll try and defend himself with his mouth but in his heart he has fuck all.
ERROL’S FINAL THOUGHT
When I was growing up I really thought that violence was how people got what they wanted. I now know that is rubbish. When I first came to this country, I was five years old. I stepped off the plane from Jamaica not knowing what to expect. For the first time I saw grey skies, big red buses and kids with ginger hair and freckles. I was told to eat with a knife and fork and was forced to wear shoes. All these things were alien to me. But the one thing that is universal, no matter where you come from or what colour you are, is: if you have a pound note then you have lots of friends and if you’re a nice man people walk all over you. When you say, ‘No more, man, I’ve had enough, I won’t be beaten any more,’ and retaliate, then I become the nutcase. Now I’m the bad guy.