The man ‘behind’ Michael Jackson

From bullied schoolboy to martial arts expert, PAUL LAMBIS meets someone set to bring his brand to the island soon

In celebrity culture, there is no shortage of individuals with stories of overcoming poverty, pain and adversity. These rags-to-riches tales offer hope and remind even the most disheartened dreamers that hard work, positive thinking and perseverance can pay off.

In the case of Matt Fiddes, founder of one of the world’s largest chains of martial arts schools, it is impossible to choose which of his many accomplishments is the most impressive.

Aside from overcoming school bullying and hearing from sceptics that he would never amount to anything to becoming a self-made millionaire in his early 20s, Fiddes was also personal bodyguard to the late ‘King of Pop’ to whom he attributes his franchise success. “Michael Jackson taught me the importance of goal setting and how important it is to write them down and hit those targets,” Fiddes said.

Today, Fiddes’ worldwide fitness empire, which began in a small studio in Braunton, North Devon, has expanded internationally with over 1,000 schools across the UK, Australia, Dubai and the US with plans to branch out into Cyprus in the near future.

As a child, Fiddes had little interest in the school curriculum, and educated himself by reading a series of self-help books from entrepreneurial authors such as Tony Robbins “to chart my roadmap to success.

“Instead of focusing on the money, I began to focus on providing a service that would change lives,” he told the Cyprus Mail.

In addition to the traditional practices taught at martial arts schools, he would teach life skills, goal setting advice, educating them on the importance of respect, and building self-confidence, “things that are not taught in school,” believing “this was the key to my success”.

But the turning point for his mixed martial arts classes – which also included music to boost the fun – was a visit to America where what they were doing was “light years ahead of what I was doing back home”.

Fiddes said the US owner was so impressed with his ambition he allowed him to study the method and adapt it to his own martial arts centre in the UK. “I set up a direct debit payment system, which made it more convenient for members to pay, making us one of the first businesses in the UK to offer such a payment model, and more importantly, I assigned various tasks at the end of each lesson that needed to be practised at home and school, enforceable with a form that required signatures from both parents and teachers, and the result of which determined their progress to their next martial arts grade.”

After news spread about his inspirational journey from bullied schoolboy to martial arts expert, he became a phenomenon. “This caught the attention of Uri Geller, one of the world’s most celebrated mystics, who proposed that we form a business partnership through a series of fitness videos and motivational talks focusing on mind power, which went on to become bestsellers.

“Uri became my mentor and friend, and he trusted me with his inner circle, which included famous individuals such as Mohamed Al-Fayed, David Blaine, Britney Spears, and Michael Jackson,” Fiddes said.

Fiddes then ended up becoming close friends with Michael Jackson, which led to him being the popstar’s bodyguard for the last ten years of his life. “I never took money from him, which I believe is why our relationship worked so well. Although Jackson did not intervene in my martial arts business, he did give me advice on how to expand it into a franchise that would ultimately extend beyond the borders of the United Kingdom.

“I looked up to him as if he were my older brother. He not only had a great business intellect, but he taught me how to rise above the noise of bad publicity, which he had a lot of.”

The allegations levelled against Michael Jackson, according to Fiddes, were “absolutely false. I would not associate my organisation, which has hundreds of thousands of children, including six of my own, with a man who is allegedly like that,” he said.

“Michael Jackson was a master at creating publicity and manipulating the media, who were trying to figure out his sexuality, the truth behind his make-up, the glove, the mask, and so on, but it backfired when he died because he was no longer here to defend himself.”

Fiddes was recently contacted by his former bully, who wanted to apologise for making Matt’s life a nightmare. “I actually thanked him for helping me become a stronger person, because without him, I would never have reached the pinnacle of my success,” he said.

Still concerned with the mental, social, and physical benefits that martial arts provide, Fiddes continues to seek new locations where the impact of the sport could foster the same confidence and self-esteem he needed when he was bullied in school.

“I love Cyprus and hope to establish more permanent roots on the island for myself and my family. It is an ideal location for opening branches that will provide the most effective as well as trustworthy group training programmes to men, women, and children of all ages.”