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Jordan Felton

Jordan Felton’s trained eyes scan the crowd, watchful for any potential threats to his client’s safety. The towering farm boy, most at home in Leesburg, isn’t about to let anyone slip through on his watch, not when he is protecting the likes of superstar athletes Floyd Mayweather and Serena Williams and watching Lil’ Wayne’s back.

The chef-turned-bodyguard sports a pistol on his hip and two giant biceps, his weapons of choice during the last four years.

Felton got his start defending A-list celebs while pursuing a career in wrestling entertainment. At an event, he met a contact that worked as a bodyguard for celebrities. After earning his trust, Felton was brought in to train with an elite team of bodyguards, a group that Felton said best related to an “A Team.” The official name is 4 Horsemen Security.

“We’re like Spartans,” Felton said, referring to the iron will, warrior attitude and immaculate physical conditions. “We do everything together as a unit.”

And it all starts in the weight room.

“Our bodies are our weapon, our business, pretty much our whole entity,” Felton explained. And standing 6-feet-4-inches and weighing more than 260 pounds, that weapon is downright effective.

Double life
Many of Felton’s clients are among the richest of the rich. Mayweather, arguably the best pound-for-pound boxer of this generation, has developed a penchant for burning through money. That’s how he has earned (bought) the nickname “Money.” Mayweather is famous for throwing bundles of hundred-dollar bills into the air and bragging about his extensive watch and car collection.

Felton saw firsthand Mayweather’s love for spending while working for him for two years, and has been given a view into an extremely lavish lifestyle.

“It’s like living two lives,” Felton said. “One is real, and one is this fantasy. But you get used to it, it’s a humble feeling being with these people. I value it, and don’t take it for granted. I respect my blessing and opportunities.”

Felton says he routinely saw Mayweather tip $100 to anyone they came across, including valets, servers and bartenders.

“Whether shopping, gambling, clubbing or hitting restaurants, Mayweather is all about spending money and enjoying the best things in life,” Felton said. “I’m happy to be involved, it’s a very fulfilling feeling. I don’t take offense to my clients’ good fortune at all, I congratulate them for their success. They’re living the dream.”

Despite Felton lurking like a shadow as a silent extension of many celebrities, he still remembers the reason he is there. He’s not their friend, not their pal; he’s there to do a job.

“Bodyguarding is strictly an exchange of service for money, you can’t be friends with your clients. You may be courtside at an NBA game in L.A., but you can’t watch the game, you have to stay focused,” Felton said. “The number one rules of being a bodyguard is don’t be a groupie.”

Felton explained that people see these celebrities so often, they feel like they know them personally, especially megastars like Mayweather.

“People think they know him and feel they can just come up and talk to them, so a lot of times I have to be kind of a middleman,” Felton said. “When you’re that big, you belong to the people.”

It’s not always easy to differentiate between a working relationship and a friendship. When Patenema Ouedraogo was allegedly stalking superstar tennis player Serena Williams, she decided to take action and hire a bodyguard to live with her for a month. Felton got the gig.

For that period, Felton was like an extension of an oddly-structured family, joining Serena and her sister, Venus, in their Florida mansion. Also in the estate were Williams’ chefs, trainers and coaches.

Felton did do karaoke with the sisters one night.

“Let’s just say they player tennis better than they sing,” Felton joked. “When you are around some of the best in their profession in the world, it’s cool to see something like that. Being in the midst of greatness is an inspiration, but something like that shows they’re human.”

The priority
For the most part, Felton runs in a familiar circle of clients. Despite a list that includes fighters and NFL players, Felton has found success working the urban hip circuit. Felton relates breaking into that group as a bodyguard as a sort of initiation into a secret fraternity; rappers rarely want to work with those they don’t know, according to Felton.

Despite having the responsibility of protecting lives while in some of the more crime-infested parts of major cities, Felton has yet to encounter a problem he can’t handle.

While working for Mayweather, Felton decided to relocate to Las Vegas, leaving behind a slew of family and friends.

“It is a major sacrifice,” Felton said of being a full-time bodyguard. “There’s only room for one, you can’t bring friends. You get to go to all kinds of places and see these wonderful things, but at the same time you completely sacrifice your personal life. That is the hardest thing, there are times I won’t see my apartment for three months.”

Yet, celebrity bodyguards can easily make into the six-figure range, especially working for high-profile clients. It’s not an easy market to break into though, and often requires a certain skill set.

“It pays well, but it’s like a secret society, you have to be invited in,” Felton said.

Felton was back in Leesburg for the holiday season. Despite traveling and seeing the world while working, Felton still feels a certain allure to Leesburg.

“It’s nice to come back to visit and get grounded again,” Felton said. “It’s a big world out there, and you always have a certain feeling of uneasiness on the road. When I come back to Leesburg, I know all the people; I know it’s safe. I’m back home. It’s not overwhelming out there in the world, but it is lonely.”

Moving up in the world
Felton wants to keep up his bodyguard duties, and potentially open his own firm someday when the money is flowing.

For now, he wants to cater to his every-growing list of A-list clients, tapping some inspiration through some of the world’s most famous stars.

“Being in the midst of greatness – the best boxers, the best tennis players, the best artists – is definitely inspirational,” Felton said. “Being the best bodyguard means having the best client.”

And while Felton would love to one day satisfy his dream to enter the ring for World Wrestling Entertainment of Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, he has found enjoyment in his newfound career.

“This job satisfies almost all of the things that wrestling would have for me – the physicality, the traveling, and being in the midst of things,” Felton said, grinning. “But who knows, I’d be open for an opportunity.