As he sat in the back of a police car, covered in blood from being hit with a bottle in a bar fight and then blasted three times with a taser, Austin Green never imagined he’d soon receive a job offer.
A military veteran who also played football in the Arena League, the now 29-year-old heavyweight MMA prospect admits he couldn’t possibly fabricate a story like what actually led to him becoming a professional bodyguard. It all happened at a night club when Green was partying with some friends and he noticed an argument breaking out that involved someone in his group.
To hear him tell it, Green wasn’t looking for trouble, but despite his massive frame — he stands 6-foot-5 and weighs over 265 pounds — it didn’t take long from that initial argument for the situation to then spiral into an alcohol-fueled brawl.
“I was trying to grab one of my friends to get him out of the situation, and then somebody popped off and said something to me,” Green told MMA Fighting. “I had been drinking, and of course somebody pops off saying something to me and then we start tussling, and the next thing you know I’m getting hit with a bottle and then fists start flying and it was chaotic.
“Chairs were flying. It’s one of those bar fights you see in the movies. Stuff flying everywhere. Tasers going off. I was the only one who got tased. I was the biggest one in the club and I’m covered in blood. I looked like the girl off the movie Carrie. Just this big juggernaut running around and I got tased three times.”
According to Green, police intervened to break up the fight, but he believes without a doubt that he got hit with the taser multiple times simply because he looked like the biggest threat due to his size.
The police detained him while they sorted out what exactly happened, and that’s when Green was approached by the lead bouncer of the club.
“Literally as I’m sitting in the police car, the security guard of the club comes up and asks me, ‘Do you want to work?’” Green said. “He was like, ‘You really handled yourself well. You want to work?’ I said, ‘Yeah, as long as I don’t get tased or go to jail.’ Probably one of the worst best job interviews.”
Green accepted the opportunity and started working security at the club, and that’s when he began meeting celebrities and their managers, who also happened to be partying in the same spot. It was ultimately suggested that perhaps he should explore working as a bodyguard, which sounded like an interesting transition, so Green jumped at the chance.
Before long, he was the intimidating presence oftentimes photographed in the background when paparazzi swarmed a celebrity, and it became Green’s job to protect that person at all costs. He’s guarded a number of A-listers, and Green admits he still gets a little excited when standing near a well-known actor or musician, but the stoic look on his face would never give you a clue.
“It’s been interesting, to say the least,” Green said. “It’s cool because you get to see the side of celebrities that most people don’t see. It’s been pretty cool. Then you’re around celebrities and they go around even bigger celebrities. I don’t want to say starstruck, but it’s surreal. It’s cool to be in that environment.”
Green was so good at his new job that he even adapted “Bodyguard” as his nickname as an MMA fighter, where he currently sports a perfect 5-0 record, with a chance to make it six in a row when he faces UFC veteran Juan Adams in the Fury FC 78 main event on Sunday.
If that wasn’t enough, Green also moonlights as a professional wrestler who appears on All Elite Wrestling after training under WWE superstar Cody Rhodes at his school in Atlanta.
If it seems as if Green wears a lot of different hats across several jobs, you’d be correct, but he wouldn’t have it any other way.
Green loves working as a bodyguard just like he adores fighting and getting in the ring as a professional wrestler, even if that means moving all those pieces around like a never-ending puzzle.
“When I’m in fight camp, I maybe go to wrestling training once a week or I may do one or two shows, but normally when I’m in fight camp, I don’t focus on wrestling too much,” Green explained. “But since I’ve been getting booked a lot for AEW, I’ve been trying to do at least one day a week at the wrestling camp.
“It may not be MMA fighting but it’s still a cardio workout, so I’ll use that to get a sweat going and get my workout in and stuff like that. It’s still a tough workout. I finish some matches and I’m gasping for air. It’s actually helped out my cardio a lot for fighting.”
Ideally, Green would love to put his full focus on fighting and pro wrestling, but much like how he first became a bodyguard, he’s all about timing and opportunity.
Right now Green knows beating a UFC veteran like Adams will open a lot of doors for his fight career, but he’s always keeping his options open for the future because he knows there are only so many hours in a day and he refuses to waste one of them.
“Now’s the time to do it,” Green said. “I’m not getting any younger. The older you get, those bumps start to add up, so my body is still feeling good. Now is the time to try and knock all those out.”
