The Nugget: Dusty Watts

VIP protection professional, Dustin “Dusty” Watts is a top man to know when you need looking after. No surprise given he stands 6 foot 4 and is as fit as a fiddle. And no surprise either that he played footy to a pretty serious standard, making the New Zealand Under 21 team, the Hurricanes squad and the Central Vikings - whose jerseys many still believe hold the dubious honour of being the greatest fashion disaster in NZ Rugby.

Dusty cites Jamie Joseph as the hardest player he ever came across - particularly with no TMOs for protection back then. Mind you he dealt with a few even tougher characters after he retired, during 12 years’ service as a police officer - the last four on the National Counter-Terrorist Team - before ending up in the Middle East.

After a stint in Afghanistan as a private body guard for dignitaries and Human Rights lawyers, Dusty was employed by a high-profile rock band to be their protection - although mostly from themselves given their late-night shenanigans, he reckons.

Cool, calm and professional are Dusty’s mantras, which is probably why he loves the black merino wool Captain suit ($700), complemented by our white Lubeck herringbone shirt ($120 or 3 for $300), polka dot tie, leather belt (both $60 or grab any combo of 3 ties, cufflinks or belts for $150) and Bertie Marlow black Chelsea boots ($250 or 2 for $333) that he sports here.

And while being a bodyguard (incidentally he rates the film of the same name a “very generous one-star”) is not all first-class travel, five-star hotels, high-roller rooms, and private islands - (“actually it pretty much is”) the list of Dusty’s clients makes interesting reading, including; Al Gore, Metallica, Linkin Park, System of a Down, Paramore, Limp Bizkit, Fall Out Boy, Nickelback and a few high net worth people that “won’t want a mention”.

When pressed for juicy gossip on any of these people, he was more than happy to tell all, “but I’d probably have to shoot you”.

We might wait for the book when he retires instead. Yep, discretion is a pretty big part of what Dusty does. Small wonder then we’ve managed to pry open a little bit more about this very good bugger for you to read.