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eBook Category: People/Sports/Entertainment
eBook Description: Watch My Back is the story of one man's search for courage. Depressed, bullied, intimidated by life and indoctrinated to believe that this was his lot, Geoff Thompson, on the verge of a breakdown, decided to fight back. In a bid to confront his fears, he took a job as a bouncer in one of Britain's roughest nightclubs. His life was never to be the same again. Over the next ten years, and after being involved in hundreds of brutal and bloody fights that left two of his friends murdered and many more in prison, the bullied 11 stone youth turned himself into a fearsome fighting machine with an unparalleled reputation as a knockout specialist. Seduced by beautiful women, attacked by maniacs with knives, guns (and a pair of garden shears), chased and locked up by the police and sought after by top establishments to "clean up" their clubs, Geoff reached the top of his trade and became addicted to violence. Then it all changed. After being stabbed, glassed and nearly killed in a gang attack, and almost killing one of his attackers in a savage car park match-fight, he was forced to reassess his relationship with violence. After writing down his experiences in an effort to exorcise his demons, Geoff discovered a flair for writing. Within a few short years his work found a cult following all over the world. This is the story of an ordinary man who faced his fears and took himself from bedsit to bestseller but very nearly got killed on the way. Geoff Thompson made violence his profession working as a doorman at some of Britain's roughest clubs. As the holder of the rank of 6th Dan black belt in Japanese karate, 1st Dan in Judo and equally well qualified in other martial arts he is a TOUGH man. As well as many books he has written a film script, Watch My back, based on his life and a stage play, One Sock, that inspired The Royal Court Theatre in London's West End to invite him into their exclusive writers' group. Watch My Back is his account of nine years as a doorman and bouncer, of living with the ever present fear of going too far and killing someone in any of the 300 violent and bloody confrontations.

eBook Publisher: Summersdale Publishers Ltd/Summersdale - Geoff Thompson, Published: 2004
Fictionwise Release Date: March 2005

2 Reader Ratings:

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"Lennie McLean had the brawn, Dave Courtney had the charm, but Geoff Thompson is in a class of his own..."--FHM

"This man is very, very hard. Buy his book if you know what's good for you"--Maxim

"The psyche-outs, the stabbings, glassings, incidents involving the camaraderie of the door ... Thompson's 300 fights--never losing, not once--are recorded in this excellent book."--Loaded

Before I recount my experiences, I think it is best that I tell you a little of my early days. It might help you, the reader, to understand how a man such as myself ended up working as a nightclub doorman. I was born in Coventry, Tile Hill actually, in 1960 to Josephine and Kenneth Thompson. I was one of four children, three boys--myself, Ray and Garry--and a girl, Marie-Jo. We were all lucky enough to have enjoyed a sound upbringing with a lovely Irish mum and a great English dad. I went to St Peter's and Paul's Junior School and later on to Cardinal Wiseman Comprehensive. All my early life, certainly from the age of eleven, I was plagued by the fear of fighting and confrontations. I don't really know why this should be. My mum reckons I'd inherited her nerves and that it was just my way. She always reminds me that whilst I was a very sensitive kid, I was also a bit of a boy too.

Whatever the reason, my mind felt weak and constantly under attack from fears too powerful to fight. Doubtless I was not on my own in this respect, but at the time I felt I was, so I could take no solace from this. What I found to my distaste, what really hurt, was not being scared, it was the thought of having to live under the dominion of fear for the rest of my life. Many times during these cruel years I found myself sneaking out of the back door at school to avoid my would-be antagonists waiting for me at the front, then running off to the sanctuary of short-sightedness and ignorance, only to wake up the next morning with fear and worry ever-growing at the thought of having to go back to school and face the "enemy" again, often having to go under the protective wing of my dad.

I vividly remember one Christmas morning sitting in my bedroom alone and crying, worrying about going back to school in two weeks' time, and the misery that would then ensue. My elder brother Garry came in and asked me what was wrong. I shrugged my shoulders, too ashamed to admit my weakness. My whole childhood was marred by such incidents: these sad, scared, worried feelings came and went at will--I was, I felt, at the mercy of my own mind. Hope came on the horizon in the guise of the martial arts. Bruce Lee took on all celluloid comers and held no fear. He became my mentor and I enthusiastically, though not convincingly, mimicked him along with thousands of other proteges of the late great. High on the inspiration, I started a martial arts class, aikido, in my bid to build confidence. Life was my bully and I needed an arsenal to defend myself. Unfortunately my efforts had the opposite effect. If I thought the bullying was a problem I was in for a shock when I started aikido; my real problems were about to begin...