Charlie Hendrie, known as the UK’s fitness guru and the driving force behind Commando Charlie has served a conviction for an offense related to the drug trafficking. This former Navy commando was a trusted bodyguard for the rich and famous. He worked for Elton John, Daniel Radcliffe and Emma Watson, flew private jets and had a “pop star” salary, but his life changed completely when he got caught up in the Ibiza party, according to the British newspaper The Sun.
“Ibiza turned me into a drug dealer”says Charlie, who fell into a spiral of drug addiction and was lured into a life of crime. Finally, he was arrested in 2015 during a raid involving more than a million pounds worth of drugs such as ecstasy or MDMA. After serving time, he has decided to tell his story to this British media to show others that ” no matter what mistakes you make, you can change your life”.
“I wasn’t a criminal before, I just committed a criminal act. I made a mistake, I lost my way, I lost my way,” says Charlie. “The past doesn’t define you, we all make mistakes. What really matters and what defines you is how you come back from them. Any mistake you make you can use as a lesson,” he says.
Ibiza lifestyle changed his life
Charlie’s plan was to take four months off work in Ibiza and then return to work as a bodyguard. But the drugs and the party lifestyle got the better of him and his life began to spiral out of control.
“We moved in with tour managers of some of the top DJs, which gave me access to the party scene and all that goes with it,” he says. “I started using drugs and the values, morals and standards I once lived by during my military and escort careers slowly faded away,” he says.
“Although I had feelings of guilt, shame, regret and disappointment about doing drugs and being in Ibiza and what I was doing, I then took more drugs to try to stop. As the summer progressed, I was digging a deeper and deeper hole and, by the end of the summer, I had become a shadow of my former self.”
At the end of the season his apartment was burglarized and his laptop, Rolex, iPad and money were stolen. Broke and dealing with a bad drug habit, Charlie was asked to work in the UK by someone he met in Ibiza.
“I was asked to do a one-off job as a driver, picking up a load of drugs.” he explains. “My mindset at this stage was far removed from what it once was. Simply put, I was making bad decisions and bad decisions after bad decisions. My perception, judgment and everything was wrong. It was like you had too much to drink, did something stupid and woke up afraid of beer; this was like that, but on a whole new level.”
Charlie and his girlfriend were going to take more than 1 million in MDMA to a Staffordshire hotel for a drug deal. But police had the couple under surveillance and they were arrested with suitcases full of 36 packets of drugs.
For the full article, please visit Diario de Ibiza website here.