Celebrity Bodyguard Reveals the ‘Worst Outfit’ He Was Photographed in While on the Job That Changed How He Dresses (Exclusive)

Bodyguard Dustin Folkes shares why dressing for the job matters, from celebrity security work to building VYZN Apparel with a give-back mission.

Courtesy of Dustin Folkes

NEED TO KNOW

Dustin Folkes, a former Marine turned bodyguard, has worked for celebrities like Justin Bieber, Kim Kardashian and Conor McGregor, to name a few

Folkes launched VYZN Apparel, a performance clothing brand inspired by his work and lifestyle as a bodyguard

The brand donates one item to veterans experiencing homelessness for every purchase, with nearly 1,000 items donated so far

When most people think of celebrity bodyguards, they envision seven-foot men in all-black who often stick out in the crowd.

However, Dustin Folkes, a former Marine, has mastered the art of being low-key while still on high alert. His ability to blend in and not attract attention has made him a go-to personal security guard for dozens of high-profile celebrities over the last 20 years, with clients like Justin Bieber, Shaun White, Selena Gomez, Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie, Kim Kardashian, Heidi Klum, Jon Bon Jovi, George Strait and Eric Church, to name a few.

Although Folkes, who currently works for Conor McGregor, has a fun sense of style outside the job, he talks to PEOPLE about the importance of dressing the part.

“It really depends on the client. It depends on where or what we’re doing. But for the most part, I would say 98%, I stick to the all black or just whatever looks professional,” the 41-year-old says.

Courtesy of Dustin Folkes/Jackson Wang

He notes that when working for athletes like McGregor, White or David Beckham, not only did he have to dress professionally, but he also had to be ready for whatever could come his way.

“A lot of my athletes, if we’re training, I’m not wearing jeans and polo shirts and all this stuff to training,” he says.

With his lifestyle in mind, Folkes created VYZN Apparel, a premium performance clothing brand for training, travel and everyday life inspired by “SoCal vibes.”

“I needed something that was going to hold up to my wear and tear, me beating it up,” he explains.

“The past five weeks I’ve been with Conor training for this fight, I’ve been in sweats and a sweatshirt, so in turn, and because he’s a big supporter of VYZN, I’ve been wearing a VYZN hoodie and I’ve been wearing VYZN sweats,” he says. “And half the time we’re matching because he has the full line of VYZN stuff, so he’s wearing it as well.”

Courtesy of Dustin Folkes

“So there are times where I can dress down. It works with what you’re doing,” he continues. “If we’re going to the gym, I shouldn’t be in jeans or a suit. You know what I mean? I should be in gym attire. If we’re going to the pool, I dress down a little bit. I’ll have board shorts underneath sweats.”

While Folkes has his on-the-job style down by this point, he admits it took some trial and error. He points to one moment earlier in his career when he was working for Bieber and the musician got into a spat with paparazzi.

Photos of Folkes intervening quickly circulated, but at the time, he was wearing a casual “pair of basketball shorts.”

“Looking back at this picture for the last so many years, I’m like, ‘Oh, that was the worst outfit I could have had on,’ ” he reflects, noting that it was a turning point in how he started dressing in his day-to-day.

Courtesy of Dustin Folkes

Folkes, who has “always been into fashion,” admits he thought about starting a clothing company “for a very, very long time” before finally taking the leap of faith.

“It’s not something I really dove into as a kid, but it’s something that I’ve always had an eye for and I’ve always loved,” he tells PEOPLE. “Especially in junior high and high school, I was super into the surf world and the skateboard world.”

However, he notes that it wasn’t until he worked for fashion icon Victoria Beckham that his love for clothes “fully reignited” after watching her work — and shop.

Not only did he want to create a product he loved, but he also wanted to use it as an opportunity to give back, having spent time helping people who were homeless in Los Angeles as a kid.

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“A big piece of the company, and really the mission of the company, is buy one, gift one,” he shares. “What it is is when someone buys an item from us, we then gift an item to the homeless, and we really focus on homeless veterans.”

“It was something that always stuck with me,” he says while looking back on his childhood missions to Skid Row.

“I always wanted to do something for the homeless. There’s not enough people doing stuff for the homeless,” he emphasizes.

So far, Folkes says they have donated nearly 1,000 items to people experiencing homelessness in Los Angeles — but his “ultimate goal” is to take it “worldwide.”

“There’s no reason to stop with one city, one state. You know what I mean?”

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