Essex County Man a Bodyguard for the Famous and Inspiration to All

Adriano "Bubba" Almony remembers as a child being bullied and disrespected. Instead of responding in anger, he channeled that challenging childhood into a career as a celebrity bodyguard.

One of those he protects is Dr. Khalilah Camacho-Ali, the wife of four-time heavyweight boxing champion, Muhammad Ali, and her children for about five years. “He’s amazing. A wonderful, wonderful person,” Dr. Ali says. “We have so much fun around this guy. We’re honored to be around such an outstanding individual. It seems we just can't get enough of him.”

Almony, who owns and runs Bubba Almony Security Services LLC, says prospective clients are introduced to him and his team by word of mouth. “We do exceptionally well, go above and beyond with a client, and they refer me or they'll post me on their social media,” he says. “Also, at different events, people come up to either the client or myself and ask about services. I also have a strong social media presence; I'm on Bing, Yelp, Google, all those different platforms, and I’m graded five stars on all those apps.”

Almony, 27, who lives in Fairfield, has an extensive martial arts background of 18 years, and is experienced in Ninjuism (the study of the Ninja), American Kenpo, Taekwondo, and was also a three-time national champion in sparring, weaponry, and forms in national tournaments. He also has an 11-year background in security, and that includes bodyguarding for some of the top events and protecting some of the top names in the real world. In addition to Dr. Ali, Almony lists real estate tycoon Grant Cardone and his wife, Elena Lyons Cardone, P. Diddy’s children, and many others as clients.

In addition to his bodyguard services, Almony also heads into all types of communities and tries to make things better, and has actually worked with Dr. Ali in doing the same. “He’s accomplished a lot more than a lot of people his age,” she says.

“Dr. Ali has also helped me tremendously with support and speaking, and just being a listening ear and being an advocate for bullying and mental health and things of that nature, so I really appreciate her support,” Almony adds of the ninth-degree black belt who studied under Bruce Lee. “We did this one thing at a martial arts studio, and she got on FaceTime and spoke to the children. For her to speak to those kids - she's a martial arts idol and icon to them. And when she spoke – and you know, I can speak until I’m blue in the face – Dr. Ali in just a few words changed those kid’s lives forever.”

“You see how he is?” Dr. Ali asks. “You're talking to him about him and he switches over to me. That's one of the things that he does. He is such a humble and grateful person. You would think this guy is at least 40 years old with his accomplishments because he’s done so much. This is what we're trying to get our youth to do: to get involved and try to career build yourself at a young age.” She then adds, “And deal with this man. Look at what he’s accomplished at age 27!”

The affable and friendly Almony has done much work domestically as well as abroad. “In India,” Almony says, “I’ve helped in feeding the less fortunate. My friend has a mission over there with the homeless, providing quality food. But over here in the United States, I've had the privilege of speaking to tens of thousands of children at martial arts studios, schools public and private, sports teams, ‘National Night Out’ events, and a lot of different community events like ‘First Friday’ events in different cities. I’ve had a chance to talk to these children about respect, discipline, being focused, and striving for their goals and their biggest dreams in life, and never to limit your dreams. If you want to be the next President, the next Governor, or the next Dr. Ali or the next ‘Bubba,’ you can be anything you want to be in life. Surround yourself with beautiful people that believe in you, that sacrifice with you, whatever it is. You need that circle. It's so important to have a team and to trust people.”

For more information about Adriano “Bubba” Almony, visit www.bubbaalmony.com.