Most people assume that being close to Michael Jackson meant cashing in on his fame and fortune. Matt Fiddes wants you to know that is not how it worked between them.
Matt was already a self-made millionaire before he ever met Michael. He had left school at sixteen with no qualifications, started his first martial arts school with just £100, and had achieved every goal he set for himself by the age of nineteen.
He was not looking for a handout. He refused every payment offer Michael ever made and never earned a single penny from their friendship directly.
WHAT MICHAEL GAVE HIM INSTEAD WAS SOMETHING MONEY CANNOT BUY.
Hear Matt tell his story in his own words
When the two men spent time together indoors, away from the chaos of the outside world, the conversations were rarely about music. Michael’s mind was locked onto business, branding, and building something that could outlast any individual.
He read three to four non-fiction books every week and studied the strategies of the greatest performers and entrepreneurs in history. He was obsessed with understanding what separated good from legendary.
The advice Michael offered to Matt was simple, but it changed the way Matt approached his business.
He told Matt to think bigger than your current walls allow. Stop building a business and start building a brand. Your ceiling is only as high as the size of your thinking.
Matt break down the business lessons Michael taught him
Matt had five martial arts schools when those conversations were happening. Michael pushed him to franchise the concept and stop limiting its reach to what he could personally manage.
HE TALKED ABOUT SYSTEMIZING, SCALING, AND DELIVERING A QUALITY EXPERIENCE THAT COULD EXIST ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD WITHOUT MATT NEEDING TO BE IN THE ROOM.
Matt listened and he franchised. Today, that business has grown to over 2,000 locations worldwide and carries a valuation of £120 million.
He went from earning £2.75 an hour as a lifeguard living in a bedsit to building one of the largest martial arts empires on the planet. Not because Michael gave him money. Because Michael refused to let him think small.
The King of Pop spent his life being underestimated as a businessman.
The man who protected him became a living proof that the sharpest thing about Michael Jackson was more than his dancing, it was his mind!