The Bucks prison officer that pulls lorries with his bare hands
A prison officer at HMP Aylesbury is the UK’s toughest prison guard, spending his days patrolling the prison corridors and his nights pulling lorries with his bare hands. Sam Duthie, 33, describes himself as a ‘gentle giant’, but he still strikes fear into even the most hardened of lags due to his huge bulk and head-to-toe muscles. When he’s not working at HMP Aylesbury, he’s competing in the UK’s Strongest Man competition.
In 2021, Sam was crowned the second strongest man in England which qualified him to compete for the UK title. He has kept up his training and is now in the best shape of his life. He hopes to soon claim the title.
Sam said: “I have been training for the best part of 12 years and competing for ten of those years. In 2021 I was the second strongest man in England and that has qualified me to be on the UK strongest man circuit which means that at every opportunity I am competing to be the best in Britain.” The Mirror[2] reported.
For Sam, competing was something he dreamed of doing as a child when he would watch the strongest man contests on television.
Sam lifts and pulls cars when he isn’t working as a prison officer (Image: Ministry of Justice)
“I said to mum, ‘that’s what I want to do when I get older’ and she thought it was a pipedream that would pass. But all I could think about in school was lifting cars and pulling lorries,” he continued. So when I was at the right age to do so, at the age of 18, I entered my first competition and haven’t looked back.
“Thankfully I don’t have any war stories like some of the athletes who have literally broken their back or limbs. From my perspective, the challenge is trying to balance my life at work and competing.” Indeed, training for strongman is serious business, which he describes as being more like having a ‘second job’ than a hobby. “I’ve got to constantly consider eating my meals, calorie intake, water intake and I’ve got to train when I don’t want to train,” he added.
“There are similarities (between work and competing). For example, I need to be very disciplined with my training and also disciplined as a prison officer to keep people safe and help the prisoners to turn their lives around.” Sam has been a prison officer for the past six years, and has found it impossible to hide his impressive frame from the inmates.
At one stage he feared that he may become a target for prisoners, but in reality, he has found they are supportive and interested in his hobby – and the physical nature of his job helps him stay in shape. He continued: “They are fully aware of it. Last year I competed for the UK’s Strongest Man, which was on Channel 5, and since then they all know what I do.
The prisoners were all very excited about it – they treated me like Messi or Ronaldo when I came into work after the competition. “Initially I thought it would be an issue, but it hasn’t been at all. Although I am big, once the prisoners get to know me, they realise that I am just a friendly giant.
I am a very calm and very level-headed person, and I think that is what wins prisoners’ respect. “When it comes to being a good prison officer, it doesn’t matter if you are big or small. The best people I have seen in the role have great communication skills.
If you can talk to and read people, it doesn’t matter what size you are.”
The physical nature of Sam’s job helps him to stay in shape (Image: Ministry of Justice)
Sam said that he always wanted to work in the prison service, and would recommend it to anyone as no two days are the same. Sam added: “I’ve been in the prison service for almost six years and before that I worked in security for 10 years as a door supervisor for nightclubs. “I had wanted to be in the prison service for many years, going back to when I left school.
I love it – it’s a stable career where no two days are the same. Now I could see myself working in the prison service until I retire. “I didn’t know what to expect before I became a prison officer but the mixture of different people here was a shock – there are people from all different backgrounds, in one place.
“In my old role in security, I was used to dealing with conflicts but it’s the experience of dealing with people that has given me a huge stepping stone into this job in the prison service. “It taught me how to speak to people and how to read situations before they arise. I’m a strong believer that if you have the ability to communicate with people you will go far in this job.
“Every day in the prison is completely different. You will always be busy – it’s impossible to be bored. The job helps to keep me fit and healthy with the amount of steps I do.
I also really enjoy the camaraderie with colleagues and the professional relationship with the prisoners – that’s what keeps you going.” A spokesperson for the Ministry of Justice said: “HMPPS is looking for people who can demonstrate good communication and influencing skills, commitment to quality, effective decision-making, care and understanding. “A newly recruited prison officer at HMP Aylesbury on a 39 hour/week contract will earn GBP34,202 annually.
Additional benefits include an attractive pension scheme, plus numerous other benefits such as gym access, discount schemes and free parking.”
References
- ^ Prison officer shares what is needed to do the job (www.buckinghamshirelive.com)
- ^ The Mirror (www.mirror.co.uk)