Gloria Garcia was born and brought up in Cicero Illinois - one of the poorest and toughest neighbourhoods outside of Chicago. Home of Al Capone, Mikey Sarno and Frank Calabrese, to which she knows a few. "Mikey escorted me out of the club with 6 guys and took me home because I was too young at 16 to be in the club, it was like having my own personal bodyguard."
It was here around the corner from her house one night at the age of 11 that her life changed forever. The target of an unsuccessful kidnapping, it would be this moment which dictated what her life’s purpose would be going forward - that adage to ‘serve and protect’, she committed herself to the intention that she would take care of who and what she could for the extent of her life.
She applied to the Chicago Cook County Sheriff’s department and within a month she was at the Academy training with the best of the best and trained under the S.O.R.T. Team which was the Special Operations Response Team. After graduating from the Academy under the helm of Captain Willie J. Williams she was posted to Cook County Prison in the RTU Men’s division. Her position was that of being in charge of 40+ officers and 500+ inmates in open dorms. This included inmates accused of theft to murders. Gloria was asked within her first year of being an Officer to train the incoming potential candidates through their physicals, an honour that is bestowed on a very select few.
It was during this time she also began to bodyguard clients from Mexico City: "I remember being in Mexico with family and saw a bunch of men standing around where we were having lunch and one of the guys pulled their jacket back and had a gun. I asked who they were and someone sitting at the table said they were Bodyguards". I was seduced by the fact that a person could live their life everyday protecting one individual. Within months and sheer tenacity of reaching out to whomever she knew in D.F. she found herself bodyguarding some of the wealthiest families from Mexico City. Lifelong relationships that still last throughout this day. Known as the ‘Fixer’, the ‘Angel Assassin’, and ‘Mrs. Wick’ - she now owns and runs Santi Security a private company catering to all needs of ‘Security’.
Sure, Gloria’s decisions’ can be life or death but all in all we all wrestle with one similar concept; is our ‘Principal’ (Product or service) safe and sound (from competitors) at the end of the day. Her reputation as one of the top female bodyguards in the country have allowed her to travel and to meet individuals to share her story of trauma, determination, passion and success….
Gloria’s personal love is taking care of orphaned children in Puebla Mexico where her Father’s origin lies.
How to hire Gloria Garcia
Contact the Champions Speakers agency to provisionally enquire about Gloria Garcia for your event today. Simply call a booking agent on 0207 1010 553 or email us at [email protected] for more information.
** We do not accept requests for autographs, signed merchandise, fan mail, birthday messages or any other non-commercial contact with the speakers or acts. Each speaker on the website may not have necessarily worked with Champions in the past but are known to perform such engagements within the industry.
Gloria’s love of being a Bodyguard and a businesswoman lie on the same ethos which she has lived and led her whole life:
- Profiling your client/product
- Planning ahead (‘Route Planning’ in the Bodyguard world)
- Assessing and initialising (without being afraid) any risk
- Working with a passionate, determined and focused team.
- Making sure everyone has a specific job description, executes it and remains accountable.
- Daily intelligence gathering (on the product or service)
- Preparing for any changes
And of course, not always in that order!
