THE HITMAN’S BODYGUARD
As stories go this one has everything, crime, murder, a criminal mastermind, surviving cancer and the most prominent music star that the world has ever produced. One of the challenges in this story was getting the title right. The truck name is My Way, it’s unique colour is Truck Purple, but I settled for the Hitman’s Bodyguard in honour of the new owner of the big purple 2008 4800 Western Star, Mark “Hammer” Dixon.
Mark was the bodyguard of some of Australia’s most notable criminals including Mark Brandon “Chopper” Reid, Roberta Williams, wife of underworld figure the late Carl Williams, and Roger “The Dodger” Rogerson, a former highly decorated detective sergeant of the New South Wales Police Force. Roger turned to a life of crime, then entertainment, and is now in prison as a convicted murderer.
Born in July 1973, Mark reckons he has a chequered past.
“I started bouncing when I was 17 years of age. I was bouncing for close to 26 years,” Mark tells ACT.
He says 10 years mixed into bouncing was looking after Chopper and five years on and off looking after Roger Rogerson with a little bit of bodyguard work for Roberta Williams thrown in the mix.
He also worked for some massive artists in the early 90s including AC/DC and Elton John to name drop a couple.
He has a chequered past but says, “no criminal record”.
Chopper wasn’t an “active underworld figure” when Mark worked for him. “With Chopper, I worked for him
