From Her Fitness Regime To Everyday Essentials, Here’s How Kate Bright Spends Her Day
With multiple partnerships in KSA, the bodyguard and founder of security company UMBRA talks us through her action-filled day
6:30AM: I’m up and like to meditate and exercise before the day starts. I need to stay fit for my job as a bodyguard. I also take part in charity fitness feats and have cycled across Belgium and paddle boarded across the English Channel.
7:45AM: I always have a matcha latte or green tea while checking emails. Then I have a five-minute cold shower using Savon de Marseille soaps and Superfacialist oil cleanser – I use it again in the evening when I have an hour-long bath. I use their retinol day and hyaluronic acid night creams too. My make-up is quick and minimal, I wear Heliocare tinted sunblock, then Charlotte Tilbury Wonder Glow. I’m required to blend into the background so I wear neutral colours. I opt for comfortable dresses from Max Mara, The Fold, Holland Cooper or Dai, paired with understated Jessica McCormack jewellery and Maison Margiela or Converse trainers, and I always carry my large black Celine day bag. I need a big bag that I can carry my ‘bodyguard toolkit’ in – things such as CPR masks and personal alarms with torches inbuilt.
9:30AM: In the Middle East, I make sure I have clothing to cover my legs and arms, and a headscarf. I leave the house by 9:30AM depending on the time of my first meeting. My company UMBRA International Group helps a lot of clients from the UAE and Saudi Arabia with everything from background checking and selection of staffing globally, to the protection of homes and properties. I am also the in-house Personal Security Advisor for Al Johara, a Saudi-based social enterprise membership organisation for women in the Middle East to engage with like-minded women from across the globe. All this means my work is very different from day to day.
10:00AM: A typical day could look like this… a refresher bodyguard course; this could be from first aid to counter-terrorism and advanced driving.
12:00PM: I could be with a client at their home or even on a security job. Clients still request that I accompany or chaperone, especially if they want a female operative.
3:00PM: I do a ‘Secure Lifestyle Audit’ with a member of Al Johara, which is a private discussion to go over concerns for their own or their family’s safety. I also sit on the Gender Advisory Council for the British Army and I work hard to use female operatives both in the UK and the Middle East.
6:00PM: It’s usually time for my evening jobs, or events that my clients are hosting. To unwind, I’ll take a long bath and I love really good quality room scents and candles so I am a regular at Aesop and Diptyque.
10:30PM: I’m in bed by 10:30PM, I need seven to eight hours of sleep to be at my optimum. The book beside my bed is Let it Go by Dame Stephanie Shirley. I keep my phone and any devices out of the bedroom and I do a daily gratitude practice just before I go to sleep.
Images Courtesy Of Kate Bright/@clarencehouse. All images of Kate Bright were shot by Kate Martin.
From Harper’s Bazaar Saudi’s Autumn 2021 issue.