The Scotsman
Thu 22 Aug 2002
Meaningful sentences
Tracey Lawson
If you ever wanted to look like "one of the most dangerous inmates in prison
history", as one judge described Charles Bronson, now’s your chance. Bronson -
the serial hostage taker, not the movie star - has written a health and
fitness guide in which he shares some of the secrets behind his legendary
muscle power.
Solitary Fitness - a title which bears testament to the fact that Bronson, 48,
has spent 24 of his 28 prison years in solitary confinement - explains how he
has turned himself into a lean, mean, fitness machine while living 23 hours a
day in a space just 12 feet by eight feet, on a diet of scrubs grub and at
virtually no cost.
The book is aimed at those who want to get fabulously fit without spending a
fortune on gym memberships, protein supplements or designer trainers, and
starts with a fierce attack on some of the expensive myths churned out by the
exercise industry.
"I pick up a fitness mag, I start to laugh and I wipe my arse with it," is the
opening paragraph penned by Bronson. "It’s a joke and a big con and they call
me a criminal!" You can’t help feeling he has a point.
This is not the first book that Bronson has written from behind bars, having
already published Birdman Opens His Mind, which features drawings and poems
created by Bronson while in prison. And he is not the first prisoner to
discover creative expression while residing at Her Majesty’s pleasure.
Jimmy Boyle, the Scots sculptor and novelist, discovered his artistic talents
when he was sent to Barlinnie Prison’s famous special unit, which aimed to
help inmates put their violent pasts behind them by teaching them how to
express their emotions artistically. Boyle was sentenced to life for the
murder of "Babs" Rooney in 1967. Once released, he moved to Edinburgh where he
has become a respected artist. His first novel, Hero of the Underworld, was
published in 1999 and his autobiography, A Sense of Freedom, was made into an
award-winning film.
Hugh Collins was jailed for life in 1977 for the murder of William Mooney in
Glasgow, and in his first year in Barlinnie prison stabbed three prison
officers, earning him an extra seven-year sentence. But, after being
transferred to the same unit that Boyle attended, he learned to sculpt and
developed an interest in art. He later published Autobiography of a Murderer,
a frank account of Glasgow’s criminal culture in the 1960s, which received
critical praise.
And Lord Archer doesn’t seem to have had trouble continuing to write the books
that have made him millions while in jail. He recently signed a three-book
deal with Macmillan publishers worth a reported £10 million, and is no doubt
scribbling away as we speak.
So why is it that men like Collins, Bronson and Boyle, who can be so
destructive towards society on the outside, can become so creative once stuck
on the inside? Steve Richards, Bronson’s publisher, has published many books
about criminal figures and believes the roots of this phenomenon are both
pragmatic and profound.
He says: "Prison is sometimes the first time some criminals will ever have
known a stable environment, and this can be the first time they have the
chance to focus on their creative skills.
"It may also be the first time that they have really had the chance of an
education, if their early years have been hard. It could be the first time
anyone has offered them the chance to explore their creative talents."
However, Richards believes the reasons are also deeper than that. He says:
"Once they are behind bars, the cold light of day hits them, and they examine
the very essence of who they are.
"They ask themselves, am I a man who wants to be remembered for violence? Or
am I a man who can contribute to society, who can be remembered for something
good?"
Bronson - who was born Michael Gordon Peterson, but changed his name to that
of the Hollywood star of the Death Wish films - has, so far, been remembered
mainly for things bad. He was originally jailed for seven years for armed
robbery in 1974, and has had a series of sentences added to his original term
over the years as a result of attacking people in prison. In 2000 he was
jailed for life after being convicted of holding a teacher hostage for nearly
two days during a jail siege.
Standing five feet ten and a half inches tall and weighing 210lbs, he is
renowned for his strength. He has bent metal cell doors with his bare hands
and does up to 3,000 - yes, 3,000 - press-ups a day. As he puts it: "I can hit
a man 20 times in four seconds, I can push 132 press ups in 60 seconds."
But judging by our current obsession with health and exercise, Solitary
Fitness might be the book which will see Bronson’s face sitting on every
coffee table in the land. He might be the man to give us the dream body which
so many so-called fitness gurus promise but fail to motivate us into. Because
Bronson has learned to use words as powerfully as he can use his fists.
"All this crap about high-protein drinks, pills, diets, it’s just a load of
bollocks and a multi-million-pound racket," he writes, in what can only be
described as a refreshingly honest style. "We can all be fat lazy bastards,
it’s our choice, I’m sick of hearing and reading about excuses, if you stuff
your face with shit you become shit, that’s logical to me."
As motivational mantras go, that might be just the kick up the, er, backside
we all needed.
Solitary Fitness by Charles Bronson is published by Mirage Publishing and will
be available in bookstores from October at £7.99
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