Günter Singer

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Günter Singer (2011)

Günter Singer (born June 7, 1967 in Mürzzuschlag , Styria as Günter Bayer ) is an Austrian - American film producer , private security and military entrepreneur and former professional Muay Thai kickboxer and K1 fighter.

Life

childhood

Singer grew up in Veitsch , Styria and on the mountain farm of his mother's family in neighboring Krieglach , and attended elementary and secondary school in Veitsch. After attending the upper secondary school in Kindberg , he completed an apprenticeship as an electrician at the Veitscher Magnesitwerke . As a student, he had devoted himself to karate , javelin and weight training . At an early age he also showed an interest in language and literature . Singer spent his time in the army with the headquarters company of the Jagdkommando in Wiener Neustadt . There he found confirmation from an instructor from this unit who familiarized him with scientific training methods.

Kickboxing

Professional world champion in kickboxing (1991)

Günter Singer started kickboxing at the beginning of the 1980s. As an amateur, he was Austrian national champion and European champion in 1988 and vice world champion in the light heavyweight division the following year. In 1990 he became a professional and just under a year later he won the world cruiserweight title in his 10th fight according to the version of the IMF (International Muay Thai Federation). Then he emigrated to the USA and rose to the heavyweight division . After a few years, a serious illness forced him back to Austria and tied him to the bed. Recovered, he returned to the USA and worked his way up again. In Los Angeles, Freddie Roach gave him his boxing fine-tuning and also used him as a sparring partner for boxing greats like James Toney and Michael Moorer . Singer's main focus, however, remained with kickboxing. His trademark in the ring were his hard lowkicks, with which he won many of his fights early, in addition to his clout . After 39 wins (32 of them by knockout) and 2 defeats, Günter Singer ended his professional career in May 2001 at the K1 World Grand Prix 2001 in Las Vegas .

Security business

After several years as a bodyguard in the film industry, among others for Matt Damon , Tom Cruise , Naomi Watts and Charlize Theron , Singer found a connection to the security business in conflict zones such as Afghanistan and Iraq as well as in several African countries in 2004 and made a name for himself do. In Iraq and Afghanistan he was responsible for the US company Blackwater, among other things, with the personal security of the later commander in chief of the US special forces , Admiral Bill McRaven . McRaven was impressed by Singer after he saved his life in an attempted assassination. Günter Singer was honored by US President George W. Bush with the highest civil honor in the United States, the President's Medal of Freedom in a private ceremony. Admiral William McRaven was later also responsible for planning and conducting Operation Neptune's Spear , SEAL Team Six's military access in Abbottabad , Pakistan on May 2, 2011, which ended with the death of Osama bin Laden .

In 2010, Singer founded the security company Triton Armor Group , which specializes in personal , convoy and property protection in Africa, as well as the establishment and promotion of special units to combat professional poaching (anti-poaching). Singer's company set up anti-poaching programs in South Africa , Namibia , Tanzania and the Congo and counts both the United Nations and the US State Department among its clients.

Movie

Singer's film career began in 2007 as an actor with a leading role alongside Derek Jacobi , John Kani and Alice Krige in the US feature film Jail Caesar . The film was shot over several years in the prisons of Drumheller , Canada , as well as Cardiff , Wales and Pollsmoor in Cape Town , South Africa , where Nelson Mandela was also imprisoned for six years. For the sake of authenticity, the shooting took place in the midst of hundreds of prisoners, which demanded a lot from the actors. Jail Caesar won the Berlin Independent Film Festival 2013 as best low budget film.

Filming of Jail Caesar in Pollsmoor prison, South Africa.

He then starred, again alongside Alice Krige, in the true story-based film Shingetsu , which he also wrote and produced the screenplay for. His portrayal of a French Foreign Legion soldier plagued by his traumatic war experiences in the Balkans allegedly made an impression on critics.

Traumatized soldiers and their search for healing are also the subject of the documentary Resolve: A Guide To Post Traumatic Growth , in which he also worked as a screenwriter, producer and actor. Singer also works as a producer and consultant for film productions on issues relating to the representation of military and historical issues and dramaturgies, such as Sicario and The Revenant .

Personal

Singer lives with his family in Oregon and on his ranch in Yellowstone National Park in Montana .

Web links

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  1. ↑ Petra Soir: Snapshots of a Life at the Limit , Die Woche, July 31, 2013, accessed on January 18, 2018 [1]
  2. ↑ K1USA - International Kickboxing Federation
  3. ↑ Jeremy Scahill: Blackwater. The rise of the world's most powerful mercenary army. Nation Books, New York 2007, ISBN 978-1-56025-979-4 , pp 348, 352.
  4. ^ PW Singer: Corporate Warriors. The Rise of the Privatized Military Industry. Cornell University Press, Ithaca / London 2003, ISBN 0-8014-8915-6 , pp. 148-152.
  5. ^ Commander of bin Laden raid blasts Senate for disrespecting military leaders , Washington Post, April 25, 2016
  6. ^ PW Singer:  Corporate Warriors. The Rise of the Privatized Military Industry.  Cornell University Press, Ithaca / London 2003, 20007 (revised and updated) ISBN 0-8014-8915-6  pp. 83-86
  7. ↑ "The Man Who Chased Osama Bin Laden" , Der Spiegel online from May 5, 2011, accessed on June 11, 2016
  8. ↑ Richard Spencer: Osama bin Laden dead: Hamas condemns killing of bin Laden. Hamas, the militant group which has just signed a deal to join the Palestinian government, on Monday condemned the killing of Osama bin Laden. In: Telegraph. May 2, 2011, accessed August 26, 2014 .
  9. ↑ PW Singer (2003a): Peacekeepers, Inc. In: Policy Review , No. 119, June / July 2003 ( online ).
  10. ↑ [2]
  11. ↑ a b Snapshots of a Life at the Limit - Private Security and Military Entrepreneur - My District on July 31, 2013
  12. ^ Jail Caesar, winner of the Berlin Independent Film Festival 2013
  13. ^ British Film Council: Shingetsu
  14. ↑ Shingetsu Interview with Director Paul Schoolman, Hastings Online Times, August 24, 2016
  15. ↑ Resolve: A Guide To Post Traumatic Stress in the Internet Movie Database (English)
  16. ↑ [3] Website - Resolve: A Guide To Post Traumatic Growth
  17. ↑ http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/how-leonardo-dicaprios-revenant-shoot-810290
  18. ↑ http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/features/making-sicario-how-cast-survived-844796
personal data
SURNAME Singer, Günter
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Bayer, Günter (maiden name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Austrian-American filmmaker, private security and military entrepreneur and former professional kickboxer and K1 fighter
DATE OF BIRTH June 7, 1967
PLACE OF BIRTH Mürzzuschlag , Styria