Sebastien Jondeau is Karl Lagerfeld’s Second-Most-Famous Sidekick, After Choupette

Chanel creative director Karl Lagerfeld is a larger-than-life fashion personality—so it makes sense that members of his entourage have attained their own cult following. Of course, there’s Lagerfeld’s adorable ball of fluff, the kitten Choupette, whose three dedicated maids have become the stuff of legend.

And then there’s Sebastien Jondeau, Lagerfeld’s bodyguard, whose handsome mug and omnipresence by KL’s side has made him both the object of envy and wild speculation among the fashion set.

In the new issue of Man of the World, Jondeau speaks, for the first time publicly, about his work with Lagerfeld—and how he went from the army to chaperoning one of the most powerful men in fashion, seemingly overnight. Fashionista has an exclusive excerpt—and, as it turns out, Jondeau seems to have just been in the right place at the right time:

We got along well. Mr. Lagerfeld knew I was into various combat sports and that I boxed. He was interested in what I did, and we were friendly, and so I took a chance one day and told him that if he ever needed a bodyguard, I was available. Soon after, I started working for him—not really as his bodyguard but more as a kind of driver and right-hand man, although I’d take care of his safety too, when we were traveling around.

Check out more from the upcoming Man of the World interview right here before the issue drops December 30.