Shooting star

By Matt Majendie
BBC Sport in Melbourne

Taylor has not had the typical route to the Commonwealth Games

For every big name at the Commonwealth Games, there's a Bradley Taylor.

No one will recognise Taylor in the athletes' village, despite his 6ft 3in and 280lb frame, but his route to Melbourne is one of the more remarkable.

Taylor will represent Caribbean state Turks and Caicos in three pistol shooting events after taking two weeks off from his job as a prison officer in New York.

When the 40-year-old isn't on the range, he's more used to tending to some of the city's highest-profile criminals.

"Every case in the city comes through us and, once sentenced, they are sent to correctional facilities upstate," he told BBC Sport.

"We've had notorious murders - Sante and Kenneth Kimes (the mother-and-son duo sentenced to 100 years) - as well as many of the high-profile rappers, including Tupac Shakur."

And Taylor's brush with celebrity is not just reserved for his day job.

In his other role in charge of a security service, he has worked as a bodyguard for singer Luther Vandross, hip-hop stars Salt-n-Pepa and actress Starr Jones.

So how is it a New Yorker has managed to book his place among the Commonwealth athletes down under?

The next thing I knew I'd shot out someone's rear windscreen... Bradley Taylor

The born-again Christian father-of-two qualifies after being born in Turks and Caicos, where he spent the first 14 years of his life.

It was through his father, James, who ran his own construction business but passed away 12 years ago, that he picked up his passion for shooting.

"I was about 11 or 12 when I first picked up a gun," he recalled. "And we used to shoot a lot - either out in the yard at home or around the island shooting birds."

But the shooting prowess he now possesses was not always there.

Describing himself as a "well-behaved kid" there is one moment that stands out in his mind which saw him getting into a "whole world of trouble".

"I was out shooting one Saturday with a BB gun and can't remember what I was aiming at," he said, "but the next thing I knew I'd shot out someone's rear windscreen.

"I didn't know what to do - I was just frozen to the spot. The guy in the car - Mr T George, who ran the local movie theatre - then got out of the car and started yelling 'I know your father, you're in big trouble'.

"He was right. My father sorted out the windscreen but that evening we'd been set to go to the cinema with my five sisters and brother.

"Firearms are a big part of my life. I carry one for my work but thankfully haven't ever had to use it." Bradley Taylor

"It was awful going face to face with the guy I'd shot at earlier in the day. But I promise I've improved my accuracy since then!"

After this brief hiccup, Taylor's passion for shooting remained when he moved to Brooklyn, New York, to live with his grandparents and improve his education.

From there he went to college, where he finished with a degree in electronic technology and excelled in the team's American Football defence line-up.

He had also excelled in other sports, previously being a "pretty tasty" wicketkeeper in the Caribbean.

But after leaving college, he worked on Wall Street for 18 months and then as a delivery driver for UPS, before he switched to working as a correction officer.

Through work he practises shooting on an indoor range, while he also shoots outdoors on a range and hunts turkey during the season.

"Firearms are a big part of my life," said Taylor, who is also bidding for his purple belt in jujitsu. "I carry one for my work but thankfully haven't ever had to use it."

As for his hope on the ranges in Melbourne, he added: "I've not competed against any of these guys before but I wouldn't be going out there if I didn't think I had a chance of a medal.

"I've never been to Australia before. It's going to be awesome - even more so if I come back with a medal."