What Drake’s Former Bodyguard Said About the ‘Rich Flex’ Rapper’s Work Ethic

Over the past two decades, Drake has worked hard to transform his career from Degrassi actor to global phenomenon with hit singles and countless awards to his name. One of the people who has seen Drake’s work ethic firsthand is his former bodyguard who was employed by the rapper for years.

Drake has been a working rapper for nearly two decades

While Drake continued appearing on Degrassi: The Next Generation as a teenager, the Toronto native was already laying the groundwork for a music career. He released his debut mixtape Room for Improvement in 2006; that same year, he performed as an opener for Ice Cube in Toronto and was paid $100 for his work. His second mixtape Comeback Season arrived in 2007, and in 2008, he left Degrassi to focus on his music career in earnest.

In 2009, Drake released his breakout mixtape, So Far Gone. He signed a contract with Lil Wayne’s Young Money Records (along with another up-and-coming rapper at the time named Nicki Minaj) and released his debut studio album Thank Me Later in 2010. He followed it up with Take Care and Nothing Was the Same in the early 2010s, and by the end of the decade, had earned several No. 1 hits on the Billboard Hot 100 with “One Dance,” “God’s Plan,” “Nice for What,” “In My Feelings,” and “Nonstop.”

Drake’s former bodyguard admired his work ethic

Mike Van Wyck, Drake’s former bodyguard, reflected on the work Drake put in to get to the top in an interview with Money Buys Happiness.

“I thought I had work ethic and I do. I guess if you ask people about me, I do work hard. I don’t really take days off and kinda of just grind all the time. But, to see a guy at that level — watch them go out night after night — especially on tours and perform, it’s robotic. In a very positive way. Not in a negative way,” he said.

“It’s engrained. This showmanship. This person, the person becomes on stage and how they perform from show to show — you could probably run the shows overlapping each other and it would look the same,” he said of Drake’s diligence. “There is that much consistency to it and you’d figure like someone that’s doing that kind of work would have a night off.”

“I’m watching this person do this every night and to see the looks on these faces and to understand that level of work ethic and that level of consistency is pretty wild to see in person,” he concluded.

He’s released 3 albums in the past 2 years

Drake’s momentum with his music hasn’t slowed down in recent years. Since 2021, the rapper has released three studio albums: Certified Lover Boy, Honestly, Nevermind, and Her Loss, a collaborative album with 21 Savage. Honestly, Nevermind spawned the No. 1 hit single “Jimmy Cooks” with 21 Savage, while Her Loss contained hit songs such as “Rich Flex” and “On BS.” After Her Loss‘ release, Drake occupied eight of the top 10 spots on the Billboard Hot 100 chart (though he was blocked from No. 1 by Taylor Swift’s “Anti-Hero,” which he concealed in his celebratory Instagram post).

During his highly-anticipated two-night residency at New York’s famed Apollo Theater in January 2023, the rapper teased what he might have in the works for the year: a tour with 21 Savage and another new album.