John Williams, with his dogs Brandy and Coke, in his converted ambulance that he uses for his locksmith business (Image: SWNS)
An ex-soldier who was virtually penniless after leaving the military has turned his fortunes around, starting with borrowed money to purchase a van and toolbox. John Williams, who once had just £7.50 to his name in a Pontypridd pub after buying a second-hand van and tools, now runs Open Door Auto, a thriving emergency locksmith business, earning £85,000 a year.
He travels for work accompanied by his dogs Brandy and Coke for security. Reflecting on his tough beginnings, John recounted: “I met up with a friend I used to work with in the Army in a Wetherspoons in Pontypridd. “I sat down with him, bought four drinks, put them on the table, and that’s all I had the money for. My friend asked what my Plan B is. There was no Plan B. It either worked out or that was it.”
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His rise from a 2012 start-up to success involved specialising in automotive locks, leveraging his Royal Logistics Corps and Royal Army Ordnance Corps background.
Despite a car accident three years ago that totalled his Ford Transit and left him with whiplash, John remained undeterred. “I saw a second-hand ambulance advertised on Facebook from a seller in Cowbridge. I bought it for £8,400 to keep me going.”
With help from fellow locksmith Jock the Lock, he customised the vehicle to fit his business needs.”I took the stretcher and seats out,” he explained. “I then converted the blue lights to orange and changed the ambulance’s green markings to show it’s used for recovery.
“I only put the lights on when parked up to alert others, which is legal. Sometimes I sit inside and have my lunch break. There is a TV with an aerial fitted on the roof for work but I also have . “Paramedics normally wave at me while I drive along the motorway.
“When I turn up to jobs I’m often told: ‘Don’t worry – we don’t have to go into the hospital.'”
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John inside his vehicle (Image: SWNS)
An occupational hazard for John is the need to keep his van’s engine running to power some of his equipment. To ensure thieves can’t simply drive off in his van he employs two assistants.
“That’s why I’ve got my two dogs, Brandy and Coke, on the front seat for security,” he said. “If they kick off you ain’t going jump in with them but they’ll probably lick you to death before they bite you to death.”
He shared the touching backstory of his canine companions: “The dogs were abused by their previous owner. It took about a month to get them going again. When I was in the Army we always drank a brandy called Asbach. It’s a white brandy and they are white dogs so I thought the names worked.”
John proudly stated that his business is thriving, saying: “I’m pretty good now. My company’s earning more than £85,000 per year. I work all over the Cardiff postcode.”
He further stated: “Every job is easy if you know what you are doing. You just have to work hard. But to be honest I’m doing this to help people. I’ve got other locksmiths calling me up for help too. The job has given me a good life.”