'The Enforcer' reveals truth about life in Australia's most violent gang
Brothers For Life founding member, Rodney ‘Goldie’ Atkinson, now says being an enforcer for one of Australia’s most violent gangs wasn’t glamorous or fulfilling.
In a tell-all interview with Rahni Sadler on Sunday Night, Goldie Atkinson said he wanted to 'get the truth out' and expose the 'lies'.
The towering, tattoo-covered giant with a brutal reputation for violence said he realised now that he was being taken advantage of as an enforcer for gangs.
"The whole life is not glamorous, what you feel and find appealing and think is good at the time… it’s not," he said.
"It’s s**t. It’s absolute s**t. One fat bloke sits there and gets rich, the rest are just soldiers. They go in and out of jail and when they’re used up, they’ll find someone else."
Asked whether he felt like a 'pawn', Goldie replied: "Yeah...they couldn’t give two s**ts."
The Brothers For Life gang was established by convicted killer Bassam Hamzy. He recruited Goldie as his enforcer while both were serving time in high security prison segregation.
When Goldie was released, he went to work for the gang.
"I got paid, it was a job at the end of the day and something that you like doing, it's a bit easier to do than go into a job and working 9 to 5 for something you don't like doing it,” he said.
"I liked the lifestyle, it's quick money. I live in hotels, order room service, work out in the gym... if I see something in the shop I can buy it. When you're growing up as a kid and you don't have all this stuff, it's nice."
The gang made a fortune distributing and selling drugs. It was responsible for murders, shootings, knee cappings, and assaults.
Goldie, who is 36, has spent half of his adult life behind bars.
He has an eight-year-old daughter with partner Amanda Swan. They met when she was a 21-year-old nursing student. Soon after the birth of their daughter Goldie was jailed.
“When I got out she was turning seven, so to me it was like… she was a koala and I was a tree, all this affection. I freaked out. It didn’t matter to her. I was Dad… I was the best thing in her life.”
“I couldn’t believe it, that someone could love you that unconditionally.”
Today, Goldie Atkinson is a free man. He is also claiming to be a changed man, telling Sunday Night he is determined to make his daughter proud.
He is in the process of getting his Brothers 4 Life tattoos removed and wants to remove his infamous row of 24-carat gold teeth.
“It’s not things that my daughter thinks is appealing,” he said. “I don’t want her to go look for a guy that looks like this.”
Goldie is now trying to encourage others not to follow in his footsteps and join gangs. He visits schools as a public speaker and mentor, .
“Just telling them where I’ve been, like where I’ve ended up… don’t make poor choices.
“No gang will look after you in the end. Only gang that’s going to look after you is your blood, your family, your mum and dad, regardless of what you’ve done in life they’re always going to be the ones that visit at the end of the day."
