Boggo S 2 E 13  The Colossus of Boggo Road –  Nathan Jones

Gold Coast bodybuilder Nathan Jones, at 207 centimeters and weighing 128 kilograms, was nicknamed “The Colossus of Boggo Road” Nathan was convicted in the Brisbane Supreme Court in April 1989 on five counts of attempted  robbery and three of the unlawful use of a motor vehicle. In prison, an upset Nathan is said to have torn his cell door off; in reality he was a gentle giant. Having served his sentence Nathan was released and turned his life around eventually becoming a WWE wrestler and later a famous Hollywood movie star.

Nathan Jones in The Condemned

Nathan Jones is a Queenslander born and bred.  Having found himself addicted to Amphetamines and Steroids at a young 18 years old he was committing crimes to feed his habit.  Between 1985 and 1987 in both Tasmania and Queensland, Nathan is said to have been part of a series of attempted  robberies. Nathan officially became one of Australia’s Most Wanted.   Unfortunately for Nathan, is colossus size made him very easy to identify he was captured and he was sentenced to eight years in Boggo Road Gaol.  It was later discovered that Nathan had been part of robberies in Tasmania and under appeal by the Attorney General, Nathan’s sentence was increased to 12 years.

In 1989,  Boggo Road Gaol had its own troubles.  Number 2 Division had been closed… and the prison was at capacity.  Nathan however managed to put his head down.  He admitted when interviewed by the Courier Mail in 2014 that time in Gaol had taught him many things,  he learned to read and write, he also learned sports science and it was in Boggo Road that he began power lifting.

When Boggo Road (then Brisbane Correctional Centre) closed… Nathan was among the prisoners transferred to the new Wacol facilities.  Nathan himself admitted ” I was young and stupid and didn’t like the system” when asked about his behaviour inside prison where he allegedly had ripped the door off his cell and had to be restrained by a number of prison officers.

Powerlifting and Strongman Career

As we know, Nathan began his power lifting career inside prison.  However when he was released in 1994,  Nathan began his rise in the circuit to become National Power lifting champion of Australia  just a few months later.  From there it was onward to Australia’s Strongest Man.  He would go on to compete in the World Strength Championship in Scotland as part of the highland games which he would win topping the field against a strong competition including 1993 Worlds Strongest Man Gary Taylor.  He would compete in the Worlds Strongest Man Competition in 1995, in the second round of the arm wrestling competition Nathan Jones would spiral fracture his arm while competing against giant Magnus Samuelsson (eventual 1998 World Strongest Man) putting him out of the competition.  He would return the following year however to finish third.

Wrestling Career

After working as a bodyguard for multimillionaire Rene Rivkin, Jones began a career in wrestling during this time. Jones first gained fame working in World Wrestling All-Stars, making a large impression at the first WWA pay-per-view “Inception”, where he was accompanied to the ring by Rove McManus. However he was defeated after Rove was smashed with Jeff Jarrett’s guitar and Jones was hit with the Stroke.

During his time in the WWA, Nathan won the WWA World Heavyweight Championship on 7 April 2002 before losing the belt to Scott Steiner only 5 days later. After the title loss, Jones began performing for Pro Wrestling Zero1-Max in June 2002.

World Wrestling Entertainment (2002–2003)

After Nathan initially signed his contract with World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), he was unable to work in the United States because of visa issues stemming from his criminal history. In late 2002 and early 2003, Jones began performing in dark matches (non televised)  for World Wrestling Entertainment. He was originally promoted as a “Hannibal Lecter” type character.On the April 10, 2003 episode of SmackDown!, Nathan made his televised WWE in-ring debut and defeated Bill DeMott.

Upon debuting, Nathan’s original character was nixed, and he was put into a story line with The Undertaker as his protégé and helper during Undertaker’s feud with A-Train and The Big Show. At WrestleMania XIX, Jones and Undertaker were scheduled to face Big Show and A-Train in a tag team match, but at the last minute, the match was made a handicap match instead.On screen, Nathan was attacked prematch and left injured. Near the closing moments of the match, Nathan reappeared and attacked Big Show, enabling Undertaker to pin A-Train for the victory.  Nathan was then sent to Ohio Valley Wrestling to improve his skills.

Nathan was then absent from television for several months until returning in the Autumn of 2003 as a villain known by the nickname “The Colossus of Boggo Road”, a title referring to his time spent in Boggo Road Gaol. He was paired with Paul Heyman on-screen and Heyman was given the role as Smackdown General Manager. He was also immediately placed into Brock Lesnar’s Survivor Series team, which also included A-Train, Big Show, and Matt Morgan in order to compete against Lesnar’s rival Kurt Angle and his team. At Survivor Series, Jones was eliminated by Angle after he submitted to the Ankle lock. Team Lesnar was defeated by Team Angle and Jones was then relegated to interfere in Lesnar’s matches along with the other members of Team Lesnar. He was also placed in matches by either Lesnar or Heyman to aid them. On 6 December 2003, Nathan quit the company due to the rigor of WWE’s heavy travel schedules while on tour in Perth, Australia.

Post-WWE and retirement

Nathan Jones as Boagrius, in Troy

After leaving WWE, Nathan was to attempt a couple of come-backs into wrestling but never did. His wrestling career was officially over.  However,  it was all really just beginning for Nathan.  His time in the WWE and his skills in acting lead him in good stead.  Being seen by none other than Jacki Chan…. in 1996 Nathan appeared in his first movie with none other than Jacki Chan himself.  It was Nathan’s real big break.   Making numerous movies… Nathan was quickly becoming a Hollywood movie star.

Nathan Jones as Rictus Erectus in Mad Max – Fury Road

The reader would probably recognise Nathan in some of his movie roles.  He played opposite Brad Pitt in Troy as Boagrius,  in 2007 he returned to Boggo Road Gaol to film The Condemned starring Vinnie Jones and Wrestling buddy Stone Cold Steve Austin.  Nathan appeared in Australian Horror film Charlies Farm and also with Tom Hardy and Charlize Theron in Mad Max – Fury Road as Rictus Erectus.

Nathan has moved far away from his days as a prisoner inside the walls of Boggo Road Gaol.  Having a successful career and now a partner and family, he resides in south east Asia.  He does however make regular visits back to Australia to play roles in movies and to visit events such as Gold Coast Supanova comi con and gaming.

For more about Nathan Jones  the Colossus of Boggo Road Gaol be sure to tune into our podcast Gaol Director Jack Sim and Research Coordinator Sue Olsen discuss Nathan’s fascinating career.  BOGGO the official podcast of Boggo Road Gaol.