Meet the former prison guard who now works with Premier League footballers

A young man who grew up in Somerset is making waves with his business idea. His clients include former Premier League footballers, local communities and a footballer who played in this year's UEFA European Championship.

Liam Payne, 23, owner of VIP Framing, a framing business for a wide range of customers.

Born in Celle, Germany and raised in North Petherton and Bridgwater for most of his life, Liam was unsure of what he wanted to do for a career.

Liam describes the situation of starting his own business in February 2024 as “unique” after working as a prison guard for three years.

Liam said: “It's quite a unique situation. I worked as a prison guard for three years, which, as you can imagine, had its ups and downs.

“At the end of those three years, a traumatic event occurred in prison that severely affected my mental health.

“Two things helped me get through the dark times: the love and support of my girlfriend and also football. However, being a Bristol City fan is not recommended if you want to have fun.”

“They always look amazing!” Liam says his favorite thing to work on is putting two shirts in a frame. (Image: VIP Framing)

Liam then received a “small compensation” for his time in prison and wanted to treat himself by having some of his luxury shirts framed.

“After some research and various quotes, I was dissatisfied. One reason was the extortionate prices the companies were charging, but the most disturbing factor was the way these companies framed their shirts. So I decided to do it myself and VIP Framing was born.

“Here at VIP Framing, we make sure the shirt is not damaged,” said Liam.

Liam has enjoyed increasing success with VIP Framing and now plans to work with Taunton business owner Damien Hull, who restores retro football shirts to their original glory.

“Damo is actually my cousin and we both share a great passion for football and football memorabilia,” said Liam.

“We’re planning on having a big giveaway soon, so keep your eyes peeled.”

If his success continues over the next few months, Damien Hull plans to make his Allfootballtops business his full-time job. (Image: Allfootballtops)

Liam dreams of working with big-name brands in his business, but he also says that with VIP Framing, getting your shirt framed is affordable and easy.

Liam has worked with former Manchester City and Swansea City star Wilfried Bony and says it was a pleasure working with him.

Liam said: “He (Bony) ordered 30 frames from us, of the different clubs he played for and the shirts he swapped over the years.

“Some of these shirts feature Rooney, Kompany, Ibrahimović and many more!

“The work came about because he texted me on Instagram and we went from there.”

Former Premier League star Wilfried Bony “was thrilled” to work with Liam and ordered 30 frames for jerseys from his professional career. (Image: VIP Framing)

Liam hopes to take VIP Framing to new heights after his first six months at the company and believes he can do this by working with more football players.

Another well-known football player that Liam has worked with played in this year’s UEFA European Championship.

Belgian football player Dodi Lukébakio played three times for the Belgian national team in this year's football tournament and regularly plays for the Spanish team Sevilla.

Liam plans to continue to develop and continue his work at VIP Framing as a full-time job.

On their social media pages, VIP Framing says they can “frame anything you want.”

Liam said: “Although we mainly deal with framing jerseys, we are not limited to that. We do framed shorts, boxing gloves, caps/hats, posters, karate belts, medals and more.”

He says the biggest challenge for him is storage.

“I have a three-bedroom house, which is perfectly adequate. However, with my glasses sticking out of my ears, it takes up a lot of space and makes a lot of mess!

“It’s incredible how many people have things lying around that would look much better on display.

“At VIP Framing we can frame anything you want.”