Lenny McLean, who died in 1998, was a feared figure in the underworld thanks to his bare knuckle boxing exploits and his reputation as a bouncer and bodyguard
Lenny McLean, known as “Britain’s hardest man”, used to “growl and froth at the mouth” while debt collecting, a pal revealed.
Standing a towering 6ft 3in and weighing a hefty 20-stone, Lenny was an infamous figure in the underground bareknuckle boxing scene, where his love for a good scrap was legendary.
His old mate Micky Theo explained what it was like to collect debts with the big man himself, on the Criminal Connection Podcast.
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Remembering their days working the doors at iconic venues such as Camden Palace, Micky recalled the time Lenny helped with a mammoth £100k debt collection. He explained that Lenny would snarl, making the job pretty straight forward.
He said: “Well, if you’ve got Lenny behind you and Lenny is growling on the phone, frothing at the mouth, it is done, it is easy.”
He added that just the sound of Lenny’s name was enough to scare the money out of people. Theo explained: “He mentions his name, he’d get up and growl at you on the phone, you know, it was done, it was just so easy with him.”
Dealing with others wasn’t always so straightforward, but Micky stressed the importance of paperwork when recouping debts, adding: “Other people you dealt with things weren’t so easy but just have to sit them down and say, ‘look, this is what is owed, this is the paperwork,’. Having the paperwork is better, otherwise you are just demanding money.”
The burly Micky also came from a background of keeping clubbers in line and built up his own reputation thanks to his hulking figure from bodybuilding. and boxing
The podcast also laid bare some touching moments with the late East End legend Lenny. The host was taken aback by Lenny’s sheer size upon meeting him, but Micky offered an insight into his true character.
The former bouncer said: “He was a very big man and a powerful man.
“He was a great guy if you knew him. A lot of people said he was a bully but you know he would only bully you… I say bully… he would only give it you if you were out of order and that is how it was.”
He revealed Lenny’s tough nature was just a product of his upbringing and career, adding: “It was what he was trained to do, that’s where he come from – that is how it is.”
Reflecting on Lenny’s last days, who died at 49 in 1998 shortly after featuring in Guy Ritchie’s Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, Micky reminisced: “At the time we were together quite a bit, right up to the time that he passed.”
Recounting their final memories, he shared: “He was walking down with a stick at the late stages. We used to go and eat a lot, he loved his food, and he’d go anywhere I’d take him.
“He’d just got into the film world, just got his new house, and everything was going great for him, and he took a downturn.”