Solo Man to jailbird
How TV’S iconic Solo Man Mark Coutelas went from small-screen legend to jailbird
He was the hunk that got our pulses racing in the ’80s and ’90s as the daring action hero who kayaked into our lives in the Solo soft drink commercials. Now Mark Coutelas’s life has hit a downward spiral – the actor has now found himself locked up in a South-east Asian jail.
The 57-year-old was arrested in Cambodia on July 24 on drug charges and now faces time behind bars. The Aussie was pictured at his arrest with a bag of the drug ice, marijuana and smoking devices.
This isn’t Coutelas’s first run-in with the law. In 2014, he was jailed for two years in Thailand after being caught in possession of guns and drugs on the holiday island of Phuket.
After he served his sentence, he was banned from the country and went on to make his way into neighbouring Cambodia, where he set up a business, Back Pain Solutions, offering chiropractic and osteopathic treatments in the province of Sihanoukville.
Referring to himself as Dr Coutelas, he shared his business page on Facebook in August last year. “Taken a one year lease on a house at Victory Hill. Doing treatments from there, first booking at this location tomorrow!” he told one friend. Unfortunately, business was slow and it appears Coutelas has slipped into his old ways. Following his arrest, he appeared a far cry from the man that epitomised the outdoors-loving Aussie guys so desperately wanted to be and women wanted to be with. He is now awaiting sentencing.