By Peter Day
Senior Reporter
Despite his muscles and tough looks, there's more than meets the eye when it comes to Mavrick Harvey.
A pioneer of Mixed Martial Arts, Harvey is an entrepreneur who is becoming well known in his new hometown of Lucerne Valley, a movie and TV personality, and he does it all while staying at the top of his game in cage fighting.
Known as "The Soul Collector," Harvey will face Shannon Ritch, who he defeated during a bout several years ago, later this month in Phoenix.
"This will be my retirement fight," said Harvey, 48.
The son of Clarence Harvey, who helped start the Navy Seal program, Harvey was a talented athlete who ran track and played football in high school in San Pedro.
"I thought I was going to play pro ball," he said.
But a crash on his bike changed that. "Now I have a titanium rod in my leg."
So Harvey put his physical strength to good use by working as a bouncer at a Los Angeles-area nightclub. He worked as a bodyguard for singer Janet Jackson and then for a member of a European royal family.
According to Harvey, in the early 1990s, he and another bodyguard were asked by their wealthy employers to fight each other for money. He and the other bodyguard agreed to the no-referee bout.
"That's how it started."
In 1993, Greg Patschull changed the fighting by putting the fighters into an Octagon. There were essentially no rules. Fighters agreed, however, that three taps meant they had had enough.
Harvey quickly found success in the Octagon. To date, Harvey has 32 wins, 2 loses and 1 draw in Kage Kombat. He had 5 world titles and 19 title defenses. Through fighting, Harvey has been all over the world.
But he wanted more. Something deeper. He accepted Christ, and his perspective has changed.
Today, Harvey lives with his wife, Gwen, and their children on a ranch in Lucerne Valley. The couple raise Friesian horses on their land and run the White Elephant thrift store in town. They have been featured on the cable TV show, "Storage Wars." Recently Harvey has gotten into acting and will be in a movie featuring Lee Majors and Cybil Shepherd.
"I love it," he said. "Acting is where the future is."
Harvey is running for Honorary Mayor of Lucerne Valley, an annual race that benefits the Lucerne Valley Chamber of Commerce. He's facing local karaoke DJ Ron Scriven, who also works at the Lucerne Valley Market and Hardware Store. The winner will be the one who raises the most money for the chamber through a series of community events.
"My plate is still extremely loaded," Harvey said. "This is where I built my ranch. This is where I built my home. This is where I'm going to end up."