Rick Bassman

Rick Bassman
Rick Bassman(l) at Korakuen Hall, with Shinya Hashimoto, in May 2004.
Born	Richard David Bassman (1961-11-20) November 20, 1961 (age 55)
Occupation	Wrestler, Author, Producer

Richard David Bassman (born November 20, 1961) is an American entrepreneur, producer, talent agent, and author.

Rick Bassman was born in Northridge, California to Jewish parents. Bassman's mother, Felice, died when he was 13 yesrs old. He attended Chaminade College Preparatory School, in Chatsworth, California. At age 16, Bassman was diagnosed with Stage 4 testicular cancer, which metastasized to both lungs, undergoing chemotherapy and surgeries from ages 16–19. He attended the University of California at Santa Barbara for one quarter, prior to dropping out to start his first business.

Bassman began his career in Santa Barbara, CA, forming Bassman Productions, which contained verticals within the music including ownership of The Library Restaurant & Nightclub in the Santa Barbara college town of Isla Vista, Bassman Event Security, which provided security guard services on an exclusive basis for UCSB and Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, and Bassman Productions Events, which presented concerts with The Go-Go's, The Clash, The B-52s, The Talking Heads and many others.

In 1985, Bassman moved to Denver, Colorado, where he went to work for the Vannoy Talent Agency, then the state's leading talent agency. Shortly thereafter, Vannoy closed its doors and Bassman formed Celebrity Services, to provide representation to the region's leading professional and Olympics athletes. Representing many players on the Denver Broncos, Denver Nuggets, Arizona Cardinals and Phoenix Suns franchises, Bassman created and managed NFL/Denver Broncos' marketing sensation "The Three Amigos," consisting of wide receivers Vance Johnson, Mark Jackson and Ricky Nattiel.

A Former Disney executive, Bassman won an Emmy while at Disney for his work writing and producing Disney's the CBS Special, Flash Back. Bassman also formed and was Division Head of the “Larger Than Life” Division of industry-leader CESD Talent Agency, representing Lou Ferrigno, Tito Ortiz, and Roddy Piper, among many others. He is probably best known for his work in Mixed Martial Arts, in which he owned and operated Valor Fighting, managed many of the world’s top Heavyweights, including Mark Coleman, Mark Kerr, Oleg Taktarov, Butterbean and Tank Abbott and consulted for industry leader K-1, and in Professional Wrestling, where he founded, owned and operated Ultimate Pro Wrestling (“UPW”), consulted for industry leader World Wrestling Entertainment, and discovered, trained and managed many top stars, such as Sting,The Ultimate Warrior,John Cena,The Miz, Chris Masters, Luther Reigns, Nathan Jones, and Jon Heidenreich.