small fleet business [ PROFILE He’s Got the Flavor and ] the Fav(or) “Big Rick” heads up a limousine company that has served celebrities, weekend partygoers, and a rapper star from a hit reality VH1 series By Conor Izzett

hen your nickname is ance as driver and sidekick to rapper Big Rick, you tend to on VH1’s hit reality show, get noticed. But Rick B. “.” Opportunity fi rst Head, standing 6 feet, 9 knocked when the production compa- Winches tall, never expected the kind of ny working for VH1 was looking for a attention he gets now. His wife, Ursula driver for Flav’s original show, “Strange Head, explains. Love,” co-starring former supermodel “We were staying at the Four Sea- . ■ Big Rick got lots of attention for sons, and these ladies had all their “They wanted a driver who knew his role as chauffeur sidekick to rap- bags, and they all dropped them and Vegas, someone who was not camera per Flavor Fav on VH1. His experi- ence working with celebrities and said, ‘Oh my god, are you Big Rick?’ shy, and was comfortable around ce- partygoers led to steady corporate And he said yes. So then these ladies lebrities,” Big Rick says. “They needed work. start digging though their luggage right someone to do their job and not be in- there in front of the hotel, looking for timidated by the camera. I said, ‘What ‘you’re‘you’re one bigbig mother—’ And the rest their cameras. It was just funny.” camera?’” is history.” Big Rick, owner of Head Limo in Las After that, the audition was simple. Big Rick prefers to shrug off his ce- Vegas, was a little blindsided by new- “They said that Flav had to like me. So lebrity, and says he’s a little “bashful” found celebrity following his appear- when he took a look at me, he said, about the whole thing, but isn’t afraid to embrace it with a big laugh. “Now when people say, ‘you look just like...’ I say, ‘Yes, I am Big Rick.’” In 1989, Big Rick moved to Las Vegas. “I left Los Angeles to do two things,” he says. “To start a business, and to get into the movie industry, whichever came fi rst.” He got a job driving for CLS Las Ve- gas and worked his way up. “I became Charlie Horky’s personal driver, and that got me in touch with a lot of ce- lebrities. I also worked at Club Rio and met everybody, all the A-Listers.” It was there that Big Rick really be- gan to hone his craft, but he grew rest- less. “As much as I liked working for CLS, I needed to do this on my own because I can give customers the per- sonal touch, and I can be in control of the situation.” On Nov. 24, 2004, Rick was awarded a certifi cate to operate, and Head Limo ■ “Peace Out” is one of Big Rick’s favorite expressions. His two-car operation was born. “My intention in starting a serves a diverse mix of corporate clients. limousine business was to service the

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■ Big Rick used this Ford Excursion SUV stretch limousine in VH1’s “Flavor Of Love” reality show. clientele my way,” Rick says, “and my and his approach to service appealed eration:‘‘ a 2007 Lincoln Town Car and way is passion. I really like to drive, I to them as well. a 2007 Chevrolet Suburban. Although like to talk, and if you tell a joke, or I Rick has no shortage of experience Big Rick is big (and he is), for now he tell a joke, I’m going to laugh, and I’m when it comes to serving VIP clients. wants to keep things small. “It’s mainly going to keep laughing because I’ve In fact, a few clicks through the photo because of personal reasons,” he says. got that kind of personality.” gallery on the Head Limo website re- “In a small operation I’ve got more Rick started out with a 1995 Cadillac. veal a multitude of celebrity passen- control, and I can handpick just a few “At the time I wanted to service outgo- gers, from Michael Jordan to Jamie chauffeurs who are willing to work ing people at night, from casino to ca- Foxx to Wolfgang Puck. Rick says the and give it their all.” Head Limo is very much a family affair. Big Rick’s wife, Ursula, plays a THEY SAID THAT FLAV HAD TO LIKE ME. SO WHEN big role. “She counts the money,” he HE TOOK A LOOK AT ME, HE SAID, ‘YOU’RE ONE BIG says with a laugh. “She’s pretty good MOTHER’— AND THE REST IS HISTORY. at that. Head Limo is a mom-and-pop • • • • • BIG RICK business, and she’s the manager.” Rick says that he’s having fun being sino, nightclub to nightclub,” he says. experience gained serving celebrity cli- the boss, but that the main approach Big Rick served this crowd for ents transferred easily to the corporate to his business is simple: Being a good awhile, but eventually grew tired of the world. chauffeur makes a better owner. constant partying, the long nights, and “When you’re ready, you’ll fi nd me As for his unexpected fame, he the unruly passengers. standing by my vehicle. When it’s hot seems to get a pretty big kick out of it, “They’re having a good time, but outside, the temperature inside my car but never forgets what his business is they don’t realize that they’re giving the is 72 degrees. If it’s cold outside, the all about: “I’m on TV, but that’s not my chauffeur a hard time because they’re temperature in my car is 72 degrees. life. My life is transportation. I dream it, ‘‘feeling good. I decided that I needed You’ll always be comfortable. A good I sleep it. I just love it.”

to work smarter and not harder. So I chauffeur knows these things.” thought about getting into corporate This commonsense, service-oriented ▲ INFO transport.” philosophy made his business ideal for HEAD LIMO Corporate businessmen and women his target clientele, and the restructur- •••••••• are in and out of Vegas year round, ing has paid off. LOCATION: Las Vegas YEARS IN BUSINESS: 4 whereas the party business exists “Corporate clientele are easier to OWNERS: Rick B. Head and Ursula Head mostly on the weekend, and almost deal with, and they appreciate good FLEET SIZE: 2 (1 Town Car; 1 SUV) exclusively at night. The no-nonsense, service, which is so hard to fi nd in this CHAUFFEURS: 4 regular-hours life of corporate trans- business.” PHONE: (712) 315-0404 WEBSITE: www.headlimo.com portation appealed greatly to Big Rick, Today Rick runs a two-vehicle op-

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