Hardman lived life as the last samurai

By PATRICK GOWER

Gary Spiers left New Zealand more than 30 years ago with nothing and, despite earning notoriety as a hardman on the streets of Liverpool, he will return unknown.

The 57-year-old died of a heart attack, leaving behind a legacy of protection - from acting as Michael Jackson's bodyguard to training thousands in his visionary style of karate.

Now arrangements have begun to bring his body home for a traditional Maori burial after a millionaire nightclub owner reportedly offered to foot the bill.

Standing 1.9m and weighing 130kg, Mr Spiers was famous in martial arts circles worldwide and was one of the great characters of the Merseyside nightclub scene after two decades as a doorman.

He was known as the best. In 1988, he was hand-picked by Jackson's management to guard the superstar during his big concert at Aintree racecourse.

In Britain, he was renowned as a hardman of the same ilk as the late Lenny "the guv'nor" McLean and bare-knuckled fighter Jamie O'Keefe.

Rumours abound about his life in Liverpool's gritty underworld.

He was thought to have been an orphan who grew up the hard way, a former mercenary, and had supposedly been stabbed on more than a dozen occasions and shot twice.



But in New Zealand his life remains a mystery. His name was known only to a small number of martial arts enthusiasts.

Even when and where he will be buried, if at all, is not known.

Close friend Peter Lewis, editor of the international magazine Fighters, said little was known of Mr Spiers' life in New Zealand before he left for Australia as a young man.

"Gary fought like he lived his life - completely on the edge ... He was the last samurai.

"There is nobody who can say they know about all of Gary's life, he was so colourful."

Mr Spiers began learning karate in Australia in the 1960s, and then, armed with just an address, he made his way to Tokyo, desperate to learn the Goju Ryu form of karate straight from the master.

He soon became a personal student of founder Gogen Yamagushi and was the first non-Japanese graduate of the master's karate school.

He moved to Liverpool at the invitation of British martial arts expert-turned-actor Terry O'Neill - who later starred in Dragonheart and Entrapment - where he set up his own karate school, teaching thousands his unique form of street-style karate as self-defence.

New Zealand Goju Ryu spokesman Terry Hill, of Hamilton, said Mr Spiers had toured Australia.

But he never returned to New Zealand, despite attempts to lure him here.

"It is disappointing that as a leader in his field he never got the chance to come back to his homeland and get the recognition from the general public he deserved," said Mr Hill.

Mr Spiers died without that recognition in Arrowe Park Hospital, Wirral, from a heart attack after developing pancreatitis.

It ended a two-year battle with diabetes.

He had been living simply in a caravan, and had been writing a book about his life.

Lewis, who has been editor of Fighters for 26 years and written nine books on martial arts, said they still received hundreds of letters from fans of Mr Spiers each year.

"Gary was a giant of a man in reputation and size, a legendary character.

If he were to have a funeral here [Liverpool], it would be the biggest thing you've ever seen."

Instead, Lewis said plans were being made to bring Mr Spiers' body home to New Zealand - with the help of the unnamed millionaire nightclub owner.

He was unable to say if Mr Spiers had family here or where he would be brought back to because it was "all being handled by a third party."

"All we know is that Gary always talked about New Zealand as 'Kiwi,' and if there is any way he will be taken back to Kiwi."