Barry Mayson Jr. (top, left) greets his father, Barry Mayson, as fellow Christian bikers make their way Friday into the campground at Beech Bend Park. Jim Smallwood (above, from left), Carlos and Yankee Jim talk Friday at the park during the sixth annual Heavens Saints Motorcycle Ministry National Rally. Photo by Daily News/Joe Imel

He still rides a Harley-Davidson. He still wears a leather vest with multiple patches. Tattoos still decorate his arms, but theyve changed. So has he. On Barry Maysons left arm, just below the words Hells Angels, the death head a skull with long wings flowing behind it the words South Carolina and the letters A.F.F.A. for Angel Forever, Forever an Angel the newer tattoo reads: Born Again 10-27-76.On his right arm he emphasizes right and that its his stronger arm is the logo for Heavens Saints Motorcycle Ministry, the organization he founded after drastically changing his life. The spiked arm bands and death head rings he wore that had an effect similar to brass knuckles are gone. Now he wears rings that symbolize Jesus Christ. And its Jesus Christ that he intends to discuss at the 6th annual Heavens Saints M/M National Rally at Beech Bend Park this weekend. The rally is not just for chapter members, its for anyone who wants to hear the message of Gods love, Mayson said. The 56-year-old Atlanta native who now lives in Lake Park, Ga., said he got involved with motorcycles when he was 22.I always wanted to be a Hells Angel, he said, adding that the desire increased after he watched the movie, Hells Angels on Wheels, which glamourized the lifestyle of partying, adventure, brotherhood, free love and fast women. He became a member of a notorious bike club called the Tribulators in Charleston, S.C.Everybody knew the Tribulators were the baddest, he said. He ran nightclubs and bars for a living, getting involved with gambling and prostitution and using drinking and drugs to quell his fear of death. We started hanging out with the Hells Angels of Durham, N.C., then we eventually began to prospect, which is what you have to do to become a member, he said. You have to prove yourself. After six months of prospecting, there was six of us left out of 40.He was with the group for about three years and eventually became the president of the only Hells Angels chapter in South Carolina, living life at full throttle. The generation before Mayson and the one after are the instruments he believes God used to turn him around. His mother all five feet and 89 pounds of her didnt seem scared of the infamous tough guys. My mother would come down to my bar and shed just walk in there and start praising the Lord. Shed hug on everybody the Hells Angels and the prostitutes, he recalled. Here I was, the president of the chapter and I thought I was the baddest dude of the them all. I felt 6 inches tall when my mother would walk in there and say, Hello, son, Jesus loves you. Maysons mom told him God had sent her to deliver a message that he wanted Mayson to close the nightclub and open a coffee house that would serve as a church outreach. Shes telling me, God loves you, but he doesnt like what youre doing, he said. He did not heed the words. The last six months I was being trained to be a Filthy Few. They take care of the business inside if anybody gets out of line, they discipline, Mayson said. I had 20 to 30 pounds of plastic explosives, I had automatic weapons, silencers, hand grenades, and all of this was buried in my back yard. … I carried a .357 magnum (handgun) everywhere I went. About 18 months after his mother first came in the bar, he was at an officers meeting in California. I was given some orders to eliminate some rival clubs. I was given a list of names. See, thats why I had all that stuff in my back yard. On the list that was given to me was two of my own brothers bike brothers, Mayson said. When I refused to do this, my own brothers tried to take me out. They felt I was a risk and they tried to eliminate me, and by Gods grace I escaped. Eventually, his mothers message seeped in. What brought me to that point of decision was not only my mothers witness … , but my little baby girl was born, Mayson said. As he held the infant in his arms, he wondered what the future would hold for her and whether he would be in it. God was dealing with me, and he brought that little girl in my life to really get my attention. … Theres no doubt that he used her to get me to that place of making a decision to leave the business I was in. After working through his own relationship with God, he started the first chapter of Heavens Saints Motorcycle Ministry, which now has about 17 chapters, and opened the first Light Club for teens in August 1990. He also founded Barry Mayson Prison Prevention Outreach and speaks at schools, detention centers and rallies across the country, like the one at Beech Bend. Todays schedule begins at 9:30 a.m. with music. At 10:30, National Vice President Bruce Protenza will speak. Free lunch and fellowship will begin at noon, with bike games beginning at 2:30 p.m. and free time starting at 3:30 p.m.At 7 p.m., more music will be followed by Maysons message and the film Dead End Road. A service will also be held at 10 a.m. Sunday. All events will be at Shelter 3 in Section 6 of the campground at Beech Bend Park. A $1 admission fee is charged to get into the park and campground areas. Were going to party this weekend and raise Heaven, Mayson said.