Charles Lewis Jr.
{{Use mdy dates|date=September 2019}}
{{Short description|American businessman (1963–2009)}}
{{Infobox person
|name = Charles Lewis Jr.
|image = TPAR2009.jpg
|caption = Lewis in 2009
|birth_date = {{birth date|1963|6|23}}
|birth_place = San Bernardino, California, US
|death_date = {{death date and age|mf=yes|2009|3|11|1963|6|23}}
|death_place = Newport Beach, California, U.S.
|other_names = Mask
|known_for = TapouT co-founder and television personality
|occupation = Businessman, entertainer
|nationality =
|spouse =
|children = 2
}}
Charles Lewis Jr. (June 23, 1963 – March 11, 2009) was an American businessman, promoter and entertainer. Known by his nickname "Mask", Lewis founded the Tapout clothing line in 1997, which eventually became a multimillion-dollar clothing company.{{cite web |url=https://www.foxnews.com/story/tapout-founder-killed-in-socal-ferrari-crash/ |title=TapouT Founder Killed in SoCal Ferrari Crash |publisher=Fox News Channel |date=March 12, 2009 |url-status=live |access-date=24 August 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130622012347/http://www.foxnews.com/story/2009/03/12/tapout-founder-killed-in-socal-ferrari-crash/ |archive-date=22 June 2013 }}
Mask was inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame in July 2009, becoming the first non-fighter to enter the UFC Hall of Fame.
Career
= Tapout =
In 1997, Lewis and his two friends began selling mixed martial arts apparel from the back of their Mustang. By 2007, the company, "Tapout", had revenue of $22.5 million, with a 2009 target of $225 million.{{cite magazine |url=http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/writers/nicki_jhabvala/07/30/tapout/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090313103624/http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/writers/nicki_jhabvala/07/30/tapout/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=March 13, 2009 |title=Q&A with 'Mask' from TapouT |accessdate=12 March 2009 |magazine=Sports Illustrated |publisher=CNN |date=July 30, 2008 }} Lewis was known as "Mask", because of stripes of facepaint he frequently used.
Death
Shortly before 1:00 am on March 11, 2009, Lewis died in a high-speed car crash in Newport Beach, California. His Ferrari 360 Challenge Stradale, a race version of the Ferrari 360 Modena collided with a 1977 Porsche before hitting a light pole. It is presumed that the two vehicles were traveling alongside one another at high speed. Lewis was declared dead at the scene. Twenty-three-year-old Lacy Lynn White, a female occupant of Lewis's Ferrari, was ejected from the vehicle and was taken to a hospital. She suffered a fractured elbow and lacerations.{{cite web |url=http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29633886/ |title=Founder of clothing firm killed in Ferrari crash |publisher=MSNBC |date=March 12, 2009 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20090313163119/http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29633886 |archivedate=March 13, 2009 |accessdate=24 August 2013}} The driver of the Porsche was arrested for "alcohol-related gross vehicular manslaughter". As a tribute to his contributions to the UFC, Lewis was inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame at the UFC 100 Fan Expo, and Lewis's name was made a permanent feature on the inside of the door to the Octagon.{{cite web |url=http://www.ufc.com/index.cfm?fa=news.detail&gid=20983 |title=Liddell and Mask are the two newest inductees into the UFC Hall |date=July 6, 2009 |publisher=UFC |first=Thomas |last=Gerbasi |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20090709003545/http://www.ufc.com/index.cfm?fa=news.detail&gid=20983 |archivedate=July 9, 2009 |accessdate=24 August 2013}}
He is buried at Mountain View cemetery in San Bernardino, California.
Legacy
In 2009, Lewis was featured in the video game UFC 2009 Undisputed as an unlockable fighter along with "Skyskrape" and "Punkass" all not dressed in standard UFC attire but in TapouT clothes including hats, shirts, and shoes. Unlockable by achieving three consecutive submission victories in Career mode, he fights in the Light Heavyweight class.
In 2010, Lewis was also featured in UFC 2010 Undisputed alongside "Skyscrape" and "Punkass". All of them were still featured fully dressed in their TapouT clothing. This time they were unlockable by a code that can be entered in the main menu.
Released September 2011, the film Warrior was dedicated "In loving memory of our friend, Charles 'Mask' Lewis Jr.". The role of the fight promoter in this movie, played by co-producer and director Gavin O'Connor, was meant to be played by Charles Lewis Jr., had Lewis not been killed just before the shooting of the movie.{{cite web|title=Warrior (2011) Trivia|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1291584/trivia|work=International Movie DataBase|publisher=IMDb.com, Inc.}}
A new film by British director Bobby Razak chronicles the life and death of Charles Lewis. Razak founded the media portion of TapouT and TapouT films.
Mask is the first non-fighter to be inducted into UFC Hall of Fame.
References
{{reflist}}
{{UFC Hall of Fame}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lewis, Charles Jr.}}
Category:20th-century American businesspeople
Category:Participants in American reality television series
Category:Road incident deaths in California
Category:Mixed martial arts people