Charles Lewis, Jr.

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.

Mask was inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame in July 2009, becoming the first non-fighter to receive the honor. In 2014, he was inducted into the Martial Arts History Museum 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. Lewis was known as "Mask", because of stripes of facepaint he frequently used. The driver of the Porsche was arrested for "alcohol-related gross vehicular manslaughter". He is buried at Mountain View cemetery in San Bernardino, California.

Legacy Named in his honor, the Charles "Mask" Lewis Fighter of the Year Award is presented annually at the World MMA Awards.

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. 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.