Charles ‘Mask’ Lewis Jr., founder of the popular multi-million dollar MMA clothing line and television show TapouT, will be honored in a memorial service held at the Crystal Cathedral in Garden Grove, California on April 14.
The service "Simply Believe: A Celebration of Charles ‘Mask’ Lewis Jr." begins at 11am and is open to the public.
Lewis, 45, was killed on the morning of March 11 when his Ferrari collided with a Porsche driven by Jeffrey David Kirby of Costa Mesa. Kirby has been charged with vehicular manslaughter and is facing a possible sentence of more than 19 years if convicted. He's currently being held on $500,000 bail.
TapouT was launched in 1997, with nothing more than a vision and a handful of merchandise -- and enough gas in their van to follow fighters across the state of California to promote and sell TapouT clothing.
Now his empire, along with Dan "Punkass" Caldwell and Timothy "Skyskrape" Katz, includes a reality TV show, a line of bottled water, an impressive stable of mixed-martial-arts fighters and of course its massive clothing line, which went from a few thousand dollars in sales back in the late 90's to over $100 million in 2008.
From Caldwell:
"We first and foremost want to thank everyone –- TapouT fans, Mixed-Marital Arts community and more -– for their kind words and support in the wake of Mask’s death. Whether you’re a fan of MMA or not, Charles’ goal was to inspire people to make a difference in the world and never settle for anything less than their dreams. With TapouT, he reached more people than we could have ever imagined, and his dedication to the sport and brand will live on forever through his fans around the world."
President of TapouT Marc Kreiner said that he's received more than 50,000 e-mails in response to Lewis' death. Fans planning to attend the service are encouraged to arrive early.
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