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Tapout says its founder Charles (Mask) Lewis dies in car crash
16 hours ago
Charles (Mask) Lewis, the colourful co-founder of the popular Tapout Clothing company, died in an early-morning car crash Wednesday in Newport Beach, Calif.
"It is with heavy hearts and great sadness that we must regretfully confirm the passing of our beloved friend, brother and co-founder Charles (Mask) Lewis following a car accident that occurred last night," Tapout said on its website.
"We are currently in the process of setting up a memorial service in his honour and will release more details as they become available."
Tapout is the best-known clothing brand in the mixed martial arts world, adorning the likes of such superstar fighters as Chuck Liddell, as well as a legion of MMA fans.
Known as Mask, Lewis was an icon in the sport in his own right, a walking billboard for Tapout, with his distinctive camouflage face paint, tattoos, headgear and edgy wardrobe.
Newport Beach Police did not identify Lewis but confirmed a male in a badly damaged red Ferrari was pronounced dead at the scene of the crash. A female occupant ejected from the car was taken to a hospital in Santa Ana where she was listed in stable condition.
Newport Beach police said in a statement that at approximately 12:57 a.m. Pacific time, an off-duty officer saw the Ferrari and a white Porsche "spinning out of control, possibly the result of a collision."
The Ferrari struck the curb and then a light pole. The Porsche briefly stopped at the scene but then drove away, police said.
Police said they subsequently found the white Porsche and then saw a man and a woman walking away from the vehicle.
Jeffrey David Kirby, 51, of Costa Mesa, Calif., was arrested and booked for gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated with bail set at US$1 million, police said. The woman was arrested for public intoxication and was later released.
"The cause of the collision is currently under investigation," police said.
Mask came up with his distinctive look after handing out a bunch of flyers and stickers for his fledgling clothing company at a mixed martial arts event in 1999, only to see them litter the ground the moment he turned around.
"I left that show hurt, but I made a vow - I said that I will never walk up to somebody again and (have) them not know who I am," he told The Canadian Press in an August 2007 interview. "You will never see me coming and not know who I represent and what I'm about. . . . It sparked a lot of anger and a lot of creative juices I had."
The slogan for his edgy brand is "American, Arrogant and Inyaface."
Mask's partners at Tapout are co-owner Punkass and SkySkrape.
Mask's inspiration for the company dates back to 1993 when he saw the first UFC show. Three weeks later, he was taking a private lesson from Brazilian jiu-jitsu star Royce Gracie.
"That started my lifestyle," Mask said in an interview from his home in Huntington Beach, Calif.
"I bought every colour of Royce Gracie shirt, I think, but pink," he said with a laugh. "Because I wanted people to know, when I'm walking around, 'Hey I train with Royce Gracie, I do jiu-jitsu, don't mess with me.' Inevitably it wasn't enough. That's where the idea to make my own shirts spawned from. There wasn't anything else. "
"Soccer, you have Adidas. Nike's basketball and track. There was nothing for mixed martial arts. So Tapout came up in my chest."
Their clothing line became a hit and they followed it up with their own TV show "Tapout," which documented the Tapout crew as they hit the highway in their garish RV in search of new fighters to sponsor and promote.
Mask's high-pitched laugh was prominent in every episode.
Asked how old he was in the 2007 interview, Mask said: "Old enough to have been there and done that, but young enough to still get up every day to be excited to do that."
Asked about his favourite ride, he replied: "Chuck Liddell's Ferrari. He's got the 430 and he let me drive it once. I think he let me drive it. I know he was mad when I brought the keys back."
Copyright © 2009 The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
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Tapout says its founder Charles (Mask) Lewis dies in car crash
16 hours ago
Charles (Mask) Lewis, the colourful co-founder of the popular Tapout Clothing company, died in an early-morning car crash Wednesday in Newport Beach, Calif.
"It is with heavy hearts and great sadness that we must regretfully confirm the passing of our beloved friend, brother and co-founder Charles (Mask) Lewis following a car accident that occurred last night," Tapout said on its website.
"We are currently in the process of setting up a memorial service in his honour and will release more details as they become available."
Tapout is the best-known clothing brand in the mixed martial arts world, adorning the likes of such superstar fighters as Chuck Liddell, as well as a legion of MMA fans.
Known as Mask, Lewis was an icon in the sport in his own right, a walking billboard for Tapout, with his distinctive camouflage face paint, tattoos, headgear and edgy wardrobe.
Newport Beach Police did not identify Lewis but confirmed a male in a badly damaged red Ferrari was pronounced dead at the scene of the crash. A female occupant ejected from the car was taken to a hospital in Santa Ana where she was listed in stable condition.
Newport Beach police said in a statement that at approximately 12:57 a.m. Pacific time, an off-duty officer saw the Ferrari and a white Porsche "spinning out of control, possibly the result of a collision."
The Ferrari struck the curb and then a light pole. The Porsche briefly stopped at the scene but then drove away, police said.
Police said they subsequently found the white Porsche and then saw a man and a woman walking away from the vehicle.
Jeffrey David Kirby, 51, of Costa Mesa, Calif., was arrested and booked for gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated with bail set at US$1 million, police said. The woman was arrested for public intoxication and was later released.
"The cause of the collision is currently under investigation," police said.
Mask came up with his distinctive look after handing out a bunch of flyers and stickers for his fledgling clothing company at a mixed martial arts event in 1999, only to see them litter the ground the moment he turned around.
"I left that show hurt, but I made a vow - I said that I will never walk up to somebody again and (have) them not know who I am," he told The Canadian Press in an August 2007 interview. "You will never see me coming and not know who I represent and what I'm about. . . . It sparked a lot of anger and a lot of creative juices I had."
The slogan for his edgy brand is "American, Arrogant and Inyaface."
Mask's partners at Tapout are co-owner Punkass and SkySkrape.
Mask's inspiration for the company dates back to 1993 when he saw the first UFC show. Three weeks later, he was taking a private lesson from Brazilian jiu-jitsu star Royce Gracie.
"That started my lifestyle," Mask said in an interview from his home in Huntington Beach, Calif.
"I bought every colour of Royce Gracie shirt, I think, but pink," he said with a laugh. "Because I wanted people to know, when I'm walking around, 'Hey I train with Royce Gracie, I do jiu-jitsu, don't mess with me.' Inevitably it wasn't enough. That's where the idea to make my own shirts spawned from. There wasn't anything else. "
"Soccer, you have Adidas. Nike's basketball and track. There was nothing for mixed martial arts. So Tapout came up in my chest."
Their clothing line became a hit and they followed it up with their own TV show "Tapout," which documented the Tapout crew as they hit the highway in their garish RV in search of new fighters to sponsor and promote.
Mask's high-pitched laugh was prominent in every episode.
Asked how old he was in the 2007 interview, Mask said: "Old enough to have been there and done that, but young enough to still get up every day to be excited to do that."
Asked about his favourite ride, he replied: "Chuck Liddell's Ferrari. He's got the 430 and he let me drive it once. I think he let me drive it. I know he was mad when I brought the keys back."
Copyright © 2009 The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
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