3 Things I Learned From OG Charles “Mask” Lewis (RIP)

There I was. Sitting at my desk and all prepared to write another article for my weekly e-newsletter about a grappling topic that I’d been thinking about all day.

A topic that I just knew would have many in the OG Nation telling me how much insightful it was and how much they appreciated it.

Then, I opened my internet browser to discover that one of the Tapout Founders (Charles “Mask” Lewis) had passed away in an car accident.

At that moment, whatever feelings I had about writing that cool grappling topic didn’t seem so important. What did seem important were the 3 things that popped immediately into my head after hearing the news:

• Mask (along with a couple of buddies) had a vision that started as an athletic apparel company that eventually became a vehicle that allowed them to affect millions of people around the world, most of which they had never met. I was one of those individuals that never had the pleasure of meeting him, but I recognized him from their promotions and found him (as well as the others) to be quite entertaining on their cable show. It forces you to believe that any dream can be achieved if you really want it.
• Mask must’ve had tons of self-confidence! ANYBODY that could wear his outfit in public (especially at a biker weekend when they’re watching one of their sponsored fighters) and not give a chit about what anyone thought about his attire is alright with me. You gotta respect a guy for having a pair like that!
• Mask accomplished a lot during his short time on earth and more than many that will live twice as long as he did. None of us have as much time on this earth as we think we do. So, we need to figure out what we want our legacy to be after we’re gone and work on achieving our goal a little bit each day, no matter how long it takes to reach it. The brotha (and his crew) hit a homerun with Tapout as part of his legacy to attest to his time spent among us.

And as I thought about those three points, I only wish that I can have the same impact on the world as he did.

Thanks, OG Charles “Mask” Lewis (1964-2009). Rest in peace, bro.