Bobby Razak on ‘Mask’ and the state of the art today
Bobby Razak: “No way in hell would there have been a Reebok deal. Charles loved fighters. He would pay fighters more than he paid himself.”
On April 3 the documentary ‘Mask’ on the life of Tapout co-founder Charles ‘Mask’ Lewis will be released. I had the honor of meeting him a number of times early on, when he had a passion that drove the sport, but not enough money for the cover in a nightclub, because he used it all sponsoring fighters. Then he built TapouT into a monster with 100s of millions of dollars in sales. There has been nothing remotely like it since, and never will be.
He died on March 11, 2009, after his vehicle was struck by a drunk driver, Jeffrey David Kirby, who was sentenced to nine years in prison for one count of vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence while intoxicated, plus a sentencing enhancement for causing great bodily injury to a second victim, Mask’s girlfriend Lacy Lynn White.
Acclaimed filmmaker, action sports director, and BJJ black belt Bobby Razak is not just uniquely qualified to tell Mask’s extraordinary story, he’s the only person who can tell it right. Razak spoke recently with Steven Marrocco for MMAjunkie about the making of Mask, and what Lewis would have thought about the state of the art today.
TapouT was eventually sold to Authentic Brands Group a brand development and licensing company that has acquired a number of consumer brands including Juicy Couture, Jones New York, Prince Tennis, Elvis Presley, Muhammad Ali, Marilyn Monroe, Michael Jackson, and TapouT. In a travesty, TapouT has since been rebranded as WWE fitness apparel.
“It makes me sick to my stomach,” said Razak. “First of all, Charles never liked WWE. He was so against wrestling and he considered it very fake.
“When Charles died, without him, the company was ruined. I believe 13 months after he died, the company became bankrupt. So I’m very unhappy what happened with TapouT. There were a lot of tenured employees working who just got fired when ABG purchased it. It wasn’t ABG’s fault, because they were just buying something they could get, but then the way the whole happened, it makes me really sick. Every time I sit down and think about it, it’s very painful. It’s something I might need therapy for one day.”
Razak was also asked what Mask might think of the sport today?
“That’s a tough question,” replied Razak. “He wasn’t alive for the FOX deal. He would have loved the fact that UFC was on free TV and free cable, that you can watch a fight Sunday morning in your bed and Saturday night for free. I think he would have loved it. I think the Reebok deal he wouldn’t have. Him knowing about that Reebok deal, knowing that TapouT wasn’t a part of that … because if he was alive, there would be no Reebok deal. I’m telling you 100 percent there would be no Reebok deal. He was incredibly tight with Dana and Lorenzo. That’s why they put his name on the cage. I believe if there would have been a singular deal for a clothing company, it would have been Charles. No way in hell would there have been a Reebok deal.
“Charles loved fighters. He would pay fighters more than he paid himself. He would have not have done a raw deal for these fighters. He would have made sure they were paid correctly. If they voiced their concerns, he would have addressed it 100 percent. He would have been disgusted by this Reebok deal, and I think he won’t get any rest – if there is something like going into the light, he ain’t there, because he’d be turning in his grave.”
‘Mask’ will be released on April 3 via video on demand. Distributed by Gravitas Ventures, ‘Mask’ be available on iTunes, Google Play, and Amazon, among others.