Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Charles Lewis, Jr.


 * The following discussion is an archived debate of the proposed deletion of the article below. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as the article's talk page or in a deletion review).  No further edits should be made to this page.

The result was   Withdrawn by nominator. Before nominating, I checked for news sources, and could find nothing prior to reports of his death, so I nominated this in good faith, having already done the rounds of putting several three word versions through CSD. There was nothing that indicated more than passing notability (for dieing), andthe nom was in good faith. However, the fact that several people appear to have heard of him convinces me that sources will be found. (non-admin closure) Mayalld (talk) 07:36, 13 March 2009 (UTC)

Charles Lewis, Jr.

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Delete nn businessman, apparently best known for being killed in a car crash yesterday Mayalld (talk) 17:10, 12 March 2009 (UTC)


 * Keep. Apparent bad-faith edit (THE ARTICLE IS CLEARLY UNDER CONSTRUCTION). Charles "Mask" Lewis, Jr. was a celebrity BEFORE his death in an unfortunate car crash yesterday. His death only crystallized the fact that there was no article; it does not mean there should not have been one. Given his accomplishment, building a business from the trunk of his car into a multi-million dollar empire, should speak for itself. But if not, it is clear that "Mask" was also a living comic book character and MMA promoter, who related to the fans on TV. And that's why he WAS on TV. Ryoung 122 17:16, 12 March 2009 (UTC)
 * Comment Nothing bad faith about it (and I would ask that you WP:AGF rather than flinging such accusations about. It is apparent that until yesterday, nobody thought him notable enough to have an article, but he dies, and suddenly he becomes notable! If the guy turns out to be notable, then fair enough, but accusations of bad faith are a bit strong! Mayalld (talk) 17:31, 12 March 2009 (UTC)


 * Comment. I'm all for deleting non-notable "Wikipedia is not a memorial" articles. I pushed to get junk like Keeley Dorsey deleted (a minor college football player most notable for dying on the practice field, and with no track record other than high school). In this case, this is more of a case where a person had already built a track record that was worthy of an article, and the death simply crystallized the realization that no one did what anyone could have done. To be fair: if someone starts a company selling T-shirts out of their trunk in 1997 and ten years later that company is pulling in $100 million, that's notable. More than that, "Mask" had also become a "reality-TV" star on Versus, and was also a UFC fight promoter and promoted the careers of individual fighters. The interesting thing to me is that, when I saw the TV show, I thought this guy was just some big lug...he came across as obnoxious, like some dumb person hired to get ratings for teens/kids. Little did I know that Charles Lewis was HIS OWN BOSS. Often, those who have the money have puppets on a string...here this guy was his own puppet. Ryoung 122 17:49, 12 March 2009 (UTC)
 * I agree with Ryoung122. To get article ideas I read the news and if someone is reported dead, I Google them to see what they did in their life. Their death is clearly not the claim of notability made, but the trigger that got the contributor writing. If the nominator's reasoning would be applied consistent I couldn't expand the article about the doctor who invented the artificial kidney. Still, the article is in bad shape, I sugges the creators pull their weight and actually cover the multi-million dollar part of the business. -Mgm|(talk) 23:44, 12 March 2009 (UTC)


 * Keep - ample reliable sources about him and his role in establishing a multi-million dollar clothing business exist. The article as it currently stands is shite but that's not an excuse for deletion. Otto4711 (talk) 17:18, 12 March 2009 (UTC)


 * Note: This debate has been included in the list of Businesspeople-related deletion discussions.  —92.40.72.205 (talk) 17:21, 12 March 2009 (UTC)
 * Note: This debate has been included in the list of United States of America-related deletion discussions.  —92.40.72.205 (talk) 17:21, 12 March 2009 (UTC)
 * Weak merge with TapouT. I have not seen substantial coverage focusing on Lewis himself, but if found I'll go "keep" instead. -- aktsu (t / c) 17:28, 12 March 2009 (UTC)


 * Comment. I don't favor a merge because if one drew a Venn diagram, this guy already overlaps with TapouT (clothing line) and TapouT (TV series), UFC and Kimbo Slice. Overlapping with more than one article is often a sign for the biographical justification for the article's existence. Also, this man was a multi-tool player: he wore the "hats" of businessman, entrepreneur, promoter, TV character/comic character. Perhaps not the brightest bulb in the socket, but his track record of building connections means that his biography is encyclopedic: in other words, one can learn not just about Charles Lewis, Jr or about "Mask": one can learn how a person built their pathway to success. If the icing on the cake came from a spinout, so be it. Ryoung 122 17:55, 12 March 2009 (UTC)


 * Keep just because the article isnt in tip-top shape at the moment doesnt mean it should be deleted. It has been created recently and can be improved.--MarkusBJoke (talk) 17:36, 12 March 2009 (UTC)


 * Keep nothing indicates deletion is necessary here.--Judo112 (talk) 17:37, 12 March 2009 (UTC)
 * Keep - notable subject, though the article needs some editing. But we don't delete articles because they need work. --Leifern (talk) 19:35, 12 March 2009 (UTC)
 * Not a long article, but I suspect there's probably quite a bit of work that one can do to expand the section on his business development. Coverage suggests notability, considernig where it's coming from. Keep Tony Fox (arf!) 20:47, 12 March 2009 (UTC)


 * The above discussion is preserved as an archive of the debate. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as the article's talk page or in a deletion review). No further edits should be made to this page.