Dan Caldwell, also known as ‘Punkass’, is an American entrepreneur, actor and producer, best known as a co-founder and the President of TapouT clothing company.
So just how rich is Dan Caldwell? Sources state that Caldwell has earned a net worth over $30 million, as of mid-2016. The main source of his wealth has been his TapouT brand, as well as his involvement in television and the movie industry.
Dan Caldwell Net Worth $30 Million
Caldwell was born and raised in a troubled area full of crime and violence in San Bernardino, California. For a while he worked as a police officer. He was an ardent fan of mixed martial arts and started to train the sport as an amateur. This led him and his two friends Charles Lewis and Tom Katz to start selling t-shirts out of the trunk of his car at MMA competitions, which were still illegal in California at the time. This eventually brought them to establish a brand and a unique look and start an apparel company in Grand Terrace in 1997, which would become known as TapouT. The company was producing clothes for athletes and MMA enthusiasts and Caldwell served as its CEO. It started by selling online and by sponsoring MMA fighters – in its first year it grossed nearly $30,000 in annual sales. MMA was a sport that was still relatively unknown back in the 90s and Caldwell and his partners were entering a market that barely existed, believing that the sport would become accepted and embraced by mainstream audiences. Fortunately they were right, and the company went on to greatly expand its business over the years. They eventually produced clothes, shoes, mouth guards, nutritional supplements and various fighting equipment and accessories both online and at big retail stores.
By 2006, TapouT was making $12 million in annual revenue, $100 million in 2008 and in 2009 it expanded to an incredible $200 million and had over 140 employees. Caldwell’s net worth was boosted with the brand’s success. It became a multimillion-dollar giant with its own fitness centers, sports drinks and a magazine, and its logo became synonymous with the MMA. Therefore, from selling T-shirts at illegal fights, the company went all the way to become one of the biggest sponsors for MMA fighters. It was certainly making it big, however, the company suffered a tragedy in 2009 when its co-founder Charles Lewis died in a car accident.
In 2011 Caldwell sold the company to a New York-based company Authentic Brands Group, but has remained its President.
Caldwell also owns several other businesses, such as a large real estate office called Caldwell and Taylor Realty, a Nutrishop store, a tattoo parlor and a private investment group. In 2014 he opened a frozen yogurt shop named “Chillz”, for his daughter and her stepsister, in partnership with his ex-girlfriend and her husband. He has been the host of the TapouT Radio show on Sirius XM, as well as a public speaker and business consultant. All are contributing to his wealth.
Dan Caldwell has been acting and producing movies too. In 2007 he was part of the reality television series “TapouT” aired on Versus, which portrayed him along with his two partners, the late Lewis and Katz traveling around the country scouting for promising MMA fighters to sponsor and develop their business. In 2009 and 2010 he appeared in the television series “MMA H.E.A.T.” and in the series “World Extreme Cagefighting” also in 2010. He was executive producer of the 2010 movie “The Hammer”, and also produced movies “Locked Down”, “Out of 7” and “Pretty Perfect”, as well as documentaries “The Striking Truth 3D”, “Once I was a Champion”, “Clockwork Orange County”, “Mask”, “The Actor” and “History of MMA”. He himself appeared in the 2011 movie “Warrior”, further growing his net worth.
In his personal life, Caldwell has a daughter with his ex-girlfriend Jaime Young. Sources believe he has two more children. His current relationship status is unknown.
In 2010 Caldwell helped Street Smart Jobz to provide career advice to youth leaving the foster-care centers. He was also part of a fund-raising event for the Livestrong Foundation and the SickKids Foundation in 2012.
