On 1 April 2016, the remake of the timeless LDS film Saturday’s Warrior debuted on movie screens across the nation. Saturday’s Warrior was first performed in 1973 in California as a college project, and later in 1989, Bob Williams created a video version of the movie. Although the musical written by Douglas Stewart and Lex de Azevedo explores the Mormon doctrines of premortal life, foreordination, and eternal marriage, it is among the first popular LDS films to not be made or sponsored by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

The Plot

The 2016 movie tells the story of a group of children that are born into a Mormon family after making promises in the pre-mortal life. Two of the children, Jimmy Flinders (Kenny Hollands) and Julie Flinders (Monica Moore Smith), encounter personal struggles that help them rediscover and fulfill their foreordained missions in life. In time, Jimmy has a chance encounter and conversation with a non-Mormon named Tod Richards (Mason D. Davis) and receives a phone call from his family that his twin sister Pam (Anna Daines) has died, he begins some serious personal reflection and decides to return home to his family.

Meet Mason D. Davis – Saturday’s Warrior’s Tod Richards

Mason D. Davis (nickname Mason Mac) was born on 9 January 1990 in Memphis, Tennessee. He is the seventh of eight children. At an early age, he began focusing on the arts and won his first art contest in the first grade. At the age of twelve, he debuted in his first theatrical performance. During his time in high school, he participated in theater festivals, competitive improv comedy, and as an actor/producer in a sketch television show.

Since high school, Mason has been seen on television and the silver screen and has earned acting nominations from the New York Indie Film Festival and Utah Film Awards. He is best known for such acting roles as Chase Davis (as Mason Mac) in the 2013 movie Shadow, James Delford in the 2014 movie 16 Stones, and Ben Robbins in the 2015 movie The Cokeville Miracle.

Mason drew and painted all of his character’s artwork in the film Saturday’s Warrior; as well as the film Shadow. He also collaborated with Kenny Holland on writing the final song that plays during the credits in Saturday’s Warrior.

Mason is also the founder and C.C.O. of a shoe company called SoulKix.

The Story of SoulKix

The thriving shoe company, SoulKix, has been successful because they know how to think outside of the proverbial “shoe box.” The company is founded on people’s belief in art and assisting the less fortunate.

Their story begins with Mason McEwen, the founder of the company. At the age of 19, Mason was living in a makeshift tent on top of a skyscraper in San Francisco, California. Using scraps of wood that he collected from dumpsters as his canvas, he painted art which he was able to sell to help sustain himself. A year later he was fortunate enough to land a job at a retail store. While working there he started to realize that there was a lack of fun and diversity within the shoe business. From these two experiences, Mason received the vision to create a unique shoe company, and two years later, SoulKix, “an interactive shoe company with a purpose of allowing the consumer to have a creative choice in their footwear while also donating a pair of shoes to those in need for each pair purchased” was born. Since then, SoulKix has flourished into a brand that has both personality and style.

A portion of all proceeds is donated to Operation Underground Railroad and Soles 4 Souls. The goal of Operation Underground Railroad is to rescue women and children from the jaws of sex trafficking and slavery. Soles 4 Souls donates a pair of shoes to someone in need every time a person purchases a pair of SoulKix.

Mason D. Davis – The Musician

Mason’s love for the arts includes a love of music as well as a love for acting. He has taught himself to play over ten instruments. His favorite instrument is the ukulele. He has a growing collection of Ukes, many of which he handcrafted himself, and has been playing the instrument for over ten years.

He has won multiple ukulele awards. He was a back-to-back winner at the 2013 and 2014 Utah Ukulele Festival and took first place at the 2014 Best in Music Ukulele Contest. In 2008, he also won first place at the Improv Troupe Festival.

He finds the sound of the Uke (or “ook” as he says) to be both fun and uplifting because it plays in a higher range than the guitar with happy overtones. The Uke is a bit more unusual than the conventional guitar, so when he’s with a group and people bring out their guitars, he likes being a bit more unique. He uses a loop to create new tracks that continue playing while he adds new riffs.

Mason’s playing is very inventive and he is great at using the Uke as a rhythm instrument which is evidence of his genius of being self-taught. He plans to create an album of Uke songs — hymns or primary songs, and will move from there to other uplifting offerings. He has a great singing voice, but he may not sing on his first album.

You can learn more about Mason Davis by reading the article “Exclusive Interview with ‘Saturday’s Warrior’ Star Mason Davis” at LDS.net.