Our Story
Created in memory of Michael Anthony Cummings II
May 5, 1975 to January 18, 2026
Reel Brothers was his idea. This foundation carries his name and the thing he loved most.
Who he was
Where he was happiest
The fishing is not a metaphor borrowed for a brochure. It is where he was happiest, and it is why Matthew 4:19 sits at the center of the work.
The man in our mark is him. The silhouette at the top of this page was traced from a photograph of him standing in the water with a rod in his hands.
Everything the foundation does for people in grief is built to honor how he showed up for them.
His story
Michael grew up in Stratford, Connecticut, and his family's roots run deep in Bridgeport's East End. He was baptized at five and served in music and ministry at East End Baptist Tabernacle Church, the church his parents, Rev. Michael "Pop" Cummings I and Deaconess Linda Jewell Cummings, served for decades. They spent their lives looking after the young people and the elders of that church, and the same spirit runs through this foundation.
He had an entrepreneur's spirit. A gifted chef, he founded Liquid Phix and was always building toward the next thing. Nothing mattered more to him than family. People remember how generous he was, how easily he laughed and how much he loved the people around him.
After losing his mother in November 2023, he moved to Florida for a fresh start. He had just stepped into his Pop Pop era, and he was building on every front: growing Liquid Phix, working toward his captain's license, and helping families with life insurance so they would not face the struggles his own family faced after losing his parents. He was finally walking in his purpose.
Then the cancer came. He passed away on January 18, 2026, in Tampa, Florida, after a short fight with acute myeloid leukemia. He lived his life with no regrets.
How it came to be
In Michael's words
Grief doesn't just end. You learn how to navigate the new normal. You shouldn't have to make that adjustment alone, and that's where Reel Brothers comes in.
Reel Brothers was my dad's idea, one of hundreds of ideas the two of us talked about working on together. I selfishly thought we had time.
In August 2021 we lost my grandfather, Rev. Michael "Pop" Cummings I. In May 2022 we lost our cousin Scott. Scott was the one my father used to fish with. He loved the outdoors and loved teaching people to fish, and his obituary lists my dad as his "cousin (brother)." After Scott passed, my father stopped fishing for a while, and the idea for Reel Brothers came to him.
In November 2023 we lost my grandmother, Deaconess Linda Jewell Cummings.
On January 3, 2026, I found out my father had cancer. From January 7 to 9, I flew down to Tampa to be with him. On January 18, nine days after I last saw him, he passed away before my flight could land. His funeral was on February 6. Losing him was my third significant loss in five years.
My dad lived his life with no regrets, but I'm sure he thought he had more time. That is the whole reason I am taking action now.
Tomorrow isn't promised. I don't want to be on my deathbed having conversations with God about the things I didn't get to do, and I don't want the ideas God gave me to pass away with me.
He never got the chance to act on his idea. Two months after he passed, I wrote it down. Reel Brothers is just the first thing. I can only imagine how many other people are navigating these same struggles right now, and I want this to be what helps them navigate the new normal.
Michael A. Cummings IIIFounder, and his son
The road so far
From loss to a foundation
- We lost my grandfather, Rev. Michael Anthony "Pop" Cummings I.
- We lost our cousin Scott Lawrence, my dad's fishing partner. My dad stopped fishing for a while, and the idea for Reel Brothers came to him.
- We lost my grandmother, Deaconess Linda Jewell Cummings. Not long after, my dad moved to Florida for a fresh start.
- I found out my dad had cancer.
- I flew to Tampa to be with him.
- My dad passed away, nine days after I last saw him, before my flight could land. He was 50.
- We said goodbye at his funeral.
- I wrote his idea down.
- Reel Brothers Foundation, Inc. was incorporated in Maryland.
- The Wheel took its current shape: seven programs, each mapped to scripture and a stage of grief.
- Our founding board met for the first time, adopted the bylaws and a conflict of interest policy, and elected its officers.
- The foundation's mark was finished, with my dad's silhouette at its center.
- By April 2027Up next: our first cohort and the first Reel Brothers Retreat. See the programs
You do not have to carry it alone
If you are carrying a loss like this, the first step is simply telling us you are there.