ANDREW KOLVET: I spent eight years beside Charlie Kirk. Here’s what the world never understood

I first met Charlie Kirk in a hotel lobby in Los Angeles in 2017. I had emailed him a few times suggesting we should work together, and he mostly brushed me off or ignored the inquiries. I was doing communications work and had heard rumors of this young "up-and-comer" with "boundless energy" who was trying to take back college campuses for conservatives. After a bout of bad press, he finally replied and asked to meet, and as we shook hands that very first time, the first thing I noticed was just