How do I turn a brush shape that I used as stroke into a clipping path?

Hi. 

I created a logo with a checkerboard around the circular outside like attached. I did this by creating a brush stroke and applied it as the stroke. 
Now, I need to turn that shape into a clipping mask. 

Every attempt I've made either results in a blank white screen (maybe I'm following the directions I'm finding online incorrectly and masking my whole object -- while still being able to see the shape of the mask on it) or I get an error message because what I'm trying to use doesn't work that way.

Any suggestions?

Here's the item I want to turn into a clipping mask so the background shows through the "checkerboard". The white inside and outside will remain; just the red becomes transparent. 

Thanks everyone.