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Speaker 1: So I'm just wondering if Prince Harry is going to

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Speaker 1: be in US weekly magazine. In the Royals, they're just

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Speaker 1: like US section buying diapers in the baby aisle of

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Speaker 1: Hughes Supermarket, Like do they even have Hughes anymore? Or

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Speaker 1: maybe it's Ralph's Ralph's Supermarket. But I've been around a

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Speaker 1: long time and I've been reading um headlines at the

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Speaker 1: nail salon for years, and remember when it was like

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Speaker 1: every day Paris Hilton, Um, Nicole Ritchie, Lindsay Lohan, where

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Speaker 1: every single day they were on the cover of every

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Speaker 1: magazine as like Freenemies and everything that they did, like

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Speaker 1: that was sort of one magazine. Pop culture was on

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Speaker 1: full tilt because they were like reality stars and everybody

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Speaker 1: was so accessible and people would call the barazzi. It

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Speaker 1: was like then it was like Heidi and Spencer are

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Speaker 1: these people that were on every single day? I mean,

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Speaker 1: the Kardashians are in the press all the time, but

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Speaker 1: there are just certain people that every single day it's

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Speaker 1: a new headline with the same regurgitated garbage. So the

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Speaker 1: Royals used to be somewhat inaccessible, like it used to

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Speaker 1: be that we would just be like oh my god,

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Speaker 1: we got a picture of Princess Kate, you know, going

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Speaker 1: to pick up the kids from school, or when Diana

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Speaker 1: would be in a sweatshirt. Just it was sort of

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Speaker 1: it was captivating, but there was definitely a veil, you know,

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Speaker 1: And I feel like when Prince Harry and Megan defected,

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Speaker 1: the veil was lifted, and they're just so accessible and

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Speaker 1: I feel like they had so much more protection where

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Speaker 1: they were in the royal family, like everything that they

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Speaker 1: said they wanted to achieve by being totally private and

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Speaker 1: Oprah sent you know, just because they want to be private,

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Speaker 1: it doesn't mean they want to be silent. Just because

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Speaker 1: you want privacy doesn't mean you need to be silent,

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Speaker 1: which I don't know if I agree for a minute

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Speaker 1: you've got to be silent to become private. Um. There

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Speaker 1: are celebrities that are really anonymous and private because they

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Speaker 1: choose to be so, and then I always doing something,

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Speaker 1: saying something, being photographed with some message. So I just

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Speaker 1: feel like they're totally accessible now and they're just like

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Speaker 1: sort of semi normal celebrities. They don't seem like royals

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Speaker 1: at all anymore. And I certainly would rather be like

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Speaker 1: an inaccessible royal then you know, a celebrity. I mean

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Speaker 1: soon they're gonna be in like celebrity rehab with Doctor Drew,

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Speaker 1: just like talking about their marital problems. We're gonna be

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Speaker 1: like fully, they're like, you know, do a reality show

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Speaker 1: with like Beatrice and Eugenie and and and and Prince Andrew,

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Speaker 1: the black sheep of the family, just like so accessible,

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Speaker 1: get the camera crew out. I don't think that the

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Speaker 1: Queen would be on the reality show. I really don't.

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Speaker 1: Maybe William and Kate would make a cameo. I'm not

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Speaker 1: sure because they don't want to be smeared the way

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Speaker 1: that they have been. But uh, and I'm being into touchy,

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Speaker 1: touchy murky territory now as I have before. But I'm

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Speaker 1: cool with that because I can't live in fear so

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Speaker 1: Royals they're just like us, don't We need to see

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Speaker 1: more pictures of the royals doing normal things, just like

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Speaker 1: they dug up a picture of Harry riding a bicycle

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Speaker 1: years ago, and you know, they hang out with their

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Speaker 1: chickens and Harry rides a bike in in in Santa

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Speaker 1: Barbara and just goes to the beach, and they're just

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Speaker 1: like they're normal. Now they're just totally normal. Like you know,

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Speaker 1: next is gonna be just like we're gonna see him

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Speaker 1: at Barry's boot camp, or you know, Megan is gonna

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Speaker 1: be a soul cycle class getting a latte. He's gonna

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Speaker 1: be doing TikTok soon. Royal talk. What do you all think?

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Speaker 1: Do we need more accessibility to the royals? I feel

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Speaker 1: like they should just put cameras inside the Royal Palace

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Speaker 1: and we should just like go right in there. I mean,

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Speaker 1: the veil has been lifted. My guest today Steve Madden

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Speaker 1: and Entrepreneur, award winning shoe designer and business titan, mark

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Speaker 1: the thirty year anniversary of Steve Madden, his luxury shoe brand.

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Speaker 1: He has a devoted family man, recovering addict, philanthropist and

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Speaker 1: mentor who supports a number of organizations that help those

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Speaker 1: in need of a second chance. He has been through

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Speaker 1: the ringer. He has a crazy story. Today we talked

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Speaker 1: about why you need to be a little fearless when

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Speaker 1: it comes to starting a business, the importance of finding

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Speaker 1: good leadership within your business. Have a lot of success

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Speaker 1: involves capitalizing on lucky breaks, and why quality is more

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Speaker 1: important than quantity. Steve story is really inspiring and I

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Speaker 1: think you'll love our conversation. So we know each other, um,

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Speaker 1: and we talked about business before, and you're very much

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Speaker 1: a branding person, very much an entrepreneur. You're hungry, you're driven,

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Speaker 1: and you are definitely passionate. You are intense, polarizing, I'm sure. Um,

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Speaker 1: So when did you really get started in business? You

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Speaker 1: worked at this shoe store? What when you were so? Okay?

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Speaker 1: So I went, I worked in a shoe store when

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Speaker 1: I was in high school, and the owner of the

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Speaker 1: store was like became like a mentor to me, Like

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Speaker 1: I really looked up to the guy. He was. I was,

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Speaker 1: you know, seventeen, he was twenty eight and and at

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Speaker 1: that time shoes, ladies shoes and men's shoes were it's

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Speaker 1: experiencing a revolution. Platforms came in, so it was really

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Speaker 1: exciting and different, and it was a bunch of what

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Speaker 1: was different from me was was it was like artists,

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Speaker 1: hippie guys making money right and and my only experience

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Speaker 1: with people successful were people like my dad who wore

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Speaker 1: like hats and made the Long Island Railroad and Gary

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Speaker 1: briefcases and voted for Nixon kind of a thing, and

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Speaker 1: so now you had, like these freaks that went to

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Speaker 1: Woodstock were now being creative. So you know, it was

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Speaker 1: long past Woodstock, it was, but that influence, so it

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Speaker 1: was it was different, and it piqued my interest that

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Speaker 1: I could make a lot of money, I could be

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Speaker 1: around girls, I could be creative. Like all of these

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Speaker 1: things hit me. So you're an artist in addition to

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Speaker 1: an entrepreneur. You consider yourself to be artistic in that way.

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Speaker 1: I don't mean that you can draw. I just mean

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Speaker 1: that you have that fashion flair, that you don't come

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Speaker 1: in that package, but that you have that sort of

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Speaker 1: creative fashion artistic part of you. It's marketing. I may

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Speaker 1: not be an artist, but I certainly suffer from the

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Speaker 1: artist temperament. Okay, no, you do. You need to be creative.

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Speaker 1: You cannot be trapped. Is that true? You know? You know?

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Speaker 1: I mean, yes, I suppose I was. I don't really

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Speaker 1: think of it like that. Uh, this is what I

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Speaker 1: do for a live and I never really I mean,

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Speaker 1: I have thought about it. I shouldn't say I haven't

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Speaker 1: thought about it, but it's not something. So I very

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Speaker 1: proudly say that I create shoes and make shoes to

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Speaker 1: pay my rent. This is what I do. I'm a

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Speaker 1: I'm a professional, you know when when I'm very connected

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Speaker 1: to the I'm very connected to that. You know, I don't.

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Speaker 1: I never really fancied. Uh people who are you know,

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Speaker 1: art for art's sake and um, And I don't like

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Speaker 1: people around me, I mean around me working for me,

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Speaker 1: who who are into that? But I definitely nurture and

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Speaker 1: worship creativity. But it's to the to that end. Well,

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Speaker 1: later I'll get to philanthropy because with me, the twain

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Speaker 1: don't meet. You're working to make money, you're doing philanthropy

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Speaker 1: to help people their separate. Yes, they're not necessarily connected. Yes,

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Speaker 1: well everything is connected, Bethany. Everything in my life is connected,

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Speaker 1: and my work and philanthropy and all of it. It's

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Speaker 1: all all has to do with the shoes selling ultimately.

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Speaker 1: I you know, I remember reading about John Lennon and

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Speaker 1: Paul McCartney and everybody thinks of them. As you know,

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Speaker 1: back in the day, John Lennon was the ultimate like

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Speaker 1: sort of hippie. But when they wrote songs together like

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Speaker 1: I Want to Hold your Hand, Paul would say to John, well,

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Speaker 1: we just we just got a new swimming pool. You know,

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Speaker 1: so they were very connected to that too. Yeah, I

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Speaker 1: understand they don't have to be mutually exclusive. Absolutely, they

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Speaker 1: were very like, oh okay, we just got ourselves another house,

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Speaker 1: you know, and and I remember being struck with that.

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Speaker 1: They were very because at the time it was very

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Speaker 1: sort of you know that time, every sort of hippie

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Speaker 1: dippie and all of that. We're allowed to make, don't

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Speaker 1: you know, off of something that you love and you

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Speaker 1: probably will make money because you love it. It's interesting

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Speaker 1: that you really stayed close to the line because people

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Speaker 1: make the mistake of branching out, like you're that good

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Speaker 1: at one thing, and you've mastered one space of democratizing

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Speaker 1: fashionable shoes you know, that are aspirational but still affordable.

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Speaker 1: So for people who really you know, are going check

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Speaker 1: to check, it's aspirational. But for people that can afford

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Speaker 1: anything they want, they're still really fashionable. So my question

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Speaker 1: to you is why didn't you dive really deeply into

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Speaker 1: other areas that would be so tempting for you to think,

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Speaker 1: you know, so, so why don't you do that? Um?

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Speaker 1: I I sort of have a sort of had some

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Speaker 1: core you know, business philosophies and so I thought, you know,

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Speaker 1: we'll just be as good as we can be. And Uh,

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Speaker 1: the other thing I just want to mention when you

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Speaker 1: were talking, was so doing it for a living, which

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Speaker 1: is what I say it too is one thing. But

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Speaker 1: I always believed that if I made great shoes and

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Speaker 1: made shoes that people wanted to buy, that everything would

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Speaker 1: take care of itself. That I wouldn't have to worry about,

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Speaker 1: you know, lawyers and ke and L's and accountants, that

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Speaker 1: all I had to do. I was I had this

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Speaker 1: knowledge somehow that if I knew how to make shoes

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Speaker 1: that girls wanted to buy, that everything was gonna work out.

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Speaker 1: And that is still the overruding philosophy of my company today.

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Speaker 1: When we get distracted, we have other things, you know,

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Speaker 1: buy backs, dividends, buying other companies. It's like, okay, we're

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Speaker 1: going back and during the pandemic, let's go back to

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Speaker 1: our knitting. We're going to make great shoes that people

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Speaker 1: want to buy. So you're talking about the culture of

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Speaker 1: your company of people at home who are starting something.

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Speaker 1: It's all about its usually usually things. It's so funny

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Speaker 1: because I talked to people here and say, they really

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Speaker 1: don't know tricks it's about hard work. If you really

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Speaker 1: work card you're focus, you're driven, you're going with your gut.

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Speaker 1: You actually know that what you're on the right path,

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Speaker 1: you will be successful. Most people don't work that hard,

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Speaker 1: and people get tricked by the bells and whistles, and

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Speaker 1: I say, everything is your business. If you bother to

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Speaker 1: do it, do it well. I don't make a piece

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Speaker 1: of chicken. If I don't make it, I don't just

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Speaker 1: throw it in the microwave. I'd rather not I'd rather

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Speaker 1: not make it. I'd rather than not eat. I hate

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Speaker 1: average in anything, so I'm bothered with things that are average.

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Speaker 1: I would just rather not do it. So I feel

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Speaker 1: that you're just saying, if we're doing this thing, we're

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Speaker 1: doing this thing well. So for everybody listening, whatever you're doing,

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Speaker 1: just do well. Just don't do it. You're not it's

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Speaker 1: not bet, you're not better than it. It's not it's shoes,

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Speaker 1: it's buttons. It doesn't matter what you're doing. Just do

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Speaker 1: it in a quality versus quantity perspective. So that's what

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Speaker 1: you were saying. Okay, so great, so um, as far

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Speaker 1: as luck um, everybody has a different sort of opinion

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Speaker 1: of what luck is you make your own luck. You

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Speaker 1: see luck, then you it's where you take it. What

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Speaker 1: percentage is it lucky and smart with you? I've always

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Speaker 1: believed that business acumen and intelligence has to do with

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Speaker 1: the fact that you recognize that you just got a

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Speaker 1: lucky break. Okay. So I don't think like human beings

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Speaker 1: like we're much different on the I Q like I don't.

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Speaker 1: I think we're all kind of dumb and all kind

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Speaker 1: of smart unless you're you know, Bill Gates or one

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Speaker 1: of those outliers. You know, I'm I'm an average guy, Okay,

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Speaker 1: But I believed that I had the knowledge to know

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Speaker 1: when I was lucky. I always said, when the window

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Speaker 1: is open, I went and jumped through it. You know,

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Speaker 1: some people get those lucky breaks and they don't take

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Speaker 1: advantage of them. So I like to think that's what

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Speaker 1: I did. Well, that's right, primal, It's very simple. It

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Speaker 1: doesn't seem that smart, but it's just basic. Yeah, I

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Speaker 1: don't think it has so much to do with it,

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Speaker 1: you know, like overall intelligence. There's many people I've met

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Speaker 1: that are smarter than me. But I just had this

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Speaker 1: innate sense when good fortune was smiling on me, and

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Speaker 1: so I better double damn right now, Well, you just

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Speaker 1: said something interesting. We all know people of NBA's were

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Speaker 1: really really quote unquote smart and can process information within

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Speaker 1: a box, within an educational box. All of a sudden

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Speaker 1: they get out of there and they're not good because

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Speaker 1: they're not fearless. You're fearless. I'm fearless. You're just fucking

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Speaker 1: jumping out that window. And being fearless is really great

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Speaker 1: because when you jump, you fly, if you can handle it,

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Speaker 1: if you can handle the storm, if you can handle

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Speaker 1: the blow, like and you're a person who's had a

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Speaker 1: lot of crazy hardship, which we'll get into, but that's

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Speaker 1: part of it being, you know, not reckless, which you've been,

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Speaker 1: but fearless, which is important. You've got to take some risks.

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Speaker 1: I'm not. I don't know. I'm not so fearless today.

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Speaker 1: I'm not fearless with my kids, I can tell you know.

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Speaker 1: But when you had nothing, you were fearless to start

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Speaker 1: this business. You might not be able to start this again,

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Speaker 1: right now? Would you from the beginning? Oh no, I

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Speaker 1: would not. I don't know if I would have. I

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Speaker 1: wouldn't do it again. I couldn't do it. I don't

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Speaker 1: have to that the strain made to do it again.

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Speaker 1: It was you know, you know I started my business

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Speaker 1: and I was thirty one and thirty two, thirty one

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Speaker 1: or thirty two, I you know, it was like I

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Speaker 1: was a maniac. That was just there was nothing that

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Speaker 1: I wouldn't do to win. And that's good and dad,

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Speaker 1: But you know, I I tell the story like I

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Speaker 1: remember like being in a traffic jam in a car

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Speaker 1: and getting I had a driver, even when I was broke,

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Speaker 1: as a terrible driver. So and I remember getting out

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Speaker 1: of the car and directing traffic literally getting out and

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Speaker 1: and and holding cars up because it was not ed up,

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Speaker 1: Like there was nothing that I wouldn't do to to

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Speaker 1: make something happen. And that was two years old. You

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Speaker 1: were doing that. So when did you feel like you

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Speaker 1: could open the mini bar and get the suite at

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Speaker 1: a hotel? What age? Um? Probably uh, three years later,

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Speaker 1: so you were later than a lot of people. You know,

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Speaker 1: I was late to I was thirty seven years old.

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Speaker 1: I went from broke to having money late in life.

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Speaker 1: So that's scary at a point when you don't have

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Speaker 1: a you know, you don't have a safety net and

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Speaker 1: you're still hustling and still pitching your ship to people,

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Speaker 1: and you're like, later in your thirties, it's not that cute,

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Speaker 1: and you have a man you have to buy at

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Speaker 1: that that point, of course, I'll take women back a

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Speaker 1: hundred years. But you're in New York City. You have

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Speaker 1: to pay your rent, you gotta buy girls drinks, you

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Speaker 1: gotta act like you're you know, somebody, and being the

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Speaker 1: man and not having any money is not that cute

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Speaker 1: New York City in your thirties. Yeah, I started to

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Speaker 1: get a little like I remember I had this girlfriend

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Speaker 1: and in the village in Greenwich Village, and and I

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Speaker 1: remember taking her because it was such an insecure idiot,

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Speaker 1: you know. I remember taking her to the A T M.

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Speaker 1: And I had like fifteen thousand dollars in the account,

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Speaker 1: and I was so proud of that. It was like

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Speaker 1: the most thing I ever had. And I remember like

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Speaker 1: it would come up on the screen and I would

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Speaker 1: like show off her. Look fifteen thousand. I'm a baller,

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Speaker 1: you know. So it was like that, you know, like, uh,

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Speaker 1: it was sort of. I never really had more than

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Speaker 1: twenty dollars together. I mean when I went into the

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Speaker 1: Housewives eight thousand, I didn't come wealthy like it went

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Speaker 1: pretty much quickly, you know, I went from and then

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Speaker 1: all of a sudden, I was flying on private fast. Yeah,

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Speaker 1: it's pretty much pretty much. And it was well, did

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Speaker 1: you ever have debt? No, Steve Madden really was was

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Speaker 1: never really never had debt. Steve Madden, the company, Steve

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Speaker 1: person in Moh my god. In my twenties, I was

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Speaker 1: such a disaster. You know, I got I got sober

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Speaker 1: when I was thirty one, and so my life changed.

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Speaker 1: But I was a complete disaster. Uh in my twenties. Uh,

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Speaker 1: in every facet of my life. And I was using

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Speaker 1: and uh, you know, I was working for a shoe

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Speaker 1: company before I started Steve Madden. I was, I was good,

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Speaker 1: but I was high. You know, it was high, and

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Speaker 1: you know, a mess. And but when you're in your twenties,

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Speaker 1: you sort of can you can sort of kind of

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Speaker 1: get away with it because you can wake up and

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Speaker 1: you know, go to work and you can sleep it

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Speaker 1: off on the weekends. You don't have responsibilities, you don't

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Speaker 1: have kids, you have to be anywhere for the most part. Yeah,

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Speaker 1: but I was a disaster. But then just fast forwards,

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Speaker 1: Steve Madden never had debt. The company never got it. Okay,

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Speaker 1: so we have a very We have a lot of parallels.

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Speaker 1: I had dad as a person, I mean I had

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Speaker 1: credit card, nothing crazy that I combined everything together, but

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Speaker 1: I never had debt. As a company, I saw I

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Speaker 1: own a hundred percent of Skinny Girl besides the cocktails.

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Speaker 1: So that's interesting too. So thirty one, you get clean,

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Speaker 1: you start your business. What what age were you? And

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Speaker 1: we're gonna get into that whole the whole crazy period

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Speaker 1: of your life, not that at all hasn't been crazy,

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Speaker 1: but is now with three kids in school in Manhattan crazy.

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Speaker 1: I don't think that's as crazy because it's more contained.

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Speaker 1: I think you are a loose horse before and you're

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Speaker 1: at least like in you know, in a box, like

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Speaker 1: you're contained. Yeah, it's not as crazy, but it's definitely

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Speaker 1: heart wrenching. And many ways are you do you mean

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Speaker 1: just watching your kids not be not socialized and be homeschooled,

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Speaker 1: or watching your city be crumbled, which part just the

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Speaker 1: whole thing. I have three children. It came to me

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Speaker 1: late in life. I had my first kids of forty nine,

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Speaker 1: had twins. You know, nothing terrible, but you know, just

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Speaker 1: stuff not you know, you know, not doing well in

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Speaker 1: one class or just stuff just well, it's keeps going.

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Speaker 1: We keep managing ship and it gets harder as we

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Speaker 1: get older. It's really it's really something. So um, dinosaurs,

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Speaker 1: we are older. You're older than I am. And you

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Speaker 1: you've talked about being sixty and you still feel like

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Speaker 1: you have the fire in you, but I'm sure your

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Speaker 1: body is not feeling the same way. So how do

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Speaker 1: you still know what's cool and hip and what's going

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Speaker 1: on in your business when you're not the young demo

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Speaker 1: and you know? And how do you have somebody else

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Speaker 1: who really has their the pulse on the street like

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Speaker 1: people that work for you. Managing people for me is

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Speaker 1: the hardest part of a business. So both of those things, Oh,

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Speaker 1: it's I guess the three part. You went away and

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Speaker 1: your business thrived while away, which is the true test

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Speaker 1: of a good business because it means it can survive

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Speaker 1: without you. So all of this is what I want

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Speaker 1: to understand about your business, making it thrive without you,

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Speaker 1: knowing how to keep stay hip when you could become

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Speaker 1: a dinosaur in your own business, and um, managing people, Well,

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Speaker 1: let's just say that knowing what you don't know is

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Speaker 1: a tremendous asset in the business. So we we have

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Speaker 1: to acknowledge that I'm do you know, I'm not going

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Speaker 1: to clubs and taking ecstasy anymore. We can acknowledge that. Okay,

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Speaker 1: you can acknowledge that so or you know, I'm not

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Speaker 1: in the life you know or whatever you know, and

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Speaker 1: people artists and businessman age and one has to deal

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Speaker 1: with it. So for me, I know what I don't know.

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Speaker 1: And I have surrounded myself with a tremendous team and

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Speaker 1: many are better than me, and I've talked them all.

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Speaker 1: I'm quite proud, and many of them are actually better

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Speaker 1: than me. Now I have to like remember that I

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Speaker 1: talked them, so I don't jump off a building. But

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Speaker 1: you know, I'm okay. But I'm definitely not the smartest

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Speaker 1: guy in the room. But um so we got this

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Speaker 1: great team. The teamwork is very important for you know,

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Speaker 1: a business business my size, especially especially with founders. You know,

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Speaker 1: founders tend to which you are one, Bethany, but founders

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Speaker 1: tend to come up the work sometimes because they're perfectionists

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Speaker 1: and like everything is important. Everything is important to them.

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Speaker 1: Um I remember at it. We we have these shoes

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Speaker 1: shows in the showrooms and we cater food and we

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Speaker 1: have all the we had. This was before the pandemic.

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Speaker 1: All the buyers would come up from all over the country.

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Speaker 1: And I remember the chocolate chip cookies tasted bad, and

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Speaker 1: I called the caterer and I went crazy, said, you

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Speaker 1: can't have cookies that tastes like medicine. You cannot do that,

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Speaker 1: like I wasting. People are looking at me like, you're man,

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Speaker 1: you can't run a billion dollar company working at the cookies.

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Speaker 1: So yes, we've you know, we've have young people and

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Speaker 1: and and the reason I say young people is because

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Speaker 1: there's been a revolution in the last ten years. It's

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Speaker 1: like that. I feel like this society and business kind

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Speaker 1: of didn't move up until about twelve years ago, fifteen

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Speaker 1: years ago, and all of a sudden, we're in a

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Speaker 1: cycle now that's moving so quick. Every every month there's

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Speaker 1: something new and so and it's mostly because of the

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Speaker 1: phone and because social media. So I would so I

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Speaker 1: had come as someone that didn't grow up with social media,

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Speaker 1: like you know, it's not a it's not an instinctual

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Speaker 1: thing for me. And uh, I have a bunch of

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Speaker 1: young people that live and breathe all the you know,

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Speaker 1: social media platforms, and we're very advanced as a company.

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Speaker 1: And you know, I love it. I you know, I'm

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Speaker 1: not really I don't. I'm not on TikTok but my children.

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Speaker 1: And is it selling shoes? Is TikTok selling shoes for you? Fantastic?

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Speaker 1: So how important is social media for you? It's everything,

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Speaker 1: It's everything outside of my what I do, which is

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00:22:39,720 --> 00:22:44,800
Speaker 1: make the donuts. So that hasn't changed, thankfully. Um and

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Speaker 1: what about e commerce? How strong was your e commerce

398
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Speaker 1: during this pandemic? How much did that quote unquote savior

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00:22:51,400 --> 00:22:55,560
Speaker 1: your retail business In many ways, our e commerce business

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Speaker 1: is tremendous. It is exploated beyond my wild the streams,

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00:23:01,320 --> 00:23:07,199
Speaker 1: the numbers are astronomical, and you know we've sped up

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00:23:07,200 --> 00:23:11,400
Speaker 1: into the future. You know, that's what the pandemic did. Again,

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Speaker 1: just to remind you, just to reiterate, it's actually good

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Speaker 1: for me to even hear myself saying these words. It

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00:23:18,840 --> 00:23:21,639
Speaker 1: still hasn't changed. My basic function is, which is making

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Speaker 1: shoes that people want to buy, which is what I

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Speaker 1: focus on. And uh so the platforms have changed dramatically,

408
00:23:31,359 --> 00:23:35,960
Speaker 1: not the platform, shoes, the vehicle. Yea, yes, it's tremendous.

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Speaker 1: We're even gonna be doing more stuff on YouTube. And

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Speaker 1: you know, I'm thinking of having a little show on

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Speaker 1: YouTube and not like what you do with the podcast,

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Speaker 1: but like a shoe show, like I like this shoe.

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Speaker 1: You know, It's it's very exciting time. It's very exciting

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Speaker 1: for me. I'm I'm as excited as I've been in

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00:24:01,280 --> 00:24:08,040
Speaker 1: twenty years. Wow, that's amazing. Yes, because because because the

416
00:24:08,040 --> 00:24:11,440
Speaker 1: internet is so damn exciting. It's so and you could

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Speaker 1: put up shoes and get reaction and it's fantastic. So

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Speaker 1: now what what drives you? Is it? I don't know,

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Speaker 1: I mean just the money. The money is like the

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00:24:20,280 --> 00:24:22,800
Speaker 1: scorecard as we know, is that the game? Is that

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00:24:22,880 --> 00:24:25,160
Speaker 1: the idea. It's not your kids. Your kids are set

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00:24:25,240 --> 00:24:27,520
Speaker 1: up forever anyway. Sometimes people say that, and you know,

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Speaker 1: and if we say that, but we know that our

424
00:24:29,400 --> 00:24:32,360
Speaker 1: kids are fine, you know, way better than we grew up.

425
00:24:32,440 --> 00:24:34,959
Speaker 1: So what makes you want to do this all the time?

426
00:24:35,000 --> 00:24:37,439
Speaker 1: You're addicted to the idea, the execution of the idea.

427
00:24:37,720 --> 00:24:39,679
Speaker 1: What makes you keep going? And people around you're like,

428
00:24:39,920 --> 00:24:44,680
Speaker 1: fucking stop, relaxed, It's like enough, what is it? Yes?

429
00:24:44,840 --> 00:24:47,600
Speaker 1: I was born this way I'm very competitive. I was competitive,

430
00:24:47,680 --> 00:24:51,280
Speaker 1: is you know a ten year old? Uh, and I'm

431
00:24:51,320 --> 00:24:54,560
Speaker 1: competitive now. I want everybody to wear my shoes. I

432
00:24:54,720 --> 00:25:01,160
Speaker 1: just want people to just love my shoes. For love.

433
00:25:01,440 --> 00:25:03,240
Speaker 1: You're looking for love. I believe that you're looking for

434
00:25:03,400 --> 00:25:07,959
Speaker 1: love and adoration, well adoration even though yes, all right,

435
00:25:08,880 --> 00:25:11,160
Speaker 1: so now let's get into the stuff that really people

436
00:25:11,200 --> 00:25:16,040
Speaker 1: can definitely relate to, which is hitting the bottom twice.

437
00:25:16,160 --> 00:25:19,200
Speaker 1: I feel like you you had you said before you

438
00:25:19,240 --> 00:25:25,720
Speaker 1: were you are an addict. You had recovering addict, okay,

439
00:25:25,800 --> 00:25:30,560
Speaker 1: and you had a relapse. So what's harder the first

440
00:25:30,600 --> 00:25:34,800
Speaker 1: time to quit or the relapse, which is really the bottom?

441
00:25:34,840 --> 00:25:37,879
Speaker 1: Which is worse. I haven't had a drink in twenty

442
00:25:37,880 --> 00:25:40,600
Speaker 1: one years, though I had a relapse on pain pills.

443
00:25:40,960 --> 00:25:44,520
Speaker 1: But it's a day at a time, you know, So

444
00:25:45,200 --> 00:25:49,000
Speaker 1: we didn't talk about it. Sobriety is the most important

445
00:25:49,000 --> 00:25:52,600
Speaker 1: thing in my life. Uh, it's hard sometimes and there

446
00:25:52,640 --> 00:25:56,320
Speaker 1: are days when it's not right. So like that's when

447
00:25:56,359 --> 00:25:58,840
Speaker 1: I'm in trouble, on those days when I think more

448
00:25:58,880 --> 00:26:04,920
Speaker 1: about money or love or family or whatever. No, sobriety

449
00:26:04,960 --> 00:26:08,760
Speaker 1: is more important than family. Sobriety is more important than

450
00:26:08,800 --> 00:26:12,879
Speaker 1: my children. Sobriety is more important than Steve madden shoes.

451
00:26:13,880 --> 00:26:16,719
Speaker 1: And that's the fact. And the days that I know

452
00:26:16,880 --> 00:26:20,359
Speaker 1: that are the days that I'm good. That's powerful. Do

453
00:26:20,440 --> 00:26:23,960
Speaker 1: people say that? Do that? It's more paramount anything. Everything

454
00:26:24,040 --> 00:26:30,959
Speaker 1: goes if I use everything goes, children, money, self esteem,

455
00:26:31,680 --> 00:26:36,640
Speaker 1: death could be shortly coming. My demise will come at

456
00:26:36,680 --> 00:26:42,520
Speaker 1: this age, will come shortly thereafter. And so that's why

457
00:26:42,680 --> 00:26:49,160
Speaker 1: it's everything, do you every My mind always plays tricks

458
00:26:49,240 --> 00:26:53,280
Speaker 1: on me. In some mornings, I wake up and, uh,

459
00:26:53,960 --> 00:26:57,080
Speaker 1: you know, I think God, life is so beautiful and

460
00:26:57,720 --> 00:27:02,199
Speaker 1: I'm the most blessed man and you know, wonderful. And

461
00:27:02,240 --> 00:27:04,600
Speaker 1: then there are mornings when I wake up and I

462
00:27:04,600 --> 00:27:10,520
Speaker 1: I hate myself. I think you're just the most selfish,

463
00:27:11,000 --> 00:27:16,399
Speaker 1: self centered motherfucker. People only like you because you have money.

464
00:27:16,600 --> 00:27:20,160
Speaker 1: I have those days, they are not I have more

465
00:27:20,200 --> 00:27:22,960
Speaker 1: of the good days. But are the bad days connected

466
00:27:22,960 --> 00:27:25,080
Speaker 1: to saying I could have a drink today or it's

467
00:27:25,080 --> 00:27:28,680
Speaker 1: not like that? Eventually, if you allow yourself to wallow

468
00:27:28,760 --> 00:27:31,639
Speaker 1: and that, you will head in the wrong direction. So

469
00:27:31,680 --> 00:27:34,800
Speaker 1: I like to say, you know, am I headed shorts

470
00:27:34,840 --> 00:27:37,280
Speaker 1: a drink or away from a drink today? You know?

471
00:27:37,920 --> 00:27:43,280
Speaker 1: And you know, it's a good little sort of internal question.

472
00:27:43,760 --> 00:27:46,480
Speaker 1: And uh, and the pandemic has been tough. You know,

473
00:27:46,520 --> 00:27:48,720
Speaker 1: it's been tough because you had a lot of time alone.

474
00:27:49,440 --> 00:27:52,240
Speaker 1: And I thought about that for people very beginning. I thought, Hey,

475
00:27:52,280 --> 00:27:54,840
Speaker 1: where are people going to get it? People were desperate

476
00:27:54,840 --> 00:27:58,399
Speaker 1: in the beginning of where to get their fixed? Super

477
00:27:58,440 --> 00:28:01,320
Speaker 1: desperate and crazy. I thought about at the beginning, Yeah,

478
00:28:01,400 --> 00:28:03,120
Speaker 1: it's been it's been a dark time. And you don't

479
00:28:03,119 --> 00:28:06,760
Speaker 1: think about every pocket of how emotionally our minds have

480
00:28:06,800 --> 00:28:09,120
Speaker 1: played tricks on us. You feel depressed, you feel a malaise,

481
00:28:09,160 --> 00:28:11,440
Speaker 1: you feel blah, you don't know what's going on. It's

482
00:28:11,440 --> 00:28:13,080
Speaker 1: been a really hard time. And yeah, it is good

483
00:28:13,080 --> 00:28:14,560
Speaker 1: that there were places for people to get help. But

484
00:28:14,920 --> 00:28:16,679
Speaker 1: I thought about what it would be like to be

485
00:28:16,920 --> 00:28:20,960
Speaker 1: using and to in the pandemic. You can hide trying

486
00:28:21,040 --> 00:28:24,800
Speaker 1: to You could hide, but you'd have to procure your

487
00:28:24,920 --> 00:28:28,320
Speaker 1: drug of choice. And I actually thought about, Oh my god,

488
00:28:28,440 --> 00:28:32,800
Speaker 1: that's gotta be just so awful. And so I'm so grateful.

489
00:28:32,960 --> 00:28:36,040
Speaker 1: It's not something I'm ashamed of. I think it's honorable

490
00:28:36,040 --> 00:28:37,840
Speaker 1: that you talk about it. I think you have to

491
00:28:37,880 --> 00:28:52,360
Speaker 1: talk about your flaws. So was your low point um

492
00:28:52,400 --> 00:28:56,440
Speaker 1: getting into trouble and going away, or was your low

493
00:28:56,480 --> 00:28:59,840
Speaker 1: point your addiction or they all intertwined, and what was

494
00:28:59,880 --> 00:29:02,200
Speaker 1: your high point? Like, what's the most successful thing you've

495
00:29:02,240 --> 00:29:04,800
Speaker 1: ever done, besides having kids. I'm sure that's the joy

496
00:29:04,840 --> 00:29:07,240
Speaker 1: of your life. And you can mention that. Obviously, let's

497
00:29:07,240 --> 00:29:10,360
Speaker 1: take kids out, because having kids is the greatest thing

498
00:29:10,440 --> 00:29:15,280
Speaker 1: for me. But certainly when I opened, uh my first story,

499
00:29:15,320 --> 00:29:21,040
Speaker 1: big yeah, yeah, bigger than public, Yeah, public was it was.

500
00:29:21,760 --> 00:29:23,720
Speaker 1: It was a little bit more ephemeral. I mean, you

501
00:29:23,720 --> 00:29:25,959
Speaker 1: you go public and then your public, and then all

502
00:29:25,960 --> 00:29:29,040
Speaker 1: of a sudden that's becomes It's not so it's not

503
00:29:29,080 --> 00:29:32,120
Speaker 1: a big deal. Not to be corny, but I was

504
00:29:32,200 --> 00:29:37,120
Speaker 1: so proud of my team and my company during the pandemic.

505
00:29:37,720 --> 00:29:39,280
Speaker 1: I feel like we're headed out of it now, but

506
00:29:39,960 --> 00:29:45,840
Speaker 1: you know, the company, it was devastating, you know when

507
00:29:45,840 --> 00:29:48,240
Speaker 1: we went into it's like all of a sudden, stores

508
00:29:48,280 --> 00:29:51,600
Speaker 1: are closed all over the world. You know, it was devastating.

509
00:29:51,960 --> 00:29:57,240
Speaker 1: You were scared, you're actually nervous. I was, uh, not

510
00:29:57,400 --> 00:30:02,160
Speaker 1: as nervous as Look, I had money in the bed,

511
00:30:02,280 --> 00:30:05,240
Speaker 1: so I knew that I'd be okay. So and I

512
00:30:05,280 --> 00:30:12,120
Speaker 1: know that's you know, I've what's going on. No, no, no,

513
00:30:12,200 --> 00:30:13,880
Speaker 1: but but I you don't have to think like that.

514
00:30:14,200 --> 00:30:19,480
Speaker 1: My kids could be okay. But but then the company

515
00:30:19,960 --> 00:30:24,400
Speaker 1: has just been through almost it's like a nuclear attack

516
00:30:24,480 --> 00:30:29,280
Speaker 1: on this and my company. This company we are. We've

517
00:30:29,320 --> 00:30:31,720
Speaker 1: got through the pandemic, and we went through the worst

518
00:30:31,760 --> 00:30:34,960
Speaker 1: of it. We stayed with it. We opened in shifts.

519
00:30:35,640 --> 00:30:39,440
Speaker 1: We're still not open fully. And the team that I

520
00:30:39,480 --> 00:30:43,120
Speaker 1: worked with, we built great shoes. We shifted to the internet,

521
00:30:43,240 --> 00:30:45,800
Speaker 1: you know, the focus, we shifted to so many things.

522
00:30:45,920 --> 00:30:49,960
Speaker 1: I am so proud of my company right now that

523
00:30:50,000 --> 00:30:53,200
Speaker 1: we have been through this thing. We didn't take any

524
00:30:53,240 --> 00:30:57,520
Speaker 1: any money from the government, and you know, we flourished

525
00:30:57,640 --> 00:31:01,320
Speaker 1: and we're stronger than we've ever been. Here. We are

526
00:31:02,320 --> 00:31:06,640
Speaker 1: in April two one, and I'm stronger today than I've

527
00:31:06,680 --> 00:31:11,720
Speaker 1: ever been. And we have been through a retail absolutely

528
00:31:12,040 --> 00:31:15,920
Speaker 1: no scenario. Stores all over the world at eighteen stores,

529
00:31:16,400 --> 00:31:20,560
Speaker 1: eighteen stores in Israel, closed stores in Dubai, closed stores

530
00:31:20,600 --> 00:31:25,960
Speaker 1: in Europe closed. Uh, just devastating. And my partners, uh,

531
00:31:26,600 --> 00:31:30,320
Speaker 1: you know, Nordstrom went through the same things, Macy's and

532
00:31:31,960 --> 00:31:35,680
Speaker 1: you know, the government, you know, the stimulus was helpful

533
00:31:35,720 --> 00:31:39,440
Speaker 1: and we're getting through it and but we didn't lose

534
00:31:39,480 --> 00:31:43,640
Speaker 1: our Yeah. Everyone, the takeaway here is that you got

535
00:31:43,680 --> 00:31:46,120
Speaker 1: you get stunned like a deer for two minutes. You

536
00:31:46,160 --> 00:31:49,120
Speaker 1: cannot live in that. You need to grab the steering.

537
00:31:49,160 --> 00:31:51,600
Speaker 1: We are really tight because you're going you know you're

538
00:31:51,600 --> 00:31:53,640
Speaker 1: gonna be on a rocky road. But you just don't

539
00:31:53,720 --> 00:31:55,760
Speaker 1: let go and you take a breath and you figure

540
00:31:55,800 --> 00:32:00,160
Speaker 1: out what you're gonna do. Because where there's where they're stress,

541
00:32:00,440 --> 00:32:02,760
Speaker 1: there's relief somewhere else. You just have to figure out

542
00:32:02,840 --> 00:32:04,480
Speaker 1: where it is. And I think this is going to

543
00:32:04,600 --> 00:32:07,440
Speaker 1: be a gold rush and that seeds were planted during

544
00:32:07,440 --> 00:32:10,400
Speaker 1: the pandemic that will grow into trees and flowers afterwards.

545
00:32:10,560 --> 00:32:13,160
Speaker 1: If you sat there panicked and didn't move and be nimble,

546
00:32:13,560 --> 00:32:14,960
Speaker 1: that's not going to be great. But that's why the

547
00:32:14,960 --> 00:32:18,000
Speaker 1: word pivot has been to popular words shift. People restructured,

548
00:32:18,120 --> 00:32:20,400
Speaker 1: people realize how many people they really need to have

549
00:32:20,440 --> 00:32:22,560
Speaker 1: working for them, how much they have to don't be

550
00:32:22,560 --> 00:32:24,600
Speaker 1: on an airplane and go to a hotel and change

551
00:32:24,600 --> 00:32:27,280
Speaker 1: your business, so there's still time to figure out how

552
00:32:27,280 --> 00:32:31,000
Speaker 1: to restructure, regroup, and you know, just reorganized. So that's

553
00:32:31,000 --> 00:32:34,160
Speaker 1: what I think, and in every way, real estate, online

554
00:32:34,200 --> 00:32:37,080
Speaker 1: e comm or social media, retail like it all has

555
00:32:37,200 --> 00:32:39,480
Speaker 1: changed and it won't. You can't sleep on it either

556
00:32:39,520 --> 00:32:41,160
Speaker 1: because it's not gonna come back, and then we can't

557
00:32:41,160 --> 00:32:43,480
Speaker 1: be not prepared for that. So it's a good time

558
00:32:43,520 --> 00:32:46,720
Speaker 1: to really just assess and be nimble. That's what I think.

559
00:32:46,920 --> 00:32:49,520
Speaker 1: So what made you go public besides like and not

560
00:32:49,600 --> 00:32:51,920
Speaker 1: sell your company and how much of your company do

561
00:32:51,920 --> 00:32:53,680
Speaker 1: you own? What are you what's your title? Like? I

562
00:32:53,720 --> 00:32:55,800
Speaker 1: don't really know about that kind of stuff. So it

563
00:32:55,880 --> 00:32:58,280
Speaker 1: was a little different because we went public with Strattonoma,

564
00:32:58,600 --> 00:33:00,680
Speaker 1: which is the famous world of Wall shot out some

565
00:33:00,880 --> 00:33:06,600
Speaker 1: little shenanigans and all of that. Um chief creative, it's

566
00:33:06,640 --> 00:33:10,080
Speaker 1: a little lofty, the chief chief creator. I was forced

567
00:33:10,120 --> 00:33:13,360
Speaker 1: to resign as the CEO, and I had a seven

568
00:33:13,440 --> 00:33:22,400
Speaker 1: year ban and uh that started in the sec ban me.

569
00:33:22,720 --> 00:33:26,760
Speaker 1: And so when the seven years was up, uh fast

570
00:33:26,800 --> 00:33:29,800
Speaker 1: forward to two thousand eight or nine or whatever it was,

571
00:33:29,880 --> 00:33:35,280
Speaker 1: I I thought, I got this amazing CEO. I hired

572
00:33:35,320 --> 00:33:40,120
Speaker 1: this young guy that's a whiz fantastic, gets me, gets

573
00:33:40,160 --> 00:33:44,360
Speaker 1: the company, and you know, and I was able to

574
00:33:45,760 --> 00:33:48,000
Speaker 1: because I was forced to do it. And it was

575
00:33:48,040 --> 00:33:54,720
Speaker 1: a terrible CEO emotional screaming the worst, you guy. You know,

576
00:33:55,200 --> 00:33:59,880
Speaker 1: So I was able to be Steve and have others

577
00:34:00,080 --> 00:34:03,800
Speaker 1: run the other stuff, and we were wating. We're able

578
00:34:03,800 --> 00:34:07,200
Speaker 1: to let go and build your foundation properly and delegate

579
00:34:07,400 --> 00:34:09,359
Speaker 1: and just let someone be better than you at that

580
00:34:09,880 --> 00:34:14,680
Speaker 1: finding someone doesn't mean pluck um. We should. We should.

581
00:34:15,040 --> 00:34:17,520
Speaker 1: Here's a good show that we could do on letting go.

582
00:34:18,040 --> 00:34:20,920
Speaker 1: But that's it's not easy for someone like me to

583
00:34:21,000 --> 00:34:24,640
Speaker 1: not run everything same. But until you find the right

584
00:34:24,680 --> 00:34:26,360
Speaker 1: people to do it, it's not that easy, and you

585
00:34:26,360 --> 00:34:29,200
Speaker 1: have to stop down the rocket ship. It's reminds you

586
00:34:29,239 --> 00:34:32,800
Speaker 1: of there is a saying, you know, when the student

587
00:34:33,000 --> 00:34:36,520
Speaker 1: is ready, the teacher will appear perfect. All right, Well,

588
00:34:36,760 --> 00:34:39,560
Speaker 1: and uh so that's sort of a I love it.

589
00:34:39,760 --> 00:34:41,880
Speaker 1: So the last thing I want to ask is, so

590
00:34:41,960 --> 00:34:46,319
Speaker 1: you've had astronomical success um in the fashion world, in

591
00:34:46,360 --> 00:34:52,480
Speaker 1: the business world. You're very very charismatic, successful role model,

592
00:34:52,600 --> 00:34:55,879
Speaker 1: business story. And you give back. It's undeniable. You give

593
00:34:55,920 --> 00:34:59,440
Speaker 1: back your philanthropist. So even the things that have been

594
00:34:59,440 --> 00:35:03,040
Speaker 1: the worst things in my life, I genuinely do not regret. Yeah,

595
00:35:03,080 --> 00:35:05,799
Speaker 1: so do you have do you regret with those your

596
00:35:05,880 --> 00:35:08,239
Speaker 1: low points or your low points also contributing to your

597
00:35:08,280 --> 00:35:11,279
Speaker 1: high points. Well, sure, I mean, you know, every you're

598
00:35:11,320 --> 00:35:13,680
Speaker 1: on a path and everything leads you to somewhere. And

599
00:35:13,760 --> 00:35:18,080
Speaker 1: that's the one answer that I have given. Certainly, I

600
00:35:18,120 --> 00:35:22,880
Speaker 1: regret some of my behavior I couldn't. I'm glad I

601
00:35:22,920 --> 00:35:28,880
Speaker 1: was able to get sober. Uh. I regret the some

602
00:35:29,040 --> 00:35:32,319
Speaker 1: of being so shortsighted with this in the Stratton Oak

603
00:35:32,440 --> 00:35:37,160
Speaker 1: month phase. I regret that I was fearful and took

604
00:35:37,200 --> 00:35:43,600
Speaker 1: shortcuts and I was so intoxicated by I mean, if

605
00:35:43,600 --> 00:35:47,400
Speaker 1: you saw the movie, you know that whole bit. So

606
00:35:47,440 --> 00:35:51,680
Speaker 1: I do regret. I do regret my behavior, and I

607
00:35:51,760 --> 00:35:54,840
Speaker 1: certainly wish I was more successful in my marriage. I

608
00:35:54,960 --> 00:36:04,760
Speaker 1: regret that. And uh so I definitely have regrets. And yeah,

609
00:36:04,840 --> 00:36:09,160
Speaker 1: I mean I do. I'm I'm I'm happy. All the

610
00:36:09,200 --> 00:36:13,399
Speaker 1: pain and suffering kind of leads you to somewhere and

611
00:36:13,520 --> 00:36:15,360
Speaker 1: you're happy. Now. You sound like you're in a good place.

612
00:36:15,760 --> 00:36:19,680
Speaker 1: I am. I am happy most days. Yes, I'm happy

613
00:36:19,760 --> 00:36:22,959
Speaker 1: right now talking to you. Yeah, I'm happy to what's

614
00:36:22,960 --> 00:36:25,040
Speaker 1: your what's your mantra? And maybe it may have changed,

615
00:36:25,080 --> 00:36:28,680
Speaker 1: but what is your sort of blanket statement? Oh my god,

616
00:36:28,880 --> 00:36:32,760
Speaker 1: you know what I could answer this question on different days,

617
00:36:32,800 --> 00:36:37,560
Speaker 1: in different ways. Every day, what's today? I just I

618
00:36:37,640 --> 00:36:43,160
Speaker 1: believe in showing up. You know, we're talking to entrepreneurs

619
00:36:43,160 --> 00:36:45,640
Speaker 1: out there that are going to be listening that young

620
00:36:45,640 --> 00:36:51,280
Speaker 1: women that admire you, and you know, I really believe

621
00:36:51,280 --> 00:36:57,200
Speaker 1: in showing up. I believe in doing the next thing. Um,

622
00:36:57,239 --> 00:37:00,920
Speaker 1: some people say do the next right thing. I don't

623
00:37:00,960 --> 00:37:04,520
Speaker 1: necessarily believe that, because one never knows what is the

624
00:37:04,600 --> 00:37:09,920
Speaker 1: right thing. But if you keep showing up, putting yourself

625
00:37:09,960 --> 00:37:19,120
Speaker 1: in position to have things happen for you in whatever aspect, intellectually,

626
00:37:20,880 --> 00:37:24,120
Speaker 1: business wise, sexually, whatever it is, just keep showing up,

627
00:37:24,200 --> 00:37:26,920
Speaker 1: you know. I mean, I really believe it's important. I

628
00:37:27,000 --> 00:37:28,839
Speaker 1: love that, and no one said that yet. I love that.

629
00:37:28,840 --> 00:37:30,960
Speaker 1: That's good showing up and it's something very tangible. So

630
00:37:31,040 --> 00:37:33,319
Speaker 1: I appreciate that in every way. That'd be somebody who

631
00:37:33,320 --> 00:37:36,479
Speaker 1: shows up for everything. You're amazing. I'm glad I watched

632
00:37:36,520 --> 00:37:38,719
Speaker 1: the documentary. I'm glad it made me think of calling you.

633
00:37:38,719 --> 00:37:40,840
Speaker 1: I already had you on the list, but this is

634
00:37:40,880 --> 00:37:43,239
Speaker 1: exciting and you have a great story, and um, I'm

635
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Speaker 1: so let's talk to you, and thanks for taking the time.

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Speaker 1: You're very busy, Yes, good to see you. Steve Madden

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Speaker 1: has a documentary out which I know him perfectly, but

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Speaker 1: I know him, I have his phone number, we've met before.

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00:37:59,840 --> 00:38:03,560
Speaker 1: That's a major brand and international brand, and people here

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00:38:03,800 --> 00:38:05,440
Speaker 1: that I want to have on you may not be

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00:38:05,480 --> 00:38:08,239
Speaker 1: thinking about every day. You know. It's like somebody unexpected

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00:38:08,239 --> 00:38:09,759
Speaker 1: and then all of a sudden you say to yourself, Wow,

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00:38:09,840 --> 00:38:12,799
Speaker 1: yeah that's right, Steven Man. Those shoes are everywhere, and

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00:38:12,840 --> 00:38:15,640
Speaker 1: how did that happen? Who is that person behind it?

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Speaker 1: That's a lot of what makes me tick. And I

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Speaker 1: love doing this so much because I'll read information on

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00:38:22,560 --> 00:38:26,600
Speaker 1: people that I even know. Um And he's insightful. He's

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00:38:26,760 --> 00:38:29,880
Speaker 1: honest about where he's come from, about where he's going,

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00:38:30,000 --> 00:38:33,520
Speaker 1: what he's doing, about parenting, about addiction, about going to jail,

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00:38:33,600 --> 00:38:39,040
Speaker 1: about going public, about humanity, about philanthropy. He helps people

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00:38:39,040 --> 00:38:42,760
Speaker 1: who have been incarcerated. Uh, he gives back a lot.

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Speaker 1: And I just think these stories continue to be more

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00:38:45,719 --> 00:38:49,160
Speaker 1: deep intertwined. And if you listen to this podcast, you're

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00:38:49,200 --> 00:38:51,360
Speaker 1: going to get something different from each person, and you

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00:38:51,400 --> 00:38:54,600
Speaker 1: can combine all of those things together into your own

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00:38:54,760 --> 00:38:59,960
Speaker 1: entrepreneurial and personal puzzle. So I appreciate you for listening, grate, review,

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00:39:00,120 --> 00:39:04,120
Speaker 1: and subscribe. Ah, and we keep going. It's keeps getting

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Speaker 1: better and better. Just B is hosted and executive produced

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Speaker 1: by me, Bethany Frankel. Just Be as a production of

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Speaker 1: Be Real Productions and I Heart Radio. Our Managing Producer

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00:39:21,000 --> 00:39:23,880
Speaker 1: is Fiona Smith, and our producer is Stephanie Stender. Our

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00:39:23,960 --> 00:39:27,399
Speaker 1: EP is Morgan Levoy. To catch more moments from the show,

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Speaker 1: follow us on Instagram at just Be with Bethany