Steve Madden: Overcoming Addiction & Building An Empire

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When segregation was a law, one mysterious black club owner, Charlie Fitzgerald, had his own rules. Segregation in the day, integration at night. It was like stepping on another world. Was he a businessman? A criminal? A hero? Charlie was an example of power. They had to crush him. Charlie's Place, from Atlas Obscura and Visit Myrtle Beach. Listen to Charlie's Place on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Your story's not always written for you at the beginning. It's like, you could have went in a completely different direction. I could have died too. You know, drugs and alcohol kill. I like to reach out to young people if I can to not throw in the towel in their 20s. If they get going out and getting fucked up and being foolish and, you know, it's not too late to turn it around. Thanks for watching, guys. Today's episode is brought to you by Boost Mobile. We're rolling. Okay, our entrepreneur is here. Uh-oh. An entrepreneur and award-winning designer, a business titan, with a company currently worth over $3 billion. He is also a devoted family man, a provocative shoe designer. He is nothing but an inspiration. Oh, God. You are. You also happen to be Brittany, my executive producer of the podcast. She worked at Steve Manning. Oh, no way. You kind of happen to be her boss. You were her boss before I was her boss. Okay. Steve Madden is here Okay yay Alright Shoes The shoe tights Okay yes Is that how you think of yourself? No How do you think of yourself? When you see your Oh god that's such a deep question I don't know How do I think of myself? Is that too soon? Too soon? No no it's okay It's all good you know You know Because your name is beyond you Yes It's like bigger than you Well sometimes I mean at the end At the end of the day We're all the same We're look in the mirror and we see pimples and, and, you know, we think we're fat and, you know, or whatever it is. And so, yeah, every once in a while, that's cool. I'm Steve Madden, but mostly it's, you know, throw out the garbage, you know, throw out the garbage. That's it. It's mostly that. You know, it's so funny whenever we book somebody, you know, we had this Barbara Corcoran was on recently and then I would see this, her buildings, all of a sudden I noticed every building that she had in New York city. So the same thing with you, I knew you were coming and it's like, there's a steve madden store like i feel like on every corner i know it's not every corner but there's a lot of them there's a lot of them i was just spending some time in miami they're all over florida they're all over new york what does that feel like to you when you drive past uh do you even i get a real big kick out of seeing people wear my shoes that's fun more than yeah more than well the stores are good but then i think about you know how are they running and all of that So not that I don't enjoy all of this. I do. I'm happy. I've been through a lot. But it's like it lasts four seconds, that little euphoria, and then life is- You're on to real life. Yeah, I think so. Our kids. My kid goes to school. She looks sloppy. She looks clean. Is she wearing Steve Madden's? Most of the time. Sometimes not. Sometimes not. Does it piss you off? It causes me pain. Yeah, I was going to say, does it piss you off? It is a sore point. how dare she yeah and my son doesn't always wear steve madden which really drives me crazy what does he what does he wear sneakers he wears margella sneakers i know it's unbelievable and he fibs to me and we're gonna be in an elevator i said well whose shoes are those and he's 18 and he says they're yours steve madden but then i find out they're margella oh no the disrespect in your own home i know it's unbelievable but but it's fascinating really i I can't imagine for you when you make the design issues and you walk around the city because you're still in the city, right? You live in New York. I live in New York. Yeah. So you're walking around New York and every like one out of how many people have a pair of shoes? Oh, I don't know. I see the bags around a lot. Yeah. The bags are everywhere. The bags are everywhere. The shoes are everywhere. Yes. Like you went to the Knicks game last night. Are you sitting at the garden looking at people's feet? I do. Yeah. I always look at people's feet. I've been in the shoe business since I'm 17 years old. Yeah. And that's my life. And so I often, when I shake someone's hand, I always look down. And I don't know if people notice it. I'm sure it's weird. Yeah. But I do. I can't help it. That's really funny. That's what I do. What is that like? Because I've interviewed a lot of artists, music artists, and I always hear stories of people like when they first started rapping, they would sell their mixtapes out of the backseat of their trunk. They would sell mixtapes. But I don't know anybody who's done the shoe hustle out of the trunk. I did that. You did that. You know, what is the shoe hustle? And I, it's so funny because that's why I did have a few friends in the music business. Yeah. And I sort of, you know, I sort of connected with that hustling kind of vibe. Mentality. You know, yeah. Yeah. I was good friends with a couple of guys. With Irv, right? With Irv Gotti. With Irv Gotti, yes. Irv Gotti. I was thinking about him today. I miss him so much. Me too. And I can't believe he's not here anymore. And, but he, you know, he has that, he had that, they would, you know, they come from that school. The hustler spirit. The hustler spirit. Yeah. I used to go to games with Irv and Ja Rule. They were great. We had so much fun. Yeah. Take me to your time though. Take me, who is that guy who's selling shoes out of the trunk of the car? Who are you? What age are you? So I worked for a company when I was in my 20s. And then I went on my own in my 30s. Yeah. And I just started with one shoe. There was a little factory in East New York in the middle of a tough neighborhood. And I would just make – I started with what I could do. What I mean by that is I didn't have a lot of money, so it couldn't be like a startup. I started with one shoe. I would go to the stores. I would sell the shoe. Are you being serious, like one shoe? I actually started with one shoe. It was a little clog. Yes. And I had a bankroll, and I carried it in my pocket. And I had a couple of employees, and I used to pay them every day. At the end of the day, here's 60 bucks, here's 80 bucks, every single day. And what were they running around doing for you? No, I'm just saying I had a driver was my first employee. Because I had 22 DWIs. So I had no license. So I had a driver. A guy worked in my building where I lived in the village. so I had a driver and we'd go and we'd sell the shoes and then you know and it just started like that it really just you just start you know where you can and built up bankroll there's really something to that I mean obviously there was 1000 steps in between and the ups and downs and all that but there's really something about yeah that moment for so many people who have an idea have a dream have a thing it's like yeah do the one start get the one get the one shoe yes that is exactly right or do the one thing a lot of people you know people have i you know just hear like the word startup so i get this idea of like an office with a lot of like desks right and it's a startup i don't i don't actually know what it means they get some money and they start up but for me it was to take a hot shoe, a shoe, and get it into stores. I had connections with the stores from my previous job. And they bought the shoe and they reordered the shoe. And then I had two shoes. You put a label on it? Steve Madden, yeah. And then it just multiplied. And then from that point to today, that's how many years now? It's 36. This will be the 36 years. It started in 1990. Wow. Yeah, it's almost about 36 years. Does that even feel like you still? Or does it feel like, I don't know. It's like a story at this point, right? It's so long ago. It's a story. It is a story. But it's me and I'm still a hustler. And I'm older and wealthier and maybe less insecure. I'm lucky that I could be on a show like yours. And these are things that I never really talk about since I don't have a psychiatrist anymore. but you know, I feel like for me, like, I feel like, okay, I got kids and I'm feeding my kids like a hunter gatherer, you know, in my mind. And you know, I, that's it. I'm getting up. I'm going to take care of my family. I'm going to feed them. And I know that sounds a little primitive and, but for me, it helps me. It keeps me going during the day. It's not about me. I got to take care of these three kids and ex-wife and ex-girlfriends and all that. You know what I'm saying? But that's what I do. So that's the motivation now. Because back then your motivation was what? To make money, to be successful, to beat your demons? Because I know a lot of your story. I know that you've been through trauma and addictions and loss. Addiction, yes. I mean, addiction itself. Yes. It's not a small thing. It's not a small thing. It's a blurb in your book, in the cover of your book, and it talks about you. But addiction is sometimes people's whole story. You know, that's so smart, what you're saying. It doesn't have to be your whole story, but it's definitely part of my story. But it doesn't have to be the whole story. It's just so – it's hard to explain it to people. it's considered substance abuse as a disease by the textbooks now and when you're in it it's hard to get out of it you know and liken it to you know sometimes like diarrhea let's just say I know this is awful but you can't will yourself to stop like I'm gonna just not go to the bathroom but that's the way it is getting high wow you know you oh wow yeah you know it's kind of like that and and when you're in it it's it's really almost impossible to get out of it and uh it's it's uh you know but had you beaten the addiction at the early stages of your like the trunk out the trunk the trunk days that's when i started getting sober the trunk days yeah you know um yes you can get sober one can get sober it can happen what is it if i can get sober yeah anybody can get sober because what is the thing What do you attribute that to? How? You know, I go to, I have places that I go where people like me and we, you know, and that's what we do. You know, it's, yeah, you have to surround yourself with healthy people. Is it still an ongoing? Absolutely. Forever. Yes. Yes. It's ongoing. Yes. Does that stick with you through like, I don't know, you've had so many highs, awards, success, money. No, seriously. It's not a small thing. People work there. You know, it's a big thing. Money, money, money, money. People, listen. I know. Well, if you, you know. Money is a real thing. It's a real thing. And money cannot make you happy. Yeah. Can't cure addiction. It can't cure addiction and it cannot make you happy. You can buy. Resources? You can buy things and you can be comfortable with money, but money itself will not make you happier. It will not. But of course, because it's sort of an inside job. You know what I mean? Yeah. And the other thing is, it occurs to me that sometimes it can depress people in a way because you think, okay, well, once I get this, I'm going to be good. And then you get it and then it's like, wait, I still feel like shit. What's going on here? And so then it can be a little bit depressing in a way. like probably post-partum probably could set people back to their addiction yeah well you know you could say like i thought i was going to be so happy you know yeah but um i'm thinking about like somebody that's a movie maker or whatever you know i mean and they have let's say a lot of money but i think at the they want to make money but they also want to make good movies you know so and i feel that way i want to make money but i want to make good shoes and i want to have a great company because I have money now, you know, so. So now the goal is good shoes. Yeah, I mean, the goal is to have a great business and live sort of a healthy life, you know. I mean, I don't mean eat kale, you know what I mean? That would suck. I mean, like, you know, sort of live sort of a healthier, make healthier choices. What is that for you? What does that look like for you? Less, no temper tantrums. Do you know what I mean? I used to lose my temper a lot. And, you know, stuff like that. And also knowing that a lot of things have nothing to do with you. So, you know, when you're not really healthy, every kind of little thing, you get insulted easily. you know somebody doesn't answer your phone or doesn't text you right back you know and a lot of things have nothing to do with you so if you can live your life like that that's for me that's just me yeah you know and you learn that you know they're not even thinking about me they're just it's not an insult you know this has nothing to do with me you know that's the that's the that's the message that's like that's very important yeah you know but certain you know i've been in that place where everything's about me, you know, everything's about me all the time, you know. And so we talk about you know freedom from the bondage of self you know And so being healthy is kind of like that It kind of like not everything is about me And don't get insulted over every little thing that goes on. I mean, you know people like that. Oh, yeah. They get insulted about every little thing. And sometimes you're with them and go, why are they upset? Did I say something? What did I do? And I hate that. But I could be that guy, you know. I mean, yeah, but you're trying to not be. I could be that guy. You're trying to be better. I'm pissed off all day. But you're trying to be better. Well, I'm trying to be happier. Yeah, I'm trying to be. I don't know better, but I'm trying to I'm trying to be happier and I'm trying to, you know, it's good to learn about stuff, too. Yeah. But not everybody needs. Today's show is brought to you by our presenting sponsor, Hard Rock Bet, Florida sports book. 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Boss. Yes. Well, yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. People expect you to have the answers to a lot of things. We have a big company today and there's a lot of layers. So I don't know everybody. I used to know everybody in the company. I just wonder what that feels like to have to be a leader of so many people. The funny thing is, in some ways, it's the opposite. Many of the guys and women and men that work for me don't always listen to me. so and i go why are they listening to me you know and so uh if you had more some people like me in business you'd find that that's a very common thing yeah that they don't well that will require you to hire well i've hired so well that's really one of the yeah one of the keys to my success i've been very lucky i picked a lot of smart people what is the secret what is the secret sauce what is the thing because there's a lot of shoe companies a lot of like what is the steve madden secret sauce that lets you have this much success for so long there is no secret sauce we work hard uh we move quick speed product you know we we we have a north star in our company uh all the people that i work with have this this we know so i always say like Take care of the product first and the money will come. That's sort of the way I believe. I don't really get too hung up on that. Of course, making money, profit's very important. But the first thing is make sure you have good shoes. That's what we do. That's what it is. And when you go into design, even now. Yeah, we're trying to make shoes that people want to buy. That's what I want to make. That's it. Yeah, I'm not interested in making shoes people don't want to buy. But you serve as a very specific customer too, right? It's like you chose accessibility, right? You chose to be able to be affordable. Yeah. Because you could have designed, I'm sure. I don't know. You don't think you could have designed? I'm not sure. A $1,000 shoe? I've always been in the same thing. I make shoes that are not too cheap, not too expensive. It's a sweet spot. It really is. It's a nice spot. It's a nice spot. No, you know, I don't know if I could. I don't really know if I could. You've never thought about that? Come on. Well, you know, it's a different ballgame. It's just a different thing. Jay-Z had a famous Steve Madden line. I wonder how you felt about that line. You know, I was in prison when that happened. Oh, my goodness. I was. How did you take that? Well. Because you could take it good or bad. I couldn't care less. I'm happy, you know, I was just in prison and he mentioned me and, you know, everybody was talking about it. and I actually met him at a party and I told him about it and he laughed at my face. No, he didn't. He did. I don't know if he was, heard me, we were at a party, he was with Beyonce, she was so nice. She's lovely. She really was so lovely, so sweet. Well, how did you handle it? What did you say? And I said, I got to tell you a story and I told him the story and he just giggled and laughed at my face. that's all he had did you that was it did you offer any feeling about it i was trying to like talk to him about it but like he wasn't it wasn't the time it wasn't the time but his wife was lovely yeah but so what so you're in prison yeah it came out it was a thing yeah it was a thing then how did you feel about that it was fine it was good he mentioned yeah he mentioned the brand and it was fine and uh you know it was no big deal but uh i wanted to like talk to him like jay-z What would you have said? I don't know. It's like I was in prison. You helped me out. Everybody treated me so great. Thanks to you. You wanted to have your moment. Yeah, and he wasn't going for it. He wasn't going for it. Maybe it wasn't the time. Maybe it wasn't the time, Steve. I'm sure he was busy doing what he does. I feel like there was a whole bunch of other lyrics too. I feel like you've been mentioned. Yeah, I met all those guys. Yeah, I met Nas. That was fun. How was that? It was cool. Yeah. I met Nas, I met T.I. I took a plane ride with T.I. The plane? I like T.I.'s music, by the way. Okay. Well, that was big also when I was away. Oh, yes. That sound, you know, You Don't Know Me, all those songs. Yeah. I really liked it. I tried to tell him that too, but I had him on a plane with me, so he couldn't get away from me. You had his full attention. Yeah, I had his full attention. What was that time like for you? uh it was a heartbreaking uh heartbreaking moment and you're already your shoes are already i'm already hot everybody knows who i am not like not like i am today but uh you know it was 20 years ago and uh it is the doing of the time it's not the it's not terrible i mean it's not like going to St. Regis Hotel. It's terrible. But actually, you get in a groove. You're surviving. You're doing your thing. You're working out. You're reading. Having some laughs with the guys. And you're getting through the day. But the heartbreaking thing is that all the stuff's going on outside. People are falling in love and having children and eating steak. Moving on with their lives. moving on and you think it's like being dead you know it's kind of like being dead like this is what death is like only i'm not dead but you know like everybody's out there doing their thing and uh you're you know and especially after visiting day you know people would come to see me and then they would go one way and i would go back to my little cube yeah you know it's like And my heart would break as I would walk back. You know, I would have this sadness, you know, that everybody's going to something and I'm going back and reading People magazine or something. But, you know, I mean. Segregation in the day, integration at night. When segregation was the law, one mysterious black club owner had his own rules. We didn't worry about what went on outside. It was like stepping on another world. Inside Charlie's place, black and white people danced together. But not everyone was happy about it. You saw the KKK? Yeah, they were dressed up in their uniform. The KKK set out to raid Charlie, take him away from here. Charlie was an example of power. They had to crush him. From Atlas Obscura, Rococo Punch, and Visit Myrtle Beach comes Charlie's Place, a story that was nearly lost to time. Until now. Listen to Charlie's Place on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is Ryder Strong with a podcast called The Red Weather. In 1995, my neighbor, Anna Trainor, disappeared from a commune. It was nature and trees and praying and drugs. No, I am not your guru. Back then, I lied to everybody. They have had this case for 30 years. I'm going back to my hometown to uncover the truth. You can now binge all episodes of The Red Weather on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. An ambitious, well-intentioned, ferocious, and wealthy mother looks like in the Black community. This Women's History Month, the podcast Keep It Positive, Sweetie, celebrates the power of women choosing healing, purpose, and faith, even when life gets messy. Love is not a destination. You have to work on it every day. Keep It Positive, Sweetie creates space for honest conversations on self-worth, love, growth, and navigating life with grace and grit, led by women who uplift, inspire, and tell the truth out loud. I have several conversations with God and I know why it took 20 years. To hear this and more, listen to Keep It Positive, Sweetie, on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. It's the new me and it's the old them. Everybody's on their journey and your journey is different to theirs. This Woman's History Month, the podcast, If You Knew Better with Amber Grimes, spotlights women who turn missteps into momentum and lessons into power. I think coming out of where I came from, I'm from the Bronx. I think I grew up really poor. I didn't know that then because I very much use my creativity to romanticize life. And I'm like, my mom did a really good job of like, you step back and you're like, whoa, we, I don't know how we made it. So a lot of my life was like built out of like survival to get to the next place. Like my drive, my like tunnel vision of like, I got to be better. I got to achieve this was off the strengths of like, I want to make a better life for us. If You Knew Better brings real talk from women who've lived it, unpacking career pivots, relationship lessons, and the mindset shifts that changed everything. Listen to If You Knew Better with Amber Grimes on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. so it was tough. It's even tough as somebody who's visited people. I've visited people in jail and that moment when you, when the person in their, in their jail clothes is turning around and going back, it's, it's tough to even watch that from the outside. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. To think about that. So I can only imagine. Can you imagine? No, I can't. What it's like to be the guy going back. Yeah. So that was very hard. So what is the thing that like drives you through? Well, you've been through so much and then you get out of jail, by the way, then you get out. Yeah. Oh, that was so good. That was so good. It was so good. But now you're out. Yeah. You probably like on a, it's like right now, what are they calling it? This February is the year of the horse. The year of the horse. Yeah. You were probably like in that. Yes, I was. Right. I came out and I had a lot of energy and I was grateful and it was, it was an exciting time to come out. And thankfully, you know, the team was in place and we went and we just exploded. You know, it was great. Wow. Yeah. I was very lucky like that. It's super inspiring. And it's so much of a testament to like, I don't know, it's just like your story's not always written for you at the beginning. It's like you could have went in a completely different direction. I could have. I could have died too. Yeah. You know, drugs and alcohol kill. Yeah. Yeah. I'm sure there were times. Just don't wake up one day. That's it. Yeah. So what was the thing that woke you up? Well, you know, you're sick and tired of being sick and tired. Yeah. You know, that's what it is. We have alcoholism in my family. Yeah. Yeah. And my brothers too. And so, you know, I don't know. Lucky star, you know. But you have to surround yourself with a lot of sober people. Is there survivor's remorse in that? No. But there are times when you feel like I just need to get high or I need to get out. And those are the times you need to reach out. I mean, now I feel like smoking a Marlboro Red. Right now? Yeah. What? Is it me? Is it our conversation? I don't know. Lately, I've been missing smoking a cigarette so bad. It's so bad for you. Don't do it. I'm not doing it, but I'm just saying it's so like, that's what I, oh God, just want to like light up a cigarette, you know, and just, yeah, I know. But, you know. So bad. It's so bad and it's so good. It's so bad and so good and so bad and I have shitty lungs to begin with. Do you have to have different vices now to kind of like replace? You know, well, you know, I work out a lot. You know, I work out and I don't know. You know, it's not that special. You know, we're just. You are special. No, I don't know about all that. Hey, guys, support for this podcast is brought to you by Walden University. Have you ever thought to yourself, what if I could go after what I actually want and I could really make a difference? Well, you are not alone. And this is exactly why I want to tell you about Walden University. For over 50 years, Walden has helped working adults like you get the W with the knowledge, the skills and everything you need to build the future that you want. And you can make a difference where it matters most. If you've been waiting for the right moment, this is it. Head to WaldenU.edu and take that first step. Walden University set a course for change. Certified to operate by Shiv. OK, so these are just in real life questions. Pick one till you like. Pick one till you like one and then answer it. How happy are you from a scale of one to 10? Today. Today I'm a nine. Today I'm a nine. But every day is different. Yeah. You know, most of the time I'm happy. Okay. You're a happy guy most of the time? Most of the time. Okay. Then when I walk in a room, I want people to feel, I want people to feel. What? What do I want them to feel? What do you want people to think about? Respect. You know, maybe respect. What do you respect most about yourself? I respect the ability to do things that are not comfortable. Mostly not getting high. I respect that about myself. Good for you. No, really, that's true. It's a real thing. Yes, it sure is. Yeah. Well, going to the bar, people are drinking tequila. You know everybody drinks tequila now. I miss the tequila thing. People are like fans. They buy these bottles or whatever maybe even more bottles of tequila They experts They are I know people that fancy themselves tequila experts and I sipping on a Coke. Does it piss you off a little bit? What should people know? There's so many of us. I have family. Gambling addicts, also alcoholics. Sure, yeah. What should people know about addicts? like what should outside people when dealing with family or what should they understand because it's hard sometimes outside from family members you know this yeah that's that's a big question what should they understand that it's a disease yeah it's a disease yeah like diabetes like cancer it's a disease they can't stop addicts can't stop alcoholics can't stop but there are places where they can stop it's it's arrested you can arrest it but you can't cure it ever ever wow yeah but that doesn't mean you can't have a great life and you know you arrested and you go on and you could have a great life there's you're like the poster boy for that well today i am you know what i mean it's we have it's a day at a time and there's a lot of people out there that are sober and uh you know some doing great things they don't they don't broadcast it yeah but uh because it's probably hard to revisit sometimes right you know why they want to stay humble about it too but uh anthony hopkins just celebrated 50 years of sobriety you know the old actor that was in silence of the lambs yeah i saw he went in and spoke about it online so I'm on TikTok had he never talked about it before? well yeah people knew about it but yeah 50 years God bless that is amazing when we talk about business there's so many people I'm sure you do a lot of mentorships you have your organizations you believe in rehabilitation and giving people a second I know even in your company you hire we do formerly incarcerated Yeah, we have a few people that I was in prison with work with me. Oh, that's a work for the company? And then we work with some organizations, the Doe Fund. And I like to reach out to young people, if I can, to not throw in the towel in their 20s. If they get going out and getting fucked up and being foolish. It's not too late to turn it around. Yeah. And it's hard to teach the entrepreneur thing. So you're an entrepreneur. And no, it could be anything. It's just someone that makes their own way and does things differently and is succeeding. Yeah, you know what's so funny though? I just was saying this to Brittany. I was like, my whole career, I have never focused on money enough. I've always been like, I want to make a cool, I want to do this great thing, which you probably have some of that, which is true, but. You've also been very diligent about creating a successful financially, you know, successful company. It's different. I do think it's, I think that's a good point you're making. I think you have to make money as an entrepreneur. Yes. I actually think if you're failing as the entrepreneur, if you're not ringing the register, I think you need to ring the register. Gotta ring the register. But of course, if you have passion, you're an artist, you're trying to design that dress or make that song. And so you say, well, I'm going to do that. But usually, if you take care of those things, the money will follow. And you have to make sure that it does. But that's what they've always said to us. And I feel like we've gotten a lot of shit wrong. Number one, we have to hustle. You have to hustle, work so hard all the time. I don't know if that was right. At this big age, I'm starting to think, maybe I need a little more balance, right? And maybe I have to work hard for all those years to get the balance now. Well, working hard is good. Working smart is good. Yeah. And then the other thing is, you know, you create something you love and the money will come. I don't know if that's always right. Sometimes it doesn't. But if you're smart, that's part of the trip. You have to make that happen. Yeah. That's part of the entrepreneurial trip. Yeah. You know, you're balancing like, do I want to enrich myself? Do I want to build my business? There's so many things that go into this ride that you're on. I was just listening to an audio book because my eyes are shit. I saw it with the glass. Don't you try to go in the bowl? I know, God. And I was listening to a book. There's Lorne Michaels. He's the Saturday Night Live guy. Yeah, of course. And it was taken with – he's been there forever and he's built this huge thing. And he's a great entrepreneur. And he had so many things, you know, on his plate that he was, and I was really taken with the book. Really enjoyed that. Yeah, I really enjoyed it. I met him once. But it was a long time ago and he doesn't remember me, I'm sure. But it's okay. Who cares? Who cares? You got something out of his book. That's all that matters. I got something out of his book. There's people watching this podcast that'll never meet you, but we'll get something out of this interview. Yeah, that would be great. What makes a great entrepreneur? You know, there's just, I feel like it's this big boat ride you're on and you got to keep the boat moving. And it's a battle that it's not always so great. You know, the entrepreneur thing, you know, it's very lonely too. It can be because you're on this journey and you're trying to survive and flourish and people are attacking you and there's swamps and you just got to keep moving forward. And so the great thing for me is that I got a lot of help. I got a lot of people helping me. So even though my name is on the shoe, I got so many great people that I work with. Yeah. It wasn't always like that Well you start, you don't have any You're in the boat by yourself at some point I was in the boat by myself And you're not just in the, Steve, you're not just in the boat By yourself, you're like in the boat With like this history And trauma And addiction And you're still in this boat I'm in the boat I'm still in the boat But it was a time when you were in that boat by yourself Still in the boat The boat's bigger now The boat is bigger, but still. And then there's different challenges as you go along. What's been some of your biggest ones, aside from addiction, obviously? So, yeah. Well, letting go and letting smarter people do stuff and not freaking out. I'm the kind of guy that if we had a big market, a big show, and I didn't like the cookies, I would freak out. And I called the person, what the fuck is this? This tastes like medicine. You know, I was like that. I was crazy like that. I needed to control everything. You know, but then as you go along, you realize that you can't control everything. So you learn what you can sort of control. So now if you go in the place and the cookies are bad, what do you do? I don't say anything anymore. But maybe I will. But inside, you're dying. The cookies. The fucking cookies. You can't make a bad cookie because it's such a waste of calories. It's crazy when I go to a mall. Malls and the elevators don't work. These guys charge so much money for these stores. They are so successful and they can't fix the escalator. How dare they? The escalator. Escalator, yeah. And the escalator didn't work at Madison Square Garden last night. Yesterday. There was an escalator going down to 7th Avenue and the escalator didn't work. He can't afford to. He pays Brunson 50 million a year. He can't fix the escalator. Fucking escalator. What is that? Because they don't give a shit about the public because they got a product, you know, that people love. And they're going to walk up there. The people walk up the escalator. They do. They don't care. But on the other hand, they used to stay at the Wynn Hotels in Las Vegas because the room service coffee was so great. and I thought to myself this guy, this Steve Wynn this nut he's an amazing hotel man he took care of that detail his coffee, I'm telling you a coffee person, his coffee was so fucking great and I stayed there, I was loyal to him you could stay anywhere in the world you want and his room service coffee was the greatest thing because he cared about his, and that attention to detail really, I love that. I was going to say, you're passionate. Shout out to Steve Wynn. I always wanted to say that. Shout out to Steve Wynn. White people don't do that. Shout out to Steve Wynn. No, I'm serious. It's really true. But I do like that because it's like, yes, I don't know where he is. I see him on TikTok. You always wanted to give a shout out? Shout out to Steve Wynn. Because he really cared. this billionaire dude i know that he said i want my coffee to be great he cares about the detail yes he did that's why i was loyal to the win hotel because of it they have a lovely golf course as well by the way i've played it i'm a golfer yes you are i didn't know that yes i've played i just found the game about four years ago and i'm a full i'm an this is what i'm an addict i'm a golf addict at this point yeah i will golf i will golf every day if i yeah and then you play in miami I do. Anytime you want to go to LaGorse, let me know. I want to go. Yeah, hit me up. I'm going to hit you up. And I want to go with Steve Madden. And you should make a Steve Madden golf shoe that I can play in at LaGorse. You know what I think? We did make some golf shoes. Really? Yeah, we did. It was fun, but it was a tough business. I'm going to find one. I'm going to dig one up and I'm going to show up at LaGorse in my Steve Madden. Because people wear, they don't wear, when I started to play golf as a child, I really started when I was 14. Yeah. And golf shoes were really cool. They were like tassels and two-tones and amazing, mind-blowing golf shoes were mind-blowing. If you look in the 50s, you look at the 60s, the old players wore beautiful shoes. And then it kind of like Nike sort of took over the business and they're sort of like sneakers there. I try to cuten it up. I do the little flaps on top of my sneakers sometimes. I like the flaps. I'm all about flaps. Those are good. Yes. Flaps are good. Little kilts. I'll put on a good golf shoe for it. Yeah. Yeah. Yes. So you golf. I do. I do play golf. So that's a good meditative. That's like meditation to me. It's like. It's so frustrating. Everything's frustrating. I lose my fucking mind on the golf course, but I love it. Hey guys, Boost Mobile is proving that you do not have to overpay for great wireless. Unlock the savings with the $25 a month forever unlimited plan. It's a permanent price with no contracts and no price hikes. So you can keep your phone, your number, and you can save up to $600 a year compared to other major carriers. So stop overpaying and switch to a fair price at BoostMobile.com and do it today. Based on average annual single line payment of AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile customers compared to 12 months on the Boost Mobile Unlimited plan as of January, 2026. For full offer details, visit BoostMobile.com. So we have a segment that we do on IRL Podcast. Okay. It's the voice note section. It's presented by Boost Mobile. Thank you to us. Okay. We love Boost Mobile. And it's usually a... a fan a friend or somebody has a question or okay so whatever so she is our she's gonna do our voice note today okay she's a former employee of steve madden right yes she worked in the aventura store yes wow that was that's one of my favorite stores in my last year of college i had failed my senior semester class and i hated i hated being in school i was like in a bad place and Steve Madden was my first retail job. I'm like, okay, I'm just going to go work and see that. And it was one of the best times that I've ever had. Whoever was my manager at the job really liked life into me. And he also had the best employee perks because it was 50% off. Wow. That's a lot. That's a lot. He said it out loud. Shit. I worked during the busiest times. I worked through Christmas and Black Friday. chain and you visited and I was like what the fuck is Steve Madden yeah I do that and I was working cashier and you said something to me you were like you got the best seat in the house yeah I did say that I gotta upgrade my material that was good but I did yeah I love going to Aventura during the holidays I love shopping around and seeing the action yeah yeah you like tell yourself one of the sales associates sell a shoe that you can't really early, like before the big rush. Right. Wow. But that like inspired me to like, and then I started reading up about your story and that inspired me to finish school. I went back, I finished, I was at your store for like four or five months and it was just like one of the best experiences in retail that I ever had. Minus some of the people because retail also teaches you a lot about dealing with the public. Yes. They can be rude. Yeah. Yeah. I know. But I always respected that, hey, you're giving us your hard earned money. Sure. Yes. And you want to make sure that you're getting close. Yeah. That never bothers me. But I really admire the ecosystem that you created. Thank you. Thank you. This is Ryder Strong with a podcast called The Red Weather. In 1995, my neighbor, Anna Traynor, disappeared from a commune. It was nature and trees and praying and drugs. So no, I am not your guru. Back then, I lied to everybody. They have had this case for 30 years. I'm going back to my hometown to uncover the truth. You can now binge all episodes of The Red Weather on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Segregation in the day, integration at night. When segregation was the law, one mysterious Black club owner had his own rules. We didn't worry about what went on outside. It was like stepping on another world. Inside Charlie's place, black and white people danced together. But not everyone was happy about it. You saw the KKK? Yeah, they were dressed up in their uniform. The KKK set out to raid Charlie, take him away from here. Charlie was an example of power. They had to crush him. From Atlas Obscura, Rococo Punch, and Visit Myrtle Beach comes Charlie's Place, a story that was nearly lost to time. Until now. Listen to Charlie's Place on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A ambitious, well-intentioned, ferocious, and wealthy mother looks like in the Black community. This Women's History Month, the podcast Keep It Positive, Sweetie celebrates the power of women choosing healing, purpose, and faith, even when life gets messy. Love is not a destination. You have to work on it every day. Keep It Positive Sweetie creates space for honest conversations on self love growth and navigating life with grace and grit led by women who uplift inspire and tell the truth out loud I have several conversations with God and I know why it took 20 years To hear this and more, listen to Keep It Positive, Sweetie, on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. It's the new me, and it's the old them. Everybody's on their journey. And your journey's different to theirs. This Woman's History Month, the podcast, If You Knew Better with Amber Grimes, spotlights women who turn missteps into momentum and lessons into power. I think coming out of where I came from, I'm from the Bronx. I think I grew up really poor. I didn't know that then because I very much use my creativity to romanticize life. And I'm like, my mom did a really good job of like, you step back and you're like, whoa, we, I don't know how we made it. So a lot of my life was like built out of like survival to get to the next place. Like my drive, my like tunnel vision of like, I got to be better. I got to achieve this was off the strengths of like, I want to make a better life for us. If You Knew Better brings real talk from women who've lived it, unpacking career pivots, relationship lessons, and the mindset shifts that changed everything. Listen to If You Knew Better with Amber Grimes on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Wow, so it wasn't really a question. It was no question. Yes. Was there a question? there's no question okay well i used to enjoy i loved going to the aventura mall and uh so many different it's just great customers all different walks of life very very cross-sectiony yeah and it was great you're like a you like to uh you probably study the customer to some extent no well i do i do there's all types and uh aventura is great because we've so many different we used get a lot of south americans canadians and you test shoes there too we do we test a lot of shoes in aventura how do you test a shoe so what you do is you know you make a short run little sample in a sample room and you so for instance an example of that would be you would make a sandal and you put it in aventura because it's freezing in new york and no one's buying a sandal so you go down there and you get a little feedback on it so if you you know they start picking up the sandal you know that you might have something this is a good this is a good one yes test and react we still do it i love that you love this still i do that's my favorite part of the business is i love that testing shoes and seeing what they mean i love it all these years later love it i still do and it's such a it's such a gas you know it's really i'm sure people come to you for advice all the time about starting businesses? Usually they come to me for money. Really? What is the number one thing people ask for money for? I mean, you know, They come to you for startups and things like that. A lot of stuff. Usually, I get 15 or 20 before 1 o'clock. But what about people who are really starting? Do you have advice that you give to people about? You know what? Chad yelled at me last time because I always say the same thing. my colleague over there I believe that you have to learn the business you know a lot of people want to go into business and I think it's helpful to know the business for example I think that if you were you know wanted to learn the restaurant business it would be helpful to maybe work in a restaurant maybe be a waitress or a waiter you know and i and if your goal like you said like i want to open my own joint one day or be a bartender like i think those are just things that come to mind yes learn your business i think learning the business yes and then going into business yes is now for me that happened sort of organically i i was just sweeping a basement when i was 16 by 17 i was up on the floor selling shoes i mean i learned all these things it wasn't a plan you know it was just the way it went down but by the time you know i was ready to go on my own i knew a lot of stuff already that's sort of good yeah that's sort of good college was sort of the school of shoes yeah people never want to do that they want to go right to the yes they do they seem to right now this This generation because, you know, they see the, you know, on social media, you see all the success and you want to do it right away. And I certainly don't blame them. Yeah. But I'm telling you my advice. Learn the ropes. Learn the ropes, man. And whatever. You know, or the other thing is to find a mentor. you know like if you got lucky to work in a company let's say it was a bigger company and you had somebody that you looked up to that you worked for and you would be willing to do anything as an assistant or whatever the title was you know that is like just gold gold that is fucking gold yeah you get a mentor and you and you learn and you you know and that's those are the things that I would suggest. And then the other stuff, whether you have talent or not, it's another story. A story for another day. It is a story for another day. Anyway, I know we're wrapping up and I probably shouldn't ask. This is more of like a beginner I should have asked at the beginning, but is there something about a shoe? Like, what is the love of a shoe? It's a great question. It's just what I do. Where did that come from? You know, I worked in a shoe store as a teenager. I know, but how did you even wind up there? It was... God, I don't know what it was. There it is, the universe. I walked into a shoe store and got a job. Because you needed money. I needed a job. I was a kid and we went to work. That's what you did. In those days, you know, you sort of got a job. What was the shoe store like? It was a shoe store in my hometown. Neighborhood shoe store? Neighborhood shoe store called Toulouse. Toulouse. It was called Toulouse. And the owner of the store was sort of an ex-hippie. He was a – I was, again, another lucky break. This guy was this, like, great artist character. And he owned the store. And he was, like, this, like, ex-hippie. You know, he looked like a rock star. And he had the store. And I wanted to be like this guy. And so that was it. So you used those shoes. Shoes. And so that was it. But that's the thing, you get a mentor. What a break that is if you can find somebody. I'm sure you've done that for a lot of people. I don't know about all that. No, it's true. Look at even Brittany, young Brittany. Young Brittany. Young Brittany was one. I'm sure there are many, many. All right, and then finally, what does the future look like? What is the next five, ten years? So the future, what does the future look like? What are your goals now? Do you have any more goals? or you just trying to like be a good dad, get a good night's sleep? Get a good night's sleep, be a good dad, be a good guy. No, see. I like to work. Like your legacy. I like working. Let's talk about your legacy. Come on, Steve. I don't know. Here's what I want to do. I want to make great shoes. I still do. Really? I want to make shoes that you guys all buy. That's what I, that's it. We buy them all the time. So you did that already. So, no, no. But the thing is that before this, you know, you have your thing. well, maybe I should make a movie. Or maybe I should go into music business, right? Because I like music, right? But just because you like music doesn't mean you can go into the fucking music business. That's dopey. I did that. So I think a lot of people that make a lot of money do that stuff. And so you learn that, you know, it's not about staying in your lane. I don't give a shit about that. I mean, there are many people that do a lot of different things, but for me, you know, this is what I do. Your thing. I do what I do and you know, I'm cool with it and I'm happy to like, you know, listen to music and not own it. Right. I'm not going to go be a professional golfer anytime soon. I wish I was better at golf. Yeah. But even then I don't want to be a professional. No, no, but there's, you'll see them down there. Yeah. But then you find that thing, your shoe and then it becomes your thing yeah it's my it is my thing what about in real life though as a human being like do you have anything that you're chasing for yourself god it's getting late honey yeah it's kind of late i'm getting up there uh yeah i mean i'm getting up there you know i'm still in good shape i'm still you know doing my thing and it's getting late it's getting late you know but i i guess the big thing is you know being uh trying to raise kids be a good dad that's a good thing that's a really good thing the thing is though there is no secret to that you know everybody could say whatever like my father you know the stuff that i get from my dad my dad died a long time ago and uh i i learn it i get it today like now in my last 20 years oh that's what my dad was talking about so as a kid i was an idiot i didn't know yeah that's probably healing what's he saying i don't know what the fuck he's talking but now yeah i said oh shit that's what my dad meant yes so that's the gift sometimes did you what do you think your parents would think if they saw what the world sees now those steve man and signs everywhere i don't know they'd be surprised maybe but think so yeah you know but the things you get don't often happen at that moment and you no one listens to their parents when they're 17 or 22 yeah you think you know everything and you just want to have fun and get high and whatever it is you know and yeah but they'd probably be proud they would be proud and I am so grateful for my parents now, the things that I, now that I'm able to use the stuff they gave me. Yeah. I get that. You've done pretty well, Steve. I don't know about all that, but we're trying. You did. Yeah. You did. Yeah. And I'm sure you have a lot of people who have a testament to what they've learned from you. And I'm hoping, hopefully today your story inspires. It's good to be on the show. Thank you, man. Yes. Thank you for today. Is there any segment things that we need to do before we go? Thank you so much for your time today. you're a fucking rock star do you have that's a great way to end do you have a favorite shoe do you have an all time favorite shoe well I have a lot of shoes yes I do yes I do why do you hate those you know but I like I like a lot of some of the boots that I'm making I'm really into yeah those are bad yo when you show up for work and steve mannett says your shoes are trash you know what i like i love the look let me tell you the look i really love i've been excited about it for a while okay and just now it's bearing fruit is the look that girls are wearing dresses with boots or skirts with the with the tall shaft boot and the leg you know so they're wearing a short skirt with the boot or with a western boot you know cowboy boot with a short shirt is so funky i just love that look yeah you know i do it's such a great look you don't have a favorite shoe of all time well i mean you know i've had so many shoes so many great that's like an annoying ass question no it's not annoying people ask me all the time what's your favorite interview of all time i'm like it's impossible to say that it's probably the same thing when somebody says what is your favorite you know i've had a lot of favorite shoes i've had so many great shoes the first time I made a sneaker was so exciting, a platform sneaker. First time I made a slipper, I made this big slipper, changed the slipper business and everybody went on and made these shoes and I never made another slipper again. I just called it the fuzzy and it was great. But we made a lot of great boots. And now we're making like these, you know, this look, which is very sort of very sort of college-y, kind of short skirts with the boots. That's what you're into right now. I love that look. Yeah. I think it's great. It's kind of like, almost like they wear it in the spring. Yeah. You know, most, it's very sort of festival-y, I think. Yeah. Yeah. They would call it. I love how much you love it. I do. I do. I've never been to, what's the big festival? Coachella? Coachella. Yeah. My kids, my daughter goes to it. Yeah. I can't go to this. But the fact that you still love design that much is really- It's too hot. Those festivals are too hot. No, they really are. They get so fucking hot. I went to coach. I went to. All right. Here's what we learned from Steve Madden today. He's a fucking stickler for detail. He will find what the fuck is wrong with something, but he will also find the beauty of something. All right. Steve Madden, everybody. Yes. You're so fun. Yes. This is Steve Madden in real life. Hey, guys. Thanks for watching. make sure you subscribe, like, comment, and check out all of the other episodes we have on Angie Martinez IRL podcast. Hey everyone, it's Emily Simpson and Shane Simpson from the Legally Brunette podcast. Each week we're bringing you true crime through a legal lens. Whether you want all the facts on the disappearance of Nancy Guthrie, or you still need to wrap your head around the ditty verdict, we're breaking it all down step by step. And we're not just lawyers. We're also husband and wife. It makes for some pretty entertaining episodes. Listen to Legally Brunette on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is Ryder Strong, and I have a new podcast called The Red Weather. In 1995, my neighbor, Anna Traynor, disappeared from a commune. It was nature and trees and praying and drugs. So no, I am not your guru. Back then, I lied to everybody. They have had this case for 30 years. I'm going back to my hometown to uncover the truth. Listen to The Red Weather on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is the biggest night in podcasting. The countdown is on to our 2026 iHeart Podcast Awards. Live from South by Southwest, March 16th, we'll honor the very best in podcasting from the past year and celebrate the most innovative, talented creators in the industry. It's truly a who's who of the podcasting world. Creativity, knowledge, and passion will all be on full display. And the winner of the iHeart Podcast Award is... See all the nominees now at iHeart.com slash podcast awards. Audible is a proud sponsor of the Audible Audio Pioneer Award. Explore the best selection of audiobooks, podcasts, and originals all in one easy app. Audible. There's more to imagine when you listen. Sign up for a free trial at audible.com. When segregation was a law, one mysterious black club owner, Charlie Fitzgerald, had his own rules. Segregation in the day, integration at night. It was like stepping on another world. Was he a businessman, a criminal, a hero? Charlie was an example of power. They had to crush him. Charlie's Place, from Atlas Obscura and Visit Myrtle Beach. Listen to Charlie's Place on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is an iHeart Podcast. Guaranteed human.