The Man Behind the Global Empire: Steve Madden
Reviewer Kristine Morris Interviews Steve Madden, Author of The Cobbler
Some big names don’t need an introduction, but in the case of shoe icon Steve Madden, his memoir reveals that there’s a great deal more soul than sole to the story of why the man is so compelling.
That’s the takeaway from the spectacular 5 star Foreword Clarion Review of The Cobbler written by Kristine Morris. She writes, “Underdog, addict, creative business tycoon, prisoner, philanthropist—the international fashion icon has been all of these. … but even more important are ‘the transformative life lessons that gave this human dynamo the power to inspire greatness in others.’”
With the upcoming release of the paperback edition of The Cobbler, we found an opportunity to connect Kristine with Steve for a lively conversation. A you’ll see, she has a difficult time containing her excitement about the book.
Enjoy.
Your book is not only an insider’s look at the fashion industry, but is refreshing in its honesty about Steve Madden, the man. Let’s start at the beginning: why shoes?
I got a job in high school at a shoe store, it’s that simple. I fell in love with shoes and never looked back, and I’m still just as excited about the shoe business today.
You’ve struggled with ADHD since childhood—how does it manifest in your life now? What do you do to manage it? How has the condition been detrimental or beneficial to you?
I lose things all the time. I’m very absent minded. But I’m lucky that I have great people in my life who help me with this. To a certain extent, it was helpful as an entrepreneur!
Looking back over your life—and your exponential rise to fame and riches in the notoriously competitive fashion industry—was it all worth it? Knowing what you know now, what do you wish you had done differently?
It was worth every bit of it. There’s not much I would have done differently.
It seems that part of your success has come from really caring about your customers—their comfort, their desire to look and feel a certain way. What is there about you that makes this so important to you? And how have you managed to come up with so many “hits” over such a long career?
Product is first and foremost! That’s all our team thinks about. We keep our eyes to the streets to make sure we’re on top of all the latest trends, stuff that resonates with our audience.
Your book reveals that you’ve been hyper aware of your employees and colleagues at Steve Madden—their need for work that enables them to support their families well, for health care, for education. And you’ve not taken their contributions to the company’s success for granted. What motivates this attitude on your part, and how far does it go in influencing the decisions made at the company?
You’re only as good as the team around you. If you give them the tools to succeed, everyone benefits. That’s it.
What characteristics most stand out to you in a person you’d consider hiring for a leadership role in the company?
Urgency.
How did your time in prison—two-and-a-half years, I think, for stock fraud—change you? How did you handle your fear of what might happen to you in prison, and how did you come to be seen by the other prisoners not as just a rich white guy, but as someone whom they could trust enough to form a friendship with? What did you learn from them? Are you still in contact with any of them?
Prison was an awful experience. The currency they recognize is honor and trust. I still consider these important values from my time there.
You say in the book that you would not be the man you are today, nor your company what it is, without that prison experience. In what ways is this true for you?
Everything takes us up to where we are now. My story wouldn’t be the same without that time of my life.
Your book mentions your goals and plans to make the company both sustainable and diverse. Please tell us why this is so important to you, and what progress has been made so far.
My team takes both very seriously. We can’t make great product without input from many different voices. So, we make sure that we’re hiring diverse people, paying attention to how they are doing at our company, and holding ourselves accountable when it comes to production and materials.
What are your views on US capitalism? Is the system rigged against people of color? Women? Immigrants? Any ideas on how to make it possible for more people to succeed?
What I can do is use my privilege to support diverse groups. As a company we have several programs in place to do better.
What does the future look like for the company? And for you, personally?
The company’s future is boundless. I am excited as ever. We’re expanding into new categories and bringing so many young talented people onboard.
At this time in your life, what do you most treasure?
Spending time with my kids!
THE COBBLER
HOW I DISRUPTED AN INDUSTRY, FELL FROM GRACE, AND CAME BACK STRONGER THAN EVER
Steve Madden Steve Madden, Ltd.
Clarion Rating: 5 out of 5
The Cobbler is the memoir of a visionary entrepreneur with a mission to proclaim the true worth of every human life.
Steve Madden’s riveting memoir The Cobbler unveils the story of his nonstop roller-coaster life and the hard-won personal transformation that made it all worthwhile.
Underdog, addict, creative business tycoon, prisoner, philanthropist—the international fashion icon has been all of these. But the story of how Steve Madden started his eponymous shoe company out of the back of his car with just over a thousand dollars and built it into a multibillion-dollar international brand is only a part of the picture. Even more important is the little-known story of Steve Madden the man and the transformative life lessons that gave this human dynamo the power to inspire greatness in others.
Convivial and candid, the narrative traces Madden’s rise from a childhood as “the bad kid” through a series of serendipitous events, intuitive calls, and growing self-awareness that not only brought him fame and riches but made him an inspiration and mentor to many underprivileged, undervalued, and incarcerated individuals who realized their abilities because Madden saw them first.
The book is both moving and refreshing in its honesty as Madden admits to the difficulties associated with having been an outsider from the get-go. A childhood powered by undiagnosed ADHD meant that his energy, unchanneled and undirected, put him in situations unlikely to result in scholastic success or adult approval. But the narrative gives evidence that Madden possessed exactly what he needed: his ability to accept responsibility for mistakes, learn from them, and make a quick pivot allowed for a rapid learning curve that, coupled with a strong intuitive ability to predict market trends, put him ahead of the competition. And the book makes it clear that his willingness to admit that others might be strong where he was weak made for unusual hiring practices that put people and company ahead of personal ego.
The book’s fast-paced, wild ride through the ups and downs of the fashion industry gives insight into what it takes to succeed and why even those with the best of intentions can crash and burn. Madden’s story is so appealing and different because of his ability to rise again, even if it meant humbling his powerful ego. The book shares intimate details of Madden’s struggles with addiction, the financial “shortcuts” that put him in prison, and why his time there, which at first terrified him, turned out to be the impetus for massive life change. Being in prison was not, in itself, the hard part, Madden writes: “It was the heartbreak of the world moving on without me while I was stuck in there, trapped in this weird limbo. On some days, I thought, This must be what it feels like to be dead.”
The book details how Madden, charging himself with making the best of it, earned the respect and even the friendship of the mostly Black inmates who flooded the business courses the prison asked him to offer. It is inspiring as it shows Madden being open to learning how the world is stacked against Black men. In gratitude for his abundance, he now makes it a priority to hire prisoners looking for a second chance, and working for sustainability in shoe manufacturing has become another way of giving back.
Along with the company he created and the lives he changed, The Cobbler is Steve Madden’s legacy—the memoir of a visionary entrepreneur with a mission to proclaim the true worth of every human life.
Reviewed by Kristine Morris January 9, 2023
Kristine Morris
