The Cobbler
How I Disrupted an Industry, Fell from Grace, and Came Back Stronger than Ever
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
Disclosure: This article is not an endorsement, but a review. The publisher of this book provided free copies of the book and paid a small fee to have their book reviewed by a professional reviewer. Foreword Reviews and Clarion Reviews make no guarantee that the publisher will receive a positive review. Foreword Magazine, Inc. is disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.
