You likely already know Steve Madden’s name, either from the iconic "Big Head Girl" commercial from the late '90s or from seeing it printed on the side of the shoes sitting in your closet. But if it's not for the shoes, you may have heard his name mumbled through the lips of a drugged-up Jonah Hill in the big-budget Martin Scorsese film The Wolf of Wall Street. Seemingly out of nowhere, Steve Madden became one of the biggest names in the shoe business of the '90s and early 2000s. But the company's meteoric rise to fame met a brick wall when Steve took some seriously bad financial advice from a childhood friend, resulting in criminal convictions and a few years in prison. Steve tells his side of the story and further exposes his struggles with drug addiction in the documentary film Maddman: The Steve Madden Story and his reveal-all book The Cobbler. Since his release from prison in 2005, Steve has worked hard to put his life in order and get his company back on the right path. I've known Steve for a while now, but it's been a real pleasure getting to know him better through this conversation, and I know you're going to enjoy listening to his story.


Thanks for tuning in to episode 17. We hope you enjoy it!

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