The Herd with Colin Cowherd - Unbreakable Episode 27 - Kenneth Cole

Episode Date: March 15, 2023

Welcome to Unbreakable! A mental health podcast hosted by Fox NFL Insider Jay Glazer. On today's episode, Jay takes a stroll down Fashion Avenue with world famous designer Kenneth Cole. Kenneth shares incredible stories about his upbringing, the birth of his shoe company, why he launched The Mental Health Coalition, and much more. Follow, rate & review Unbreakable with Jay Glazer here!https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/unbreakable-with-jay-glazer/id1641935224 #fsr #2pros #herdSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an I-Heart podcast. Guaranteed Human. Another podcast from some SNL, late-night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smygel and friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer, Streeter Seidel, help an a cappella band with their between songs banter.

Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and friends on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal, but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque.

Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, this is Robert from the Stuff to Blow Your Mind podcast. Joe and I are both lifelong Star Wars fan, so we're celebrating May the 4th with a brand new week of fun, thought-provoking Star Wars-related episodes.

Join us as we tackle science and culture topics from a galaxy far, far away, such as the biology of tauntons and wampas on the ice planet hot, or the practicality and corporate business sense of the Sith ruling. of two. Listen to Stuff to Bole Your Mind on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is Unbreakable with Jay Glaser, a mental health podcast, helping you out of the gray and into the blue. Now, here's Jay Glaser. Welcome into Unbreakable and Mental Health podcast with Jay Glazer and just a little reminder here for everybody in my book, Unbreakable,

how I turn my depression, anxiety, and motivation you can too, comes out in paperbook on April 1. What we're trying to do here for mental health is give it words. Let us all have this conversation. The more we can give it words, more we can talk about it, those of us with mental health issues, or just battling the gray, or just trying to tame the roommates in our head. We don't feel like we're in the minority anymore. We feel like we're in the majority, which I think we are. And it spans, you know, everywhere you could possibly go in this world.

But it's also what made me successful. Overcoming these mental health issues is what made me worry. am now, brought me where I am. It's also introduced me to some of the coolest people in the world. And one of those coolest people in the world is our guest this week. And it's just, it's incredible the realm that this podcast dives into, from sports to acting to television hosts, to cooking hosts like Guy Fieri, to musicians. But we haven't had a designer on yet. We haven't had an actual gangster here in the fashion world come on with me yet. With that, I'm going to bring a good friend of mine from a long time ago. We've been friends for ages from New York City, but now we have something else we bond

with, which is mental health. And then is Kenneth Cole. How are you, brother? Great, Jay. So if you do get a successful designer on the show someday, let me know. Yeah, I kind of fucked that one up, didn't I? I love doing this, by the way, and I even did my homework. I read, all about your journey, and I felt more, I'm not sure the more or less broken having read it, but I'm certainly more impressed, and I feel even, I feel your fucked upness even more than I could have imagined. But thank you. I appreciate that. Well, but you're saying you feel more broken now. It's not exactly a good plug for the book. No, no, but you know what?

Hey, read them breakable, you'll feel more fucked up. But it makes you kind of look in the mirror a little bit, which is good. I mean, it's kind of I guess what you wanted to make happen. So, but it's, it's extraordinary. And we've had a lot in common. And this just kind of brings us even that much closer together, which is great. But you would text me, too, that you were learning more about yourself. What did you learn about yourself after reading the book? you know, I learned that you made a good effort in kind of creating appropriate context that we all have these struggles within the day.

You know, we all also have a path through it. And to the degree you can build a network and support, you know, you're that much stronger for it. One plus one equals more than two always. And I've often said that, you know, alone you can go fast together, you go far. And building that community is critical. And I think that's what you're doing so well. And that's what I'm trying to do as well with my. Mental Health Coalition, which would talk about it.

Which I definitely want to dive into it. You know, it's interesting, all this. I met you through Michael Stray in like 95 or something along those lines. And we spent time on his 50th birthday party. My book, I think, she was just coming out. But I didn't tell him about my issues until, I think, two weeks before that. The first time I ever told them. Like, the first time I ever decided, I can't go out to dinner with you because the beast got out of the box.

And I just had a horrible panic attack. And he's like, why have you never told me? Man, I don't know. with you, I just felt shame. I don't know why. I don't make up the rules of this. And his response to me was, yeah, but I could have been there for you for all those years. And that's this team that you're talking about. And, you know, that for me now, like for 30 years, I hit it now when I'm having a horrible day, I know to reach out. I know his reaction's going to be. And that's, you know, the beautiful thing of us talking about this. Yeah, no, Michael's been great. He's been a good,

great friend to me also. Yeah. In fact, when we launched the Metta Health Coalition, I did it on his show, and we had several events that I was shamelessly imposed ourselves upon him. And he never, he never says no. It's just been great. And he's always added to the right thing. He really is. So now here's what I want to dive. Before I get the mental health coalition,

because a lot of people don't know this about Kenneth, he does an awful lot on this front. He is a leader in what we're all trying to do here, because we are really behind with mental health. We're so far behind in how we're attacking this now. again, people still are for final words to try and open up. I like to call this Mental Health and a Mental Wealth podcast. And I want to talk about your journey to where you got to.

Because for any of us who are successful, it's not rosy. It's not a rosy road to get there. There's no get rich quick scheme. We all kind of struggle through it to get to where we are. So give us, you know, our listeners, what your kind of moment was and how you had to struggle through to get to where you are. Yeah. Well, first of, I struggle with the term success. But I think that's kind of a very dangerous concept.

And it's very relative. And it's how you see yourself today. It's rather see you tomorrow. And it's a relationship often to other people. I'm doing great. And then all of a sudden I see people who maybe to have a different lens to look. And then maybe I have a whole different sense of things. But in any case, so that is said, it's been an extraordinary journey for me.

I'm in business for 40 years. Actually, what I'd like to say is it. It sounds younger and cooler. is that this is our 20th anniversary of our 20th anniversary. But it's been an extraordinary journey. And I set out to try to figure out how to kind of create something that people didn't have and that people could use and that how to add something of substance meaning to people's lives. And at the same time, make it meaningful while we did it only because of the way we did it.

And I had a lot of a bunch of associates early on. And we were kind of little scrappy. And we were trying to figure out how to kind of carve our place in a very competitive business and industry. And I knew that, first of all... Was shoes your first thing? It was. Just shoes? Okay.

Women's shoes. Women's shoes. And so, and I realized that you can't do this shit 40 hours a week. And at the end of the day, you know, it's all about compromise, life compromises. Because at the end of the day, you can't only work. You need to have a personal life. And you have to find a balance. And at the end of the day, it's so hard to find that balance.

And that's been one of my struggles, because I tend to work hard. hard and then and if I turn it off sometimes you know I don't turn it back on as quickly maybe so what is that right balance and it's so rare and I find people who struggle with that because maybe everybody's working for them professionally but personally there it's just not that you've ever had that issue and then sometimes it's working personally but the professional part isn't in alignment so that's the struggle that I struggle that I deal with and a lot of people I know probably deal with it and and so my business is finding a balance so I try to dress and I believe it's not just with some people's bodies but what's on their mind and I think

that you most have to know what's on their mind in order to be able to address what their bodies and and and at the end of day it couldn't be just what they stand in it needed to be what they stood for so and how do you balance that so and and I think they become ultimately interdependent because absent of knowing you know where they are mentally or where they're inside it's hard to kind of assess what they are looking for other than that. So it's been an extraordinary journey and I started in shoes and I started beginning of the business section. Interesting story, but I'm going to save that later on. And then in order to relate to people early on, I started working on an HIV initiative because that was a struggle that was pervasive

in our industry and it wasn't affecting me as much as it was so many other people around me. So, and I started doing some marketing branding and talking about the stigma around HIV because as bad as it was, the biggest problem was, and I believe. Today, more people died of the stigma of AIDS than from AIDS itself because they couldn't talk about it. And they were reluctant to deal with it. And they would rather die from the disease rather than openly accept treatment and be open to resources. And so many people, unfortunately, were not. And it did lose their lives.

So I did that for a long time. I was chairman of Amphar for 14 years. And we had a very profound difference in millions of people's lives. I know that. And we changed the way research was done. We changed the way. way people were able to talk about HIV and treat HIV and a little bit of HIV. And then about, I don't know, four years ago, I kind of stepped back from that for a whole myriad of reasons. And then

my kids kind of were fascinated and obsessed with mental health and mental wellness. And so I somehow refocused a lot of my resources there. And we set up an initiative. My daughter, Amanda, actually, was working with us in our HR department. And we set up a program with NAMI. on mental health awareness within the organization. And I felt it started, it was changing the culture of the business and of the company. And I said to them, they wanted me to somehow work on a perception campaign.

And I was reluctant to do it because this is so big. And I've come to realize, you said that many of us have mental health struggles. I don't, you know, WHO says it's one and four. I say it's four. It's four and four. Absolutely.

Absolutely. Because if it isn't you, it's somebody you love. somebody in the family in the community, the workplace. And if you didn't have it before COVID, you definitely have it now. And social media is terrible. It makes you think your life sucks because you're comparing yourself to everybody else's filtered fraction of a second or you're seeing bullying online.

We're all going through something or like it's affecting somebody who went out. I agree. It's four out of four. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal, but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast Superhuman documented it all,

embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the I-Hard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care which I'm saying.

Yep, that's me, Cliver Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, the reactions, my journey from basketball to college football or my career in sports media. Well, somewhere along the way, this platform became bigger than I ever imagined. And now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show.

This is a place for raw, unfiltered conversations with some of your favorite athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. One week, I'll take you behind the scenes of the biggest moments in sports and entertainment, and the next we'll talk about life, mental health, purpose, and even music. The Clifford Show, isn't just a podcast. It's a space for honest conversations, stories that don't always get told,

and for people who are chasing something bigger. So if you've ever supported me or you're just chasing down a dream, this is right where you need to be. Listen to the Clifford show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. Do you remember when Diana Ross double-tap Little Kim's boobs at the VMAs? Or when Kanye said that George Bush didn't like black people. I know what you're thinking. What the hell does George Bush got to do a little kill?

Well, you can find out on the Look Back at it podcast. I'm Sam J. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick a here, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. Including a recent episode with Mark Lamont Hill, waxing all about crack in the 80s. To be clear, 84 is big to me, not just because of crack. I'm down to talk about crack all day, but just so y'all know. I mean, at this point, this is the second episode where we've discussed, correct.

So I'm starting to see that there's a through line. We also have AIDS on the table right now. Thank you for finishing that sentence. Yes. I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Really? Yeah. For me, it's one of the most important years for black people in American history.

Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Yeah, so we're all struggling with it. So then I said, this is such a big undertaking. And then the problem is, is the two-thirds of those who struggle with it do so in the proverbial shadows because there isn't a mechanism to talk about it that isn't stigmatized and that isn't diminishing. You know, this is a self-fulfilling prophecy unless you have a mechanism to talk about it. So the goal was, can we rebrand, come with a new narrative, empower people with the tools to talk about their well-being? Massive undertaking, probably absurdly ambitious.

And this is the Mental Health Coalition, right? So then I formed the Mental Health Coalition. And with a few friends. And then Nami says, Well, we're going to dive into it now, but I'm also, you deflected my other question about the early days years because I'm going to go back to it. I'm not going to like you off the hook.

But let's get into it right now, the Mental Health Coalition. Absolutely, because I think it's amazing. So we bring together all the mental health service providers in the country. And we said to every one of them, would you support us in this effort to address stigma and shine a light on your great work, create a share platform, and everyone say we're in. So now all of a sudden we've got the largest coalition of, on the service part, mental health service providers in the country, maybe arguably

everywhere. And now we're connecting needs to resources and working with tech companies. And we're making a profound difference in people's lives and giving people, attaching people to resources. Because tech, as much as we know, these tech companies have created issues in many ways. They've been the most reliable and available resource for so many people, especially during quarantine. And you were able to find community, you're able to connect with people you couldn't have otherwise. So, you know, and these people with the best of intentions, you know, they're struggling and they know that part of the problem and they also want to be part of the solution. And is it for everybody? Does it help everybody? How do people get help by the mental health coalition? You can log on and we can connect your resource. You go to our website and go to our Instagram page and go to and you can see some of the tools that are available to people.

So this is going to grow exponentially as we speak. And, you know, we can talk a little bit about that as we go forward. And it's been an interesting journey. But business is what empowers, enables, and supports everything I do. I love the fashion business. Same with me with football. Absolutely. It opens up the stores and allows me to talk about this to a broader audience. Absolutely.

Right. And I do think that fashion business has given me a platform too. And as to a point, football has given you that. And also, fashion, it's the perception business. I feel like I'm in the perception. And I'm addressing, you know, kind of what's on your mind. I'm hopefully empowering it, maybe guiding it or inspiring it. And that is what I come to realize is a powerful tool that's so much bigger than fashion.

And so the reason I've been able to bring all these people together is because I'm not a threat to any of them. I'm not in the public health business. I'm not a psychiatrist. I'm not a doctor. But I have the ability and I'm morphing people a platform where I can promote and elevate and shadow light on all that great work. So and then create by nature of aggregating all this great content individuals, and we create something so much bigger than it is independently. So it's been very rewarding, and I'm still not telling you about my shoe business, my fashion

business. I'm going to get there a second because I want to talk a little more here, but I can see your passion for it also. First of all, this is you being of service. And when you read Unbreakable Rights, one of my pillars of being of service helps us through the gray. But you find different ways to be of service, you know, through the years. This one you seem to have a great passion for as well.

Did that come from your own issues? Or did you just come from saying, man, I'm seeing how much the world is starting to struggle, and I know I can make a difference here, or both. You know, when we started doing this, first we launched, actually, Katie, my other daughter launched it with us together, a platform, which asks the most asked question everywhere in the world every day of the week and every language, and the one most rarely ever answered, which is how are you really?

challenging and inviting people to engage with that. And that was the one I did with, actually with Kendall Jenner on Michael's show. We launched the initiative, the challenge. And 200 million people engaged with it the first weekend. Wow. And then we did another campaign with META a year or so later, inviting people to do these lives one-to-ones. And we had, we called it every day in May. And I did work with Oprah and her production team.

And we had hundreds of millions of people engaged. And we hopefully, and many athletes, by the way, because guys struggle and there's so much more than women do. It's so much harder for us to be vulnerable, which is so critical. And at the same time, empathetic. So this process kind of inspires, encourages, and promotes and rewards that, that, which was the, and Michael kicked that off, I think. I don't know. Right. spoke with Michael.

I don't remember what I spoke with, but Michael was part. So we used the platform to the way that we can to give voice to the subject. So as I was saying, guys struggle. Where did your passion come from? Is it your own struggle or is it just seeing everybody around you? Oh, so as we're doing this, so then someone said, so what is your mental health story? And I said, you know, I don't know. I have to, and I all of a sudden I started thinking about it.

And I realized that, you know, I've been in a perpetual fog for several years now. I mean, certainly before COVID and since COVID. And then I realized that there's all these struggles independently that, you know, that I have. and I manifest and I contextualize and I deal with them and I've just learned how to deal with them. We'll do that in our own way. And sometimes I, you know, I just work harder and I dug too much into this and I'm not mentally present enough for other places where I wish I could be and should be. But the more present and aware I am of myself, the more I'm aware of everybody around me. And I'm a better employer or friend, parent, which is what I so desperate.

but we always want to be. And we never quite get there. And we never quite find that ultimate balance, but we're always working on it. Yeah, because look, the secret to go back to that word success, but I guess business success is outwork in the world. Not by a little, by a lot.

And there's a lot of things that end up getting sacrificed. And you've seen me, right? We've been out and I'm just on the phone looking down and not present with anybody and kind of what it takes to be an insider, to outwork the world. And I think, same for you also. So what it takes is just outworking the world by, you know, not by two hours, but by a ton.

And that's sacrifice. Yeah. So we have to commit ourselves wholeheartedly. And so how do you do that? And what I've done that with my business anyway is I've made purpose part of the business model. So I like that. I do think they need, you know, people used to say to me, well, you know, you're running a public company.

And is that appropriate to be allocating, you know, public company resources? to social good. And my answer was always that not only are those efforts not independent, I believe they're interdependent, and they are mutually relying upon each other and that the proverbial hand that feeds each other and that what I've always done, and I was that way before I went public and I've been that way ever since I went public. And I think every company gets there, every company in America gets there, not if their balance sheet, if their hearts don't get them, there the balance sheet does, and hopefully it's a former.

But we all get there because it's the right place to be. And I don't think it's the destination. I think it's the journey. And it makes the destination that much more rewarding if we do it right. Yeah, I love that. I was like appreciate the toilet of the climb. I never knew I'd beat Jake Layser on the NFL and Fox. So early on when I was making $9,400 a year for those 11 years,

those first 11 years I was doing it, making $9,400 a year with Michael drive me back to New York City every day from Giant Stadium because I couldn't afford bus and subway fare. You know, it's different here between the years during that time. It's interesting also. But during that time, I try and figure out whether I'm happier now, now that I've quote unquote made it or whether it's happier then when I didn't have anything to lose. That's a good question. After 40 years, I'm very quick to tell people that I feel in that period of time we've built

an extraordinary foundation from which we can now build a business and even better business. And if I'm going to spend a lot of time reflecting, looking in the mirror, it's like driving a car, I'm going to get thrown off by that first bump in the road. but if you just got to stay focused on. That's great advice. And I don't, I'm not sure you ever get there. And again, maybe to that point. You know, I believe that my, all my years of doing this shit,

that I have earned a right to be considered. But every day I have to earn the right to be chosen. So, and that is no easy task. But that's what makes the fashion business so energizing and rewarding. And you can never take it for granted. And if you do, unlikely to be a broadcaster for the NFL. Phil. I'll be looking for, to be your assistant. I don't pay enough. I told you my deal, and I'm going back to your thing.

All right. I have my $9,400 a year and just getting rejected for 11 years. Give me the early days of trying to make Ketakola brand of your grind. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal, but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all. embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth.

Listen to Superhuman on the I-Hard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care which I'm saying. Yep, that's me, Cliver Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, the reactions, my journey from basketball to college football, or my career in sports media. Well, somewhere along the way, this platform became bigger than I ever imagined. And now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show.

This is a place for raw, unfiltered conversations with some of your favorite athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. One week, I'll take you behind the scenes of the biggest moments in sports and entertainment, and the next we'll talk about life, mental health, purpose, and even music. The Clifford Show isn't just a podcast. It's a space for honest conversations, stories that don't always get told, and for people who are chasing something bigger. So, if you've ever supported me or you're just chasing down a dream, this is right

what you need to be. Listen to the Clifford show on the IHeart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. Do you remember when Diana Ross double-tapped Little Kim's boobs at the VMAs? Or when Kanye said that George Bush didn't like black people. I know what you're thinking. What the hell does George Bush got to? do a little kill. Well, you can find out on the Look Back at it podcast. I'm Sam J. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick it here,

unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. Including a recent episode with Mark Lamont Hill, waxing all about crack in the 80s. To be clear, 84 is big to me, not just because of crack. I'm down to talk about crack on day, but yeah, yeah, literally. But just so y'all know. I mean, at this point, Mark, this is the second episode where we've discussed crack. So I'm starting to see that there's a through line. We also have AIDS.

on the table right now. Thank you for finishing that sentence. Yes. I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Really? Yeah. For me, it's one of the most important years for black people in American history. Listen to look back at it on the IHeartRadio app,

Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. So I've always been very resourceful, and I've always believed that, you know, people said to me, you know, I left what I was doing, I was working my father and I had a small shoe factory in Brooklyn. And people say, well, what would you have done if it didn't work? And I said to them, that was never an option. I just never contemplated that.

I just knew it would work. But what I don't tell people is I didn't know what it was. And I knew I would figure out every day in that one day, it may change from the day before the next. And I was pivoting before that was a popular thing to do, especially in the fashion business. So you just don't know what tomorrow is the store. And again, as I said before,

what's fashionable to me isn't to you and what's fashionable today is tomorrow. So how do I continue to be relevant? I continue to be, have a reason to exist. And so at the very beginning, I had very little money. And I needed to get a business quickly because I knew I needed to get a return on that. And I also knew then, not much different than today, that 60, 70% of new startup companies don't make it the first year because they underestimate the amount of money they need and or the time it takes to have and return on what they have. So I knew I needed to move quickly. I named the company Kenneth Cole because you can usually get your own name.

name registered in those days. And there wasn't these search engines. So I could find out the universe of labels could be available. And that could take a year or two. And then first you find out it still doesn't work. So I used my own name. Brandt Italy, knew I had better chance of getting credit from a shoe factor that needed business than from a bank, American bank that didn't. And I designed the cool line of ladies shoes, came back, had to sell it. And I had two choices in those days. Take a booth at one of those big fancy shoe shows and be one of literally thousands. Or I could take a room at the Hilton Hotel. See, I love this. This is what I love. Go ahead. There was maybe three choices. One of thousands. Take a room at the Hilton Hotel with their 1100 of the companies, 34's, 30 some odd companies per four. And still no identity, still at not an insignificant cost.

Or I could have, if I was really fortunate, pick a big fancy showroom in a fancy building within a two-bock radius of the Hilton Hotel. And I neither didn't have the money or the means to do that. So I had a little bit of time. And on a whim, I was thinking, how about if I reached out to a friend in the trucking business, and I said, if I could figure out to park one of your 40-foot trailers across the street from this Hilton Hotel in front of one of those fancy buildings with all my fancy competitors, would you lend me the truck? He said, sure, jerk. You can't park a bicycle in New York for 10 minutes. I went on a truck for four days. And I said, if I can figure it out, will you lend it to me? He said, figure it out.

I'll help you decorate. So I called the mayor's office. He was mayor at the time. I said, excuse me, Mr. Mayor, how does it? I want to get permission to park a 40-foot truck on the corner of six to seven to six street. The answer is sorry, son,

they don't. This is New York. We get permission only to circumstances. If you're a utility company servicing our streets, 18D kind of, or if you are a production company shooting a phone promotion picture because we're going through an I Love New York campaign in the early 80s. I think we have been ever since.

Right. So thank you, Mr. Mayor hung up the phone. Went to the stationery store. Changed my letterhead. Can't have to go into Kennethgo Productions Inc. Wow.

It cost me $14. Filed for a permit the next morning for permission to shoot a full-length motion picture called the birth of a shoot company. We opened for business on December 2nd. I had two New York policemen as my doorman, compliments of our fine mayor, and I had Clegglights, I had stanchions, and I had a director. Sometimes there was filming his camera, sometimes it wasn't. Right. And we opened for business. We saw every buyer in New York. They all waited online,

and the more important they were, the longer I made him wait. And we saw 40,000 parachutes. shoes in two and a half days. Whoa. And the company to this day is still Kenneth Cole Productions. Oh my God. We traded on the New York Stock Exchange for 10 years. And the symbol is KCP. And we keep the name because, A, today, everything is a production at some level.

But I also believe that the best solution and it's a constant reminder is rarely the most expensive. It's almost always the most creative. That is amazing. See, why are you deflecting? This story is incredible. It's absolutely incredible. And all right, so when you open the doors, first of all,

so the truck on the outside to have Kenneth Cole Productions, like what drew people over to that truck? What did you do to stand out to be different? Well, it's Kenneth Cole Productions, and then quickly there were crowds and crowds store crowds, and then people would tell each other. And then I'm sitting out there, and people have come and go to breakfast,

going to dinner, and ordinarily with these trade shows, you know, you're locked in your little room. But I was out there, you know, seeing everybody. So I was able to award them in. And we saw everybody. And at the end of the day, there was a phone booth on the corner at a lot of quarters. And I was calling the factory in Italy. And I was changing production as every day.

You know, a little more red, less blue, higher heel, less lower heel. And to this day, it's still to this day, we are a little scrappy and agile and hopefully relevant. And that's what the business is. and that's what's required to exist. As you start selling shoes more and more and more there, were you kind of like, oh, my God, this is really happening? You know what? I wasn't because I was delusional,

and I just knew it would happen. And I didn't realize the risk, reward, you know, how much was this potentially at stake. And I figured if it was wrong, I would correct, course correct as I was doing it. And if I wasn't doing it right, had the mayor not supported this decision? I would have found another way to get my product out there.

But I've just been, you know, just maybe a little delusional that regard. But I have been relentless and with a clear sense. How to make an impact. Love that. I love that term relentless. And how to distinguish yourself. Yeah, be different. Right.

And, you know, people are so afraid to be different. I try to tell young guys come in the sports industry, right, all the time. Hey, don't be facing the crowd. Be the damn crowd. Be your own crowd. And hearing it from you, is going to help a lot of other people also and, you know, just on their journey. And I think it's basically, and it's a lot of what you talked about, too.

I mean, you know, be yourself because no one could do that better than you can. And that's different in and of itself. So, you know, and everything's okay. And we all, everybody struggles. And, you know, I had this message. I've always thought from the very beginning long before social media, I tried to, in short, soundbites, try to connect with people, you know, in meaningful ways to the degree that I could.

But I think we had that campaign once and it was a proud member of a dysfunctional family. And because I came to realize everybody thinks their family's fucked up. Everybody thinks their family is dysfunctional. And we sold out every time we sold out. And everybody was a proud member of a dysfunctional family. And then at the coalition, interestingly, I'm not sure what I'm telling you is, but at the code, we spoke to people who openly struggled and had mental illness is something that part of how they define themselves. themselves and their individual struggles.

And that message wasn't so well embraced. And I came to realize that, you know, if you feel you're the source of the dysfunction, you're not as proud of it, you know, which is unfortunate. But the fact that other people are open to it, acknowledge that it exists, I think is a big deal. I bond with that. I connect with it. Hey, one of my saying is I'm fucked up, but I'm good with my fucked upness.

Right. It's, hey, my parents took me to a therapist, my first therapist when I was four. or five, like I was the fucked up one. Like, you know what I mean like, hello, look at the mirror here a little bit. So I, yeah, I think we're all part of some dysfunction in our families. But for me, when you say that, I'm like, in my mind, I'm like, I'm part of our crew. I don't have any shame. And I'm like, I connected with what you just said.

I loved it. Yeah. So, you know, and so that is essentially, you know, our goal and our objective is to be real, be not to be, um, delusional and to understand. and to understand where you are and where you want to be and then figure out. And everything else is about the journey and how do we get there? How long after that you had the truck out there in Manhattan? How long after that until you opened your first store?

On 50 to 6th Street, 6th Avenue is where the truck was. And I opened the store about a year and a half later. But I opened the showroom. My first season of business, I sold shoes to Bloomingdale's to Sacks for the Avenue, to Macy's, to everybody that we would have wanted to sell shoes to. We picked. And then a year later, I had my own show. shop at Fulmingdale's. I was very lucky early on, but I was working. I was all the time. And it was

who I was. It was what I did and is how I found pleasure. And I wasn't married at the time. So I didn't have to make as many sacrifices personally. But, you know, but that is, you know, we all have to balance that all the time. We figure out how to make it all work. And so personal and professional and then later on, Maddie Marion, you know, kind of community and folks. And philanthropy and that became the third leg on the stool and how do you balance that. I made that also part of the business and it's what we do and it's how we allocate our resources and it made everybody in the company work. I think it feels so much better about working as hard as they were working because there's

no other way. There's no shortcuts. Is there one shoe or clothing or article or anything that you've come out with that you're more proud of than others or have like a special meaning? I don't know if there's any one specific. shoe or a line or but shoes were my thing for a long time and I lived in the shoe business and arguably the most typical business that exists what was that part of it is because you know no shoe fits everybody I mean a great fitting shoe only fits a great fitting shoe that's a size

eight only fits maybe half the people who are size eight and it doesn't fit any of the people who are seven and a half or nine or ten or so and you've got to own inventory all these sizes and and you've got to make everything. It's got to be ready that, you know, the minute people want it. It's got to be available at the price they want. It's got to fit the way they need it. And then it's got to fit, not just today, but tomorrow. And there's a lot of variables at play.

And we're in a lot of businesses today. We're in 26 different licensed businesses today. Wow. And none of them are as complicated to this day as the shoe business. But I love it in that regard. And just think every day how many people want to be in your shoes, Jay. I like that. Or I like to say we all walk this walk together.

There you go, right? Before I let you go, I ask this for all my guests. Give me your unbreakable moment. Like the moment of your life that should have broken you, could have broken you, and because it didn't, you came through the other side of that tunnel and made you a lot stronger. So I woke up one morning and I realized that the stores were all, the whole retail business in the United States was struggling. And then there was only a few retailers left,

the Macy's was about to be acquired by federated department stores. And they were both in debt up to their eyes. And they already had no service on the floor. And it became clear to me that in order for them to justify and afford this, they had to change their business model, which meant they were going to have to get rid of the middleman. And they were going to have to source product independently. And I realized, wait a second, I'm that middleman.

So I went back to sleep, took some asthma, went back to sleep, woke up. And I said, wait a second, I don't have to be that middle man. If I open stores and I could become the destination, then I'm not the middleman anymore. They are. So I changed the business model and went public in order to fund opening stores, I became a retailer. And I got focused on building the brand and not just creating cool shoes for cool people. So I don't know.

I said it on breakable and went out. Yeah, it is. Yeah, absolutely. Because your business could have gone south fast or could have thrived and thrived? Yeah. And that's all the time in our. business. That's, I think, how we've survived so long is that we've realistically looked in the error and just acknowledged our vulnerability and addressed it and personally as well, too.

And how do I, I spend so much time working on some of the social impact stuff too. And business sometimes struggles as a result of it. And then I'll work as, then I'll go back to working in the business. And then the impact work struggles a little bit. So then my golf game sucks because of both of that. That's at least your problems, man. We're good. Well, brother, man, I appreciate that this has been fantastic. I always love connecting with you. I always love to spend time with you. Love to spend more time with you.

You're a role model for many of us, Jay. So keep up what you do and keep that great spirit and energy and inspiring us because I love you, love that I can do this to help you. That's what we do. Hey, you and I are walking this walk together. You can take that for me if you want. We're in this shift. Brother, again, I really appreciate you joining me today. This has just been fantastic.

and we'll connect offline and hopefully link up this week before you head back. All right. Appreciate it. Love you, brother. Another podcast from some SNL, late night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smygel and friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer, Streeter Seidel, help an

a cappella band with their between songs banter. Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and friends on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque.

Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, this is Robert from the Stuff to Blow Your Mind podcast. Joe and I are both lifelong Star Wars fan, so we're celebrating May the 4th with a brand new week of fun, thought-provoking Star Wars-related episodes. Join us as we tackle science and culture topics from a galaxy far, far away, such as the biology of tantons and wampas on the ice planet hot, or the practicality and corporate business sense of the Sith rule of.

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