1 Eleven Leather: A Second Chance Success Story

It was my faith that I believed it.

2

When everyone was doubting me,

saying that clemency is over.

3

That's it.

4

It's not going to be anymore.

5

And I look into these times now, like

I'm here and I'm out here and the

6

positive things that I'm doing with

the change that God gave me in my life.

7

I have been working with communities.

8

I have been working with children

who was in my situations who

9

was, going down wrong paths.

10

I have showed them right ways to turn.

11

Cliff Duvernois: Hello everyone.

12

And welcome back to Total Michigan,

where we interview ordinary Michiganders

13

doing some pretty extraordinary things.

14

I'm your host, Cliff DuVernois.

15

Have you ever wondered what it truly

means to embrace a second chance?

16

How does one rise, from the shadows

of their past, to illuminate the

17

path towards a brighter future.

18

What drives someone to defy the odds,

rewrite the narrative, and to build

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a new legacy of hope and possibility?

20

To help us answer these questions today is

our guest, the owner of 1-Eleven Leather

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Goods, and that would be Mirakle McGlown.

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Mirakle, how are you?

23

Mirakle McGlown: I'm doing

fine Cliff, how are you?

24

Cliff Duvernois: I'm doing

awesome, thank you for asking.

25

For our audience, why don't you tell

us, what is 1-Eleven Leather Goods.

26

Mirakle McGlown: 1-Eleven Leather Goods,

is a handmade leather product made by me.

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1-Eleven is actually what I like

to break in Trinity form, meaning

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one love, one power, and one God.

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Just giving God homage into my brand.

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1-Eleven is actually angelical numbers.

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Just meaning, leaving your past behind

and stepping into a better future of

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manifestation and positive energy.

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And it's something that I would like

to put into the brand that I do.

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it's actually handmade right

here in Flint, Michigan.

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Uh, I like all of my products to

be one of eleven of it's kind.

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Just making it unique, giving

different designs to one eleven.

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And I would like to call it

future fashion before it happens.

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You know, that's How I explain

it is, it's where, it's where

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quality is priority here.

40

so that's 1-Eleven.

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It's the brand.

42

And it actually happens to be my

birthday, but that's another story, so.

43

Cliff Duvernois: Well, I know it's

a little late, but happy birthday.

44

Thank you.

45

Ha ha.

46

uh, Let's go back in time

47

So why don't you talk to us

about did your story start?

48

where did you start?

49

How did this all happen?

50

Mirakle McGlown: This all happened,

to be honest as me being Uh, I

51

52

during 20 years, actually, for, uh,

different, uh, reasons, drug conspiracies.

53

During my incarceration, just

wanted to, um, find some way

54

of just changing my life.

55

And during about two years into

my incarceration, I was able to

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get into a leather crafting class.

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Where, uh, they actually taught you the

basic of making belts and basic handbags.

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I developed a niche for it.

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It just became just a great passion.

60

It was like my therapy.

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You know, It was just very therapeutic

for me while I was in prison.

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So it was just my therapy of peace,

of getting away from everything.

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And, developed a passion for

it where I just started doing

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different things my way.

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Once I learned to, craft, I

started making things unique.

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I was known for two tone in my bags.

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I like to mismatch

colors with the leather.

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And um, it was just something

that just grew into me that

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I just fell in love with.

70

And from that moment on, I started

making different bags for family and

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friends, you know, and shipping bags

home and just got better and better.

72

So it's been 14 years now

that I've been doing this and

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um, It's been a great thing.

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I was going through it.

75

I was fortunate enough to be able

to get clemency without that 20 year

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sentence and was able to come home

after 10 years through President Obama

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clemency program that he, granted for me.

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And I, came home to pursue the dream

and the passion that I always had

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of just making a business out of it,

of actually having my shop and doing

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things my way of, making a business.

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During pandemic was like, unfortunately

for the world and everything, but it

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was a great eye opener for me of opening

up a business for, and during the time

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of just being at home during that time.

84

I probably made anywhere from

40 to 50 bags during those

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year of, uh, the pandemic.

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And, Just took her on to business, man,

stepped out on faith, you know, gave it

87

to God, went to work and here I am now,

you know, bringing a vision of life,

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of what I really wanted to do, and it's

just a great passion of mine and, and

89

I'm happy to be doing something that I

really fell in love with most of all.

90

Cliff Duvernois: So you mentioned

before about how you were sent to

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prison and it was for 20 years.

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What was going through

your mind at that time?

93

Mirakle McGlown: Oh, well, what

was going through my mind was,

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everything, you know, just life period.

95

I'm, 25, 26 years old being sentenced.

96

At that time?

97

At that time.

98

Being sentenced, I was 25 actually.

99

Being sentenced to 20 years.

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So first of all, I'm looking at life Like

I mean, I've only been living 25 years

101

and I'm sitting in prison for 20 years.

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You know reality hit me that

these were the bad choices that

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I made that led to this way.

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And the first thing I just

started figuring out how

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am I gonna figure this out?

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I'm gonna make this through

to be just sane and not, go

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crazy with this amount of time.

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Man I really just in tune to myself,

got real close to God, being honest with

109

myself, not being in denial of different

things that I need to change in my life.

110

I'm looking at, I had, three

children at the time, so, you know,

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I had just had my youngest son.

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And he was maybe a year old and

I'm looking at things like that,

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like how can I change my life

and for the better for them?

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I wanted to figure out something.

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To really be living for, to look

forward for my kids could see

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the positive, image that came

from the bad choices that I made.

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So I went to different classes

during the prison time.

118

And I was doing everything that I

needed to, you know, change my ways.

119

And when I got into the leather class,

that's why I say it was very therapeutic

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for me because I found something, in a mix

of my change, in a mix of me asking God.

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Because I had never even really been that

faith based, to be honest, at that time.

122

And I got real with God.

123

And I just asked God to give me

something that I really could

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just, know that this is it.

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You could change for the better.

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And I think it was kind

of like the leather class.

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I remember the first year

was just a hard year when I'm

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looking at this amount of time.

129

And then I found something that second

year where I just kept staring in the

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glass window at this leather class.

131

And it was like it was calling me.

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And finally, I went in there

to ask him, like, how can I

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get into this type of class?

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It was a hard class to get into.

135

They didn't take you serious.

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You had to have, you had to be fortunate

enough to have that type of money on your

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commissary to be able to purchase your own

leather because you had to buy your own.

138

Wow.

139

Okay.

140

They put me on a list and at that

time I was working up in prison, just

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saving money to be put up on the class.

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And finally they called me to

get in the class and I took

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it seriously from the jump.

144

It was kind of like, yeah.

145

my faith base met reality for me.

146

It was like, okay, God sent it for me.

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I'm loving this right here.

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I remember making my first belt,

you know, I went crazy about it.

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Then I went, um, my first handbag I

sent to my mom, and my first backpacks

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that I started making for my children.

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And I had made, My, my daughter,

a bag where I embossed her name

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on it and her name was Leilani.

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And I remember like, it was so many people

who had daughters named Leilani in prison.

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It was just so many offers to

like, they wanted to buy that

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bag and I sent it to my daughter.

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And it was just like, she, I

remember talking to her and she was

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like, I wore my backpack to school.

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And the teacher actually asked me like,

where did you get that backpack from?

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And she was like, my dad made it.

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And it was like, when she told

me that and she was so happy,

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it was so like emotional for me.

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It was just so much motivation for me.

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My son asking me for different

things, exactly how he want his bag.

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And I make a bag backpack exactly for him.

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And, you know, at this

time they had got older.

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Like I said, when I

left, they were children.

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As that time, I just saw

things that just motivated me.

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And before the business, it's

like I fell in love with it

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just for the passion of therapy.

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So that's why I say it feels

good to be actually doing

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something that I really love.

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And I love the whole point of,

making custom things, coming in doing

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designs people haven't seen before.

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But during those times up in

prison, that was just the first

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thing that came to my mind was.

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Getting it right.

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Be honest with yourself.

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People make bad choices.

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I didn't want to be one of those people

that get mad at myself to come out and

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be doing the same thing that I'm doing.

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I want to, I was one of those people who,

you know, I just got honest with myself.

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Instead of being mad at myself, I probably

could say I was disappointed at myself

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with some of the choices that I had made.

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But I wasn't getting mad at myself.

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I was more encouraging myself

that you could do better.

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and you know, you can do better.

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Cliff Duvernois: Being in prison

just by listening to you talk,

188

it must have been heartbreaking

to be separated from your kids.

189

But it sounds like being in this leather

craft shop, gave you a way to really

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be able to connect with your kids.

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Mirakle McGlown: It was, and

it was a relationship that that

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brung on my, brung on to my kids.

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I took fatherhood classes, in prison

to gain relationship with my kids.

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Because that type of relationship had

flown away from me being there physically.

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But I made it my thing to stay in contact,

to stay on the phone with them, to always

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ask them how their day were, to all of

them ask them what they're interested in.

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And then like you say, here comes the

leather class, something that we can

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relate to, that we can actually sit

and talk to, and you know, and bring

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different things that we, we both would

think, you know what I'm saying, would

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be just some vision that we wish, an

imagination that we wish could happen.

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But we're bringing it to life where

we're sitting there talking about bags

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and how you want this bag and dad sit

there and make the bag and then we're

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both talking about it actually when you

get the bag and it's just like how you

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wanted it and it just gave a relationship

and it also gave like belief to my

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children, like being a person in prison,

sometime your children can, you know,

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lose belief in the things that you can do

and the positivity that you can change.

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And it just, it shows that type of

belief and that type of faith to my kids.

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Yeah.

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That, okay, and they're

doing the right thing.

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You know, it's just hope for

one day dad I'll be home.

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Hopefully sooner than these 20 years.

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But it definitely started a

relationship that was great,

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Cliff Duvernois: And it gave them, I would

imagine it gave them a sense of pride.

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Mirakle McGlown: Yeah, sense of pride.

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Sense of hope.

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And even, even through those things,

even though I was like granted clemency.

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I wasn't just granted

clemency for nothing.

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I was granted clemency for the

things that I was doing in prison.

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Like I said, I was doing programs.

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I was changing my life up in prison.

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I was getting into

active, positive things.

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I showed a record of change, you

know, it wasn't just like, Oh, here,

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we're going to give them clemency.

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It was just like, okay, here's

someone who deserve a second chance.

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I'm grateful to be home and really

showing, What you can do with a

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second chance in a positive way.

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That's my main thing.

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I'm so grateful of turning

like I could say a negative

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to a positive right, you know

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Cliff Duvernois: So definitely for

audience, we're gonna take a quick

231

break and thank our sponsors when we

come back we're gonna talk about the

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miracle that Mirakle received to get

him out of prison and What's he's doing

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it today to really beautify the world.

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We'll see you after the break.

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Hello everyone, and welcome back to

Total Michigan, where we interview

253

ordinary Michiganders doing some

pretty extraordinary things.

254

I'm your host Cliff DuVernois.

255

Today, we are talking to Mirakle

McGlown and his absolutely

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amazing story of transformation.

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And Mirakle, before the break,

uh, we were talking about, we

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were talking about life in prison.

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And this actually opened the door

for you to start learning the

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craft of making leather goods.

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The next part of your story that I would

like to go on is the clemency portion.

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What made you think that

you would even get clemency?

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What are all the steps that you

had to go through before you

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finally were granted clemency?

265

Mirakle McGlown: Did I believe

that I would even get clemency?

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Yes.

267

Awesome.

268

My belief was so high.

269

My faith was so high.

270

Because I turned that situation

over to God, to be honest.

271

You know, I remember

when clemency had came.

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I got clemency three days before

President Obama was out of office.

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I was a part of the last batch of clemency

that he gave on his wife's birthday.

274

Michelle's birthday was January 17th.

275

He was out of office January 20th.

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I had so much faith in God.

277

I knew I was ready for my second chance.

278

And I told my daughter,

I said, I gave it to God.

279

I said, if anybody hand, I can be the

fourth quarter, last second on the clock.

280

I'm giving it to God

and it's in his hands.

281

And I feel like I'm ready.

282

But if I'm not, then

God knows I'm not ready.

283

Maybe I think I'm ready.

284

And I accepted that.

285

And I know God knew that

I was honest about it.

286

I was denied for clemency twice.

287

But on the third time, somehow, like the

last batch of people, my name came up.

288

I remember seeing it on CNN where it was

300 and something people had got clemency.

289

And I left out the TV room and

I went into my room and I just

290

dropped to my knees and I prayed.

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Because I, I just said, I said,

God, well, I guess I'm not ready.

292

But I just asked that you build

me to be ready whenever my time

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is to come to get up out of here.

294

They called me to the warden office.

295

The warden just called me in, sat me down,

and he asked me if the President was to

296

grant you clemency, would you accept it?

297

And my answer definitely was yes.

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But it might've came like two minutes

behind after I was like all bought

299

up in tears, just coming down.

300

It was just such a relief and

all I could think about was

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my children and getting home.

302

It was like It really happened and

it was more of a confirmation for

303

me from God that he, he heard me.

304

He knew I was ready.

305

It was my faith that I believed it.

306

When everyone was doubting me,

saying that clemency is over.

307

That's it.

308

It's not going to be anymore.

309

And I look into these times now, like

I'm here and I'm out here and the

310

positive things that I'm doing with

the change that God gave me in my life.

311

I would still be in prison, but to

this day right now with years to go.

312

And I have been out here

doing positive things.

313

I have been working with communities.

314

I have been working with children

who was in my situations who was,

315

you know going down wrong paths.

316

I have showed them right ways to

turn, I have done so many things

317

like fires with without with

therapists like I told him I would do.

318

Like I knew I would change a kid life that

looked at up to me for the bad choices.

319

That same kid was going to get a

chance to look up for me for the

320

good choices being made and the

positive things that I'm doing.

321

And I'm doing that.

322

And it's that of the

clemency, it's that of God.

323

It's that feeling that even when I thought

I didn't get clemency, I still felt good.

324

I still felt good about it.

325

I still was in good energy.

326

I felt like God had control of it.

327

But at the same time, it was more

just a confirmation for me that God

328

had his hands on me all the time.

329

Long as I was committed

and doing the right thing.

330

So I just thank God, man, I don't

get emotional, but I thank God for

331

that, you know, that moment, that

time, was just really the biggest

332

confirmation that God could have gave me.

333

And that's why I tell you to

this day, God is the greatest.

334

Like I speak to you, he's good,

but he's better than good.

335

God is the greatest.

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And he's Tony the Tiger.

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Great.

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I put that, I put that.

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Yes.

340

But yeah, coming from there.

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Coming home from clemency.

342

Having my plan to get right.

343

Being able to have a job of a nine

to five to get into the city where

344

I'm working street maintenance.

345

And those days were getting to be hectic

of wanting to start this business.

346

Now this was right around when COVID.

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This was right when COVID happened.

348

And I was at home and just wanted

to do something that I love.

349

And it was just like I was

loving that I had a job.

350

But I was missing my leather.

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I was missing, doing my leather.

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That was like part of like reading for

me, you know, it was just peaceful for me.

353

It was my my time a therapeutic.

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So I started back.

355

And I reached out during the

pandemic as we just sitting home.

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Everything was pretty much locked down.

357

I say I'm gonna give me some

tools and we give me some leather.

358

I remember talking to my Lady.

359

And I was talking to my mother.

360

And my mother had been asking

me to do bags anyway, right?

361

She's been was on me.

362

So I want, yeah, she was on me to do bag.

363

She wanted her another purse anyway.

364

She was like, why don't

you do some purses?

365

Like, cause I would like this purse.

366

But I got tools, man.

367

I got, I ordered leather.

368

I wasn't able to get the right

tools that I really needed.

369

But I was able to get the

basic tools that I could use.

370

You know, at least just get started.

371

I could get started with this.

372

So I reached out, to the, be honest,

I was looking for a leather company.

373

And I reached out to the same

people I was getting leather from

374

in prison down in Springfield.

375

And they actually beat the prices

of the other companies that

376

people were asking me to go.

377

And then, what was the main thing, um, I

talked to a lady who actually remembered

378

me from ordering leather in prison.

379

And she was congratulating

me for being home.

380

And she gave me the same discounts that

they were giving me from in prison.

381

So, you know, just like God was just

lining things up for me in my life.

382

And um, I started out.

383

I put my faith in God

and just went to work.

384

And I brought my vision

and dreams to reality.

385

And I started working.

386

I started, made that bag for my

mom, I made that bag for my lady.

387

I made that bag for the kids.

388

I started making more bags

for family who was asking.

389

And they were telling friends.

390

And I started developing, you

know, customers who were looking

391

forward to supporting me.

392

I reached out to a person down at Comma

Bookstore, Egypt Otis, and I was up there.

393

And I was doing a bag in front of them

and I showed them A bag and they're

394

like, oh you really does these bags

hand making them like so I oh I didn't

395

know that you were like making them.

396

And she got excited about it.

397

She was like I have an idea for you

You need it It's people that will

398

help you out because I was telling

her like I really could do even

399

better than these with better tools

and right better space I said, this

400

is just something I'm doing at home.

401

So she reached out to some people.

402

I end up she turned me to 100k

Ideas here and it was a Pitch 4k

403

that was coming up It's called

pitch 4k where you pitch your idea.

404

It was a chance to win

five thousand dollars.

405

She said she thought it

would be great for me.

406

I entered it and I actually won, you know.

407

I won first place was able to get

five thousand dollars supported

408

to my funds of my business.

409

Was able to get more tools There

from 100k ideas, I hooked on to a

410

guy named Tyler Bailey who actually

hooked me on to a Navigate Program.

411

The Navigate Program actually

gave purchased different donations

412

into a my funding of me having

a class down at Factory Two, so

413

I was going down at Factory Two.

414

I was able to use real machines

and tools that I really needed

415

and sped up the process.

416

They gave me space there

for my leather table.

417

I went to work down there,

kind of sped up the process.

418

I was able to get over, over from

there to get funded through a grant,

419

where I actually gave me, uh, money

to go towards my business for tools.

420

It was a Michigan Moving Forward grant.

421

And from there things really started

to pop off where I could actually

422

get my machines that I really needed,

the tools that I really needed.

423

So it was just those type of people

in support in the city here that

424

supported me so much here in Flint

through the things that I've been doing.

425

And it's been going great.

426

I've been able to get my business

up and going, get a little help from

427

different people who I'm working with.

428

Learning to teach.

429

I'm looking forward into

actually teaching a class.

430

Just not being a gatekeeper to it.

431

Teaching the Take What You Make

class where you learn how to make

432

basic belts and wallets and for

the women, a basic handbag class.

433

Just, teach one, each one,

teach one, maybe find some help

434

who's got a passion for it.

435

Like me, I was able to get into here at a

100 K ideas with Shops on Saginaw, right.

436

To display my storefront right

here on downtown Flint, Michigan,

437

601 South Saginaw street.

438

And also with who I first started from,

uh, at Comma Bookstore with Egypt Otis

439

was able to put bags over there for

retail at Comma Bookstore right here,

440

at Buckingham Alley and 2nd Street.

441

The things are just going in.

442

I opened up a website that was funded

through the grant that I used for

443

Michigan Moving Michigan forward.

444

It's great.

445

Yeah, I was able to open up a website.

446

So now I'm just going and growing

into the business, you know, of

447

different things, of getting my

name, trademarks, and things.

448

So people supporting those type of things,

and this is all started from, like I

449

said, just a dream and a vision of mine.

450

And I really stuck on my saying when

I say, no one really believes in

451

your dream and your vision until your

dream and vision becomes reality.

452

So I really, I push everyone who has

a dream or vision to do something,

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to go out on faith, give it to

God, go to work, believe in it.

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Believe in yourself.

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but it confirms how much

I believe in myself.

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You know, so, and just believe

that God has me on to the right

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path of doing the right thing.

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Now I have the store

here at Shops on Saginaw.

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Which is 6 0 1 South Saginaw

Street, downtown Flint, Michigan.

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I'm also at retail at Comma Bookstore on

second and Buckingham Alley right there.

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And I'm also have the website,

which is one 11 leather.com.

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Cliff Duvernois: I was just gonna ask

you what the name of your website is.

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Mirakle McGlown: Yeah, the

number, the number one spell out.

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11 E-L-E-V-E-N leather, L-E-A-T-H-E-R.com

So that's the number one E L

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E V E N L E A T H E R dot com.

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And also type up 1-Eleven Leather

Goods, it'll pop right up also.

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very much looking forward

to the business growing.

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I love the fact that I come with

different designs on my bags is mostly

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just things you just never seen before.

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I like to put my bags

one of 11 of his kind.

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I really don't want to do

more than 11 of the same bag.

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So I just want to keep them

unique and keep it custom.

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That's my way of just branding

out the whole one thing.

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Cliff Duvernois: Mirakle, it's

been awesome having you on the

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show today and sharing your story.

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We really appreciate it.

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Thank you.

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Thank you.

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For our audience, you can get

the link that Mirakle was talking

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about in the show notes down below.

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We will see you next time when we

talk to another Michigander doing

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some pretty extraordinary things.

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We'll see you then.