Blake Mycoskie is a dynamic entrepreneur that has started six successful businesses from the ground up. After being recruited to Southern Methodist University to play tennis, Mycoskie started EZ Laundry, a door-to-door laundry service aimed at fellow college students. The company soon expanded to seven colleges across the Southwest, with 40 employees and 8 trucks.

After selling EZ Laundry to his business partner, Blake traveled to Nashville where, inspired by the larger-than-life billboards in Hollywood, set out to create an outdoor media company aimed at the Music City’s leading country stars. Mycoskie’s renegade efforts soon drew the attention of industry giant, Clear Channel, who purchased Mycoskie’s remaining billboards in Nashville and Dallas.

With two successful companies already under his belt, Blake plunged himself into the world of reality television. Teaming up with his sister, Paige, Blake competed on the second season of CBS’ hit show, The Amazing Race, coming just four minutes away from the $1 million dollar grand prize. This experience inspired Mycoskie to create Reality 24/7, a cable TV channel dedicated to all-access reality news and programming. Teaming up with Larry Namer, co-founder of the E! Entertainment Network, and Kay Koplovitz, former CEO of the USA Network, Mycoskie raised over $2 million dollars for the project from venture capitalists and former reality stars. The buzz for Reality 24/7 was so great that Rupert Murdoch decided to create his own all-reality network, thereby ending Mycoskie’s rogue efforts.

Now living in Los Angeles, Mycoskie teamed up with the creators of TrafficSchool.com to create DriversEdDirect, a behind-the-wheel training school featuring Hybrid cars and hip instructors. To help promote DriversEdDirect, Blake created Closer Marketing Group - a Santa Monica based marketing firm specializing in brand development and viral marketing.
While vacationing in South America in 2006, Mycoskie discovered the Alpargata, a traditional rope-soled shoe that has been worn by Argentina farmers for centuries. At the same time, Blake was struck by the terrible poverty that he saw: too poor to afford shoes, children developed cuts and scrapes on their feet that led to injury and disease. Blake returned to Los Angeles with 250 pairs of shoes in his duffel bag and the idea for a new company, TOMS Shoes - that would match every pair sold with a new pair given to a child in need. One for One.

After selling 10,000 pairs of shoes from his apartment in Venice, Mycoskie returned to Argentina with friends, family and his new TOMS’ Family to hand-deliver 10,000 pairs of shoes to kids in need. The trip was filmed by filmmaker Ken Kokin (co-producer of the Academy Award Winning Usual Suspects).

Since the first Argentina Giving Trip, TOMS has given millions of new shoes to children in over 40 countries all over the world, including the U.S. Last June, Blake announced TOMS' second One for One product: TOMS Eyewear, which helps to save and restore someone's sight through prescription glasses, medical treatment and sight-saving surgery.

Because of its unique one-for-one philosophy, TOMS has benefited from tremendous media attention that has made traditional marketing unnecessary. TOMS has been featured in The Los Angeles Times, The New York Times, PEOPLE Magazine, TIME Magazine, VOGUE, Elle, Oprah Magazine, The Today Show, to name a few.

Blake is 35 years old and lives on a boat in Los Angeles.

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