steve madden is a billion-dollar brand. that success led the man behind the sneakers and stilettos down a difficult path. he's making his comeback in the business he loves using his second chance to help his former fellow inmates find their footing. here's abc's chief business technology and economics correspondent rebecca jarvis with another look. >> my fantasy is to make every shoe for every person in the world. rebooting. rock 'n' roll in sneakers, baby. >> reporter: you might not know his face. but if you're a shoe lover, you know his name. steve madden. >> that's a great frigging shoe. what are you wearing? don't wear those again. the shortest intern program ever. you better get a pair of shoes, honey. now you know. don't let it happen again. >> reporter: the shoe designer and businessman started his brand in 1990 with just $1,100. >> it looks cheap. we're going to get away with it. >> reporter: today he's the force behind a multi-billion dollar brand. as a shoe guy, how many pairs of shoes do you own? >> me? >> person

is still very much about steve madden the person. >> i try not to get crazy. i flipped out on somebody like it was like, oh god. >> reporter: his shoe impyre raked in $1.4 billion in sales last year amid a difficult retail climate. the company selling nearly 105 pairs of shoes every minute. >> that's the first shoe, i mad that in this building. >> reporter: his first shoe, the marilyn, proudly displayed at the office. the same shoe he once sold out of the back of a car. how does it feel looking at that shoe now, 25 years later? >> it's great. it's great. it was a great shoe. >> a great shoe? >> it was 27 years ago. >> reporter: madden made his life story inn a documentary, "madman: the steve madden story." from growing up in long island to his first becoming a doting father to his three kids. twins and a 4-year-old? >> yeah. >> what do you do with your kids? what's your life like when you hang out with your kids? >> i'm a waiter. that's what i am. that's what i am, i'm a waiter. i walk around with a towel on my arm and a tray. that's what i do. >> reporter: an

steve madden, the man behind the billion-dollar brand -- >> that's a great frigging shoe. >> making a comeback after a stint in prison using his second chance to pay it forward. >>> the real iron man? a british inventor mastering the physics of flight. soaring in his homemade jet-powered suit like a big-screen superhero. already breaking speed records. now producing them for private sale. is it worth the risk? >>> and capturing vietnam. he jumped out of helicopters and ran into battlefields.

when they look at their holiday picks they like amazon, best buy, steve madden and pvh. that's just a couple of their favorites. mkm partners, patrick mckeever likes the traffic he's seen at five below a good place to go for stocking stuffers a lot of americans are doing that walmart is one patrick mckeever likes. when it comes to what the top last-minute gift is, it's gift cards, again, this year. come only, guys, get a little more creative. i think the inventory malooks better this year make good choices even if it's the last minute. kelly, back to you merry christmas. >> i've done the gift card thing, spaeespecially amazon git cards for the family it's terrible. they appreciate it courtney reagan. >>> many last-minute shoppers may be heading right from the mall to the airport today. eric is in newark in new jersey with a look at the holiday travel rush. eric >> reporter: that's right, kelly. right behind me, not a big rush right now. i spoke to the police, they say usually around 4:30 is when a big crowd tends to come in it's going to start to pick up consider this th

. >> i want to bring in matt lewis, alice stewart and kevin madden. those are fighting words right there. considering the sound byte that just happened, kevin, i have to go to you. >> it was a odious attack, given that steve bannon referenced governor romney's religion. i was his spokesman in the 2008 and 2012 campaigns. but to bring religion in it was an odious attack. it is emblematic that there is -- civil war is too strong of a term for the party right now. but there's a split. if there wasn't a split inside the republican party, a generic republican would win that race against a democrat by 20 points. it's by all accounts, it's neck and neck. we nationalist/populist base right now that steve bannon stokes to drive some division in the country. i question if that serves the long-term goals on the party. all of the attacks on mitch mcconnell. mitch mcconnell and president trump need a strong working relationship to achieve some of the goals. it feels like it's a short-term gain for a lot of the fodder for steve bannon. there's a potential long-term