What is your full name?
Louie T. McClain II, I am the Founder and CEO of Melanin Origins, LLC.

How old are you?
32

How long have you been connected to Tarrant County?
I was born and raised in Arlington, TX.  I was born at Arlington Memorial Hospital.  The first two years of high school was spent at James Bowie High School and the second two years was spent at Juan Seguin High School.  I was a part of the first senior class at Seguin.

What teacher had the greatest impact on you?
Craig Cole, a retired Arena Football League Wide Receiver who is now a full time actor, was the teacher who had the greatest impact on my life.  Mr. Cole was actually my In School Suspension teacher.  Being that I was a troubled youth and spent a lot of time being kicked out of class, Mr. Cole was in the perfect position to plant seeds to help turn my life around.  He always spoke words of encouragement and not belittlement or damnation, and he forced me to think outside of the box.  Those seeds matured into a transformed life, and I still look up to Craig as my personal mentor.

What was it like growing up in Arlington?
Growing up in Arlington was filled with fun times and life lessons.  My childhood was different than most: being an African American male, first generation American, bullied as a young child, troubled youth as a teen, handling up to three jobs at a time as a teen, etc.  I could deep dive into many scenarios, but all in all, I love Arlington, Texas and the diversity that lies therein.  It provided me with a good environment to learn and love others.  I did not grow up thinking much about race, because in Arlington… everyone can feel at home.

What led you to starting your business?
Noticing a need for more culturally responsive learning materials for children of color is what prompted me to create Melanin Origins.  Prior to and currently I am employed by American Airlines as a Development Partner in the Crew Scheduling Training department..

What was most difficult or challenging in getting started?
The most difficult thing initially was compiling a team.  The idea for the company came way before the ability to pay others to get the work done.  Luckily, I have an awesome network of mentors and friends who connected me with the right people who were able to see the vision of Melanin Origins and put in sweat equity to move the company forward.

What were the key relationships that mattered most in getting started? 
Key resources relied in my network.  BRIDGE Fort Worth and Dallas-Fort Worth Urban League Young Professionals helped sharpen me up professionally and in making recommendations for strategic alliances.

What do you find are the most difficult decisions to make?
As a growing company, the hardest decisions to make lie in where to allocate or reinvest revenue.

After you made the decision to get started, got going, and were up and running what is the one thing that happened that surprised you most?
What surprised me most was the overwhelming response that was received from our target audience.  They loved the products and the messaging behind it.  It confirmed to me that I was doing something special and adding value to people’s lives.

What factors do you consider most when adding to you existing team?
I consider motivation, ambition, temperament, and foresight.  Is money the sole motivating factor?  Are you a self starter?  Do you how to perform well under pressure, and can you see how beautiful things will be tomorrow if we simply do the work today?  These are the things that matter the most to me, because Melanin Origins is not set out for riches.  We are set out to bring change to young people and equip them with a healthy knowledge of self which will propel them into their own future dreams and ambitions.

What is the next big step for Melanin Origins?
The next big step is to finalize our first book series, and use that as the foundation to engage at risk students in Tarrant County, beginning in Arlington first.

How do you evaluate success?
Success is measured in many ways, but I evaluate it in it’s most simple form: goal completion.  Often times we tend to make success to be something grandiose, but in all actuality, we accomplish many feats each day that we take for granted.  We should glory in the small things, and also realize that if you said that you were going to do something, and you did it – that success needs to be celebrated.


When you think of the future of the kind of work you’ve talked about here, what gives you a sense of hope?
The work that we are doing is a drop in the ocean.  That gives me hope.  We are getting so much support, so as we continue to create more… we will find more success.  The only worry is that we don’t grow at the needed pace to stifle would be competitors who do not comprehend our value or success thus far.

What do you wish other people knew about your business?
That we’ve been in the Huffington Post twice, made Amazon bestseller three times, we write children’s books about African American Pioneers, we provide a $10k value publishing service for $3k, we are aligned with Sickle Cell charities, and we promote empowerment and leadership.

What has been your biggest epiphany at this point in your life?
That people of color are still fighting against the same opposing spirit of prejudice.

If a movie was written about you life would be the title?
Dreams of a Failure

Would you want your children to be like you when they grow up?
It is my ultimate dream that my children will look up to me and aspire to be greater than me.

Do you view your contributions as successful? 
My contributions are successful because I accomplish my goals.  I reach children through my company and I hear many positive stories about their responses to our learning materials from their parents.  That alone brings me pride and joy; I consider that success.

When you think of the future of the kind of work you’ve talked about here, what gives you a sense of hope?
The work that we are doing is a drop in the ocean.  That gives me hope.  We are getting so much support, so as we continue to create more… we will find more success.  The only worry is that we don’t grow at the needed pace to stifle would be competitors who do not comprehend our value or success thus far.

The last time you did volunteer work where was it and what did you learn?
I currently volunteer at Arlington Life Shelter twice a month.  I simply go in and provide free haircuts to children for a couple hours, and if time remains then I will cut the adult’s hair as well.  I found that maintaining my own personal grooming breeds a healthy confidence and esteem within myself and that is what I want to impart to the young kids who have found themselves in a situation of homelessness and might not have the funds to prioritize personal grooming.  

Volunteering there is very personal to me and I receive many life lessons each time I visit, encourage, and empower the residents of Arlington Life Shelter.  It reminds me that the vast majority of humans are ONE emergency from losing it all.  I see many people who look like myself and people I work with and live around.  I’ve never associated a negative stigma with homelessness, so being there among the people who are down and out helps give me perspective for my own life and it reminds me to always be grateful to God.

Which five people in business so you admire most?
Larry Kemp, Jeffrey Postell, LeBron James, Yodit Tewolde, & Yolanda Harper.

How is your business making Tarrant County Better?
I have established an international brand and I am from here.  I am hoping to get on the radar of the Tarrant School Districts and bid for our materials to be included in the classroom as well as future debate and critical thinking programs that we will offer for Tarrant County.



Contact Info:

   Website: https://www.melaninorigins.com/
    Instagram: @MelaninOrigins
    Facebook: @MelaninOrigins
    Twitter: @MelaninOrigins
    LinkedIn: Louie T. McClain II

Tarrant Influencer is a space where we spotlight individuals in the community that are making contributions that are note-worthy.  If you know someone who is deserving, please email us at info@BetterTarrant.com.