A shoe-in for success

MORRISON – Whether in a small Midwest town or the largest city on either coast, the limelight always finds Megan Linke.

The 1995 Morrison High School grad says she is still a Midwest girl at heart, but the lure of the city called at an early age.

“She talked about getting out of the small town all her life,” said her father, Gus Linke, who last year retired from the Morrison school district after 44 years as an educator, the last 20 as athletic director.

Gus said his daughter has always loved the big moment, and she has a history of excelling when the lights shine the brightest.

“She entered beauty pageants when she was young, competed all over the country in gymnastics, was a cheerleader and star basketball player,” Gus said. “Everything she tried she was very good at it, and she was always a leader.”

After studying communications and marketing at William Penn University in Oskaloosa, Iowa, the big city issued a louder call. Her love of sports launched a modeling career that continues today.

“Arena football is huge in Iowa, and I was a cheerleader and dancer for the Iowa Barnstormers,” Megan said. “It was really kind of a fluke. I never actively pursued it, but because of the Barnstormers experience, the opportunity presented itself to do some modeling gigs.”

She modeled for everything from posters to catalogs and commercials. During that time, she was a runner-up for Miss Iowa USA and Miss Venus Swimwear.

She moved to Chicago, where she was discovered by Quest Modeling Agency. Doors opened – a hosting job for a fashion television station, magazine shoots, and TV appearances.

Megan decided to put the modeling whirlwind on hold, moving to Los Angeles in 2004. She worked in the medical devices industry, which she enjoyed, but the limelight followed her.

“A friend nominated me to be on a reality TV show, ‘The One’, and I was chosen to be the bachelorette,” Megan said. She also became the spokesmodel for an LA-based company, then moved to her current home, New York City.

“I moved to New York in 2009, and booked a lot of jobs, and found myself traveling a lot,” Megan said.

Then family life called, and she put her career on pause. She met husband Scott Marwin, an orthopedic surgeon at New York University Hospital, and they were married 2 years ago. Little did Megan know that the birth of her son, Liam, now almost 2, would trigger another big career opportunity.

“I never imagined myself sewing, but I decided to take lessons,” Megan said. “I started making shoes for Liam, and what started as ‘my little hobby’ has grown beyond my wildest expectations.”

Other parents started noticing the little shoes and asked her to make some for them. In July, she launched LiLi Collection, a web-based business that could soon turn into storefronts.

She is selling the shoes, boots and moccasins for babies and toddlers internationally now, warranting the hiring of assistants.

Her husband started calling their son LiLi, a nickname that has stuck for him and is now a rapidly growing brand.

Celebrities are loving the shoes, and their plugs on social media are boosting the brand. Actress Tori Spelling has the shoes on her Seasonal Must List, and actress Megan Hilty, fitness guru to the stars Tracy Anderson, and a reality TV star – who Megan can’t name, but many of us would guess – are hooked on the brand.

“It doesn’t matter if they are celebrites, it just makes my day when parents post pictures of their kids in my shoes,” Megan said. “There has been so much support, too, from people back in the Sauk Valley buying my shoes.”

Even Gus admits that sewing wasn’t something he ever envisioned for his daughter.

“I’m really surprised that the business has taken off the way it has,” he said. “The success is great, but the best part for me is always seeing my grandson in a new pair of mocassins.”