My Origin Story

AKA: From Milkman to Director (with a few titanium screws along the way)

“In West Philadelphia born and raised...”
Wait—wrong origin story. Let’s try that again.

Mine starts in July 1981. Average childhood, 80s-style. Divorced parents. Flea markets. Ninja stars (it was the 80s, child safety was optional). Saturday morning McDonald’s runs with my grandparents. Video games, sports, and a lot of growing up faster than I probably should’ve.

But I’m not here to write a nostalgia piece. I’m here to share what it took to go from blue-collar manual labor to a leadership role in tech—after injuries, setbacks, surgeries, doubters, and one hell of a long road.

Here’s how I got here.

🎮 The Golden Age of Games (and Brotherhood)

Video games were my early obsession—and, unknowingly, my first lesson in logic, patience, and systems thinking.

Pong was the first. NES followed. Duck Hunt, Zelda, Metroid, and even awful movie tie-ins like Jaws and Friday the 13th.
But the system that changed everything? Nintendo 64.

That console wasn’t just about gaming. It was about connection. The guys I played with? They were like brothers to me. One of them is no longer with us, but if any of the others called today—I’d show up. No question.

💔 Losses That Shaped Me

I’ve seen a lot of death. Too much.

My grandma died when I was 5. Two uncles gone within weeks. A close friend took his life while I was working a milk route, my son barely a year old.

I still wish I could’ve seen the signs. I still carry that weight.

Grief doesn’t leave—it just changes shape. But it’s part of this story, and I won’t pretend otherwise.

🥛 Milkman to Mistrust

I was a milkman. Not the old-school kind. I delivered to grocery and party stores. Six days a week. Ten-hour shifts. Manual labor. Until my back gave out.

My boss refused to let me see a doctor. I burned through vacation days to finally get help.
Diagnosis: slightly bulging disc.
Reality (thanks to a real specialist): two severely herniated discs. Surgery followed. Then another. Titanium rods. Screws. Permanent pain.

And that was just the beginning of the battle. Workers’ comp? Fought me. Social Security disability? Denied.
Eventually, a judge approved me—after pointing out that their own “expert” claimed I couldn’t walk but could carry 100 lbs. on one leg. True story.

🧠 Boredom = Breakthrough

Disability was boring. So I studied for CompTIA A+. Then I said, screw it—let’s go back to school.

I started at community college at 29. Graduated with a 4.0. Transferred to University of Michigan–Dearborn. Switched from CS to Software Engineering. Became president of the CS honor society and the ACM chapter.
All while being told by my family it was “too late.”

Cool. I did it anyway.

👨‍💻 From Fold-Up Table to Director

I started as an intern at ePrize (now part of Dentsu). My “desk” was a fold-up table. No one talked to me. No meetings. One monitor. One contact.

They offered me full-time. Ford offered me more. I chose ePrize—not because of money, but because they took a chance on me first.

I climbed.

Associate Software Engineer

Software Engineer (for years—despite training every new hire)

Senior Software Engineer + Team Lead

Delivery Manager

Director

I didn’t get here because I was handed anything. I got here because I worked through pain—physical, emotional, and professional.

🧨 What’s the Point?

Why tell this story?

Because someone needs to hear it.

Maybe it’s the kid whose family says it’s too late.
Maybe it’s the person with chronic pain who thinks their career is over.
Maybe it’s the one grinding in a warehouse or a truck, thinking this is as good as it gets.

It’s not.

You don’t need permission. You don’t need anyone to believe in you.

You just need to move forward.
Even slowly. Even painfully. Even when the people around you don’t see it yet.

And when you get where you’re going?
Remember who you were—and help the next one up.

✊ mullins.io
Not just another tech blog. This one’s personal.