Acclaimed Author Mel Robbins’ Credits Her First Job In Michigan For Key Lesson

Mel Robbins is on a roll. Her podcast, The Mel Robbins Podcast, was nominated for a Golden Globe Award this year. Her book "The Let Them Theory" was the best-selling book of 2025, with over 11 million copies sold since 2024.

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Amid all that success, she's appeared on various shows and podcasts, including a recent appearance on "Street You Grew Up On" with Kerry Washington, where guests talk about the streets they grew up on and impactful moments from that time. In that appearance, she discussed her time growing up in Muskegon.

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Robbins' Childhood In Muskegon

Mel Robbins grew up on Lake Drive in North Muskegon in the late 1970s. She only lived in her house on Lake Dr. for a year before moving up the road, but she remembers it fondly. She moved there when she was in 4th grade, and she distinctly remembers the summer sunsets, which sparked her love for twilight. She spent her nights playing games with the neighbor kids.

a boat in the water with the sun setting in the background

What Mel Robbins First Job Taught Her About People

During her discussion with Washington, Robbins shared a story about a job she got at the Red Rooster Tavern at 16. The move horrified her parents, but Robbins learned something unique from the chaotic job with an eclectic crowd of bikers.

The Red Rooster Tavern in Muskegon. / Google Maps

Robbins worked her way up from busser to bartender, and according to Robbins, becoming a bartender taught her a very important lesson: you control who gets your attention. In typical Robbins fashion, she managed to whip a sage-like one-liner from a bartending job.

Robbins lives in Vermont now, but still thinks fondly of West Michigan. She is still actively making the rounds promoting her latest book, recently created Pure Genius Protein, and was nominated as a TIME Woman of the Year and TIME 100 Creator.