Success Stories
Marshall Fortson
Senior Vice President
I was born and raised in Chicago, Illinois. My father had his own business and instilled in me the goal to never work for anyone other than myself. So, it was during my junior year of college at Tennessee State University (Nashville) that I began selling clothing out of the trunk of my car. This business mushroomed so that two months prior to graduating, my company GrooveWear, had its grand opening. Top professional NFL players, NBA players and entertainers all found their way to GrooveWear to get the latest hip-hop styles they couldn’t get anywhere else. I had graduated from the trunk to a million dollar business. It sounds great, but I was working long hours and had lots of overhead.
September 11, 2002, things went for a dive. International shipping was a large factor in my business (Coogi out of Australia; Mauri out of Italy, etc.). This went on for quite a while adding up to a loss of approximately 80% of my income. Therefore, I started looking for other streams of income such as real estate.
Early in 2006, my cousins, Sherman and Ann Chambers, introduced me to 5LINX. I signed up with no real idea of what this could mean to my life. Their son, Jeffrey, came by on his way to a 5LINX national meeting in Atlanta and convinced me to go with him. At that meeting I was able to meet people who were successful in this business. Once I looked into the compensation plan, I was amazed. When it was shown to me that the wealthiest people in the world were into network marketing and getting paid off the efforts of other people, I knew this was an opportunity I could not let pass. It amazed me that a six-figure income and more can be made by networking for a business that cost $499.
I didn’t have to think hard about my why. Three beautiful and talented children—Marshall, Jr., Quaneisha and Ianna—give me all the reasons I need to justify the work and any sacrifice needed to get to the top. Like any parent, I want to see my children well-educated and in a position to develop their potential to the fullest. I also want to spend quality time with them while they are still young.
I have not given up my dream of introducing the latest styles to millions. Indeed, 5LINX will finance that dream. But. more than anything else, 5LINX is a method to help lead people in my two favorite cities (Chicago and Nashville) to become financially free from the burden of debt.
My mentors, John and Patrice Jones, have backed me all the way and unselfishly given of their time to help me. The members of the Core Group Millionaires Club played a monumental role in my success by allowing me to benefit from their experiences. Co-founder Jeb Tyler has proven that he and the corporate offices of 5LINX “had my back.”
Thanks to the three National Directors who helped get me to SVP: Russell Rivers, David Reynolds and Net 19 Communications. I also thank other people in my downline—Tiana Johnson, Deonne Randles and Deborah Washington. You are all great and together we will all continue to move up. Keep focused, I’ll see you at the top!
To Tracey Simpson, Charlcie Beene, my sister, Theisha Perkins, and my mother, Shirley Fortson: I can never truly express my appreciation for all you do. I thank God for placing you in my life and only He can place a limit on how high we can go.
Thanks to those who did not believe, you made me work all the harder.