A Living Legacy
The story behind Millenheirs. Est. 2016.
Sometimes Life Makes the Decision for You
Transmutation and Transformation
In 2015 I lost me life but nearly lost my LIFE...
I was working for a small business but in corporate client development, managing relationships and supporting portfolios of businesses ranging from medium to enterprise-sized companies in telecommunications. I had dedicated years to that career, often putting my personal life, family, friends, family functions, and even my own needs on the back burner.
When a medical emergency required surgery, I took what would become my first approved time away from work.
The day I returned, I was terminated and "released to follow my dreams" because they could pay the person I trained for temporary leadership of the team and my accounts could be paid less than they were paying me after month-over-month of employee accolades and year-over-year performance raises.
I was offered severance, asked to sign a restrictive agreement that limited my ability to continue working within the industry I knew, and I remember being told that I was being "released to follow my dreams!"
At the time, those words hurt more than they inspired me.
I had given so much of myself to a career I thought would carry me into the future. Suddenly, I had to figure out what that future was supposed to look like.
And there were questions I couldn't shake. Who Was I now without a handsomely paying career and what were my dreams, anyway?
Remembering What I Already Knew
Around that time, Chasity, who was then my girlfriend and is now my wife, and I began talking about what I might do next.
I had studied everything from air traffic control and computer science to psychology and meteorology. I loved learning, but I didn't necessarily want to return to school or spend the rest of my life pursuing another corporate title.
I wanted to create.
The more I thought about it, the more my mind returned to my childhood and the people who raised me.
My great-grandmother was nearing 100 years old at the time. I had grown up at her feet, watching her cook, quilt, pour pottery molds, paint ceramics, and turn ordinary materials into something useful or beautiful.
She always seemed to be making something.
There was usually food on the stove for whoever came through the door. There were projects to finish, stories to tell, and lessons to learn simply by paying attention.
Other members of my family were builders, farmers, bookkeepers, and craftspeople. My grandfathers worked in construction, including on bridges along the I-20 corridor between Social Circle and Atlanta.
These were people who knew how to work with their hands, solve problems, stretch resources, and take pride in what they produced.
And somewhere along the way, I had inherited some of that same curiosity.
The Meaning Behind the Name
Chasity and I had exchanged ancestry DNA kits, and I was exploring questions about my family history, including the paternal lineage I had never known.
For much of my life, I had thought about the Millen name as my mother's maiden name. As I reflected on my family, I began seeing it differently: it was also a name carried through my grandfather and the generations before him.
I wanted to honor that name.
But I also wanted to create something that my younger cousins, relatives, and future generations could recognize as part of their own inheritance.
That's where Millenheirs came from.
Millen is my family name. Heirs represents everyone who inherits the responsibility and opportunity to carry something meaningful forward.
Not just property or money.
Knowledge. Skills. Recipes. Remedies. Stories. Art. Culture. Land. Creativity. Mother wit.
The things our people knew, the things they made, and the things they taught us without always realizing they were teaching.
Creating Space Where I Could Be Myself
There was another part of the vision that mattered just as much.
I wanted to create products that reflected me.
At the time, so much of the wellness and personal care market seemed divided into products for women and products for men. As someone who didn't fit comfortably within those expectations, I often found myself looking for something that simply felt right.
I wanted earthy fragrances, natural ingredients, practical grooming products, quality materials, and designs that didn't require me to perform femininity or masculinity to enjoy them.
So I started making them.
Beard oils, balms, soaps, deodorants, aftershaves, conditioners, scented oils, candles, body scrubs, and accessories became part of our early offerings.
Many were masculine-centered, but they were never intended to be exclusive.
If you liked the scent, the ingredients, the craftsmanship, or the way a product made you feel, it was for you.
I also wanted people who had felt overlooked, misunderstood, or out of place to find something familiar in Millenheirs.
A brand that didn't ask them to fit in before they could belong.
Learning to Heal Without Pretending to Be Healed
My interest in herbs, botanicals, essential oils, and traditional wellness practices grew from both personal experience and the conversations Chasity and I shared.
We were both avid readers. We enjoyed researching plants, remedies, spiritual traditions, and the relationship between the natural world and everyday well-being.
But I never wanted Millenheirs to become a place where I presented myself as someone who had mastered life.
I was learning how to take care of myself again.
I wanted to share that process, including what I discovered, what challenged me, and what I still had to learn.
That remains the heart of the brand.
We make thoughtful products. We explore natural living. We honor traditional knowledge while remaining open to research, questions, and new understanding.
And we recognize that caring for ourselves is an ongoing practice, not a destination.
The Legacy We're Still Building
Millenheirs began with a few ideas, a willingness to experiment, and the decision to use a difficult chapter of my life as the beginning of something new.
Over time, that journey opened doors to entrepreneurship, community building, creative work, and other ventures that share a commitment to people, place, and possibility.
But Millenheirs remains personal.
It is still the place where I can explore the things I love, make things with my hands, honor my elders, and share what I'm learning with others.
I hope it encourages you to consider what you've inherited, what you've survived, what you've learned, and what you still want to create.
You don't have to know exactly where your journey is taking you.
I certainly didn't when mine began.
Sometimes the legacy begins the moment you decide that your story isn't over.
Welcome to Millenheirs. There's room for you here.