Hi, I’m Kate. (@k8thecanadian)
I started this website to have all MGK/Dub-O/EST related things in one place! 12s will eventually help me keep everything up to date! Special thanks to Chad for all his help so far.
I want to share with you my MGK story, it’s a bit different from most… My goal has always been to spread this movement with every opportunity I can and doing my bEST turning the haters into the BELIEVERS. Recruiting more and more EST soldiers every chance I get.
I want people to understand what MGK/EST and the LACE UP MOVEMENT is all about from my point of view.
It’s an extremely hard thing to put into words because it’s unexplainable but I’m going to try.
I’ll be the first one to say, MGK has not saved my life, nor has he helped me get off drugs, like he’s done for thousands of others.
What I will say is that I’m a 30ish year old, Canadian, married, mother definitely not the typical teenager/young adult, with a bunch of problems.
I have a good job and I have a great life.
I’ve also seen 37 MGK shows and 5 Dubo shows since July 2011.
My husband and I don’t do date night, we do RAGE night…:)
I help run an MGK fan FB group (EST THATS MY TEAM HOE (<click)…..join us) and my 36 year old husband has a $1200 portrait tattoo of MGK’s face on his leg done by one of the bEST tattoo artists in Canada. (John Wayne From Beesting Tattoo) (Done in Aug 2011)
We listen to MGK everyday as a family, including our 9 year old daughter Liv, who loves MGK and his manager Ashleigh.
I spread this movement like it’s my second full-time job, that’s how much I believe in it.
Every song he sings, every time he performs… you feel it in your heart. It’s a feeling like no other, truly indescribable.
I’ve seen so many concerts in my 30ish years from Eminem, Tool, Dre, Korn, Bob Seger, Madonna, Rage Against The Machine to Alan Jackson.
But nothing I’ve ever seen was like the $20 MGK show I attended in July/2011 for the 1st time in Toledo Ohio. We’d never seen an artist put so much into a show in our lives. There weren’t many people there, definitely a small show and yet this 20-year-old kid was going so hard I was in shock. You would have thought he was playing for a stadium full of people; I couldn’t put my camera down.
We left that show and on our way home, all we could think was… “Was that real life? Had we been paying hundreds of dollars to see these big names who only give half of what this kid was giving us for $20?”
Besides his live performances his songs touch us, they are powerful… they hit you in heart.
He lives for his fans. He knows the hardcore fans by name, he calls them, he writes to us in our group and he goes above and beyond for us. It’s actually unbelievable.
Though we are 10 and 12 years older than him, he’s become our friend just from going to shows and spending time with him.
His love for his hardcore fans is one of the bEST things I’ve ever been a part of.
The amount of people he’s helped kick their drug habit is crazy…I personally know hundreds.
I also know hundreds of people with MGK/EST and LACE UP tattoo’s. People who believe so much in MGK’s message that they have it tattooed on them.
How many other artists do you know who have that? (I’ll wait…)
We believe so much in this American kid from Cleveland that his face is tattooed on my husbands leg, which will be next to the greats like 2-pac, Eminem, Zack de la Rocha and Jim Morrison.
I’ve met some of my greatest friends through this movement and I’m certain I will meet more.
Since we are always traveling to see him, his manager has personally called us to make sure everything is going well during our trips to see the shows.
There’s a connection between him, his team and the fans like no other.
Please don’t believe that the wild boy image MGK has, is everything… that’s not him. Is he wild?…HECK YES! His shows are one of a kind and I think his wild boy side helps with that.
BUT most of his music is nothing at all like “Wild Boy” or his Wild Boy persona.
Don’t get me wrong, Wild Boy is a great song, I LOVE IT! But his other music is DEEP.
You can feel his pain and emotion in every song he sings.
I can’t tell you how many times this kid has brought me to tears.
One time, I will never forget, he came to Canada and he was so happy to be there. He crouched down right in front of me and he said “Kate, I’m so HAPPY.” I was so HAPPY for him. Seeing him happy makes us feel great!
I don’t know how else to explain the movement because it’s unexplainable, but there are hundreds of thousands of us who believe so much in him, this movement and EST. We will NEVER give up on him. NEVER!
Lace Up to us means you can do whatever you want in life. You can’t let anything hold you back from being the bEST you can be. You need to LACE UP and do it!
If that’s not a positive message to send out to todays youth, I don’t know what is.
mgkestfam.com 
never heard anything like this bout any artist…maybe its cause i took the time to see bout him more than anyone ima fan of…but the whole point of it is dat im drawn to MGK like i was drawn to PAC. not dat im tryna compare the two, but to be real wit me, MGK is the only artist i’ve heard in a long time since PAC who had a real message, a mind opener, something that people can relate to, n that its more than jus bitches, drugs, money, bang bang shoot’em up type shit…its the presence, the aura of what he brings out wit his music, the message, the relation between an artist and his fans. the impact he has on people to do better, to change for the better is amazing! i cant get enough, i love it, i love him n what he stands for!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’m trying to get in touch with a large part of MGK’s fan base. I’m working on a project for next years EST fest and would love to have a large part of the family included. You have a wonderful website here and are doing a great job spreading the word about him and what he stands for. I want this to all become a bigger reality. If you would like to help with this and be involved or just contribute to the project it would be wonderful and greatly appreciated. Thank you for being apart of this wonderful family that Kells has created or us.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Please email me mgkestfam@gmail.com
LikeLike
I’m right there with you. I’m a family oriented person two kids bumping lace up and black flag because he’s been to the bottom. Mgk music is so relatable you feel the struggle. Working hard to get by etc….I’m not the free teenager I was either my husband works daily, I’m a full time finance student but the movement is the fact that someone made it. He made it. His crew made it. One of us made it and instead of turning his back on us he embraces his fans. Like he knows what it’s like to be one of us.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Kate, I hope you read these comments. I want to thank you for this website its incredible. Your story is definitely one of a kind. I hope its okay that I share my story here. I am 27 years old. Ive been listening to mgk for about 3 years now. I have never been able to see a show yet because of multiple reasons but I just purchased tickets to his spokane show in less than a month. I am a recovering drug addict who has been clean for about 7 months. Mgk and his music is nothing else in this world. In the depths of my addiction and battles while homeless living on the streets I always had hope when I put on his music. His touched my life in so many ways. Ive been in and out of jail and homeless for years and have finally got clean and have full time employment and my own apartment. Sept 4th in spokane will be the greatest day of my life. I also have a few mgk related tattoos. I have lace up on one hand and est 4 life on the other hand. I also just got est. 1987 across my chest in the same spot as kells. This website is incredible thank you again. Lace Up!!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Matt, Im glad you love the website! Im really excited you’re going to your first show! Its going to be something you’ll never forget! “Double x on my right, I got laced up on my left” < See what I did there? lol
Make sure you join our group on Facebook (the link is above). Im gonna try to find you tho! Lace Up and have the bEST time at your first MGK show!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I tried adding you on fb it said its a closed group but I have sent a request. Thanks again for taking the time to reply. EST over everything.
LikeLike
Hello Kate…much love for sharing your MGK story w/us!! As an “older” MGK fan myself, I’m being amazed every day that I stumble upon another EST family’s story of how/when they got hooked!! I’m a 46y/o mom of three and it’s pretty crazy because I have a daughter that’s Kells age (haha)! We’ve followed him and the EST team for almost 4yrs and have traveled to four states including recently to the Ledges for EST Fest ’14. Coming from Washington DC, a city that overflows with diversity in music, we’ve never seen, heard or experienced anyone like Kells or his movement!!
Browsing YouTube one evening years ago, I came across Kells’ “Get Laced” video and was like whoa!! Searched for more of his music and saw “Chip Off The Block”…immediately the thirst became a reality for me!! 🙂 The truth, the passion, and the energy I heard in his music has captivated me! Over the years, whenever opportunity presented itself, my husband and I have went to Kells’ shows to show our support for him/the EST Team/and the movement. We’ve had the honor of meeting him, and for a few minutes, letting him know how much we love his music and appreciate his message and his purpose.
Just wanted to share this quick note with you, hope it’s not too much! 🙂 We’re telling EVERYONE we know about MGK, making them listen to his music and watch his videos!! Considering he’s not mainstream where we live, most have never heard of him…so we’re really pushing it on them. My family and I have nothing but love for Kells and believe and pray that great things will happen for him and his Team!
Take care! 🙂
~Karen
Twitter & Insta: thabewtifulone
Facebook: KarenRossBolling
Email: bewtifulone68@yahoo.com
LikeLike
mgk is the best him music inspires me
LikeLike
Found this in 2020. New MGK fan 🙂
LikeLike
Hi Kate! A new MGK fan here 🙂 I have a gift I desperately want to send MGK. There are a lot of scams/shady promises online for contacting celebrities. Hopefully going through a dedicated fan page will make it more likely to reach him in good shape.
I saw your email above but want to post here first out of respect.
Thanks for creating this great website!
In case you’re wondering, it’s a book that I’ve had for a while. As a mental health student I think about him in a lot of my classes and believe he’d find this book inspiring/helpful.
Thank you for responding with any help! ❤️🖤🎸
LikeLike