Mark Wahlberg is ‘proactive in creating opportunity’ for himself: ‘I always had an entrepreneurial spirit’

Mark Wahlberg has always had a busy life, but the actor ensures he makes time for his “entrepreneurial spirit.”

In an interview with FOX Business, Wahlberg explained that he’s always taken advantage of his “downtime,” even in acting, and has pursued his passions, which happen to include his obsession with sneakers.

“Even as an actor, I always had an entrepreneurial spirit,” Wahlberg said. “I knew that the best scripts in town probably weren’t going to come to me first – coming from a musical background.”

Wahlberg continued, “So, I would always go out there and seek material and try to find things that I could produce, things that I felt was right for movies that I wanted to make, or more importantly, movies that I thought people would want to see me in.” 

MARK WAHLBERG, JULIA ROBERTS, MORE STARS WHO MOVED OUT OF HOLLYWOOD

Wahlberg said he strived to be “proactive in creating opportunity” for himself and that “spilled over into all the other entrepreneurial things” into which he ventured.

WATCH: Mark Wahlberg makes time for his ‘entrepreneurial spirit’ during his acting career

In 2019, he co-founded his clothing line, Municipal. Wahlberg said shoes were always his “long-term” plan for the company because of his obsession with sneakers from a young age.

“Obviously, I’ve been a shoe guy for a long time, so I knew what I was looking for,” he began. “Shoes always have one or two of the elements you’re looking for, but never all of them. So, I wanted to create something that looked cool, was super comfortable but also could perform.”

Wahlberg said people in the shoe industry tried to discourage him from breaking into the market, but with the help of “shoe dog” Wayne Culkin, Wahlberg had shoe samples within six months of seeing him and the Municipal shoes hit the market after 18 months.

Wahlberg told FOX Business that his love for sneakers began when he was 5 years old.

WATCH: Mark Wahlberg explains how his shoe company Municipal was created

“I’m the youngest of nine, so everything in my life was hand-me-downs for as long as I could remember, until my sister bought me my first pair of Chuck Taylor [shoes], size one,” he began. “High-top, white on white, and then I, of course, would keep that shoe as clean as possible. I would use my toothbrush to brush my shoes, not my teeth, until I couldn’t keep them white and clean anymore.”

Wahlberg continued, “I literally would try to do everything I could to put a hole in them to force my parents to buy me another pair of shoes, but I was always about hand-me-downs. So, I would go to shoe stores. I was a kid who looked in the windows.”

WATCH: Mark Wahlberg says his ‘shoe obsession’ started in his childhood

Wahlberg acknowledged that the shoe market – specifically for high-end sneakers – has drastically changed over the last several years. He noted that although Municipal shoes are “assembled for the most part in the same place” as designer brands, the price point is drastically different.

“So, normally this would be an $800 to a $1,000 shoe,” Wahlberg noted. “This is the highest quality, but we wanted to make something that’s a huge value proposition for our customers. So, the price is actually $180, but, you know, this is the highest quality shoe you can make [and] people know the difference.”

WATCH: Mark Wahlberg’s shoe line has a ‘huge value proposition’ for their customers

He continued, “So, like I said, being a shoe head for as long as I have, I wanted a shoe that served multiple purposes.”

According to Municipal’s website, the brand was founded “to inspire people to bet on themselves and make big things happen. We’re driven by our core values — character, hustle, positivity, self-belief, creativity — and believe no dream is out of reach if you’re willing to put in the work.”