Houston based trucker, Mark Linen, turned his childhood dreams into a reality when he opened his own bakery, Brotha Bakes, which specializes in homemade cakes in a jar.
Linen’s passion for baking began well before his driving career. He recalls sitting at the table as a child, watching his mother bake, keeping track of all the little details she would make as she created in the kitchen. Later in life, baking became an outlet for Linen to express himself.
“As a lot of people know, driving a truck can be a little stressful, so coming home that would be my therapy,” Linen told KPRC-TV.
Linen had been driving professionally for about 4 years and was living a very comfortable life, however, he knew he wanted something more.
“I knew I wanted to do something other than driving a truck at some point, but I didn’t know what. The idea of owning my own business that I could possibly leave to my two sons, was always a dream of mine. So I started on the journey to find out what my passion was. After some soul searching, I landed on baking. I love baking, it has always been therapeutic for me. So I went to the kitchen broke out some of my favorite recipes and went to work,” says Linen on his website.
Linen shipped some of his products to friends and family across the country. After his cakes had been well received, he officially launched Brotha Bakes in November 2019.
“It all started with my mom.. just watching her bake in the kitchen, I fell in love with it.”
As a father of two, Linen loves having his sons in the kitchen to pass on that same love of baking.
“It shows them they can do anything that they want.. you can be a truck driver and turn into a baker,” said Linen.
“The thing that I always try to tell people is: right now you’re just living your life, your not living your dream so why don’t you just give it a try”
Some of Linen’s tastiest treats can be ordered right off his website and are named after iconic celebrities:
- Reddie Murphy
- Choco Khan
- Banana Ross
- German Dupri
- Le’Mon James
- Cinnamon Hudson
- Keys Harvey
- Cheese Harvey
- Marriah Carrot
- Spice Cube
