Surprisingly, MSP did not originate as Men Standing Positive. Mike “Paztuh Mike” Wuebbles and Mase “Gold C” Nelson met during their sophomore year at Belleville West High School. One day in class, Paztuh Mike was making beats on his desk while everyone else was rapping. As a recording studio owner, he noticed that Gold C had the best rap style amongst everyone in the class, and promptly invited him over for a recording session. Much to Gold C’s surprise, Paztuh Mike's studio setup consisted of only a keyboard and a karaoke machine. Despite the frequent sessions of mixing tapes and creating beats, their quality was not always up to par and over time; they decided to invest in better studio equipment. During this period, Paztuh Mike met David “D1 Beatz” Ermatinger and a Club deejay, DJ Blest. The four started working together and combining their skills on projects, however, there was nothing positive about the music at this time. The two soon met up with East St. Louis rapper Geneo Smith, and formed a new group. Paztuh Mike currently had one of the best studios in the city of Belleville and produced the team’s first album; Geneo's Smith- “The Good and the Bad”. While in a recording session, DJ Blest told Paztuh Mike that his studio needed a name. He had no idea what to call it so DJ Blest decided to name the studio after Paztuh Mike, and MiNiMe Studios Productions (MSP) was born.
Around this time, Paztuh Mike was offered a recording deal with a major record company. In the course of finalizing the offer, Paztuh Mike's current management was charged with money laundering. Because of his association with his management, the record company did not want anything to do with Paztuh Mike and voided the contract. Paztuh Mike soon began to realize that things were not working out, and ultimately got saved at the age of 17. He began to allow God to change his life and over time was set free from alcohol and drug addiction. Paztuh Mike tried to influence the members of his team with his new faith in Jesus Christ, but every time he attempted to talk about it, they rejected him. As Paztuh Mike continued to spend time with them, he began to struggle with those former temptations and slowly started to succumb to them. God told him that he had to separate himself from his friends and seek Him to re-gain strength. Although this was a challenge, Paztuh Mike obeyed what God told him. He stood alone for a period of time, and then God told him it was time to go back to his team, and help them change their lifestyles. By the grace of God, Paztuh Mike led each member of MSP to Christ.
He was later offered a second record deal, this one even greater than the first. As he began to surround himself with artists and producers of the music industry, Paztuh Mike found himself gradually returning to his former lifestyle. God immediately convicted him and told him to pull away. However, Paztuh Mike was driven by the success of fortune and fame, and continued to disobey God’s instruction. He soon realized that the record company was demanding control over all rights of his music and his entire image. They informed him that he was no longer permitted to rap about how Jesus had changed his life. During this intense moral confliction, he got into a big argument with the management because he was taking too long to decide. Paztuh Mike became frustrated, and told his team and the company that the deal was off. He decided to completely walk away from everything a second time.
Throughout the process of this recent offer, the record label had told Paztuh Mike that he needed to change the name of his team because it sounded like a motion picture company. He agreed and even after the deal was off, the group continued to brainstorm new name ideas. Paztuh Mike met up with an old hometown friend, Jeremy “Menace to Society” Bernidini. He produced two singles for Jeremy; which helped rekindle their friendship. Jeremy soon joined the team, and gained a greater relationship with Jesus Christ. While the team was still tossing around name ideas, Jeremy called Paztuh Mike on the phone one day and told him he had a surprise to show him. Paztuh Mike had absolutely no idea what this was all about, and in person Jeremy showed him the surprise. It was a tattoo of a dog chain with the abbreviation of “MSP”. Paztuh Mike was shocked, and began to tell him how they were in the process of changing the name. However, since Jeremy had that tattoo Paztuh Mike said they would keep the abbreviation. After months and months of brainstorming, Gold C came up with the name “Men Standing Positive.” At first, Paztuh Mike did not like the idea because they were not all standing positive, but as the time passed everyone’s lifestyles headed that direction.
Since its inception, Men Standing Positive has gone through multiple different teams, and endured numerous trials and tribulations. Despite many failed promises, which should have separated them all, the five original members stayed together for a long period of time. Those original members are Mike “Paztuh Mike” Wuebbles, Mase “Gold C” Nelson, Geneo Smith, Jeremy “Menace to Society” Bernidini, and David “D1 Beatz” Ermatinger. Only Paztuh Mike remains out of the initial group, but the former founding members are still close friends and all have personal relationships with Jesus Christ.
Today, MSP is no longer a record company, nor is it made up of only men. It is a non- profit organization, founded by CEO Mike “Paztuh Mike” Wuebbles. The current staff members are now stronger and more focused on God than any other teams in the past. MSP aims to empower and inspire people by bringing wholeness, change, and peace of mind to one person, one city, and one nation at a time. They offer various forms of outreach through conferences, street events, door-to-door visits, and venues. Interested people are placed in a variety of programs for domestic violence, rehabilitation, counseling, spiritual development, job training and much more. If you are looking for a church home or interested in learning street evangelism MSP can assist you there as well. The organization is currently active in low-income communities throughout St. Louis City, St. Louis County and St. Louis Metro Illinois. Future plans include expanding Men Standing Positive and their mission of change across the entire United States.