Ellis Cain, left, and Kelsey Cain in the entry way of their Ada business headquarters. From this location, the two run a drug testing business, a bail bonds business, and oversee new offices in Duncan and Davis.
A Choctaw from California plants seeds of business and entertainment from coast-to-coast
By Brandon Frye
Choctaw Nation
Ada, Okla. - Kelsey Cain, 46-year-old Choctaw business owner and lifelong entrepreneur, has been experiencing one of the busiest years of his life.
A busy life and blooming business are nothing new to Kelsey, the owner and operator of the Ada-based drug and alcohol testing facility called Midwest Drug Test, LLC. His admitted inability to sit still, his knack for building successful businesses, and tendency to pursue his passions have always kept him busy.
After moving to Oklahoma from California in his youth, he quickly built up his first business as a teen.
“I started Kelsey’s You-Bake Pizza when I was 19, here in Ada,” he said. “You took it home to bake. It was popular in California when I was growing up, but it didn’t go over so well here, because it was too hot in the summer!”
This began a pattern in Kelsey’s entrepreneurial endeavors, moving and starting new businesses—only as an adult, these businesses found more success.
He started Midwest Drug Test with his mother, Patricia Donwen, in 1989. The two found a need for a drug testing service in the area after a supervisor for the Santa Fe Railroad Company approached them needing to test employees. In response, the first mobile drug testing service in Oklahoma opened its doors, with Kelsey and his mother at the helm.
After helping his mother launch the family business, looking to live in a bigger city, Kelsey left Ada and moved to Albuquerque, New Mexico in 1991. There, he started a new drug testing facility as part of the Midwest Drug Test Company. This new business also found success, and supported Kelsey while he pursued his artistic passions.
During his eight years in New Mexico, Kelsey became well known for his work with acting and modeling. He also dove into theater, and recalls landing the male lead in almost every show.
Theater started as a side gig but quickly grew into his main passion. So much so, he saw the need to move to an even bigger city in 1999 to continue to grow his performance career. So, he sold his New Mexico business and moved.
“I went off to become an actor and model in New York City,” Kelsey said. “My first modeling gig in New York City was on the cover of a romance novel. It was fun, a farm boy going off to New York City to get into modeling.”
Again, Kelsey started a new branch of the Midwest Drug Test Company, only this time in New York. And again, the business took off, supporting him while he chased his entertainment interests.
He recalls his time in New York as a flurry of entertainment jobs, starring in docudramas, designing photo shoots for pop figures like Beyonce´, putting on art shows, and modeling.
Kelsey moved back to Ada at the end of 2011 to be with family, selling off his company in New York. In January of 2013 he took command of the home office for Midwest Drug Test.
Hitting the ground running, he quickly began work to raise his family business to new heights.
“It was my goal to bring it up to what it should be,” Kelsey said. “I interacted closely with new companies, and also got back in contact with the companies we had lost touch with. I have doubled sales over the last two and a half years.”
With business back and booming, Kelsey and his business partner Ellis Cain pushed for an expansion of business, recently opening two satellite offices for Midwest Drug Test in Duncan and Davis.
The two also started a completely new bail bonds business called 2 Cains Bail Bonds.
“We started 2 Cains Bail Bonds in January of 2015, so it’s pretty much still in its infancy stage,” Ellis said. “But it’s doing really well.”
The businesses are all enrolled as preferred suppliers with the Choctaw Nation.
Above and beyond offering help to businesses and individuals with drug problems at a work force level, both Kelsey and Ellis are dedicated to helping before legal issues arise, at a social level.
“We do have a social responsibility on both sides of our businesses,” Kelsey said. “We offer community services, to bring a recovery side to all of this. I provide talks with organizations, communities, and individuals. I offer solutions for where to go, what to do, so when someone has an issue there is a seed there just in case it’s needed.”
Kelsey said many people are affected by drugs and alcohol today. In some way, he added, he would rather these problems be prevented, than let them continue on and get worse. He speaks from a place of understanding, having had alcohol problems himself.
As for his continued success as an entrepreneur, Kelsey chalks it up to more than just his passion and a need to keep moving.
“Fight! Fight for what you feel is right,” Kelsey said. “It takes a lot of work, perseverance and patience. Believe in yourself, your service, and your product.”
The headquarters for Midwest Drug Test is at 1120 N. Mississippi Ave. in Ada. Kelsey and Ellis can be reached at 580-421-9000.
The Duncan office can be reached at 580-786-4455, Davis 580-369-5000.
Tribal members interested in getting involved with the Preferred Supplier Program are welcome to contact Boyd Miller at 800-522-6170, extension 2889.