Today we’d like to introduce you to Clark Butcher.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I got started early. From an endurance sports perspective, I started running at age 7. My dad was a big runner, and he’d bring me to all the local 5Ks every weekend. By the time I was 9, I was running half marathons and completed my first triathlon… on a BMX bike! Y’all—I was 9. I had a blast, and no doubt I was passing everyone on my bike! I finished the race and told my dad, “I passed everyone on the bike—I think that’s what I need to do!”
But bikes cost money. I was growing (hold the jokes, please), and my folks weren’t about to buy a road bike for their 9-year-old—ha! That would come a few years later. I kept running. By age 12, I was riding daily, and at 13, I started racing. I fell in love with the sport, the dedication, and the gear. By 15, I was competing nationally and would soon head to Europe to train and race with the German National Team. College got interrupted by racing—and soon after, by my career.
Let’s segue into business now… and like my cycling history, I got started early. I began working on my 14th birthday—because that’s when Chick-fil-A starts hiring—and I needed money. I was in a gear-heavy sport, and my parents had made it clear: if you want something, work for it.
While I knew being the “Eat Mor Chikin” cow on Germantown Parkway wasn’t the long-term plan, it kept me busy until I got my dream job at a local bike shop—Bikes Plus! They instilled work ethic in me. No wasted time, ever. That job felt like family. The team invested in me, and I sold the $hit outta some bikes, y’all! I was barely 5 feet tall, confident AF, and when I wasn’t riding, I was dreaming of selling bikes—hybrids, kids’ bikes, whatever! I loved it. Still, I never thought this would be my career. It just felt like a smarter way to fund my passion. A few years later, I was hired away by a competitor, but soon after, I left for Europe to race after high school.
After Europe, I started college at Fort Lewis in Durango, Colorado. It wasn’t known for academics—but neither was I. It was known for cycling, and that’s what drew me in. My college career was… let’s call it “interesting.” I dropped out. Twice. Very early into freshman year, I got an incredible offer to race for an elite domestic team that would cover all my equipment and travel. I wasn’t going to miss that. My parents supported the decision, and I went all in—for two years.
As my teammates kept getting pro contracts and moving on, I wasn’t getting a contract. So, I decided to go back to school. This time, I loved it. I studied exercise science and ran a successful online coaching business that kept growing, because I was constantly learning new techniques and applying them. What I studied in the classroom—exercise physiology, nutrition—I tested on myself and my athletes. It was a perfect fit, and I really loved college. All of it.
Then, I got a call from a former mentor with a job offer I couldn’t refuse. Somewhere around year two-ish of college, I moved back to Memphis to sell real estate. It was fun. I learned a ton. Most importantly, I learned how to speak and how to carry myself. I had always been a salesman, but I wasn’t polished. Real estate—and the leaders around me—invested in me. I like to think I gave them solid sales in return. I learned how to be charismatic, how to listen, how to sell, and most importantly—how to follow up.
Real estate was a great career. But not my passion.
I’d always been a side hustler. I ran eBay businesses in high school, built and sold an online coaching business in and out of college, and it wasn’t until I left real estate that I really took a moment to reflect. All my side hustles had done well. So… what if I went all in?
At the time, I noticed that all the bike shops in Memphis were still doing things the same way they were in the ’90s—when I was working in them. But the market had changed. The sport had grown—big time. “Cycling is the new golf” was a headline you’d see in the Wall Street Journal, and we were seeing it play out locally. The group rides I grew up doing with 15 or 20 guys were now pulling in 60+ riders. The sport, the industry, all of it was growing—and nobody was truly servicing that new growth.
That’s when I reached out to my good friend Robert Taylor, who actually hired me 10 years prior to work at the shop he was managing. We met over a beer and decided to start something different. Something current. It would be called Victory Bicycle Studio, and we opened in late summer of 2010 in a tiny 550 sq ft space in Cooper Young.
Let’s fast-forward a bit… because 28 days after we opened, the shop burned down. Yeah—it sucked. Google it if you want, but this is a positive piece, so let’s keep rolling!
After our first year, we relocated to Broad Avenue. We were one of the first retailers there, and we were early to a neighborhood that would soon take off. We expanded to 2,500 sq ft, hired five employees, and dove headfirst into building community and selling bikes like crazy.
By year four, Robert and I split the partnership, and I became the sole owner.
Since then, Victory has grown into a 4,700 sq ft space on Broad Avenue—and now includes a second location in Asheville, NC. We’ve got 7 full-time and 1 part-time team member, and the same passion and grit we had on Day One.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Smooth? Hell naw.
My store burned down just 28 days after opening. I’ve had to split a partnership, sue a former manager for stealing customer information, operate 100% through COVID, and watch my brand-new store in Asheville almost get taken out by a friggin’ hurricane—just 30 days after opening.
Easy? Hell naw!
If it were easy, everyone would do it… and then I’d really be in trouble.
As you know, we’re big fans of Victory Bicycle Studio. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
Victory Bicycle Studio is about to celebrate 15 years in business—and what a ride it’s been!
In those years, we’ve:
Sold nearly $25 million in bicycles and accessories
Taken over 1,200 riders from never riding to completing 50 miles through our Summer Training Group
Helped 72 riders cross the finish line at the Leadville 100 MTB in Colorado—every one of them earning a Belt Buckle
Founded and fully funded the Carpenter Street Bike Shop, a nonprofit right here in Binghampton
Built bikes for cyclists competing in the Summer Olympics
Never changed our store hours—the same since we opened in 2010
And my favorite stat of all?
All but one of my employees is a homeowner here in Memphis.
Yes, you can make a career in the bicycle industry—with us.
What sort of changes are you expecting over the next 5-10 years?
Yeesh—it’s changing constantly right now.
Post-COVID inventory issues have forced many shops to close. And with those closures comes an underserved market—not just here in Memphis, but across the country.
That’s exactly why I’ve invested so heavily in our online business over the past several years. It’s growing daily.
I’m 100% committed to giving our internet customers the same level of care, attention, and interaction you’d get walking into our store—plus the same follow-up and post-sale engagement, too.
If you’ve ever purchased a bike from Victory, you know.
And you know just how much my staff and I appreciate your business.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://victorybicyclestudio.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/victorybicyclestudio
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/victorybicyclestudio
- Twitter: https://x.com/victorymemphis
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@victorybicyclestudioMemphis
