BIKER LEGEND, RICK FAIRLESS – Livin’ the Dream!
Rick Fairless was born in Dallas, Texas and lives in the suburb of Irving. He’s a custom bike builder who loves the psychedelic 1960’s and it shows in his world-class roadside attraction and biker hangout, Strokers Dallas, Strokers Ice House Bar, and Punch Wally Garage.
Rick was raised on motorcycles and started riding when he was just seven years old. When he was 19 he went to work for his Great Uncle who owned a chain of paint stores called Roach Paint Company. These stores later became Glidden Paint Company. After 20 years in the paint business, and never missing a day of work, Rick was ready for a change. So he retired as the number one sales rep in the country for Glidden Paint and decided to live his dream.
Rick Fairless is truly a biker who lives to ride and he loves custom motorcycles. He has an abiding passion for all things with two wheels. For a long time, he had hoped that someone would come along and open a big time custom motorcycle shop in Dallas where he could buy cool products and parts from guys like Arlen Ness and Pat Kennedy. “Then I thought, ‘Why can’t that guy be me?’ Why couldn’t I be the guy that opens a cool custom motorcycle shop in Dallas.”
It took a lot of thought and hard work, but Rick opened up the two-and-a-half acre Strokers Dallas motorcycle shop back in 1996. It’s a family-style, biker hangout where you can talk about scooters, buy a psychedelic Strokers T-shirt or a Big Dog motorcycle or used Harley and see some of the amazing memorabilia and oddities that Rick has collected over the years. Two years later, he opened up a bar and grill right next door on the premises called Strokers Ice House.
The business plan for Strokers started years earlier when Rick and his ridin’ buddies would converge on Rick’s house where he had a few acres, a garage/shop and a tub full of beer. “We’d talk scooters, knock back a few cold ones, the girls would make barbecue and the kids would run around,” Rick recalls. That’s biker heaven on earth. Rick thought that the one thing bikers enjoy is riding their bikes to a destination where they could hang out and talk about motorcycles. That place is Strokers Dallas.
On any given weekend, you’ll find hundreds of riders who stop by for a burger and a beer, buy a tied-died T-shirt and talk scooters before headin’ home. “The live music will be playing, the girls are selling ice cold beer and the bikes are roaring in and out… it’s freakin’ AWESOME!” Rick laughs. A few years ago Rick also opened up Punch Wally Garage to work on classic cars and hot rods right next to the bike shop. If you’re into bikes or cars, Rick has you covered.
The famous Biker World hangout grew in popularity and many of Rick’s wild custom rides have appeared in motorcycle magazines and even hardback books over the years. When the Discovery Channel was producing its “Great Biker Build-off” TV series, Rick was involved as a participating bike builder. This led to his legendary TV series on SPEED Channel called “Texas Hardtails” that featured Rick, his mom and the rest of his family and worker bees in a hilarious reality series about runnin’ a bike shop. He had a regular radio show on KRLD-FM in Dallas/Fort Worth called “The Texas Hardtails Scooter Show” that he now produces as video podcasts that can be seen on his website and Facebook.
“I’m the guy who can’t wait to get up and go to work,” Rick tells us. “I love being part of the industry. The motorcycle industry is my life.” For more info visit www.strokersdallas.com and when in the Dallas area stop by and have a beer with Rick at the best biker hangout on earth. I am proud to call him my friend.
—Dave Nichols