Strokers Dallas Motorcycle Shop, Strokers Ice House Bar & Grill, and Strokers Ink Tattoo & Piercing Parlor are owned and operated by Rick Fairless. His 5 children, Steve, Louis, Chelsey, Lena, and Liz are involved in the company operations as is his wife Susan (who runs the office), his mom Sharon (everybody just calls her Mom), his dad Ocie, his brother Randy (big shot lawyer), sister Denise & brother-in-law Steve Bessler. Strokers Dallas opened in 1996, Strokers Ice House opened in 1998 & Strokers Ink opened in 2007. Little did Rick know that his Strokers "Empire" would soon become a World Famous motorcycle destination. Rick built his "Empire" with the belief that if you "Get up early, work hard all day, good things will happen." So far so good! Rick works 13 hours a day, 8 days a week! Rick does not take days off. We are only closed 2 days a year - Thanksgiving & Christmas Day, & Rick actually works both those days. Figuring those hours, he makes minimum wage. Oh well, he's happy & living his dream.
Rick & Susan were both born and raised in Irving, Texas. They both graduated from Mac Arthur high school. In 1976 Rick went to work for Roach Paint Company that later became Glidden Paint Company. Rick has been riding motorcycles since he was nine years old. He always dreamed of owning a motorcycle shop. By 1987 he was the #1 paint salesman in the country for Glidden. Rick raised his kids around motorcycles. He had three acres in Irving and lots of room for the kids to learn to ride. Rick bought his son Steve his first bike on his 2nd birthday.
In 1996, Rick had his 20th anniversary with Glidden coming up and was growing restless working for somebody else. Rick spent many hours cussing and discussing his future. He was thinking of opening a paint store of his own, after all, he made a good living in the paint business for 20 years. But he was tired of the paint business and decided that he did not want to be in it anymore. If Rick was going to roll the dice, he wanted to own a motorcycle shop.
So, in 1996, after a lot of hard work, he went out on his own and opened Strokers Dallas. People continuously told Rick he was crazy to leave a career that was paying him so much money, and not to take a gamble on a new motorcycle shop. Thank God he did not listen to those people. As soon as he opened his store, he started the process to open a bar and grill next door. What better than a place to drink beer, look at cool custom bikes, get your bike serviced, and buy parts, all at the same time? It took 2 years of red tape before he finally got Strokers Ice House open. Rick had a hard time with a name for the bar. Rick had been to visit his big shot lawyer brother Randy in Houston who took him to some places called ice houses. They were pretty much metal buildings that served beer. Nothing fancy, just a cool place to drink beer. These places got their name from the old, true ice houses from the early 1900s. When men got off work they stopped off at an ice house to get ice for their icebox at home. The ice houses became a place where men would hang out, drink beer, chew tobacco, play cards, and generally just hang out & have a good time before they went home to mama. Rick liked the idea of calling the place an ice house.
The Strokers part of the name came from brainstorming with his pals. One of Rick's buddies, Glen, was always called Stroker because he liked Stroker motors. Rick's best friend, Joe T. suggested calling the place Strokers. Of course, Glen liked the idea and Rick did as well. Strokers Ice House was born & the rest is history.
Rick wanted a place that would be really laid back and welcomes everybody that wants to have a good time in a friendly atmosphere. Well, Rick got what he worked so hard for! All kinds of people from all over the world come to visit Strokers every day. On a nice Sunday, we get 1000-2000 bikes that come out to enjoy themselves, listen to live music, and just hang out. We have been featured in numerous magazines, newspapers, and television shows: You might have seen us on our own TV show - Texas Hardtails on the SPEED network, or the Biker Build-Off on the Discovery channel or heard Rick on his weekly radio show - The Texas Hardtails Scooter Show or maybe you have seen us in one of the gazillion motorcycle magazines that Rick & Strokers has been featured in... Strokers Dallas, Strokers Ice House & Strokers Ink have become a motorcycle tradition in Dallas, Texas.
Rick & Susan still live in Irving about 1 mile from where they were born & raised. Rick and his family ask you to enjoy yourself in their house and let them know if you have any ideas or suggestions that can make the place better for you. Thank you very much for visiting Strokers Dallas, Strokers Ice House & Strokers Ink. As Rick always likes to say "I'm the owner, but you're the boss!"Rick and Family