Strokers Dallas Custom Motorcycle Shop, Strokers Ice House Bar & Grill, and Punch Wally Garage are owned and operated by Rick Fairless. His children Chelsey and Lena are involved in the company operations as are his wife Susan (runs the office), his brother Randy (big shot lawyer), & brother-in-law Steve Bessler(IT Guy), Rick’s mom, Sharon, ran the Ice House for 15 years. Strokers Dallas opened in 1996, Strokers Ice House opened in 1998 & Fearless Services opened in 2010. Rick recently added Punch Wally Garage, his custom car shop. 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 15 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 and Susan were both born and raised in Irving, Texas. They both graduated from Mac Arthur high school and were married in Irving in 1979. 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 & Susan have three grandchildren, Blyss, Rockey & Pearl. Rick hopes that his three Grand kids will someday work in the family business.
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 any more. 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 1900’s. When men got off work they stopped off at an ice house to get ice for their ice box at home. The ice houses became a place where men would gather, drink beer, chew tobacco, play cards and generally just hangout & have a good time before they went home to mama. Rick liked the idea of calling the place an ice house. It became the first Ice House in DFW. Strokers Ice House has great food, including Ma’s famous fired bologna sandwich and the best burger in town!
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 thought that was a good name, Strokers Ice House. So Strokers Ice House was born & the rest is history.
Rick wanted a place that would be real 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 plus 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, Ma’s roadhouse on TRU TV, 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, Punch Wally Garage, and Fearless Insurance Services 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, Punch Wally Garage, and Fearless Insurance Services. As Rick always likes to say “I’m the owner, but you’re the boss!”
Rick and Family
