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.
Read the full article at Voyage Memphis Magazine.