Secret Academy Episode - Marc ParkerMarc Parker and his brother, Shannon, gained recognition for their skills in customization and fabrication when they built the Tron light bike in real life. Marc decided to build the bike to show executives from the movie that it could indeed be built after hearing their reasoning behind using CGI in the movie versus real motorbikes. Pretty soon after, SyFy Channel approached Marc and Shannon about doing a TV show about their custom builds. At this point, they didn't have a legitimate business; they were building bikes for fun and as a hobby. The network told them to get a shop and make it legit. So they did. Today, the Parker Brothers are building custom bikes and automobiles for clients worldwide in their 20,000+ sq ft shop and are in talks of signing to do a show with a bigger TV network.
- Why they decided to build the Tron bike in the first place, and how it led to opening their own shop
- Turning a passion into a legitimate business
- How they were able to stay afloat the first year of business
- Using their construction background to leverage a tradeoff for shop space
- How their show on SyFy Channel helped AND hurt their business
- What happened to the Tron bike
- Where 90% of their customer base is from
- Advice for those who want to start their own business
- Why Marc would tell his younger self to believe in himself earlier
- Some of the toughest hurdles he had to overcome once business started picking up
- Finding people in or outside of your industry who are doing cutting edge things to help your business
- Why you have to find ways to keep things exciting within your business
