Today we’d like to introduce you to Jesse Butler.
Hi Jesse, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I used to work in independent professional wrestling as a ring announcer, commentator, interviewer, and even occasional wrestler. Covid shut down the entire wrestling industry, so I was stuck without a “hobby” or “passion project”, until one day I realized I was surrounded by movies I had been collecting. I knew I would never watch some of them again, so I experimented with selling vhs tapes through instagram. I did that and various markets, flea markets, and pop ups for about 3 years before opening our first location in 2022! A huge driving force in me even getting out there to try to sell movies in a streaming age was our late friend Shayne Parker known from his shop Dead People’s Things. Before Shayne’s passing we were discussing turning the Dead People’s Things closet into the worlds smallest video store.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
It’s not always been the smoothest ride. Fun, but not the smoothest. We are our slowest right after the holidays. So over the years we’ve found fun ways to make the best of that time- hosting pop ups in the store, vending outside of the store, experimenting with various online selling platforms, & special events.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
We’re Danger Zone Video, Middle Tennessee’s video store. We carry movies on various formats. From VHD & laser disc, vhs, all the way to blu ray & 4k movies. People know us and usually come to us for vhs tapes, especially horror vhs tapes. But our dvd, blu ray, and 4k communities have been growing!
We are very proud of the wide array of folks we can serve by carrying a wide variety of movies! Obscure titles, classics, and seasonally appropriate titles are always around at Danger Zone Video!
When you come to Danger Zone Video we want you to know that each movie on the shelf was checked, cleaned, and selected with care. We offer a buy- sell- trade program. We also occasionally do ticket give aways, and random in store savings. Over the last 2 years we’ve spent more time getting to know our Mount Juliet neighbors and working with the community through various ways. Some of those being canned food drives, clothing drives, our Pride Month events, and our annual contribution to a charity that is very close to us, Shayne’s Toy Drive.
What matters most to you? Why?
What matters most to us? Community. Without our movie and physical media communities we would simply not exist. They allow us to do what we do best, buy and sell movies! This is why we take such great pride in every movie selected for our shelves. We know we’re curating the shelves for those that keep the doors open and maybe even their friends in the future!
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/dangerzonevideo
- Facebook: https://facebook.com/dangerzonevideo
- Other: https://tiktok.com/dangerzonevideo
