Lance Autrey has built chiropractic practices, launched and sold businesses, developed private ranch communities and created storybook-inspired vacation retreats. Yet ask the Argyle entrepreneur what he’s good at, and he’ll keep the list surprisingly short.
“I guess my superpowers would be finding a void and getting something started,” said Autrey, who lives in Argyle with his wife, Kandis, and their two teenage daughters. “What I’m not is a good sustainer. I’m also the least micromanaging person and detail-oriented person alive.”
Once a venture is running smoothly, Autrey said, his mind inevitably wanders toward the next idea.
“It’s funny because once I get whatever I’m working on to a point where it basically runs itself, everyone looks around wondering, ‘Where did Lance go?’” he said. “I’ve always got to have something going on.”
His résumé certainly bears that out.
After graduating from chiropractic school in 2006, Autrey joined Village Chiropractic in Highland Village and bought into the practice three years later. It has since grown into a multidisciplinary practice, with its main office now in Double Oak and Medical Massage RX locations in Flower Mound and Frisco.
But chiropractic was never Autrey’s only interest.
While attending Baylor University, where he earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees, he co-hosted “Texas Deer Hunter TV,” which aired on the Outdoor Channel and Fox Sports Southwest from 2001 to 2003.
As his chiropractic career grew, so did his entrepreneurial ambitions. He launched and eventually sold three businesses — Autrey Motor Sports, Texas Craft Steaks and Elite Cryo Therapy in Highland Village.
“I was seeing so many patients each day that I needed to start taking more free days to rest my body,” he said. “But I’d end up using those free days to start other businesses, get them to a certain point, and then sell them.”
Eventually, Autrey felt another pull — back to his roots.
Having grown up on a cattle ranch west of Waco, he missed ranch life. In 2016, he bought property near Ranger and transformed it into Axis Creek Ranch, complete with roads, lakes, a lodge and exotic animals. He began hosting corporate retreats, and the ranch became popular enough that buyers came calling. Autrey eventually sold it.
Then came an even bigger idea.
In 2019, Autrey and an equity partner acquired Fortune Bend, a 1,200-acre ranch on the Brazos River previously owned by Walmart heiress Alice Walton. Autrey transformed it into Legends of Fortune Bend, a private ranch community where buyers owned 12- to 15-acre properties while sharing access to the larger gated ranch.
All 35 properties sold in just 14 months.
Autrey and business partner Jeff Clark have since replicated the concept with Legends of Lake Creek, Big Bear Mountain, Buffalo Ridge and Comanche Moon.
“I’m not selling ranches to people who are looking for ranches,” Autrey said. “I’m selling to people who didn’t know how much they really wanted one until they saw their buddy had one. They want to be like John Dutton; they want to have land.”
But even ranch communities weren’t enough to keep Autrey from dreaming up something new.
Several years ago, he became friends with Jep Robertson of “Duck Dynasty” fame. Robertson and his wife, Jessica, eventually bought property at Comanche Moon and later teamed with Autrey on perhaps his most unusual idea yet: Mirador.
Autrey envisioned immersive outdoor resorts where the lodging itself would become the adventure. The spark came while watching “Star Wars” and imagining what it would be like to stay somewhere resembling Yoda’s hideaway.
Why not create a storybook world where families could stay in an ogre swamp, a Hobbit-inspired house or a coal miner’s cave?
Today, Mirador in Mingus, Texas features six themed stays — three Texas Shire houses, two Ogre Swamps and a Coal Miner’s Cave.
“Everything is built to scale, so it’s as if you’re living in an actual hobbit house,” Autrey said.
Guests can also participate in scavenger hunts, pony rides, cookouts and other activities. Autrey already envisions future additions, including treehouses and beaver dam houses, as well as taking the concept to other locations.
“We are appealing to parents with kids who want to get out and do something fun and different,” he said. “If they see a hobbit house on social media … guess what? They are going to find a way to go stay at a hobbit house.”
The idea is now headed to television. When the Great American Family Network approached Jep and Jessica Robertson about potential reality shows, the couple shared what they were creating with Autrey.
This month, GAF will air Season 1 of “Beyond the Bayou with Jep and Jessica,” with Autrey appearing on screen and Mirador playing a prominent role.
“There will be a lot of eyeballs on this project, and it’s occupying a lot of my time,” Autrey said. “I’m in the heat of the moment with Mirador, and I’ll let the numbers tell me what to do next, but it’s exciting to see what it could become.”
For most people, that would be enough.
For Autrey, it’s simply the latest chapter.
“What’s next … it’s a good question,” he said.
