Profile of Turner Lewis, M.D., Class of 2006
From a dark reading room to the golf greens, Richmond-based neuroradiologist and owner of Fore Craft Cocktails, a golf-themed beverage company, Turner Lewis, M.D., (H'06) is turning his side hustle into big business.
Turner is from Reedville, a small town in the Northern Neck of Virginia on the Chesapeake Bay. He grew up in a family home with grandparents in the fishing industry, a mother who was a nurse at Johnston-Willis Hospital, and a father who graduated from VCU School of Medicine and opened a family medicine practice in his hometown.
"At that time, we were a fishing town about 30 minutes from Rappahannock General Hospital. People would come to the house after hours, during weekends, or whenever possible. He took care of the community," says Turner. "It was common for me to watch my father stitch someone up and join him on house calls on the way to school. So I grew up around medicine, I thought it was fascinating, and I admired my dad. I still do. All I knew was medicine and that is all I wanted to do."
Turner went to Wake Forest in North Carolina for college. The transition to a large university from a small-town high school proved tough but he was able to keep on track with his premedical program. After graduating in 1997, he went to VCU School of Medicine hoping to practice primary care in his hometown like his father.
During his third year of medical school, he changed his mind. "During one of my rotations, I met some radiologists and fell in love with the technology side of medicine. I saw their ability to do something efficiently and quickly and play a part in many different roles at a hospital. I decided to go into radiology," says Turner. "I won't lie, it was a struggle. I never tested well but I wanted to do radiology, which at the time was very competitive. I did not match into radiology or my internship. It was a gut punch and I had to scramble. That was probably the most humbling time of my life."
After graduating medical school in 2001, he went to John Peter Smith Hospital in Fort Worth, Texas for a yearlong internship and then went through the match process again. He matched with VCU and returned to Richmond for his diagnostic radiology residency where he served as chief resident. After graduating from residency in 2006, he went to Northwestern Memorial Hospital for a neuroradiology fellowship.
In 2007, after his fellowship, he joined Commonwealth Radiology in Richmond where he still works today alongside many graduates and good friends from the VCU Radiology Residency Program.
Comprehensive Support Differentiates VCU Radiology
Turner spent eight years at VCU so it holds significant meaning to him. He recalls the positivity and support of the VCU Radiology program directors: first Fred Lane, M.D, and then L. Das Narla, M.D. Each worked closely with Turner at VCU and he still appreciates their patience and kindness.
"The staff at VCU were outstanding. They mentored me in medical school and helped me find a residency program. They helped me grow from a struggling medical student to resident of the year. They shaped me into the physician I am today. I have fond memories and good friends from my time at VCU."
Turner believes VCU's strong support network differentiates the program and prepares residents for everything they will experience in practice. After graduation, they can hit the ground running.
Photo courtesy VCU Radiology.
If At First You Don't Succeed, Try Again And Again
Fore Craft Cocktails is not Turner's first entrepreneurial foray outside of radiology. Brimming with energy and passion, he is a solution seeker, and he claims his inspiration came from his father and a good friend from Wake Forest who left law school to pursue various entrepreneurial ideas.
When his father retired from medicine, he started to grow oysters. Friends joined, and soon they grew enough oysters to sell. Turner stepped in to help with distribution but found difficulty scaling it and eventually had to step back from that endeavor.
Ten years ago, Turner collaborated with his college friend on an ambitious venture. It did not get to market but he learned about manufacturing, LLCs, marketing, and the patent process. Through these experiences, he learned business essentials not found in medical school. Each previous venture, although difficult, provided valuable lessons, and those lessons helped him accelerate this new business, Fore Craft Cocktails.
Start-Up Fills Pandemic Void
The Lewis family started homeschooling their three children as the radiology practice began to slow. "Physicians took turns taking time off and income dropped. I quickly realized no career, not even one in medicine, is recession-proof. I think many people thought the same way and made changes." He saw this as an opportunity to diversify and spent his free time conducting market research and learning about the beverage industry. Soon his idea became Fore Craft Cocktails.
"During the pandemic, people still played golf and certainly enjoyed cocktails. I found that there was little being done in canned beverages that was golf-centric." By May 2021, after a few production and distribution hiccups and a lot of caffeine, everything came together and his brand launched in Virginia during the Memorial Day weekend.
He then obtained a distribution license in Virginia so they could sell to grocery stores and golf courses to get the products into the marketplace. This worked well for the first year but, as the radiology business picked up, he had less free time and needed additional distributors to push more products into the marketplace. Now he is in ten different states using different distributors. It has taken time to get to this point and he is continually looking to expand his market with online ordering, new flavors, and multi-packs.
The initial product launch included six flavors: Transfusion, Fore Tea, Bloody Mary, Southside, Forezalea™, and Ranch Water. "I wanted to make the beverages with quality spirits like vodka and tequila, not malt, gluten-free with all-natural ingredients so there's nothing artificial; no colorings or sweeteners or anything. I create beverages that taste great and that my family and I want to drink," says Turner.
Resilience In Medicine, Life And Business
Over the years throughout his medical career and with his start-ups, Turner says, "I've been told 'no' 100 times more than I have heard 'yes'. This taught me humility and resilience." Today, Turner has the best of both worlds; he has defined time that is private and disconnected from the world where he focuses on helping patients. He also turned his love of golf from a pastime into something fulfilling, something that satisfies his entrepreneurial spirit.
"Throughout life, resiliency is key. Believe in yourself and what you are trying to do that is my advice. Over time, I have learned not to take rejection personally but to learn from it. I find that by not focusing on the disappointment, I can continue to adapt and move forward. I think that's par for the course as they say on the golf greens but it is also a healthy approach for anyone dealing with disappointment or rejection. It's not a closed door, as much as it's an opportunity."
Turner does not advertise the failures or disappointments mixed in among the successes. "As a business owner, radiologist, parent, and spouse there are things that aren't always easy. Whatever you think is hard at the time, it is probably hard for a reason. Hopefully you look back and, like my parents always told me, you find it builds character." Today, through the difficulties, rejections, and wins, he is focusing on obtaining investors to build the brand and grow the business to become the official canned cocktail of golf.
Turner provides good advice but also credits his strong support system of faculty, friends, and family, in particular, his wife. "She is a great partner, very supportive, and always wants me to do what drives me, reinvigorates me, and makes me happy."
Unless otherwise noted, photos courtesy Turner Lewis, M.D.
Stay Connected With Turner
You've learned a lot about VCU Radiology alumnus Dr. Turner Lewis.
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