Today we’d like to introduce you to Marc Christensen.
Hi Marc, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
My entrepreneurial story started with a very different kind of proof: crash testing. I founded OTW Safety and spent 28 years building it into a national manufacturing and distribution business. Eventually, I took that experience into spirits. From highway barriers to whiskey barrels—it’s an unusual résumé, but both businesses require patience, precision, and a healthy respect for regulations!
I founded Dented Brick® Distillery in 2014, and we opened our doors in South Salt Lake in 2016. Getting there meant raising capital, securing construction financing, building a distillery, and navigating enough permits to make a person consider taking up knitting instead.
One of our greatest assets was already underground: an on-site artesian well. That mineral-rich water became central to our spirits and gave us something distinctly local to build around. Add beautiful Vendome stills, a dedicated team, and a willingness to do the hard work, and we were off.
Ten years after opening, we’ve built a portfolio spanning vodka, gin, rum, tequila, and whiskey, earned more than 100 awards, and welcomed people into our tasting room to see how it all happens. Our single-barrel and barrel-finished rye releases are especially rewarding—whiskey has its own schedule, and it does not care about yours.
There have been plenty of challenges along the way. Building a business will humble you, and building a distillery in Utah adds a few extra plot twists. What keeps me going is seeing our team turn an idea into something people enjoy and share. We’re still creating, still learning, and still giving people a reason to “Get Dented!®”
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Smooth? I spent 28 years in the highway safety business, and even I couldn’t put enough barricades around all the potholes on this journey!
The first challenge was turning an idea into an operating distillery. We had to raise money, secure construction financing, build the facility, and navigate federal and state approvals. Opening a distillery in Utah certainly gives you an appreciation for paperwork. You develop patience before you develop whiskey.
Then comes the challenge of getting bottles onto shelves—and getting them off those shelves into customers’ hands. Making a great spirit is only part of the job. You also need distribution, brand recognition, and a reason for someone to choose you over a familiar name with a much larger marketing budget.
We’ve also faced financial pressure, a difficult spirits market, and a lender dispute that led us into Chapter 11. That has been one of the toughest chapters of the business. It puts your resilience to the test and makes you appreciate the people who keep showing up and doing the work alongside you.
Through it all, our team has continued making spirits, serving customers, and developing new products. I’ve learned that persistence sometimes means pushing forward, and sometimes it means changing the plan. There’s no shortcut to building something that lasts—although I wouldn’t object if someone invented one.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I’m the founder and managing member of Dented Brick® Distillery, which means my work ranges from business strategy and financing to helping our team get great spirits into customers’ hands. Some days I’m working on distribution; other days I’m looking at production plans or spreadsheets. “Distillery founder” sounds glamorous until you see how much of the job involves a calculator. Many consumers think that running a distillery is glamorous, but mostly it is cleaning, cleaning tanks, equipment, glassware, and toilets!
My specialty is building manufacturing businesses—taking an idea through funding, construction, production, regulatory approvals, and eventually to market. At Dented Brick, that experience supports a team making vodka, gin, rum, and whiskey, alongside our tequila offerings.
What sets us apart starts beneath our feet. We have our own 232-foot artesian well on the property, and we use that mineral-rich water in fermentation and proofing. Water is a major ingredient in spirits, so having our own source gives us a distinctive foundation and a real connection to this place.
We’re also known for offering spirits across a range of prices, from approachable everyday bottles to limited releases. Our rye whiskey program is particularly exciting: 100% rye, bottled-in-bond expressions, and finishes in wine barrels that bring another dimension to the whiskey. Our latest single-barrel bottled-in-bond release is literally one barrel. When it’s gone, there’s no secret warehouse full of replacements!
We’ve earned more than 100 awards, and I’m proud of that recognition. But I’m most proud of the people behind the bottles and the business we’ve built together. There’s something deeply satisfying about walking through a facility that began as an idea and seeing our team making products people choose to bring home, give as gifts, and share with friends.
The awards are wonderful. Earning a place on someone’s shelf—and being invited back when that bottle is empty—is pretty special, too.
How do you think about happiness?
Seeing something we’ve worked hard on come to life makes me happy. A business starts as an idea, but eventually there’s a team, a building, and a bottle someone takes home and enjoys. After all the planning, paperwork, and cleaning—so much cleaning—that’s a pretty satisfying payoff.
I love seeing our team take pride in their work, watching someone discover a spirit they didn’t expect to like, or hearing that a visitor had a great time on a tour. Those moments remind me why we put so much into this place. We’re creating something that becomes part of people’s celebrations, conversations, and memories.
And opening a barrel of rye whiskey that’s been quietly aging for years and finding something exceptional inside? That will make your day. You can rush a lot of things in business, but whiskey refuses to be impressed by your deadlines.
Ultimately, building things with good people and seeing others enjoy the result makes me happy. Although an empty inbox and a distillery where everything is already clean would be a close second.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://dentedbrick.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dentedbrickdistillery
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dentedbrickdistillery
- LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/company/dented-brick-distillery
- Twitter: https://x.com/DentedBrick
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/@dentedbrickdistillery682
