‘Our sales have doubled’: Meet the tattooed butcher behind cheeky viral videos
Luke Swales shows off some of his home-made pies at his family business, Knavesmire Butchers, in York. Photo supplied
York butcher doubles sales as social media videos go viral reports MAXINE GORDON
TATTOOS up to his neck, a trendy mullet and a smile to rival any fella on Love Island, Luke Swales is not your ordinary butcher.
And the 30-year-old is the first to admit it.
Luke works at his family business, Knavesmire Butchers, tucked among the terraced houses and alleyways of York’s South Bank.
Exterior of Knavesmire Butchers, in York. Photo supplied
But while the shop in Albemarle Road has been a neighbourhood staple for 30 years, Luke is bringing the traditional butcher firmly into the social media age.
His cheeky behind-the-scenes videos have attracted more than 20,000 followers on Instagram (@knavesmire_butchers) and some posts have clocked up astonishing viewing figures.
More importantly, they have helped transform the family business.
“We’ve just about doubled our takings,” says Luke.
Luke Swales shows off some of his home-made pies at his family business, Knavesmire Butchers, in York. Photo supplied
Cross the threshold of Knavesmire Butchers and it isn’t difficult to understand why customers keep coming back.
There’s something instantly comforting about the place.
Maybe it’s the warming smell of meat pies from the heated glass-fronted oven by the entrance, or the cheery banter from staff working behind the two counters.
Luke Swales shows off some of his home-made pies at his family business, Knavesmire Butchers, in York. Photo supplied
It’s my first visit and the welcome is warm. Within minutes, I can see why this butcher’s has been going strong for three decades.
And the produce looks out of this world.
If you’ve ever gazed longingly at the beautiful fruit and vegetables on a continental market, where tomatoes somehow look redder and peaches never seem to have a bruise, this is the meat equivalent.
Pork chops, barbecue ribs, chicken kebabs, poultry breasts, beef steaks, and meat balls, prepared in an array of marinades and rubs, sit in gleaming stainless-steel trays quietly whispering: “Buy me.”
Then there are the sausages, all made by Luke in the preparation area at the back which is visible from the shop floor.
You could easily find something for tea every night of the week.
Inside Knavesmire Butchers, in York. Photo supplied
Scratch that. You could have dinner sorted for a fortnight.
Actually, you could pretty much do your weekly shop here.
“You’ve got everything under one roof,” says Luke, perched on a stool by the window counter, clad in shorts, a short-sleeved white shirt and branded apron – tattoos clearly on display.
“We’ve got milk, bread, eggs, veg and fruit.”
WATCH: Luke takes us on a tour
At noon on a sunny Thursday, however, customers appear to have eyes only for one thing: the homemade pies.
“We’ve got lamb and mint, steak, chicken, pork, as well as Cornish pasties, sausage rolls and Scotch eggs,” Luke reels off.
Hot beef sandwiches are another lunchtime favourite. Workmen regularly call in, alongside pupils from nearby schools, he says.
Much of the meat, meanwhile, comes from the family farm near Pocklington or other local suppliers.
“We’ve got 100 per cent traceability,” says Luke.
The butcher who became a social media hit
It was around two years ago that Luke began seriously promoting the business on social media.
The formula is simple: show people the life of a traditional butcher, but don’t take yourself too seriously.
Luke Swales shows off some of his home-made pies at his family business, Knavesmire Butchers, in York. Photo supplied
A keen sportsman who played football and rugby as a child and now plays for York Acorn Rugby Club, Luke often appears in his videos in shorts or a butcher’s apron, his tattoos and gym-earned muscles firmly on show.
Are some of them a bit racy?
Luke smiles.
“You’ve got to show a bit of yourself in videos. I’m just being myself and trying to promote the business.
“You have to have a laugh. You can’t be too serious.”
Luke realised he might be on to something when one particularly cheeky Christmas post took off.
“It was a photo of my hand up a turkey’s arse!” he says.
“It was Christmas time and we were getting turkeys ready for sale. I just put a message like, ‘Thanks for all your support’.
“It got a lot of comments, some rude ones, but it went viral.”
Then came another breakthrough when one of his posts notched up one million views.
Not everyone is complimentary online, of course, but Luke refuses to be discouraged by trolls.
“There are always people who are going to try to pull you down. You have just got to look past that.”
Watch: Luke making sausages at the shop‘I don’t look like a farmer’
Luke knows he isn’t necessarily what people picture when they think of a butcher or livestock farmer.
“I don’t look like a farmer,” he says. “When I go to markets, I’m not dressed in farmer’s attire. I have tattoos and I stick out.
“But everybody is supportive and says it is good for the industry. This is a good industry to be in.”
And if his videos encourage another generation to consider staying in family farming and butchery, all the better.
Luke grew up in York and attended Westfield Primary School and York High School, but weekends and holidays were spent at his grandparents’ farm, Haverland, near Pocklington.
Following their deaths during the past year, Luke has renovated the farmhouse and now lives there.
Although single, he says he would love to have children one day and give them the opportunity to grow up on a farm.
For now, he splits his working week between being a rural livestock farmer and city butcher.
“Tuesday is slaughtering and market day, where I go and buy new stock for the farm.
“Other days I am at the butcher’s making sausages, chopping pork, sorting the window.
“Then I will be back at the farm, mucking out the cows and sorting out the sheep and pigs.”
It makes for a varied life and that’s exactly how Luke likes it.
“I’m a proper butcher’s butcher,” he says.
“We buy the whole carcass and butcher it on site. We can give 100 per cent traceability. Supermarkets can’t always promise you that.”
Why Luke believes shoppers are returning to butchers
For all the attention generated by Instagram, Luke believes something bigger is happening.
Customers, he says, are rediscovering the appeal of shopping locally.
“Whether it is the local milkman or baker’s, or butcher’s, we want people to use them.
“When these traditional things die off, they never come back.”
At Knavesmire Butchers, there are plans to move forward without abandoning those traditions.
An app is in the pipeline that will allow customers to order online and arrange deliveries.
And Luke believes the increase in sales is proof that shoppers are returning to independent butchers.
“People are fed up with stuff out of supermarkets,” he says.
“They say the mince is grisly, there is water coming out of the chicken. We don’t have that here.
“What you see is what you get.”
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