Meet Nick Pourfard of Prisma Guitars, the company turning old skateboard decks into beautiful custom made guitars and basses.
Nick Pourfard is an artist, muso and skater living in San-Fransisco. He also owns Prisma Guitars, a company that combines these three avocations in an inspired way: the instruments they make are built from recycled skateboards.
The realms of music, art and skate intersect on many levels, and for Pourfard, this intersection was the genesis of what would become his vocation.
A former industrial design student, Pourfard established Prisma Guitars after a skating accident that left him with an immobilising injury and too much time on his hands. To break the monotony of not being able to walk, he started building guitars out of unused skate decks he had lying around.
Chatting with Reverb, Pourfard explains the providence of his company:
“I’ve been building since I was 18. I’m 25 now, so I’ve been at this for seven years. The actual business started in 2014. Before that, I was just selling one-offs here and there. I didn’t have a name. It was just a hobby until I decided it was time to take it to the next level.”
In the years since, he has built over 200 guitars at a rate of three or four a month – each one different from the last – loosely basing his designs off established shapes (mainly Fender offsets and Telecasters) and his own creations. His pieces are truly unique, with swirling colours and patterns streaked throughout the guitar bodies.
In terms of electronics and hardware, the guitars are built to order, with pickup and switching configurations entirely up to the buyer. That being said, Pourfard and his team only build to the highest quality (he works with renowned pickup builders David Allen and Tim McNelly), taking into account the request and considerations of his customers: he even builds guitar from they buyer’s own skateboards if they ask.
Take a look at some of his incredible work below.
