Rock the Board

The Guitar Brand that uses Recycled Skateboards

Skateboards and guitars. Are there two more quintessentially rock items? It’s little wonder then that fashioning beautiful, bespoke instruments from the decks of skateboards that have met an untimely end are going down a storm. Self-taught wood-worker Nick Pourfard started Prisma Guitars as a way to combine these two great passions of his.

“I began using skateboard decks because I wanted to make a guitar that I couldn’t buy anywhere. Something unique,” recalls Nick. “I had a huge pile of old skateboard decks lying in my closet and I was very curious to see if it was possible to make the guitar with them.”

It all started when Nick was 18 and picked up an injury whilst skating, leaving him with excess time on his hands while he recovered. “I had no experience or knowledge in woodworking. I began accumulating any tools I could find and teaching myself what those tools did. When I felt that my skills were great enough I built a guitar.”

Nick has come a long way since then. Because the materials he uses are never the same, the combinations of colours are always different, meaning each individual guitar is completely one of a kind. His first ever sale was to professional skateboarder Justin Figueroa. He’s since been commissioned by rock-royalty in the shape of Steve Harris of Iron Maiden, no less.

Here’s Nick on his story so far:

The Plus: Where do you get the skateboards from?
Nick Pourfard: I get my skateboards from shops, distributions, skaters, and fellow board recyclers.

TP: Skateboards and guitars are pretty rocky. Is that the kind of music you are into?
NP: I love all types of music. I would say my ipod has a very diverse selection of genres. I listen mostly to psyche rock stuff, but I love some jazz or world music to relax me.

TP: Do you play the guitar and skateboard personally?
NP: I started playing guitar and skating at the exact same time in 7th grade. I never stopped doing either.

TP: How long does each guitar take to make?
NP: Each guitar takes about 20 hours total over a period of 2-3 weeks.

TP: What’s the most iconic guitar brand for you?
NP: The most iconic guitar brand for me is Fender. Only because it’s the only musical brand I can think of that is recognized amongst almost all musicians and non-musicians.

TP: Who would you most like to see playing one of your guitars?
NP: I would love to get a guitar into the hands of Jimi (Hendrix). I feel like he would love the colours ha!

TP: How big do you think Prisma can be in the long term?
NP: I believe that Prisma can become more than a guitar company. I think I can make people care about things I am doing or projects that I am working on that don’t skate or play music. This can become a culture brand that people associate themselves with. I look at other guitar companies as a guide to what I am not going to do.