This brand began as nothing more than a summer project in my high school bedroom, and it started in a similar manner to how many of you also began tinkering with your own guitars: a Squier Stratocaster in need of some upgrades, and an empty wallet. At the time, I was working part-time at a music shop, and with my part-time paycheck, I managed to scrape together enough cash to build myself a winding machine. It was a total hack job, held together with super glue and duct tape, but that machine was what officially started Kiyst, and that Squier ended up becoming the test bed for countless pickups and wiring configurations.

As time went on, the bedroom corner that acted as both my pickup winding station and my guitar workshop was moved into the basement. Having fret shavings, sawdust, and copper wire all over the floor was starting to become a bit of an issue as more pickups were being built and more guitars were being worked on. Fast forward to now, and not much has changed, except for a few things. That original winding machine made its last pickup in 2022, and that Squier is still on my rack, retired from its duties as a test bench, with a long and decorated career, evident by stripped screw holes and gouged cavities.

Although everything here has been a labor of love for the craft, and at its core are you, our customers. Staying close to you, our customers, has always been at the core of what we do, whether you're a high schooler rocking out in your bedroom or touring internationally at sold-out venues. This journey has been an incredible ride, and I'm so grateful for all of you who have been a part of it. Here's to many more years of building cool s#%t!