Our People
Over the years, we’ve had help building out this vision from wonderful people from all over the globe. Guitar makers Kevin Ryan, Jim Olson, Harry Fleishman, George Lowden, Bob Taylor and Richard Hoover have all been generous with ideas and advice. We’ve had team members in the shop from Nepal, India, Bangladesh, Tibet, Texas and Australia. Each one brought a unique perspective and a unique set of talents. We’ve had Hindus, Muslims, Christians, Buddhists and agnostics working happily side-by-side. Many friends and family cheered us on; some sacrificed financially to help us get off the ground, and others had the courage to order guitars early on before we had proved ourselves. We’re deeply grateful for each of you!
Keep reading to meet our current team.
Rahul
Rahul showed up at Dave’s house one day with a painting contractor he was working for. The contractor gave a price and promised to show up the next day to start work. He never came back, but Rahul did, because Rahul is a faithful guy who does what he says he will. He helped paint the house and did such a good job that we asked him to come work with us at the guitar shop. He spent the next couple years training to build soundboxes and eventually took over that corner of the shop, building and voicing everything before it goes on to the binding station. Rahul is happily married and is becoming a leader in our town. Back in 2022, when concerns about Covid were finally starting to relax, Rahul sat Dave down at a local cafe and asked him what the plan was going to be for getting Dehradun back up and running. In many ways, he’s the reason we’re all still together.
Vishal
Vishal was raised in Dehradun, and he Rahul have basically been inseparable since they were kids. In fact, many times if you hear one of their names, you assume the other one’s name is about to follow. Vishal came along with Rahul one day for that house painting job and has stuck around ever since. He is skilled at several of the operations and we’ve come to count on him for binding the guitars right through the polishing work - some of the most detailed, difficult work we do. Vishal is probably Rajpur’s most eligible bachelor and we expect to see him married off any day. For now, we’re just grateful to have him on our team, making sure your guitar looks as good as it sounds.
Amen
Amen was a natural talent on the keyboard since he was a kid. He wanted to learn guitar too, but didn’t have access to one. So he drew frets on a stick of firewood and learned the chord shapes by paying attention whenever he saw someone playing. By the time he finally had one in his hands, he already knew how to play, and he quickly became (and still is!) one of the most skilled guitarists in town. He’s also one of the most skilled guitar makers in India, an inlay artist who has studied Larry Robinson’s work extensively, and he can carve a neck to just about any requested spec. Amen also helps out with final setup. He’s married with two lovely kids, a boy and a girl.
Nikhil
Nikhil was a mentor at a rehabilitation center when Dehradun Guitar Co. got underway, but he was in close contact with the team all the way through. For the past several years, Nikhil has been working with a business incubator that has helped 23 businesses get off the ground in south and southeast Asia - including DGC. He and his friend Nawang started Rewa, a much-needed recovery center in Rajpur that walks alongside men in our town and helps them overcome trauma and addiction. Nikhil helps keep our team focused and strong, and put his own resources on the line to help restart the work after the Covid-19 pandemic.
Tenzing Phuntsok
Tenzing Phuntsok (whom we affectionally call “TP”) has been on the journey with us since day one. TP was originally raised in Nepal, then spent some time in Delhi before moving to Dehradun. He and Dave met at a mentoring house called Zhidey Kansar, where TP had taught himself to play guitar, sing and speak fluent English. When Dave suggested they should try building a couple guitars together, TP was all in. TP has his hands full at work, since he has cross trained on all aspects of guitar making. He handles final assembly and setup, transforming each guitar from a pile of beautiful parts into a beautiful, useful tool. He also has his hands full at home, raising two young boys.
Jeremy
Jeremy originally contacted Dave in March 2020, to ask what was going on with the guitar shop in the midst of the pandemic. The shop had shut down at the time, and Jeremy spent the next several months walking alongside Dave and the team, working to figure out whether it might be possible to usher Dehradun Guitar Co. into a new chapter. In large part due to Jeremy’s encouragement and insistence, the team is back together and building again. Jeremy is the kind of guy who lights up the room, and we continue to count on him for vision and inspiration. Jeremy and his wife Ruth have four birth children and have also raised several young people in their home as their own. We’re happy to be a part of their very large, extended family.
