A Gift for a Friend Fighting for His Life
Donation protected
I’m starting this fundraiser on behalf of my very good friend Steven. I wanted to get his story out there because he's one of the coolest dudes I've ever met, and was recently dealt an incredibly tough hand. If anyone is deserving of a little break in life, it's him. I'm going to try my best to tell his heartbreaking story from my perspective, and why I feel so adamant about getting this fundraiser going. Please bear with me, as I start from the very beginning...
Steven and I are both aspiring guitarists in our free time, which is how we formed our friendship. We both happen to be pretty damn fond of a certain guitar company, called Paul Reed Smith (PRS) Guitars. Steven and I met online, via a PRS Guitars Facebook group in 2017, where we and about 30,000 other guitar geeks just talk all things PRS. Pretty nerdy stuff, really. Our friendship materialized through trading pictures of our custom-built Private Stock guitars, each designed from the ground up with our very own individual specifications in mind. Meeting someone else with a Private Stock guitar and a similar story behind it is always pretty awesome, but Steven stuck out to me. He just seemed like such a down to Earth and genuine guy, which resulted in countless conversations about guitars, gear, potential future PRS builds, and music, in general. We would talk for hours via text, phone call, or FaceTime, filling out new PRS order forms, comparing specs, and coming up with original ideas that would make our future builds stand out from the rest. We got incredibly close to a double order quite a few times, even reaching out to PRS dealers and getting quotes, but time and again, money was tight on both ends and we weren’t able to proceed. The Private Stock order forms accumulated and were eventually lost in my phone’s camera roll.
Before our friendship, Steven got the opportunity to chat via FaceTime with Paul Reed Smith during his first Private Stock build. He told me it was awesome being able to interact with the legendary guy who was behind the creation of the guitars he grew up listening to and watching in the music videos of his favorite guitarists, like Tim Mahoney from 311 and Carlos Santana. Finally getting to order his own custom PRS guitar was a dream come true, and being able to chat with Paul during the process was something he was able to check off his bucket list. Unfortunately, at the time of ordering, Steven’s particular PRS dealer failed to properly guide him through the process, which resulted in a guitar that he never truly fell in love with, and because of that, the guitar was recently sold.
Hearing Steven open up about his Private Stock build experience and the situation that led to it being sold absolutely crushed me, as these are not only significantly expensive purchases, but incredible works of art that are meant to be cherished for a lifetime and passed down for generations. Being a Private Stock customer, myself, I begged him to use that money to finance a new build - something he would truly be happy with. He very sternly objected to my idea, and shared some news with me - he and his fiancé were expecting their first child. He told me the money made on the sale would be saved in order to plan and prepare for his baby’s arrival. That, to me, was the only option I could imagine being remotely suitable, and in that moment, I was taught a valuable lesson on what it means to have your priorities in order.
On January 6, 2021, Steven had a massive seizure while at work and was rushed to the hospital. Steven was later diagnosed with Stage 4 melanoma brain cancer, and was confirmed to have 27 tumors on his brain, 7 of which are severely abnormal, and tumors on his clavicle and both legs. He is currently receiving chemo and radiation therapy at the Ellis Fischel Cancer Center in Columbia, Missouri, with a 12-18 month life expectancy.
The rug of Steven’s life was ripped out from under him all within hours. And not only is this an incredibly huge blow for him, but for his growing family. His fiancé is 4 months pregnant with their first child who Steve might not have time to meet. That, alone, kills me to type. This is why I’m starting this fundraiser. I know it would mean the world to Steven to have something special to pass down to his child - What better gift than a one-of-a-kind instrument that not only honors the legacy of your father and his deeply rooted passion for music, but was built to his own unique specifications? I chose to personally commit to this build for Steven, and was able to recover his amended Private Stock order form that we had settled on from about a year ago. I am begging for any help that anyone is willing to give to help bring this dream guitar to life for a man who is fighting for his own. I am not currently in a financial position to be able to pull this off alone, so I am praying to the universe that sharing Steven’s story might help this become a reality sooner rather than later. My intention is not only to get this guitar into Steven’s hands, but to be something incredibly meaningful to eventually pass down to his child.
Despite this terrible diagnosis, Steven is still actively serving in the United States Army and is an 11-year combat veteran. He has proudly served his country and helped fight for the freedoms that we as Americans take for granted every day. I just want to pay him back with a promise that his child will have something special to remember and honor him by. Thankfully, Steven has both life and medical insurance through the US military, meaning all of his medical bills and procedures are 100% covered , and his wife and child will be taken care of if the worst happens - This is why I am raising this money for a guitar rather than the treatment, itself. Steven’s fiancé has given me permission to forward any and all information regarding his case to prove that this isn’t some sort of scam.
As far as this build goes, typical Private Stock guitars take about 9 months to complete, and in my experience, can run anywhere from $8,000 to $30,000 ($30k being an extremely over the top build, which this will not be). If I were to guess, this particular guitar should land somewhere in the $10,000 - $13,000 range, depending on which dealer decides to pick it up. I know these prices are intense, but again, these are 100% custom ordered, American-made, one-of-a-kind pieces of art, that (from the mouth of Paul Reed Smith, himself) are intended to be family heirlooms to be passed down for generations to come. Given how many years Steven and I have talked about this build, I cannot think of a better way to honor his life and legacy, other than allowing our plan to come full circle - not only for him, but for his child, and his memory.
Once Steven finds out I've set this up he's going to kill me...
I’m very sorry bro. But you really do deserve this.
Thank you all so much for your time, consideration, and any donations you are willing to give to help get this going for Steven.
-Joe Byers
Steven and I are both aspiring guitarists in our free time, which is how we formed our friendship. We both happen to be pretty damn fond of a certain guitar company, called Paul Reed Smith (PRS) Guitars. Steven and I met online, via a PRS Guitars Facebook group in 2017, where we and about 30,000 other guitar geeks just talk all things PRS. Pretty nerdy stuff, really. Our friendship materialized through trading pictures of our custom-built Private Stock guitars, each designed from the ground up with our very own individual specifications in mind. Meeting someone else with a Private Stock guitar and a similar story behind it is always pretty awesome, but Steven stuck out to me. He just seemed like such a down to Earth and genuine guy, which resulted in countless conversations about guitars, gear, potential future PRS builds, and music, in general. We would talk for hours via text, phone call, or FaceTime, filling out new PRS order forms, comparing specs, and coming up with original ideas that would make our future builds stand out from the rest. We got incredibly close to a double order quite a few times, even reaching out to PRS dealers and getting quotes, but time and again, money was tight on both ends and we weren’t able to proceed. The Private Stock order forms accumulated and were eventually lost in my phone’s camera roll.
Before our friendship, Steven got the opportunity to chat via FaceTime with Paul Reed Smith during his first Private Stock build. He told me it was awesome being able to interact with the legendary guy who was behind the creation of the guitars he grew up listening to and watching in the music videos of his favorite guitarists, like Tim Mahoney from 311 and Carlos Santana. Finally getting to order his own custom PRS guitar was a dream come true, and being able to chat with Paul during the process was something he was able to check off his bucket list. Unfortunately, at the time of ordering, Steven’s particular PRS dealer failed to properly guide him through the process, which resulted in a guitar that he never truly fell in love with, and because of that, the guitar was recently sold.
Hearing Steven open up about his Private Stock build experience and the situation that led to it being sold absolutely crushed me, as these are not only significantly expensive purchases, but incredible works of art that are meant to be cherished for a lifetime and passed down for generations. Being a Private Stock customer, myself, I begged him to use that money to finance a new build - something he would truly be happy with. He very sternly objected to my idea, and shared some news with me - he and his fiancé were expecting their first child. He told me the money made on the sale would be saved in order to plan and prepare for his baby’s arrival. That, to me, was the only option I could imagine being remotely suitable, and in that moment, I was taught a valuable lesson on what it means to have your priorities in order.
On January 6, 2021, Steven had a massive seizure while at work and was rushed to the hospital. Steven was later diagnosed with Stage 4 melanoma brain cancer, and was confirmed to have 27 tumors on his brain, 7 of which are severely abnormal, and tumors on his clavicle and both legs. He is currently receiving chemo and radiation therapy at the Ellis Fischel Cancer Center in Columbia, Missouri, with a 12-18 month life expectancy.
The rug of Steven’s life was ripped out from under him all within hours. And not only is this an incredibly huge blow for him, but for his growing family. His fiancé is 4 months pregnant with their first child who Steve might not have time to meet. That, alone, kills me to type. This is why I’m starting this fundraiser. I know it would mean the world to Steven to have something special to pass down to his child - What better gift than a one-of-a-kind instrument that not only honors the legacy of your father and his deeply rooted passion for music, but was built to his own unique specifications? I chose to personally commit to this build for Steven, and was able to recover his amended Private Stock order form that we had settled on from about a year ago. I am begging for any help that anyone is willing to give to help bring this dream guitar to life for a man who is fighting for his own. I am not currently in a financial position to be able to pull this off alone, so I am praying to the universe that sharing Steven’s story might help this become a reality sooner rather than later. My intention is not only to get this guitar into Steven’s hands, but to be something incredibly meaningful to eventually pass down to his child.
Despite this terrible diagnosis, Steven is still actively serving in the United States Army and is an 11-year combat veteran. He has proudly served his country and helped fight for the freedoms that we as Americans take for granted every day. I just want to pay him back with a promise that his child will have something special to remember and honor him by. Thankfully, Steven has both life and medical insurance through the US military, meaning all of his medical bills and procedures are 100% covered , and his wife and child will be taken care of if the worst happens - This is why I am raising this money for a guitar rather than the treatment, itself. Steven’s fiancé has given me permission to forward any and all information regarding his case to prove that this isn’t some sort of scam.
As far as this build goes, typical Private Stock guitars take about 9 months to complete, and in my experience, can run anywhere from $8,000 to $30,000 ($30k being an extremely over the top build, which this will not be). If I were to guess, this particular guitar should land somewhere in the $10,000 - $13,000 range, depending on which dealer decides to pick it up. I know these prices are intense, but again, these are 100% custom ordered, American-made, one-of-a-kind pieces of art, that (from the mouth of Paul Reed Smith, himself) are intended to be family heirlooms to be passed down for generations to come. Given how many years Steven and I have talked about this build, I cannot think of a better way to honor his life and legacy, other than allowing our plan to come full circle - not only for him, but for his child, and his memory.
Once Steven finds out I've set this up he's going to kill me...
I’m very sorry bro. But you really do deserve this.
Thank you all so much for your time, consideration, and any donations you are willing to give to help get this going for Steven.
-Joe Byers
Organizer
Joe Byers
Organizer
Stockton, CA