Ever since I was a kid the first thing I do when I get something new is try and take it apart, see how it works, and then put it back together. I can remember the first time I used a soldering iron to fix a PCB board on my friends computer speaker that had broken. It was amazing to take something that was destined for the landfill and make it work again.
This is an evolution of all those experiences. Back when phones couldn’t be a primary music consumption device we had MP3 players and I wanted a custom one that had a retro flair to it. So I snagged an old NES controller, a small MP3 player, my Dremel, and a soldering iron and went to work. This is also a rare glimpse of me pre-facial hair.