Robert Mazzullo was destined to pursue the art of woodworking, having been around it since the age of 3. His father owned an RV business, building custom camper trailers through the late ‘80s. Robert got into woodworking professionally right out of high school. He began building wooden swing sets and then transitioned into high-end cabinet making, also building vestibules in the Southern Maryland area. In 1991, Robert met his now wife Rachel, an orchestra teacher, at a party in DC and they moved out to Phoenix, Arizona. Within a few months, Rachel introduced Robert to William Eaton, who was creating music and art experiences and “salons” with Spirit of the Senses. Robert, who had been playing music since he was 14, brought his guitars to John Reuter at Roberto-Venn for repairs. Reuter laughed and said, “You’re a woodworker, why don’t you fix this yourself?” William and Rachel got together to surprise Robert, getting him a student loan unbeknownst to him and told him he was quitting his job and attending R-V to become a luthier. The class of Summer 1995 had 7 students. Robert stayed on afterward as an instructor at R-V until 2006. Robert had started Mudd Guitars in 1991 shortly after his arrival in Phoenix and established that business in part thanks to John Reuter’s encouragement. Willie Nelson, John Prine, and the members of Jackyl own Mudd Guitars. In addition to building custom instruments, Robert builds sustainable, highly efficient, low carbon footprint Modular housing. Robert was a part of the V100 Mod Box project alongside Vincenz Saccento. Robert also does restoration and repair on vintage trailers under the name “Mudd’s Trailer Hospital”. In 2013, Robert went on to become production manager at a high-end cabinet shop for new commercial housing developments until 2018. Roberto-Venn and Robert had already begun talking about developing a repair course, and in October of 2019, Robert returned as an instructor to R-V and the Guitar Repair I course was introduced, and since then we’ve developed the Guitar Repair II course for further education.