A visit to iFixit: dynamo of repair activism in the US

Over the holidays, between family visits, we got a chance to iFixit‘s headquarters in central California.

We’ve been friends with this company since the beginning, and together with the Dutch Repair Cafe, iFixit was one of our main inspirations.

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Kyle, CEO and founder, is an activist above all else. He’s itching to intervene, to change things. He founded the company from his dorm room at Cal Poly and has built the company helping people get the information and tools they need to repair things themselves. (This is great profile of Kyle.)

Between chats about his strategy in the US (all fascinating), chats with his communications and education team (bigger in proportion than any tech business we’ve ever seen!) we got a tour of iFixit’s offices, neatly nestled into an old Cadillac dealership in downtown San Luis Obispo. Kyle proudly showed us how reuse was a natural part of the fit-out of their offices: reclaimed containers, timber (“flavour sticks” from the California wine industry), and a hardwood tree felled by the highway department.

We have a kinship with iFixit because we are all rather unlikely environmentalists. We don’t look like environmentalists. And we’re driven by curiosity, fun and community.

Thanks to Kyle for giving us the chance to introduce ourselves to iFixit’s massive online community, who use their repair guides, contribute to them, and help people give new life to gadgets all over the world. We’re inviting Kyle to appear on a podcast soon, so watch this space!