PRS Employee Spotlight - Blake Cain // Senior Production Manager

In our latest Employee Spotlight meet the leader of our second shift, Blake Cain. With a strong background working in team environments and even a stint as an Official Artist, PRS has been an important part of Blake's life long before he joined the staff here.

From MLB to the big leagues of guitar making, hear about Blake's unorthodox career path that ultimately brought him to PRS in this Q&A!

What is your job here at PRS?

Blake: Senior Production Manager for the 2nd Shift.

What does an average day look like?

Blake: A “normal” day starts around noon. I usually get here and check in with my two daytime counterparts Mark Carroll-Blue and Joshua “Mavis Mint” Davis. The three of us spend a lot of time together making sure we are aligned on anything and everything production related. This could be production processes, upcoming launches, or urgent materials or parts deliveries that we are waiting for from the UPS fairy.

Around 1:30pm, we huddle with our boss Paul Miles (Director of Manufacturing) and go over any updates or important information that he needs to translate to us. We discuss any moving targets or projects that we may need to accomplish short or long term and constantly lean on his 30+ years of experience.

From 3:00pm – 3:30pm I often walk the floor looking at guitars and checking out the flow of "WIP” (Work in Progress) while thinking about what I’m going to eat for dinner. From there, my managers come in at 3:30pm and I translate any out-of-the-ordinary or timely information that they may need to know before the rest of our team gets in at 4:00pm.

Then from 4:00pm to midnight we make guitars!

You have an interesting history with us. How did you hear about PRS? What did you do before you worked here?

Blake: Ok, hang with me...

My first recollection of PRS would be a PRS catalog and a DVD of a factory tour that was given to me in 8th grade while visiting Chuck Levins with my dad. I think we were picking up my first “real” guitar, a lefty 52 tele reissue. Now here starts the problem, I’m left handed. So, I always just looked at that catalog thinking, "No shot I’ll ever be able to afford a lefty PRS," because they only existed in Private Stock at the time.

When we got home my dad popped the factory tour DVD in, and we watched it together. It was at that moment, I knew I was hooked. I didn’t necessarily think about working here at the time because in 8th grade, why would I think about working? But something inside me thought making guitars looked cool. My whole life was playing guitar or playing baseball and that was all I wanted to do. Luckily my parents always told me never to pick between the two because it would all shake out in the end. Well, when high school came around, I quickly found out that I wasn’t as good at baseball as I thought and that hitting the mascot with a fastball wouldn’t actually get me called up to the big leagues. So, I fully pursued music and started my first band freshman year of high school--I recently just got all 5 original members back together on a stage for the first time in 25 years!

Then after a short stint in college, I went to work in the Baltimore Orioles clubhouse for 13 seasons. Turns out my parents were right, except I was doing laundry for the guys playing… not actually playing. Think of it as being a roadie, but for a baseball team. I also toured most offseasons as a stage manager for Baltimore-based rock band, Charm City Devils, so I can say that the jobs really are similar.

During my time with the Orioles, I was given a Fire Red Custom 22 (lefty) by then Manager Buck Showalter. This long story of how he even knew I played guitar left-handed or how he came to acquire said guitar is just that... Long. So, I’ll just say, Buck knew everything about everyone in his clubhouse. Inside the case was a business card for some lady named Beverly Fowler from Artist Relations. I had been playing around town for years, wrote and recorded a record that got played in stadiums and on the radio, but no one even knew who we were, so I didn’t think reaching out to the email address on the business card was a good idea.

Fast forward a couple of years and I ended up meeting Bev through Orioles first baseman and close friend Chris Davis when he invited PRS Artist, Seth Morrison of Skillet to batting practice while they were in town on tour. Chris introduced me to Seth as his friend who “plays guitar,” and Seth says “Oh, this is Bev Fowler from PRS!” I told Bev I was the guy that Showalter gave the lefty Custom to and, boom! Bev and I were doing karate in the garage. Bev and I quickly bonded over our love for baseball and guitars. We started working together on Orioles signed guitars for Johns Hopkins charity events. She even felt bad for me and gave me an endorsement as the local lefty in the backyard playing other people’s music!! I’m kidding, kind of...

That leads to me constantly trying to get a job at PRS Guitars. I left the Orioles in 2020 and started working in manufacturing in Florida for 3 years, managing a trolling motor factory. I hate boats, and I am not a fishing guy, but I found out that I really enjoy manufacturing. So, after 3 years in Florida and another long story not worth telling, I applied for a job here and finally got to the place I’ve always wanted to be! You could say I am home on multiple levels. I’m still a baseball guy all through my blood, but guitars--PRS Guitars at that? Come on. Working here is well worth trading the endorsement for employment.

Tell us something you wish more people knew about working the second shift.

Blake: It’s dark outside when we go to lunch!

What is your favorite part about your role?

Blake: Coming from a team environment, basically my entire life, whether it’s bands or baseball, I love working with so many people towards the one common goal of making the best guitars in the world.

What is most challenging?

Blake: Being left-handed in this building... Kidding! You may actually be surprised how many left-handed people are here in top positions - from Jack Higginbotham (COO) to Bev Fowler (Director of Community and Artist Relations), Rob Carhart (Director of New Products Engineering), and more.

When were you hired at PRS? Any early memories that stand out?

Blake: I was hired in January of 2023, I just remember being super nervous wanting to not screw anything up. I also had a thought coming in that I knew how much I love the feeling of making something from start to finish with my hands. That instant gratification kind of thing. But I quickly realized that I know how to play a guitar, but I sure didn’t know how much goes into making one. That was a little overwhelming for the first couple of months to be honest. I carried a small notebook in my back pocket for the first year taking notes every single time someone spoke to me. When I filled one up, I wrote the start to finish date on the outside and started another one. Based off my Amazon order history, I’m pretty sure I filled six of those bad boys up. In ten years it would be cool to open them back up and see how much I’ve learned.

How do you spend your time outside of work?

Blake: Currently, I’m trying to play as many gigs as possible. Being around guitars all day instead of fishermen has really given me a rejuvenating spark. Not to mention moving back home, I reunited with my local cover band of 20+ years, Skies In Chaos. So just being back with these two dudes has given my guitar new life. So much so that I wanted to start playing every weekend. But we all have careers now, so booking Skies isn’t as easy. So I went and joined an emerging cover band, Swarm of Bees. So yeah, playing guitar is the short answer. Every weekend.

What do you love most about working at PRS?

Blake: To be honest, learning what it means to make a great guitar from both Paul Smith and Paul Miles. Being around guitars and great people all day. Still being on a team. Being in the big leagues of guitars.