A young software engineer decided he was tired of the mass-produced computer and set out to build his own unique treasures, ultimately turning his passion into a full-time gig.
Keegan McNamara, 25, wanted to create the antithesis of the modern machine and its constant bombardment of notifications. So, he decided to create ‘beautiful, serene’ computers and gave the brand a fitting name: Mythical Computer Co.
‘Computers should be heirlooms,’ McNamara told The Free Press.
‘They should be something that you pass down to your kids. They should be something that you encode a family history on, and not just something you trade in for the newest model in a few years.’
McNamara completed his first computer, called the ‘Mythic,’ in March. The entire thing was constructed by hand. He carved the base out of maple and walnut wood and used a mishmash of found parts and electronics.
A 25-year-old software engineer created his own business selling handmade computers with no Internet access in an effort to produce ‘beautiful, serene’ machines
Keegan McNamara, 25, founded Mythic Computer Co. to create one-of-a-kind family heirlooms
He takes on one client at a time and says the machines can cost anywhere ‘in the tens of thousands’ of dollars
The Mythic runs on a bare-bones operating system called NixOS and does not connect to the Internet. It has only the bare necessities. McNamara can use it to write letters, journal, or work on code, all in style.
McNamara graduated from the University of Colorado Boulder in 2019 with a bachelor’s degree in math. He worked several internships at Amazon and designed websites, and it seemed his path in life was set.
That was until summer 2022, when McNamara and his girlfriend visited New York City and stopped by the Metropolitan Museum of Art. He was struck by the Arms and Arbor exhibit, which houses a collection of intricately-decorated firearms made for royalty.
It was then McNamara experienced a ‘light bulb moment.’
‘These people thought it was worthwhile to turn these relatively utilitarian objects, things that were basically just tools, and transform them into something beautiful,’ he explained. ‘I tried to think, do we have anything like that in modern times?’
His pursuits were partially inspired by his own father, who would construct wooden furniture in the family garage, as well as a friend of his grandfather who made guitars by hand.
‘His guitars were like some fancy piece of jewelry, but also entirely playable,’ McNamara recalled.
While he doesn’t characterize his computers as art, his first step in the design process was buying twenty pounds of modeling clay to start looking for a shape.
His next stop was a lumberyard in West Los Angeles, where he picked up maple and walnut timber. He scavenged electronics from stores around the city. What he didn’t know how to built, he taught himself through YouTube videos.
The young software engineer was inspired by a trip to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where he saw ornately-detailed weapons and was struck by their combination of functionality and beauty
McNamara began his first computer, called ‘Mythic,’ in 2022 and completed it nearly a year later. Rather than surfing the Internet, it served as a tool for journaling and working on code
He crafts the machines from wood and uses a mix of found parts and electronics for the hardware. Each computer is tailored to a client’s needs and wants
‘I initially thought it’d just be a side project,’ McNamara said. He worked from a spare bedroom, using only hand tools like a mallet and chisel. When the computer was finally complete, he turned it on and was met with a sensation he described as ‘an inner peace.’
‘I’d been living with this thing in my head for so long, and now here it was, out in the physical world,’ McNamara said.
He shared photos of his build online and wasn’t expecting much beyond words of support. However, he soon received a message from a former acquaintance, Max Novendstern, co-founder of the crypto start-up Worldcoin.
Earlier that month, Novendstern had tweeted: ‘Give me an e-reader with a chatbot and notes system and nothing else….Strip computers of their dopamine faucets, leave their crystal balls.’
While McNamara won’t disclose the amount the crypto tycoon offered, it was enough for him to leave his engineering job and focus on computer building full-time a month later.
‘All of a sudden, I thought, “Well, maybe this is my next career move,”‘ he said.
McNamara is currently working on his fourth computer, the Mythic IV. He takes only one customer at a time. And, unlike the typical business model in the digital age, he doesn’t advertise.
Prospective clients are instructed to contact him through his website, which is designed to mirror the clunky style of early-Internet webpages. There, McNamara describes his business as a ‘one-man atelier’ and showcases computers he has built so far.
After he was commissioned by a crypto tycoon to build a custom computer, McNamara quit his software job and launched Mythic Computer full-time
The 25-year-old meets with a client over several sessions to determine what basic capabilities they want the machine to have, as well as details like the type of wood they prefer
McNamara began working out of a spare bedroom in 2002. One year later, he works in a rented cabin using upgraded tools
The 25-year-old refuses to share what his computers cost, adding that the figure is usually ‘in the tens of thousands.’ According to the site, ‘each Mythic Computer takes months to create, and is priced accordingly.’
The process begins with a conversation that can span several sessions. McNamara may ask what type of wood a client enjoys, or if there are ‘any forms that you think are really beautiful, even outside personal computers.’
In setting a price, he considers factors like the number of different components and new labor in terms of design in construction.
Each computer is tailored to a user’s wants and needs. The Mythic II, which he finished in late July, has features like conversational AI and an e-book reader.
Since then, McNamara has finished two other builds and made Mythic Computer his full-time commitment.
He and his girlfriend recently moved to Ojai, a small city 80 miles outside Los Angeles. But he no longer works out of bedrooms and uses a rented cabin as his workshop, removed from the rest of the world.
McNamara is also using upgraded tools like an electric saw. While the vast majority of my work is still done by hand, having a power tool helps simplify the process.
Throughout it all, he has remained inspired.
‘Most of the objects that we make and see and live with every day are not very imaginative,’ McNamara said.
‘Once you look at your surroundings through that lens, you start to think, “This could be better. It could have a better shape, or more ornamentation.” You can do that to literally anything around you. It’s just a way of making the world a little more interesting.’