Local Legends: Gary Monger, the Guitar Guru of the 'Riff

If you’ve taken even a passing interest in picking up and learning an instrument in the last two decades, you might recognise the face of Penrith’s own Guitar Guru - Gary Monger. 

For the past 25 years Gary has been the face and brains behind Penrith’s ‘Guitar Factory’ (formerly Guitar World), servicing the musical needs of the greater Sydney musical community. 

But while Gary might be one of the most recognisable faces in the area, few would be aware of the journey he’s taken since his formative years in Birmingham, England, when a guitar-mad kid would catch the train into town as a 13-year-old just to soak up the atmosphere at the local music shop, eventually securing his first job. 

“I was underage, but he needed someone who could just tune the guitars and get the fingerprints off them,” Gary recalls. 

“That was my intro to just having fun in a music shop, working and watching everyone come in and play.”

Heart of Glass

Despite his passion, the music shop wasn’t a permanent home, and young Gary ultimately took up an apprenticeship as a glass engraver in a factory in the west midlands - where he proved remarkably adept for his age. 

“I was two years in and I was taken out of the glass cutting section because of my art skills, and I was transferred to the engraving shop” Gary says. 

“I was soon involved with two other guys making a piece for the Queen for her Silver Jubilee in 1977. The three of us engraved a 3D fox hunt around a crystal bowl - it was 33 percent lead crystal so it was blue in the light. When that was finished we were each allowed to sign it, and it was presented to the Queen.”

Despite still being in the early stages of his apprenticeship, Gary’s obvious talent wasn’t going unnoticed.

“My manager said that based on the quality of my work, I’d earned my qualification. It usually took five years, but I only took two.”

The Turning Point

With his path seemingly decided, a quick flick through the newspaper proved a pivotal moment for the newly-qualified Monger. 

“There was an ad - it said ‘if you have unusual trade skills, you could get a job in Australia’. A month and a half later I was accepted and told they had a job for me.”

But when Gary arrived in Australia, all was not what it seemed. 

“I flew all the way out, I had all of about 50 dollars on me. I had two days to settle and then it was time to go and meet my employers at Crown Crystal Glass on Bourke Street in Waterloo. 

“I met with them, I had my portfolio with my designs. They were very impressed, but the man said to me ‘we have one problem - we only make beer glasses here’. 

“It all went south in a heartbeat. I thought I was going into an engraving shop to train people in what I do. Yes, it was glass - but certainly not what I did.” 

Stranded halfway across the world as a teenager, Gary did what anyone would in a similar situation. 

“Where do you go with 50 bucks to your name? To the pub!” he recalls. 

“In the Botany Hotel I met a guy who told me I just needed to go around to the local factories and look for a ‘help wanted’ sign. So off I went.”

Though he couldn’t find a role involving glass or music, Gary explored a wide range of options. 

“I got a job as a process worker putting wheels on wheelbarrows. The next factory was MasterFoods in Redfern in the chilli department. Then I got a job with an oil company driving forklifts, and then into high end hotels working in reception.” 

More than the other roles, the hotel industry taught Gary a host of skills he still uses today. 

“You had to speak correctly, so I had to change (my accent). I learned to deal with people professionally, and I got quite good at it. It’s a performance, you have your stage and lines, it all becomes muscle memory.”  

Making it to Music

After five years of wide-ranging work experience and enjoying music as a recreational pursuit, an opportunity to re-engage his old passion finally presented itself. 

“In ‘81 there was an ad for an internal sales coordinator at Australis Music in Brookvale. My natural interest was in guitars, and I’d heard of the brands they were talking about and knew the products well. 

“I got the job and quickly became national sales manager.” 

Despite being back in an industry he loved and also being highly sought after due to his knowledge, the lack of a fixed location and relentless need for travel gradually took a toll. 

“I had 17 different addresses in that time. The day I realised it was getting too much was when I was doing a presentation in Brisbane and said ‘Good Evening, Melbourne’,” he recalls. 

Finally, he’d had enough. But with the decision to leave made, and a trade job lined up, fate intervened one more time. 

“I got a call from Laurie, who owned Guitar World (in Penrith). He’d decided to sell the shop and wanted me to buy it, because I was in the industry.

“It started with me ringing all the suppliers I knew. I had no cash but they knew me well, so I asked them to cover my initial costs in exchange for loyalty. Some couldn’t, which I understood, but others said ‘go for it’. In January 1999, I took the keys.”

One of the first orders of business - relocating the shop a few doors down, to its current location on Castlereagh St. 

“I had teenagers coming in and playing heavy metal stuff, while there’d be an older guy trying a classic, expensive Maton Guitar who couldn’t even hear himself. So we moved, changed, and re-arranged.”  

Point of Difference

Despite running the shop for the last 24 years, Gary has made few changes to a business model that focuses on relationships - a model that has been mutually beneficial to the musical community of western Sydney.  

“I’ve set this place up as a different way of doing business,” he says. 

“I was going to build a rock’n’roll shop that also had memorabilia - a bit of a museum, with stuff you’re not going to see.” 

He’s not wrong either. From the extensive collection of rare and signed memorabilia through to the full-size animal skulls, there’s much more to the shop than the things they sell. 

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But as well as the decor and ambience, the sales process has a unique approach. 

“On the first day I got all the staff together.

I told them I wasn’t interested in sales - I hate salesmen. I’m interested in relationships. 

“This is a musical community, and at the end of the day I want to be of service to like-minded people in our community.” 

That personal touch remained a primary focus until recently - Guitar Factory didn’t even do online sales until Covid forced their hand. 

“Years ago one of our reps told me if I wasn’t doing online sales I’d go broke - but I didn’t want (to go online),” Gary says. 

“This is a different set up. It’s meet-and-greet, getting to know people, remembering them and helping them.”

“We didn’t even sell online until Covid. During the pandemic we had click and collect two days a week and generated a lot of revenue. The whole industry experienced an upturn, which is a great thing for music and it’s good for people too.” 

Despite his ongoing success, Gary has never been tempted to compromise his values for higher sales or revenue. 

“I’m not a businessman. I need to pay the rent, but profit’s not my primary objective. I’ve had opportunities to build but from my experience it’s not about the store, it’s about who’s behind the counter - and I can only be in one place. 

“I’ve seen so many other places rise, go to two or three shops and then go broke.” 

While he’s never looked beyond his own reach, Gary has also developed a unique understanding of the music industry and suburban Sydney as he’s watched trends come and go. 

“Music is a fashion industry,” he says. 

“You have to move with it, but not to the extent of changing who we are. It’s a formula that’s worked for 25 years. In the city I’d have to adapt, but this area seemed like the right fit for our business model.”

The unique relationship between people and music is also ripe for the establishment of lifelong partnerships. 

“I’ve seen little kids come in and now they’re massive adults. But you see the other side of it too, the members of our community and friends who’ve passed away. I still have their photos around here. 

The market has certainly changed and will continue to do so, but a customer-driven business model and a passionate community built on relationships will continue to stand Gary and Guitar Factory in good stead long into the future.

And when the time inevitably comes to call it a day? 

"I could retire in a caravan or a mansion and either way I'd still be happy. I can't take it with me." 

Guitar Factory is located at 12 Castlereagh St, Penrith - or visit their website here.