Palmer Freeman Luckey is born in Long Beach, California. He grows up with a keen interest in electronics, tinkering, and video games.

Luckey is homeschooled by his mother. This allows him to pursue his passions, including dismantling and repairing electronics, particularly iPhones, which he bought, fixed, and resold. He begins to develop a fascination with virtual reality, fueled by early VR headsets and simulations.

Luckey attends Long Beach City College and Orange Coast College. He writes and edits for the online publication MMOwned.com, demonstrating an interest in gaming communities and online content creation.

Fueled by his passion for VR, Luckey starts building his own VR headsets in his parents' garage, collecting and modifying components from other displays. He creates multiple prototypes, improving on existing technology and reducing latency, a major challenge in early VR.

Luckey becomes an active member of the ModRetro forums, a community for hardware enthusiasts and modders. He shares his VR prototypes and progress, garnering attention and valuable feedback from other enthusiasts and developers.