speaker-1: whenever I speak to you you always teach me something, whether it's sort of deep diving into the hobby or about baseball, that sort of thing. So I thought you were the perfect person just to get on and see a little bit about your story, tips, tricks, that sort of thing. Do

speaker-0: Love it.

speaker-1: So where did it start? Where where do you love the hobby start?

speaker-0: The Christmas nineteen ninety. Yeah. Like Christmas morning I had this square box wrapped underneath the and it was baseball cards. Nineteen ninety tops. Yeah. Complete set. And I didn't know anything about baseball, I hadn't played baseball. Yeah. The and I like I opened it up and played with them nonstop. Yeah. The and that got me into Little League. Yeah. And I played through college. Yeah. Like I loved it. I loved everything about it. And I have an addictive personality by nature. Yeah. The and it just I just kept building and growing and there's so many photos of me sitting in my living room just organizing and reorganizing and reorganizing, like everything needs to be by alphabetical order last night. No. Now everything needs to be by team. So like every card I had as a kid is destroyed. One hundred percent. Just move it from this to this to this. The but that gave me like a One it helped me analytically. Yeah. I understand the hobby, I understand the the the math behind it. I love the statistics. Yeah. Which helped me with math growing up. Yeah. The so that was always fun. But that's how I got into it was just one box of cards my mom got for cheap from Walmart.

speaker-1: Yeah. So I tell you y you were living in the US at the time. Yeah. Yeah. So then it's just sort of is it just purely baseball that you do or is it

speaker-0: So I only do baseball. My my like what I love watching is football. Like American football. Yeah. And I played college soccer through my junior year when I tore both my ACLs. The yeah, that was awful. The So but like baseball I know the most about. It's the most analytical. Like it's easy to compare players from like the eighteen nineties to the nineteen nineties to the two thousands. Yeah. Which is fun. Yeah. Because like from the beginning it's been a nerd-based sport. Yeah. Which I've always loved.

speaker-1: It's i I think so we're at the national and yep. We spent I spent a lot of time just chatting with the vendors and learning a lot through that and you don't realise how in depth it goes and everyone on the island would just as soon as you started talking, everyone was throwing bits in and and conversations and it starts a real debate around everyone which I thought was really cool. Everyone has a different opinion. I think a lot of it's on the year you grow open in to what you think but but that was awesome to see. And then bringing it to you you're on baseball island at the minute, how is the UK hobby how do you feel the UK hobby in baseball?

speaker-0: The well I got lucky. So I moved here in two thousand and one and pretty much everything was still locked down. Yeah. The and I started following people on YouTube and learning more about what the hobbies become. Because when I stopped collecting fifteen years ago, breaking wasn't a thing. Like why would you ever pay somebody else to open up your stuff? Yeah. That's half the fun. But I just watch it and like I got to to learn about that. And then we had the the London series. So we had the three game series here. And baseball blew up. Yeah. our our main group went from 800 to 3,000 people overnight. They were the three most attended games in the major leagues. 1600 games, major league games played last year, or that year, the three most attended were the London series. Wow. 82, 82, and 84,000 people. Like the the hobby is there. It just they need a spark. So we lost it the year before last. We lost it last year. So we need it again just to reignite that hobby and keep it going. Yeah. The which is a a a shame because like Brits are a passionate people about sport.

speaker-1: Yeah, once they're in they're all made up.

speaker-0: And like they have the history of collecting with stickers. Yeah. And now we're branching out into like Premier League teams like Forest has never had a sports card. Yeah. And now they're in. Because and like I have friends that are chasing Forest and the only way they can get into it is breaking. Yeah. Because they can buy forest for five quid. But they're not gonna buy a three hundred quid box.

speaker-1: No no. I that's where breaking comes into its own. Yeah,

speaker-0: That's where it's beautiful.

speaker-1: it thinks I'm a Bradford fan. So when they brought in like the EFL set I was everywhere picking up and and things like that. So yeah, I think it's obviously I see its pros and cons. People love it, people hate it, but I think for that side it's

speaker-0: And that's by who the the people are doing it. Yeah. Like that that's why I got into breaking myself. I'm like, I want to be the breaker, other people want to break with. Yeah. And I was like, you don't have to make a 300% profit. No. Like and that's what I love so much about what y'all do. It's you could make more, but building it organically, healthily, like just watching that has been amazing over the last what four years, five years now?

speaker-1: yeah just over five years. Yeah. Yeah it's it's good man.

speaker-0: Yeah, we jumped in about the same time.

speaker-1: I I came in knowing nothing about anything really. I was I collected mini helmets. That was my thing to lock down. You know the little pristine auctions? I spent way too much that I used to. Yeah.

speaker-0: I live live in a one bedroom flat in Islington. Yeah. And like my wife is happy 'cause we live in London. So she lets the baseball cards like move into the living room a little bit as long as they go away at night. Yeah. And move into the kitchen a little bit as long as they go away at night.

speaker-1: Still putting it out on the lounge floor.

speaker-0: Yes I do. I sh one hundred percent. that's what I'm doing when I get home. Is I'm sitting on the floor and I'm figuring out what I bought. Like it'll be there's pictures of me looking the exact same. The TV's bigger in front of me. But other than that, yeah.

speaker-1: a little bit longer to get off the floor.

speaker-0: That's a my god. So many more noises.

speaker-1: No, it's cool ticks, we're we're going through it with Jordan and I think it's surprised that the baseball hobby is surprised because it's the first time we've sort of gone into it and he's growing, as he's growing, we're finding out more and more. It's a real real cool sort of community of people where he went to Middleton King's and he came back and he was like like a little kid after a school trip, just telling you every what everyone said and everyone was really cool with it and that side too.

speaker-0: 'Cause yeah. There's so many facets of collecting that's just different. Yeah. And it like builds different people. Like my PC is image variations. Yeah. Like I don't necessarily collect certain players. I don't collect I don't have a a team because teams have always broken your heart. That's so true. My I didn't sit on my grandfather's knee when he was when he'd watch the Cubs like my wife. Yeah. Die Hard Cubs fan. Fuck the White Sox. So like I can't even watch a White Sox game when we go to Chicago. I'm like, but Murakami, and she's like, no. Just no. Like great fun story. So St. Louis Cardinals played in London. I played college baseball with Paul Goldschmidt. First baseman. Yeah. Like I was on the practice squad. I wasn't that good, but I knew him. He would know me. I wasn't allowed to go to the Cardinals side to say hi. Because fuck the cardinals.

speaker-1: I rate it to be fair. yeah, it's I can imagine it's it's frustrating but I also rate the

speaker-0: And you have to English to have that in your blood to like understand that type of passion. I'm like, I I never grew up with that. Like one of the guys in the group, he only collects collect catchers wearing their gear. Yeah? Yep. The one guy only collects people blowing bubbles. Yeah. But there's hundreds of them out there. And like, I don't know anything about that guy, but when I find a Player blowing a bubble from a 1980 set. I put it aside and I send it to him. Because I know it's gonna make his A. It's a 12 cent card. When can 12 pence ever make anybody happy? It but people get excited about them. That's what this hobby is about. Finding something that brings joy.

speaker-1: think i it's one thing we've had quite a few people through and everyone's hobbies seem to start it out like they bite everything. Like you see they go through every aspect of breaking, biting boxes and then all of a sudden it just sort of shrinks down into that that one thing that you focus on and it is it's very rarely h like high end grails, that sort of thing. It's often like we just had Dan from Microsoft and he collects number to twenty one 'cause that's his lucky number. Nice. And it's just the most random like and he's on streaming like People just sending him like what the TV program is. It'll come to me in it, but like just random players like baseball patches and things like that. And it's just little things like he's going around now looking for that. And you don't have to buy the big things, the expansive and that to make it something that you you include in.

speaker-0: the I needed somebody to chase for Premier. Yeah. So my name's Holland. Yeah. So obviously I went for Erling Holland. Yeah. I didn't care if he was good. And then I find out he's great and I can't buy anything of his. But no other reason. I was like, what? So like yeah, you need to pick somebody else. I'm like, but we both have the same name. Yeah.

speaker-1: Yeah.

speaker-0: But to that twenty-one, like, people have those little niches and you just go searching.

speaker-1: yeah. I know anything I'll see with twenty one on it's like

speaker-0: Yeah, you just put it and they'll stick it like it'll be like a brain worm. It sticks in your head. Yeah.

speaker-1: That's it. Yeah. Just remember that. switching to to this then. How was this this weekend? 'Cause we've what, an hour left?

speaker-0: Yeah. The I had a big deal on Friday which was awesome, kinda took a lot of the the stress off the the weekend. My first Friday. I just figured like with work days it wouldn't be busy. Yeah. But then I heard the Excel did twice the business on Friday that anybody did on Saturday. Saturday was twice as busy as any day we had here. I'm like I gotta give it a try. And it was like from open it was awesome. yeah.

speaker-1: I we kind of think I think you've got your e-packers coming in early, but I think you've also got if people taking a off work, they're coming in meaning business on this.

speaker-0: They might have something to do on the weekends. Yeah. And they show up.

speaker-1: And if you take time off you're not gonna not buy something in.

speaker-0: That's exactly and that's the thing, it's like I need something to buy. I came all the way here. I'm just looking for something. Yeah. I can help you with that.

speaker-1: but yeah, I noticed there are two laptops out there, but the Bit transition.

speaker-0: Yeah, no, that was a big deal. That was fun. Yeah, just back and forth because I love haggling. Yeah. Like it was funny. You know what that deal came down to? Go on. Like it is a high five figure deal. Yeah. And we were it came down to $200. And like we just couldn't meet. Like he wanted one, I wanted the other, and we ended up coin flipping for it. Friday morning my wife found a lucky pince, like heads up. And she's like, here's your lucky pince. And I flipped it and I lost. And I'm like, So much for luck. My wife's lucky pants, not mine. I should've known. Give it back to her. I haven't used any of the luck in this. That's exactly right.

speaker-1: It's guaranteed for the next one, right? But no I think it's cool. It must be building in in a niche of like just baseball, it must be great to see that it grow into that style and you've been able to do deals like that. I don't think it would have been possible maybe two years ago, twelve months ago.

speaker-0: No, when I when I came in to the group my first my first show in forty years was this one. Yeah. Thirty years. Was this one. and I came in and it was just one guy selling blaster boxes that were old. Yeah. I'm like, why aren't there more people here? He's like This is not enough interest. I'm like, there has to be interest. I'm like, so I I decided to fit my wife was like, just fail to dreams it. Yeah. If you build it, they will come. Yeah. And I was like, cool. So I set up a table, I did some sales, but as long as I didn't have that mentality of like you have to make money. Like this is a hobby. Yeah. And I was like, we're grown men collecting pictures of men on cardboard. Yeah. Or imaginary creatures. I still need somebody who would explain to me how you can have a relic patch of a Disney character or an autograph of Mickey Mouse. Yeah.

speaker-1: And then on top of that square month the price is worrying.

speaker-0: Like an out of five Mickey Mouse autograph and I was like who signed it? It wasn't Mickey if it was I need to see it. Yeah.

speaker-1: Vicky Mouse lots of way.

speaker-0: That's exactly right. Just 140 years old. Just so tired. But yeah, the and then like more and more people came and I explained. I'm like, don't think about it for like making your money back. Yeah. Like we are just hanging out with other cool people talking about stuff nobody else cares about. Yeah. And they're like, I can do that. I'll pay 150 bucks to do that for a weekend. Like, really? That's all you do? I'm like, yeah. And yeah, we have si like we had three, then we had six, now we have eight. Next next one we have ten coming. Yeah. At the XL we're gonna have twelve. The I'm trying to build out like a we have baseball island, but I want an American sports archipelago. Yeah. Like throwing some NBA, throwing some NFL.

speaker-1: Yeah. No, it's cool. It's cool. But I think I say with John and getting into it, we're getting into it more and I think the more and more I I said it before Every time come to your table I appreciate what you've got 'cause there's always different things, there's always and it's not just things that are there, it's that thing of the story behind the card again. So that's that's pretty cool. Any tips for for people coming to their first show or again coming into with a niche like like baseball? Yeah.

speaker-0: Yeah.

speaker-1: Would you have any tips or tricks for people coming?

speaker-0: It's a marathon, not a sprint. Yeah. The every show is six hours. Yeah. So when I come into a show, the first thing I do is a lap. Yeah. I just glance at it. The eye contact seems to be a like people have missed it. Like say hi to the dealers. Yeah. Don't just look at the booth. Yeah. The if you become a person, they will make a deal with you. Yeah. Like when I the and just remember, like take a picture of stuff you want so you come back to it. not just the card, the booth, the the card, the table. Whatever it is. And and then you'll know actually where to find it. Because if you go like to a show this size, like I know there's a card I want somewhere that way. But there's no way.

speaker-1: Trying to remember the guy with the green hat from over there.

speaker-0: Yeah. did you take off your Pikachu bag? That's f that's not fair.

speaker-1: Yeah. Yeah. But thank you for coming on.

speaker-0: Dude, my pleasure.

speaker-1: And later. We'll catch you in the next one.

speaker-0: Love it. Yeah.