Latest / Collectors MD Features / #15: Addicted To Ripping Packs? Collectors MD Has You Covered! | The Sports Man Dan Show

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#15: Addicted To Ripping Packs? Collectors MD Has You Covered! | The Sports Man Dan Show · Collectors MD Features

0:00
Welcome to the very first interview episode of
0:03
the Sportsman Dan Show. I'm your host, Dan Janusik,
0:07
and yes, this is the Sportsman Dan Show. If this
0:09
is your first time checking it out, welcome.
0:12
You're officially here from the beginning. A
0:14
quick little background on me. Before we jump
0:16
in, I'm a data scientist by day. I studied economics
0:19
in college, and outside of work, I'm all in on
0:21
car collecting, minor league baseball. and kickers.
0:25
Yes, actual kickers. I kicked a little bit of
0:28
myself back in the day, excuse me. So that position
0:32
will always have a special place to me. Kickers
0:35
and tight ends, that's really the only football
0:37
cards I collect. Baseball cards, pretty much
0:39
everything. And NBA cards, pretty much any guys
0:43
from Virginia as well as Knicks players. You'll
0:46
learn more about me, though, as the podcast grows.
0:48
I want to keep this first episode light and give
0:50
you a real intro before we get rolling. I also
0:53
host the Welcome Home podcast, where I interview
0:56
veterans, particularly Vietnam War veterans.
0:59
So that's going to be a lot different than the
1:02
subject matter here. I like to keep it pretty
1:03
lighthearted here, although I keep it real. I'm
1:06
not really doing anything trying to break ground
1:10
in the hobby or anything like that. More just
1:12
cover my experience. I sell at shows. I buy.
1:16
I collect. I kind of do it all a little bit in
1:19
the card world. So I'm going to show you guys
1:22
a little bit just from my perspective and then
1:24
have some cool interviews along the way. If you're
1:27
listening to this on the audio version, be sure
1:30
to check out The Sports Man Dan show over on YouTube.
1:32
We'll have live streams, video interviews, and
1:34
extra content there. And if you are watching
1:37
on YouTube, I appreciate you. And hit like, subscribe,
1:40
and stick around, please. You can also find me
1:42
on Instagram at SportsManDanBC for clips, cards,
1:47
and some other stuff. That's enough for me. Let's
1:50
get into it. My first interview, I could not
1:52
be more excited. I talked with Alyx from Collectors MD.
1:57
And I really enjoyed this conversation because
2:00
just how thoughtful Alyx's answers were. I think
2:04
what he's doing with Collectors MD is extremely
2:05
beneficial to the hobby, and I'll let him explain
2:08
it further. Alyx, thank you again for being my
2:11
first guest, and thank you for your time. And
2:14
I hope you guys enjoyed this interview just as
2:16
much as I did speaking with Alyx. And we'll look,
2:19
I mean, you'll hear, but we'll look to bring
2:21
him again on in the near future. Welcome to the
2:29
first interview series of the Sportsman Dan Show.
2:32
And I think there's no better interview to do
2:34
when getting into the hobby than with Alyx Effron
2:37
from Collectors MD. Thanks for joining me, Alyx.
2:40
Dan, thanks so much for having me. This is great.
2:43
We just spent like 40 minutes riffing right before
2:46
we hopped on and already, you know, I think finding
2:51
that we have a lot in common and I'm looking
2:53
forward to this conversation. Yeah, no, me too.
2:55
It's I've done a few interviews with some of
2:58
my previous podcasts. A Brit does baseball. Welcome
3:01
home podcast was fine. I've never spent that
3:05
much time just kind of just talking back and
3:07
forth. And I was like, oh, maybe some of this
3:09
would have been good to record. Should I hit
3:11
that record button? Yeah, but I'm a talker. Hey,
3:15
me too. You're not from New York by chance, are
3:17
you? I'm from New Jersey. OK, OK, cool. What
3:20
part of New Jersey? So I'm born and raised in
3:23
Burden County. um currently live in old bridge
3:26
new jersey uh my wife and i moved there we lived
3:29
in jersey city for seven eight years and uh now
3:33
we're down near like new brunswick like ruckers
3:35
okay and uh my parents so i grew up in i mentioned
3:39
bergen county north jersey they just moved out
3:42
to east stroudsburg near the poconos in pennsylvania
3:45
last year so i've been spending a lot of time
3:48
there. I'm actually here right now for a day
3:50
or two, just enjoying the peace and quiet. We're
3:56
going to touch on this in a bit, but they have
3:58
four dogs that are very, very active and, you
4:02
know, keep things, you know, exciting around
4:05
here. So while it is peaceful and quiet when
4:07
you walk outside and, you know, look around inside
4:11
of the house, they're always going nuts. So there's
4:13
always something going on here. Yeah, dogs are
4:16
amazing. I just have two dogs. I say two. They're
4:20
my parents' dogs, but they feel like mine. But
4:23
I'm always over at the house, and it's funny.
4:25
When you're with them, they do a lot. Sometimes
4:28
they make a mess inside. But when you leave,
4:30
you're like, oh, man, I miss those guys so much.
4:32
So I totally get it. I could talk about dogs
4:36
for a while, Alyx, but let's get in. It's funny.
4:39
I have icebreaker questions. I feel like we've
4:41
possibly already broken the ice a little bit.
4:43
But I do want to know. What was the very first
4:46
thing you ever collected, if you remember, and
4:48
do you still have it? Yeah, I do remember. And
4:51
I will preface by saying, Dan, thanks so much
4:54
for prepping me with some of these questions.
4:57
I was able to sort of gather my thoughts. So
5:00
if these answers seem like they're off the cuff,
5:05
they're really not. Dan is just really good at
5:07
prepping his guests. But as far as the first
5:11
thing that I ever collected, I think it's...
5:13
something that I remember collecting as far back
5:16
as I can actually remember. It was Power Ranger
5:18
action figures. I was obsessed with Power Rangers.
5:23
I had them lined up, organized, probably took
5:25
it way more seriously than any kid should. Unfortunately,
5:30
my little brother, he's eight and a half years
5:33
younger than me. He was pretty destructive as
5:36
a kid. He ended up pretty much destroying everything
5:39
that I owned as a kid. including my pokemon cards
5:43
so no i don't still have them but looking back
5:47
that was definitely my first real exposure i
5:49
think to collecting you know the whole concept
5:51
of organizing and attachment and just the pride
5:54
of ownership um it all sort of kind of makes
5:57
a lot of sense now power rangers that's a good
6:00
one i didn't expect that and that's a not like
6:02
a good news bad news but you know bad news he
6:05
destroyed the power rangers but i guess good
6:06
news they probably did not appreciate and value
6:09
that much um anyway so that was probably okay
6:12
there but younger probably not yeah um that that
6:16
is actually a silver lining i guess it's a good
6:18
way to put it but again with the pokemon cards
6:20
forget about it like i had some really nice ones
6:23
and they're long gone god knows what happened
6:25
to them Yeah, I was talking about this at work,
6:28
actually. My brother sold, I remember at a yard
6:30
sale, probably in 2003, he sold them for like
6:33
$50, which back, you know, that was a lot of
6:35
money. But even then we were like. i don't know
6:38
maybe that maybe that old man who bought those
6:40
pokemon cars is on to something here and uh sure
6:43
enough he was yeah it was probably that guy gary
6:46
who has like the biggest charizard collection
6:48
in the world he was probably just going from
6:50
uh you know garage sale to garage sale picking
6:52
up every charizard he could in the late 90s early
6:55
2000s and he just he knew he had an inkling but
6:58
you're you're not alone there i think a lot of
7:00
people have that that same story where you know
7:03
people just it's it's like any other type of
7:06
um speculation or trying to predict something
7:09
like how are we how is anybody supposed to know
7:12
that pokemon you know was going to blossom into
7:15
this multi -billion dollar franchise down the
7:18
line same thing with anything crypto bitcoin
7:20
i'm about to say bitcoin yeah yeah exactly uh
7:23
no uh that's great poke or uh power rangers uh
7:27
all right question two here what's one item you
7:29
swore you never collect and then absolutely did
7:32
and you can't use power ranger uh action figures
7:34
here Yeah, I was going to. No, but in all seriousness,
7:38
it was actually WNBA players, honestly. So when
7:42
I was thinking about this question, I would say
7:46
runner up here, probably Funko Pops. I got into
7:50
the Funko Pop craze in, I would say, around 2015,
7:54
2016. I was just picking them up left and right.
7:57
Not to really display in the case, but I would
7:59
take them out of the case and just line them
8:01
up on my desk. card collecting in the hobby w
8:06
nba players for sure i definitely got sucked
8:08
into the caitlyn clark frenzy and uh i mean i
8:11
think pagebackers is amazing she's like um insanely
8:14
talented and just seems like such a cool person
8:17
um yeah i don't know like i never saw myself
8:21
collecting w nba players i never watched w nba
8:25
you know i was like always an nba guy and it
8:28
has nothing to do with like gender like you know
8:30
men women at the end of the day it's kind of
8:32
like weird to have like cardboard pieces of cardboard
8:36
with other like pictures of other men on them.
8:39
But, you know, I don't know. I just never thought
8:42
I would collect WNBA players. And here I am still
8:45
have a, a Caitlin Clark and a page backers in
8:47
the PC. No, I think that's awesome. And I'm actually
8:51
now collecting WNBA because in the Virginia Sports
8:53
Hall of Fame, there's a WNBA player who I was
8:56
not familiar with and started for me clicking
8:58
in the background there. That was me trying to
9:00
pull it up real quick. But anyway, I'm going
9:02
to look to get some of her cards because we do
9:05
like a meet and greet. Michael Vick will also
9:06
be there and Tony Bennett. That'll be cool too.
9:09
Awesome. No, WNBA, anyone who's a Virginia Hall
9:12
of Famer, you know, I'm going to get your card
9:14
if you have one. So I'm going to go back and
9:16
edit this, and I'll do it justice. But, no, I'm
9:19
now collecting WNBA as well, and that's something
9:22
I did not think I ever would be doing. Caitlin
9:25
Clark is revolutionizing the hobby. I think everyone
9:28
can see that. Yeah, we'll see what it looks like
9:30
in five, ten years from now. But, you know, sometimes
9:33
when – you start picking up things that you never
9:38
thought you would, you surprise yourself a little
9:40
bit and that's okay. You know, we always say
9:41
collect with intention, not compulsion. So, you
9:44
know, I did mention, I did get sucked into the
9:46
Caitlin Clark frenzy of sorts, but you know,
9:50
if you're a fan and not just of Caitlin Clark,
9:53
but of any of those players, like Sabrina is
9:55
incredible. Like I've, I've seen her play. Like
9:57
she's. Awesome. And then there's Asia Wilkins.
10:00
Sabrina Ionescu. Ionescu, yeah. From Oregon.
10:04
I'm not totally sold on her, actually. Really?
10:06
She has too many turnovers for me. They won the
10:09
championship a couple years ago. Okay. See, I've
10:13
never seen any of my teams win a championship.
10:15
She plays for the local squad here. in the tri
10:19
-state area the new york liberty so um it was
10:22
actually ironic we were joking around about how
10:24
new york has just been in such a a slump in terms
10:28
of bringing home championships and then the new
10:31
york liberty of all teams you know ends up winning
10:33
so we we get we got that we got the wnba uh cornered
10:37
now so we're in a better spot than we were a
10:40
couple years ago And then the Knicks will be
10:42
next. The Knicks? Hey, look at the Giants. They
10:45
just hired John Harbaugh, or they're about to.
10:48
Jackson Dart and Cam Scadaboo, like, weak neighbors.
10:51
We'll see. We'll see. I'm not a Giants fan, per
10:54
se. Like, I'll root for them, mainly because
10:57
I met Eli Manning as a kid, and my prized possession
11:00
is a framed Eli Manning jersey that he signed
11:03
in front of me when I was 16 years old, and then
11:07
proceeded to win the first. of two Super Bowls
11:10
against the Patriots. That is definitely my prized
11:13
possession in my entire collection. After he
11:16
signed that jersey is when he went on to win
11:17
it? Exactly. I mean, he held that pen. You had
11:21
something to do with it. Dude, yeah, exactly.
11:23
It was the domino effect. He met me. He was like,
11:27
oh, I'm going on to beat Tom Brady now. But no,
11:30
in all seriousness, it was like a golf outing
11:33
over the summer. And then fast forward to...
11:36
You know, that season, I think they went, like,
11:38
what, 9 -7? And they made a playoff run, and
11:42
one of the most incredible Super Bowls of all
11:44
time came out and beat Tom Brady. And, you know,
11:49
he's cemented in, I think, NFL, Super Bowl, Mount
11:56
Rushmore because of those two rings. I mean,
11:58
there's no doubt about it. In my mind, he's hopefully
12:00
going to become a Hall of Famer this year. But
12:05
we'll see. Alyx, I'm loving this conversation,
12:08
but now I'm a bit hesitant because my buddy Pookie
12:12
and I are currently in debate. I was born in
12:15
Texas, so you know what I'm about to say next.
12:18
I'm a bit of a Cowboys fan. Tony Romo, in my
12:22
opinion, is a better quarterback than Eli Manning.
12:24
So anyway, that, of course, has not been a hot
12:26
debate at all. And so I know he's listening to
12:28
you saying this, just grinning ear to ear. So
12:31
here's what I'll give you on that front. Tony
12:33
Romo is a better commentator than Eli Manning.
12:37
Okay. I don't know about quarterback. Look, maybe
12:39
in season, but Tony Romo was notorious for choking
12:43
in the playoffs. I have the stats. I have the
12:44
stats that might disagree, but like I said, we're
12:46
going to do a follow -up episode for that. This
12:49
is a nice segue actually to my next question.
12:52
What's the most irrational hobby purchase you've
12:55
made that you don't actually regret looking back
12:58
now? Okay. So I thought long and hard about this
13:01
and I just couldn't. stop coming back to the
13:04
first blaster that i purchased when i got back
13:07
into the hobby and i want to say around april
13:10
may of 2020 during the pandemic it was mosaic
13:13
basketball i pulled a john morant green mosaic
13:16
rookie card of course graded it at the time it
13:19
got a psa 10 it's not worth much now it's you
13:22
know true rookie green mosaic retail green whatever
13:25
but i do still have it that is that card is just
13:28
you know it's it's symbolic to me it's it's sentimental
13:31
it's meaningful And I think it's irrational because
13:34
that's the one purchase that pulled me all the
13:37
way back in. Like, I was chasing John Morant,
13:40
right? Like, it was John Zion at the time, and
13:42
I liked John better. And I ended up hitting him
13:44
in the first blaster. Color, you know, parallel
13:48
of John Morant. And I think that's what sucked
13:52
me in. That's what did me under. If I don't buy
13:54
that blaster, who knows where my life goes? Sometimes,
13:56
you know, I think the irrational thing ends up
13:58
being the catalyst. So, yeah. That is kind of
14:02
crazy. Anybody who's not familiar with Alyx's
14:04
story, we will touch on that. And of course,
14:06
I know I saw you on a plethora of podcasts sort
14:10
of doing the interview rounds. I learned a little
14:13
bit about your story. I never heard that aspect
14:16
of it. I never brought that up. That was the
14:19
first time. That's so interesting, too, to me
14:21
that you still have. I mean, given everything,
14:23
you never sold it or anything. You kept it the
14:25
whole time. I think that's pretty cool. That
14:26
might be one like you got to display the most,
14:29
right? That's a pretty cool. That's a very interesting
14:32
story. You know, the irony is that John Moran
14:34
has as incredible of a player as he is. He's
14:38
attracted more negative attention to himself
14:41
than one would like to see as a fan of his. But
14:45
this is this is a picture of the card. Try to
14:47
get it in focus. Yeah, it's a PSA 10 John Moran.
14:51
I mean, it's a beautiful card, probably worth
14:52
like 40, 50 bucks. But hey. Like we always say,
14:57
monetary value is arbitrary when you're collecting
15:00
with intention. And frankly, if I pulled that
15:03
card today, I wouldn't even slap it. I only graded
15:05
it because I think I was sucked into the whole
15:10
process back then. And today, I haven't submitted
15:14
a card for grading in years. Fair. And I'm also
15:19
kind of the same way. I keep saying I'm going
15:20
to submit some more cards, and I've been holding
15:22
off. I will say John might be getting traded
15:25
to Miami, I saw. So that could possibly boost
15:28
the John stock, although I'm not sure him in
15:31
Miami would necessarily – bad things seem to
15:33
happen in Miami. That's probably not a good idea.
15:35
Yeah. It's like any time Conor McGregor goes
15:37
to Miami, I was like, this is not going to end
15:39
well. The extracurriculars at one's disposal
15:42
as a resident of – south beach um i don't know
15:49
if that's the best idea but i did hear miami
15:51
i also heard what was the other team i heard
15:54
the warriors potentially i also heard uh what
15:58
was the one other team i don't think it was houston
16:01
um it'll come to me hopefully why not the knicks
16:06
no no way that would end terribly yeah yeah uh
16:10
if it comes you bring it up in the meantime if
16:13
Collectors MD had a mad mascot I'm thinking like
16:17
a big, goofy, over -the -top, like NBA team mascot.
16:22
What would it be and why? Yeah, I mean, I'm going
16:25
to go back to what we brought up before. A dog,
16:29
100%. I'm a huge dog guy. I grew up with Golden
16:34
Retrievers. We had a Jack Russell and a Beagle
16:37
when I was a kid. I mentioned to you before,
16:40
my parents now have four dogs. But beyond that,
16:43
I think dogs just represent. you know, loyalty
16:45
and presence and unconditional love and support.
16:48
They don't judge you. They don't keep score,
16:51
you know, they just show up and that's what collectors
16:54
MD is all about. You know, and when you just
16:57
mentioned like big and goofy, the first dog that
17:00
popped into my mind was like Scooby -Doo. Nice.
17:04
That's funny. I was now thinking like a golden
17:05
retriever. Cause you know, they like to chase
17:07
the shiny thing. Sometimes I get it. I totally
17:09
understand. Yeah. We'll get to maybe that great
17:13
answer, by the way. I didn't expect that either.
17:15
A little Scooby -Doo dog. You know, with like
17:19
a little, maybe a sports jersey on, I can pitch
17:21
it right now. Sure. Yeah. Meat and potatoes with
17:25
Collectors MD here. I do want to touch on, you
17:28
know, chasing that shiny thing. I was at a show
17:31
recently, a little brief introduction of me.
17:33
I, you know, I'm a collector first, but I do
17:35
sell. cards online at eBay and at shows as a
17:39
vendor. But, you know, one guy was coming by
17:42
the stand, looking at cards and kind of, I realized
17:45
now bragging about like, I get nothing out of
17:47
ripping packs. I don't do that. I don't get people
17:49
who do. It was like, you know, congrats on the,
17:52
you know, self -control or whatever, but I'm
17:54
like thinking about it. And I was like, I'm not
17:56
like that. I do enjoy ripping packs. Like I like
17:58
the chase. It is fun. Getting to the hobby with
18:02
Whatnot, I think, is the biggest thing now. It's
18:05
the hot topic. So, you know, we'll dive into
18:07
the questions I had here, but sort of a precursor,
18:10
getting into, you know, Collectors MD. I think
18:13
now with the Whatnot, and you can essentially
18:15
buy cards, I think, 24 -7. There will always
18:18
be a stream on Whatnot or Fanatics Live. Am I
18:21
wrong? You're not wrong. 24 -7 access. So I love
18:25
buying cards. I like selling cards as well. I'm
18:27
being 100 % transparent here. It's a bit of a
18:31
different world here. So when I found, you know,
18:33
Collectors MD and Alyx, I'll be honest, I don't
18:35
see anyone else sort of putting out the message
18:38
that you guys are. Absolutely. So sort of just,
18:42
I guess, a kudos there and then getting, you
18:44
know, into exactly what Collectors MD is. We touched
18:48
a little bit about your personal journey into
18:50
collecting and how the modern hobby with Whatnot.
18:54
eBay Live now as well, Fanatics Live. That's
18:57
kind of informed you to start Collectors MD. What
18:59
was the exact pivot point where you realized
19:02
that Collectors MD needed to exist? Yeah, well,
19:05
there are multiple layers to this, right? I think
19:08
on one hand, it's been a far -gone conclusion
19:10
now for some time that gambling -like mechanics
19:14
exist in the hobby. There's risk involved, potential
19:17
harm. Kids are being targeted in predatory and
19:21
exploitative ways. And so there's no layer of
19:25
support that exists for those people that are
19:27
experiencing sort of that direct fallout, right?
19:31
There's no education. There's no advocacy for
19:35
reform. There's no regulation or oversight, guardrails.
19:42
And so that was really like the genesis of...
19:46
why I felt like something like Collectors MD has
19:49
to exist. Now, I will say that we've established
19:52
the fact that we want to stay in our lane. We're
19:57
not here to be a watchdog or to call anybody
20:00
out or say people are doing things wrong or to,
20:03
you know, make noise or be negative. We just
20:07
want to support people who need help. We're more
20:10
than happy to advocate for reform and work alongside
20:12
folks that are looking to push. real change in
20:16
the hobby. But again, that's not really our jurisdiction.
20:19
Now, from a personal standpoint, there were really
20:21
two moments for me where I realized that Collectors MD
20:26
needed to exist. The first was in April of 2023.
20:29
That was my final rock bottom with traditional
20:33
gambling. I ended up self -excluding. from traditional
20:36
gambling and ended up in an outpatient facility
20:39
called Right Choice Recovery in an intensive
20:43
outpatient program where I met Rob Sackowitz,
20:47
who is the owner of Right Choice Recovery. And
20:49
so hearing his story firsthand, I think really
20:52
changed my life. He took the thing that almost
20:54
destroyed him, basically his biggest weakness,
20:58
which was his addiction to gambling, to substance,
21:01
alcohol, et cetera. And he turned it into his
21:04
purpose. and so that idea really stuck with me
21:06
deeply now fast forward Collectors MD didn't
21:10
launch until uh almost a year later which was
21:13
march of 2024 actually no two years what am i
21:16
saying two almost two years later march of 2025
21:19
uh but it was always there sort of in the background
21:22
um of my brain i guess uh and so that second
21:26
moment was i think really like just this epiphany
21:29
I just felt like I needed to stop waiting. I
21:32
realized this wasn't just an idea anymore. I
21:34
felt like, you know, sort of a responsibility
21:36
and obligation just given my lived experience
21:39
and everything that I know about addiction paired
21:42
with my passion and love for the hobby and collecting
21:44
in general. I just felt like, you know, it was
21:48
time. It was my calling of sorts. And so I said
21:52
to myself, like, this isn't a Sunday thing. Like,
21:55
I'm just going to go for it. And so the next
21:58
day. And so I had that epiphany actually on the
22:01
way to picking up my wife from the airport. It
22:04
was like on a, I don't know, Wednesday night
22:06
or something. And the next morning I found the
22:11
handle for, I, you know, created a new account
22:14
on Instagram. Originally called it, not many
22:17
people know this, Collectors Anon. So like Anon
22:21
being short for anonymous. And I bought the domain
22:24
for collectorsanon .com, which I think we still
22:29
have and redirects to collectorsmd .com. Maybe
22:33
not. I don't know if that's still the case. But
22:35
anyway, I realized after, you know, a day or
22:40
so, I was like, I want to come up with something
22:43
that's a little bit more approachable, ubiquitous.
22:45
And so maybe something that's kind of tongue
22:48
in cheek. And that's like when Collectors MD sort
22:51
of just. smacked me in the face so to speak and
22:54
you know it's funny so many people uh approach
22:58
me and say, well, are you a doctor? Are you a
23:01
licensed therapist? You have MD in the name.
23:03
And so we always say, and this is stated at the
23:08
bottom of our website under a disclaimer, we
23:11
are not medical doctors or licensed therapists.
23:14
Collectors MD is a peer -led space built to help
23:16
people recognize unhealthy patterns, reset their
23:19
habits, and reconnect with the joy of collecting.
23:21
Our approach is grounded in three core pillars,
23:24
the MD's of Collectors MD. mental detox, money
23:28
discipline, and meaningful decisions. And so
23:31
we flesh each of those out inside of our Collectors
23:34
MD Recovery Guide, which we use as the foundation
23:36
for our 12 -step program. And so through honest
23:39
reflection, education, and community support,
23:41
we offer collectors a healthier way forward,
23:43
whether you're seeking a reset, a support system,
23:46
or simply more intention in how you engage with
23:49
the hobby. This is your space. So we are not
23:52
doctors. We are not licensed. therapists or clinicians
23:56
or anything like that however we do have a referral
23:58
network and if you feel like you are in need
24:01
of real professional support we can absolutely
24:03
direct you to the right places Yeah, I feel like
24:06
some people, well, not naming anybody, just in
24:09
case anyone has given you a hard time about the
24:11
Collectors MD. If you go to the website, it's
24:14
pretty clearly stated that Alyx is not a doctor.
24:17
He does not call himself Dr. Alyx. He doesn't
24:19
put MD after his name. It's the name of the website.
24:23
And I think it does make sense, 100 % in the
24:26
space of being, hey, we can provide you the link
24:30
to licensed clinical professionals. Also, if
24:35
you just need someone to talk to, you know, Alyx,
24:37
same here. If someone feels like, hey, I'm in
24:39
a sports car, but I'm not quite sure how to navigate
24:41
this space, collect with intent is something
24:44
that I also use. Can't tell a little personal
24:47
story from my end. Getting into, you know, briefly
24:52
we talked before we started recording about the
24:55
Baltimore Orioles, and I'm obviously an Orioles
24:57
fan with the hat, but their prospects are so
25:00
many good ones, you want to almost collect them
25:02
all, right? Like Pokemon. the collect with intent
25:05
it was kind of cool i always just kind of looking
25:07
back now selling cards those bowman chrome the
25:10
top 100 prospect cards you know like the 2023
25:12
i just like always like the way they look when
25:15
i would get cards autographed when i still get
25:17
cards autographed i like to get the bowman you
25:19
know top 100 cards a lot of times those and tops
25:22
pro debut um not so much about the value they
25:25
just look cool to me i like talking about the
25:26
insert yeah um Yeah, exactly. The insert card.
25:30
There's one through 100 for the top 100 prospects.
25:33
It's so funny you say that. Real quick, I don't
25:35
mean to cut you off, but while we're on the topic,
25:38
one of the only super fractures that I've ever
25:42
pulled out of a Topps product was, and at the
25:45
time I was like, who the heck is this guy? But
25:47
I was fired up that it was a super fracture.
25:50
And it was out of a personal box, which I was
25:52
actually opening when I was... working with a
25:57
break group early on in my uh collecting journey
26:01
when i returned to the hobby in the pandemic
26:03
it was called bogo breaks me and a few buddies
26:05
that i grew up with started this you know this
26:07
break group and we were just ripping um you know
26:10
on instagram and facebook but uh i was ripping
26:12
a bowman flagship box hobby box for myself and
26:17
i did it live and i hit a super factor and it
26:19
was that it was the number 98 prospect in that
26:22
class and it was garrett crochet A Garrett Crochet
26:26
prospect card. And at the time, I was like, oh,
26:30
man, a pitcher. I mean, I was still excited,
26:33
but now Garrett Crochet is arguably the best
26:36
pitcher in the MLB. Yes, yes. Did he win the
26:39
Cy Young? Yeah, I believe he did. Oh, no, maybe
26:42
Scoop. No, Scoop was in the NL. I believe he
26:44
got in the AL. No, he didn't. I'm looking at
26:47
his career highlights and awards. He did not.
26:49
But he should. He was definitely a contender
26:51
because last year he had 255 strikeouts, a 259
26:55
ERA, and 18 wins. It's funny. I'm glad you said
26:59
it. I took my dad to spring training my first
27:01
time, his first time as well, and we saw Crochet
27:04
pitch for the Red Sox. He was like, is this guy
27:07
one of the best pitchers? I was like, yeah, he's
27:09
legitimately one of the best pitchers in the
27:11
world. He's insane. I'm trying to pull it up
27:15
real quick. Yeah, real quick to finish that,
27:17
though, that collect with intent. finishing that
27:20
set it's like oh yeah go ahead it was uh actually
27:24
a rookie i didn't realize i thought it was a
27:26
prospect it was a rookie it was number 99 on
27:28
on that set list yeah super i had it for a long
27:32
time too that's cool what was that 2022 you said
27:34
no that was like 2020 so that was in april of
27:38
2021 when i pulled that yeah But no, yeah, that
27:42
2023, the cards are like $1 to $3. It's one I
27:46
don't, I look to get in trades or whatever, right?
27:48
And it's a fun set for me to collect. And I'm
27:50
like, oh, this is collecting within 10, I'm pretty
27:52
sure, because I'm spending maybe $5, $10 a month,
27:56
right? And I'm slowly, it all started because
27:59
one guy was like trying to get rid of them. He
28:01
said, do you want 30 of these for $10? I was
28:03
like, and they were random. I was like, and a
28:04
couple duplicates, but I was like doing the math.
28:07
I was like, nah, I don't want, you know, I was
28:08
like, I do like them. I was like, what am I going
28:09
to do with it? I was like, well. I already have
28:12
like another 20 of these. This is a good chance
28:14
to start building out the set. And now, you know,
28:16
I'm really enjoying it. So anyway, I got that
28:18
idea from you. I'll get, I'll get you to half
28:19
cart it with the collecting with intent. So no,
28:22
if don't cut me off, I, it's my podcast sports,
28:26
Sports Man Dan Show. I mean, the only reason
28:30
why I cut you off is because I've literally never
28:31
heard anyone refer to that ML or that Bowman
28:35
100 insert set because it's not popular. It's
28:38
not like, it's not. So. then i remember it just
28:42
dawned on me i was like i remember pulling that
28:44
card and it being number 99 out of 100 i was
28:47
like i could have gotten any player in that set
28:51
it could have been one through 50 but i got the
28:53
second to last guy in this so in my mind i was
28:56
like a little disappointed because it was this
28:58
technically the second to worst player according
29:00
to the bowman rankings but then fast forward
29:03
to today and hey that's what bowman's all about
29:05
like you never know who's gonna pan out And,
29:08
you know, I mean, all things considered, like
29:10
99th best prospect in the MLB is pretty, pretty
29:13
damn good. He was actually the 11th overall pick
29:16
in 2020. So it's like, yeah, it was it was a
29:19
big deal. But also, like, I don't think it was
29:21
until recently where people started to pay more
29:24
respect to pitchers in the hobby because of Paul
29:26
Skeens. But, you know, at the time, like nobody
29:30
wanted to hit a pitcher. Right. You had a super
29:32
you wanted to be a hitter. I think it's still
29:35
that way. It's funny. My buddy, when I got into
29:37
autographs after games, he was interested in
29:40
getting pitcher cards to get signed. He was like,
29:43
is this too unproductive? I'm like, well, I like
29:45
watching really good pitchers just as much as
29:47
I like watching really good hitters. Yes, it's
29:49
not quite as exciting, the home runs, but to
29:51
me, I think any real baseball fan can argue that
29:55
a guy throwing no hitters is damn exciting, right?
30:00
The pitcher is like the quarterback of the team.
30:03
Pitchers deserve so much more respect than they
30:05
get. But then, of course, you have the Shohei
30:08
Otani's of the world who do both, and it's hard
30:11
to compete with that. It is, and I think anybody
30:16
trying to compete with that, it's... Relatively
30:19
impossible, although I know a couple guys out
30:21
there. DeGrom was a great hitter as well, and
30:23
they kind of took that away with the DH. But
30:25
maybe we should digress. I love talking prospects.
30:30
I love talking cards. I do want to talk about,
30:33
though, is something you've done for the hobby
30:34
with Collectors MD. Sort of, you know, it's great
30:39
to provide a platform and everything, but, like,
30:41
action -wise, what are you doing? These weekly
30:43
support groups every Wednesday at 8, I believe,
30:46
right? Yep. Wednesday, 8 p .m. Eastern. I was
30:50
going to say, what's the most surprising insight
30:52
you've learned from these weekly peer support
30:54
group discussions? And have you been doing these
30:57
since the founding in March of 2025? Yes, that's
31:02
a great question. We didn't actually start the
31:04
the meetings until. i want to say like april
31:08
or may so it was a little a little bit after
31:10
we started the movement um really because i wanted
31:14
to sort of gauge interest see if there was a
31:18
demand or a need for it and then when i realized
31:20
there was it became you know pretty uh obvious
31:24
that this was going to become you know the sort
31:28
of the primary pathway in terms of like what
31:31
we offer And so, or at least from a support angle.
31:34
So I think the most surprising insight from the
31:37
peer support groups is just how similar everyone's
31:41
experiences are, right? Like we're talking about
31:43
different collections, different interests, different
31:46
incomes, different ages, but like the same sort
31:50
of emotional loops. We're talking about the same
31:52
shame, the urgency, the FOMO, the chasing, you
31:57
know, and you're really just chasing that dopamine
31:59
hit, that relief. And it's really consistent
32:02
across the board. And so what surprises me every
32:04
week is just the compassion in the room. People
32:07
show up for each other in ways that are genuinely
32:10
powerful. It just reminds you, again, how healing
32:14
community can be. I've been saying it all along.
32:18
We cannot heal in isolation. We have to heal
32:21
in community. We have to. you know, lean on each
32:24
other for real support. And that's what peer
32:26
support is all about. So these meetings aren't
32:28
just like sessions where I'm talking all the
32:31
time or teaching people or leading, you know,
32:33
like I'm helping navigate it. I'm guiding the
32:36
meeting forward. I'm, you know, doing a lot of
32:38
that, but it's, it's really intended to be peer
32:40
support where people can come into a judgment
32:44
-free stigma -free environment, speak from the
32:47
heart, speak how they feel, get this weight off
32:49
their chest. Other people listen who have experienced
32:52
very similar things. They, you know, cross exchange,
32:56
share each other's story or like share, share,
32:58
you know, not advice or recommendations. We try
33:01
to steer clear from that, not trying to diagnose
33:03
or prescribe anybody anything. It's more so just
33:07
like letting people know, like we get it. We're
33:10
here for you. You can get through this. It takes
33:12
a village. That's what it's all about. No, I
33:15
think it's, I think it's an awesome message and
33:17
just an awesome, very, you know, inviting hey
33:21
we do this it seems very consistent from what
33:24
i've seen um also i was a bit surprised to learn
33:27
that you've only been around since march of 2025
33:28
i think you've done a great job of spreading
33:30
that message uh it seems like you do a lot of
33:33
an interview almost every week which is that's
33:35
the way to do it it shows uh you're dedicated
33:37
to it um so uh no just kind of kudos to you there
33:41
and uh i don't want to pry but if there's any
33:44
personal story or someone you know That relationship
33:48
with Collectors MD is a real success story that
33:50
you want to share or could share? Yeah, yeah.
33:53
I appreciate you, you know, prefacing it that
33:58
way because we do take, you know, I guess, community
34:03
member confidentiality very seriously. We want
34:06
to protect the privacy, the safety. um you know
34:09
all of that across the board for our members
34:12
and so there is one person in particular that
34:14
i'm comfortable talking about because he has
34:16
his own youtube channel and he constantly talks
34:19
about Collectors MD um sort of forward -facing
34:21
and publicly uh his name is Brandon Howard he's
34:24
also known as Collector Charles um or collect
34:27
Charles I believe he's Collector Charles on YouTube
34:30
and Collect Charles on Instagram, but he just
34:33
started his own YouTube channel not too long
34:35
ago and he's putting out some really great content.
34:37
But yeah, Brandon Howard, he's just such a great
34:40
example. He's really become like one of the strongest
34:43
voices in our community. He joins every single
34:45
meeting without fail, always, you know, inserts
34:49
himself, adds his two cents, super supportive,
34:52
so reliable. I've been able to lean on him at
34:55
times if I'm running late to one of the meetings
34:57
and I need somebody to kick it off or take the
34:59
group through our recovery guide while I'm getting
35:01
set up. He does it. No questions asked. And so,
35:05
yeah, man, he stopped joining breaks. He became
35:08
more thoughtful with his purchases. He's re -centered
35:11
why he collects. And his relationship with the
35:14
hobby, I think, changed fundamentally. And it's
35:17
important to say we have. two distinct lanes
35:20
right there's the intentional collecting which
35:23
is like somebody like Brandon or myself uh who
35:25
still wants to you know enjoy collecting to some
35:29
extent but do so more responsibly and just like
35:31
within uh you know limitations within our our
35:35
means and our uh budget etc and then there's
35:39
abstinence right those that just can no longer
35:41
have a healthy relationship with the hobby and
35:44
just uh you know has have to abstain completely
35:47
and so we meet everybody wherever they are in
35:50
their journey not everyone needs the same solution
35:54
there's not a one -size -fits -all but it is
35:57
important to note that uh you know no matter
36:00
where you are in your collecting and or recovery
36:03
journey we're here for you awesome awesome no
36:07
i'm glad i can you know i have a very small platform
36:09
right now i understand that but i'm glad to help
36:11
share this message and uh you know collectors
36:14
md you're uh part of the um what's the name of
36:18
y 'all's podcast as well The Collector's Compass
36:20
Collector's Compass yeah i love you know checking
36:23
in with y 'all and the different stories you
36:25
share there i think you've touched on the community
36:27
and the people that's what that's what it's all
36:30
about um and also shout out all your sponsors
36:32
that are help you know keeping Collectors MD
36:34
going um i know that you're not in it to make
36:37
any profit that's not what you're about Alyx
36:39
uh and i looked at y 'all's website man it's
36:41
very well done it's a nice like i said very inviting
36:44
and professional i might have to ask you for
36:47
some tips because i know i need to get my uh
36:49
a website of some sort at of some time but uh
36:52
that's yeah i appreciate you saying that i mean
36:55
i'm not like super savvy when it comes to web
36:58
design or anything like that i actually think
37:00
that the website's pretty basic and rudimentary
37:03
uh in terms of like the way it's set up everything
37:06
you see is exactly what i created and again like
37:10
i'm not like a designer or you know uh super
37:14
um skilled or experienced when it comes to uh
37:18
that sort of thing but we are uh working with
37:21
a handful of folks that are hopefully going to
37:23
help you know propel us to that next stage next
37:27
phase of of Collectors MD and help us sort of
37:30
redesign the site and get us to where we want
37:32
to go um but yeah man i appreciate you saying
37:35
that um You mentioned the revenue side of things,
37:38
like I'm not in it for profit, so to speak. That's
37:41
something that's come up in the past as far as
37:43
like, oh, well, he's just doing this for money.
37:47
That's not something that I think it's fair to
37:50
say because, first of all, we never will take
37:54
money from any of our community members. All
37:58
of our meetings will always be free. Our tools,
38:01
our resources, our referral network, all of that.
38:04
100 free um you know if for when we end up down
38:09
the line becoming like a treatment center that
38:12
takes insurance something like that like that's
38:14
way far down the road like we don't expect people
38:17
to pay like a monthly subscription or make donations
38:20
or anything like that now of course you know
38:22
i've dedicated my life and my career to this
38:24
and so i gotta find ways to uh you know keep
38:27
the lights on right and food on the table and
38:29
so we're getting creative and strategic around
38:32
ways to monetize through things like sponsorships
38:35
advertising uh working with coalitions and councils
38:38
at the state level things like that um so that
38:41
you know we can really propel this thing and
38:43
and keep it sustainable because at the end of
38:45
the day you know you can't do that uh you know
38:48
without Some somewhat of a foundation, but to
38:51
date, it's all been completely bootstrapped and
38:53
we haven't taken any donations or really made
38:56
much money at all up to this point. But we're
39:00
we're working we're working on trying to scale
39:02
this thing so that, again, like the end goal
39:04
is that we can help as many people as humanly
39:06
possible. I think doing these sort of podcast
39:10
interviews, I hope hopefully this is not. It's
39:15
work at the end of the day, right? And not to
39:17
say that this is work and you're not enjoying
39:18
every second of this interview, but right, like
39:21
doing all these interviews, getting the message
39:23
out, that's a great way to do it. And with that,
39:26
you've been on a lot of these podcasts. What's
39:29
one question you wish people would ask you, but
39:32
never do? Yeah, I mean, I think they rarely ask
39:36
like what this work costs emotionally, right?
39:39
sitting with other people's struggles while also
39:42
managing your own can be like really heavy, right?
39:45
It's absolutely 100 % worth it, but it's not
39:49
easy, right? And I think that part often goes
39:52
unseen. That's a good point too. And then like
39:55
hearing, you know, maybe somebody lost their
39:57
house or lost their, you know, marriage or whatever,
40:00
relationship, whatever, or is in debt, you know,
40:03
severe debt. And then now, you know, you're looking
40:05
at some cards of your own, right? And, you know,
40:07
maybe like, dang, you know, they had all these
40:10
real problems over pieces of cardboard, right?
40:12
I'm sure that has to be tough. It has to weigh
40:14
up. Of course, man. We're seeing some really,
40:16
really heavy things happening to people in terms
40:20
of, you know, divorce and losing custody of children
40:24
and losing, you know, their jobs and having to
40:29
move out of their homes or sell their homes or
40:30
sell their cars. Like these are all very real
40:32
things that are happening as a direct result
40:34
of addiction, hobby addiction. Yeah, absolutely.
40:39
And there are people that spend as much money,
40:41
if not more, than some of the biggest degenerate
40:44
gamblers you could think of. So, yeah, it's a
40:47
very serious and real topic and should not be
40:50
taken lightly. And I think it just speaks volumes
40:52
to the fact that today's modern day hobby is
40:56
not the same as what it was when we were kids.
40:58
No. no and i i think most people in the hobby
41:01
see that and know that but maybe you know in
41:04
some of these you know interactions i've seen
41:07
with you you know talking about Collectors MD
41:09
uh maybe people just kind of ignore it or laugh
41:12
at it because they don't want to accept that
41:15
it's such a bad problem you know i just know
41:17
setting up at shows i've been selling cards at
41:19
shows for a year so i'm very new to this i'm
41:22
not gonna act like i'm some expert but i i've
41:24
seen at a show a guy on the phone and was like
41:28
hey i need you to wire me 500 there's a deal
41:31
here i need to get it and the guy you could tell
41:33
on the phone was like why can't you and he was
41:35
explained oh no already maxed the credit cards
41:37
i can't like trying to agree with them like no
41:40
i tried all that i can't you know everything's
41:42
maxed i need 500 now and then i can flip it and
41:45
i was like you know what does this sound like
41:47
you know i've been to casinos it sounds like
41:48
the guy by the atm of the casino begging a friend
41:51
to wire him money to get i'm like you had a card
41:53
show you know at 10 a .m on a saturday Yeah,
41:56
what you just verbalized, what you just illustrated
41:58
is textbook addiction. These are people that
42:01
will go to any length to scratch that itch, to
42:06
feed that dopamine high, to fill that empty space.
42:10
And we're talking about lying, cheating, deceiving,
42:14
stealing. It gets really, really serious. And
42:18
that's why gambling addiction specifically, and
42:20
I mentioned it. To you before, I work at Right
42:23
Choice on Monday nights and Tuesday nights leading
42:25
group meetings for gambling addiction. And so
42:31
I've seen it firsthand. I've experienced it firsthand,
42:35
you know, through my own lived experience. I
42:36
know what it feels like, but I'm talking about
42:38
like gambling addiction is a real disease. Like
42:41
it is a disease. It destroys from the inside
42:44
out. And it's a lifelong, you know, battle. You
42:47
know, it doesn't just go away. There's no like.
42:50
there's no remedy there's no anecdote that you
42:52
just uh uh take or not anecdote at it antidote
42:57
what's it called antidote that you just take
43:02
that that will just uh make it go away you really
43:05
have to uh stay the course Stick to, you know,
43:09
whether it be a 12 -step program or, you know,
43:12
a routine or just whatever works for you. Just
43:15
keep checking in, taking your personal inventory,
43:18
reaching out to others, whether that be, you
43:22
know, your inner circle, family member, loved
43:24
one, sponsor, accountability partner, peer support,
43:28
and just, you know, make recovery. uh a priority
43:34
because if you don't it can be so easy to just
43:37
uh fall off the wagon we've seen it happen with
43:40
people that have been sober clean for 10 years
43:44
20 years sometimes more one thing happens that
43:47
triggers them um you know and they get that urge
43:50
and suddenly they're right back where they started
43:54
and uh the cycle starts all over so it's a very
43:57
real thing and people just i think on one hand
44:01
need to take it more seriously for themselves
44:02
but also people looking in from the outside they
44:07
they need to also take it more seriously and
44:09
understand that this is very real and that we
44:11
need to be respectful and mindful of the fact
44:13
that mental health is a very serious thing that
44:18
um should not be taken lightly no and you know
44:22
i'm all about having a good time and you know
44:26
keeping shows lighthearted, but it's one of those
44:28
things where you kind of have to take it seriously.
44:30
It's one of those topics that's just, it is what
44:32
it is. Gambling addiction, addiction is dark,
44:34
right? There's no way around it. I think you
44:37
touched on it earlier, having, you know, not
44:39
having to, but choosing to do that, you know,
44:42
weekly, day in, day out. I'm sure it does take
44:44
a toll. At the end of the day, collecting is
44:47
fun. That's why we do it, right? We enjoy it.
44:50
At the end of the day, there is the light at
44:51
the end of the tunnel, right? But I'm sure there
44:53
are a lot of... As we talked about, there are
44:56
a lot of dark stories. I want to add, Dan, you
45:00
brought up a really great point there. It's not
45:02
all doom and gloom. Some of this stuff is really
45:05
heavy. It can be daunting and intimidating to
45:11
get involved in something like this and really
45:13
look in the mirror and say, damn, I need real
45:15
help. But at the same time, recovery is a beautiful
45:17
thing. want to drive home the point that you
45:24
can have the same community, the same camaraderie
45:27
that you currently do in your hobby or with a
45:32
sports team or a fraternity or something like
45:34
that right here at Collectors MD or any other
45:38
adjacent recovery -like group or program without
45:42
having to spend a single dollar, without having
45:45
to sort of fall into the hype traps or give in
45:48
to FOMO or that sense of urgency. It's I've made
45:52
really close friends through this process. I
45:55
really have people I truly believe will be lifelong
45:58
friends. It's a beautiful thing. And again, like
46:02
we have the intentional collecting lane. These
46:04
are people that are still engaged in the hobby.
46:06
They still go to card shows. They still buy product.
46:08
They still buy cards. But they're just doing
46:10
so more mindfully, intentionally and responsibly.
46:14
That's what it really comes down to. That's awesome.
46:17
Especially the lifelong friends. I know that's
46:21
not why you get into it, but when you have that
46:22
byproduct, it kind of lets you know that you're
46:24
doing the right thing, right? Totally. And sort
46:28
of kind of segueing off of that, this whole
46:30
hype train and the FOMO, how do you engage with
46:33
breakers, shops, maybe vendors or different marketplaces
46:36
to promote healthier collecting practices? Because
46:39
at the end of the day, a lot of these, I mean,
46:41
they just want to make a buck. And anytime that's
46:43
involved, there's greed. Anytime money's involved,
46:45
there is greed. Yeah, it's a great question.
46:48
So we've partnered with a handful of hobby shops,
46:52
break groups, hobby platforms, tools, resources,
46:56
et cetera, through what we call our hashtag Rip
47:00
Responsibly initiative. And so Rip Responsibly
47:03
is just all about slowing things down, adding
47:05
transparency, removing that sort of manufactured
47:09
urgency and hype. And so we've partnered with
47:12
Card Ladder, Market Movers, Cards HQ. hobby scan,
47:17
mantle, slab track. We just recently partnered
47:22
with Rip and Wax. They're a pretty big break
47:27
group in the hobby. Rip Hamilton Rips, they're
47:29
one of the biggest break groups on Whatnot. Bodega
47:32
Cards here in Jersey. So we're doing some really
47:37
amazing things. you know, across the board, but
47:40
I'm also just so humbled and grateful that these
47:44
industry leaders have been willing to, you know,
47:47
not just have the conversation, but also spread
47:53
the message and spread positive awareness. So
47:55
it's not about pointing fingers or, you know,
47:58
again, being a watchdog or blaming anyone. It's
48:02
just about building healthier systems and creating
48:04
a safer and more sustainable environment for
48:07
all collectors. Well, you're doing the right
48:12
thing by doing this. And I don't mean to harp
48:14
on it, but I have a couple more questions I do
48:16
want to touch on on the subject, if that's all
48:18
right with you, Alyx. Of course, man. Yeah. So
48:21
what do you think right now, moving forward,
48:23
are the biggest barriers to systematic change
48:25
in the hobby? And how does Collectors MD tackle
48:28
them? In addition to, of course, these weekly
48:30
support groups, which I think is maybe the biggest
48:32
catalyst. Yeah. I mean, I think it's a number
48:35
of things. I think it starts with incentives,
48:38
right? The speed, the hype and the volume are
48:42
just, you know, always rewarded, right? Like
48:46
incentives are just the biggest barrier, right?
48:49
So like right now, the hobby, again, it just
48:51
rewards all of that. And so the faster you move
48:54
products, the louder the marketing, the more
48:58
urgency you create, the more money gets made
49:00
in the short term, right? So restraint isn't
49:04
rewarded at all. Slow down. someone down encouraging
49:07
reflection uh or telling them it's okay to walk
49:11
away just doesn't really fit neatly um you know
49:15
in into a revenue model for these for these uh
49:18
hobby shops break groups platforms manufacturers
49:21
etc so real change just requires slowing things
49:24
down that can be very uncomfortable for an ecosystem
49:29
built on constant motion, constant hype, constant
49:32
velocity, right? It challenges short -term thinking.
49:35
It asks people to trade these quick wins, these
49:39
quick hits of dopamine for something like patience
49:42
and sustainability. And that can be really hard
49:45
when margins and engagement numbers are really
49:50
driving decisions, right? So what we try to do
49:52
at Collectors MD is really meet that reality
49:56
head on. we focus on uh education so people can
50:00
recognize patterns instead of blaming themselves
50:02
we build partnerships with platform shops and
50:05
creators who are willing to experiment with healthier
50:08
engagement and we point to proof right collectors
50:11
who feel supported informed and respected uh
50:15
actually stick around longer they burn out less
50:18
they don't disappear after hitting a wall so
50:21
while you know this rip responsibly concept might
50:23
deter some people in the short term Really what
50:26
you're doing is you're creating a sense of trust
50:28
and transparency with your audience that, hey,
50:32
this is what we're doing here. This is what this
50:35
environment can potentially lead to if you aren't
50:38
careful. And I think in turn, the customers and
50:43
the followers will respect that platform, that
50:47
breaker, that creator so much more. because they're
50:51
looking out for the health and safety of the
50:54
individual, not just 100 % focused on revenue.
50:56
So I think the sustainability factor, the long
50:59
-term loyalty will absolutely sort of trump that
51:05
short -term loss in potential revenue. So yeah,
51:09
I mean, like healthy engagement may not spike
51:11
overnight metrics per se, but it absolutely just
51:15
creates that sense of trust and trust is really
51:18
what lasts. That's a great point, especially
51:22
the long -term growth of the hobby. Really, this
51:24
is going to help the hobby because that burnout
51:27
thing is a real thing. How many times on Reddit,
51:30
for anyone on Reddit, you see, I am deeply in
51:33
debt and I need to sell my collection. It's like,
51:36
oh man, I had a hospital bill. I need money now.
51:40
And maybe they're not getting the sales that
51:42
they wanted. And stuff like that does happen.
51:47
That's not going to make a collector long term,
51:49
right? Someone ripping responsibly and collecting
51:52
intentionally. That's going to help. Like you
51:54
said, it's going to help everyone if we get out
51:55
of that short term mindset. Yeah, man. I want
51:58
to also acknowledge that, you know, there are
52:02
people out there on Reddit that have been actively
52:05
supporting and, you know, basically. pushing
52:11
people to check out Collectors MD who are having
52:13
those issues or openly sharing you know what
52:16
they're experiencing and i don't know who they
52:18
are if they're you know in our group chat our
52:20
discord um you know it's obviously mostly anonymous
52:23
but i'm super super grateful for those people
52:26
uh because again this isn't about me this isn't
52:29
about growing Collectors MD or scaling this or
52:32
uh becoming like famous in the hobby or like
52:35
creating cloud it's about helping as many people
52:38
as humanly possible and that takes an army we
52:40
can't i can't do this by myself i need this to
52:44
be a community effort and so for those people
52:46
that are out there you know on the front lines
52:49
in these reddit groups in Facebook posts saying
52:52
hey go check out Collectors MD they can help
52:55
you that there's peer support available like
52:58
that just that means the world because it means
53:01
that It shows that people actually care about
53:03
one another. It's rare in today's society. It
53:07
really is. It is. No, I was starting to think
53:11
about what I'm going to be doing with The Sports Man
53:12
Dan Show, but I think live streams will be a
53:15
part of it. We're going to wrap up here with
53:18
some fun questions sort of at the end, but Alyx,
53:20
I'd love to have you on with maybe like a live
53:23
stream where we bring you on as a guest and just
53:24
have people, you know, hopefully with a little
53:27
more following by then do like a live Q and a,
53:29
and you can kind of just answer questions in
53:31
real time. Yeah, that'd be great. I'd love that.
53:34
Awesome. No, we'll set that up for sure. Now,
53:37
in the meantime, I still have you. And again,
53:39
thank you for your time, Alyx. I know I kind
53:41
of messaged you yesterday about this and you
53:43
you got back to me and managed to set it up today.
53:45
So, yeah, I told you I found that window. I was
53:48
like, you know what? I really want to do this
53:50
with you. I don't want to put this off. Let's
53:52
lock in a time. And so we found. an hour which
53:55
is now turning into almost two but that's completely
53:57
fine um i've really uh enjoyed this conversation
54:00
with you Dan getting to know you in this short
54:02
time and i think that uh this will definitely
54:05
materialize into you know a long -term uh friendship
54:09
and relationship so uh that that is just so invaluable
54:13
and it really does mean a lot to me it means
54:16
a lot to me as well and i appreciate your thoughtful
54:18
responses um no this has been a i know it's work
54:22
from your end right doing a lot of these interviews
54:24
and you know it might be a little work editing
54:26
but like genuinely i enjoyed this discussion
54:28
i'm looking forward to some future ones me too
54:31
man all right so now wrapping up is there a player
54:34
set or era that instantly makes you feel like
54:38
a kid again when you see that card Michael Jordan
54:41
i know this is most people uh most people's answer
54:44
especially those that are my age mid 30s uh but
54:47
yeah man just like early to mid 90s upper deck
54:50
base cards of Michael Jordan um i grew up watching
54:54
the Chicago Bulls with my dad i wasn't a bulls
54:56
fan per se but like you know it was Michael Jordan
54:59
it was his league like he won six rings and went
55:03
six and oh in those championship uh runs so yeah
55:07
i i remember watching the Bulls play the Jazz
55:09
in the finals and just like my dad would would
55:12
get me loose packs and i was just always looking
55:15
for that Jordan and you know they weren't worth
55:18
much they're not worth much now but like you
55:20
know those are the memories that are just sort
55:22
of embedded in i think in my my past my childhood
55:26
my nostalgia No, that is awesome. And I am in
55:29
no way a Jordan fan myself, but I do love those
55:33
early 90s cards. And I may be dating myself.
55:36
Even though I said I'm not a Jordan fan, I'm
55:37
a Knicks fan, Jordan is better than LeBron. We
55:40
can end that discussion right now. Michael Jordan
55:43
is better than LeBron. You can let me know if
55:45
you think differently in the comments. I'm more
55:48
of a John Starr fan. Look, I'm kind of neutral
55:51
on that discussion. I think it's just like Giannis.
55:55
fit a square peg in a round hole. It's not apples
55:58
to oranges. It's like comparing Tom Brady to
56:03
Shohei Ohtani. They play different sports. They're
56:07
different players, different types of athletes.
56:09
Different eras. But if you were to, there's no
56:12
way LeBron is hitting triples. I think Jordan
56:16
had a couple triples. extra base hits in the
56:18
minor leagues anyway Jordan's just a superior
56:20
athlete but i'll just leave it at that i i'm
56:22
trying to stir the pause what i'm doing Alyx
56:24
that's all good i'm right there with you though
56:26
gun to my head i'll probably take Jordan absolutely
56:29
in the finals like last shot come on game six
56:32
game seven iconic iconic yeah plus LeBron's LeBron's
56:36
you know book isn't isn't finished yet so let's
56:38
let let's let him finish his career then we can
56:40
have that debate I'll have it whenever. Also,
56:43
yeah, yeah, good point, Alyx. Moving on swiftly.
56:48
Other than paid, which I know you love that,
56:51
if no one's familiar with that statement, paid,
56:54
if you watch a decent amount of breaks, someone
56:57
will hit a card, let's say it's a PSA 10 John
57:00
Morant, and they're like, you bought in for a
57:03
$200 spot, and you hit that $50 card, and they
57:06
say paid. Even though that maybe only paid for
57:09
a quarter of your spot, other than paid, Alyx,
57:14
what is the most overrated card term out there?
57:17
I mean, when they say paid, they may as well
57:19
just be saying jackpot. You hit the jackpot on
57:23
the slot machine. That's what they're saying.
57:25
I think the most overrated or the one that really
57:30
just makes my skin crawl is value. This is a
57:34
value break. This is a can't miss. like like
57:37
it's a once in a lifetime opportunity unreal
57:40
value chat it that's just manufactured like it's
57:44
it's all about the manufactured urgency and the
57:47
FOMO and it's just language designed to just
57:49
like speed the decisions and compress thinking
57:52
and make hesitation feel like a mistake and it's
57:55
the price you know um or the price is framed
57:59
as temporary the opportunity is like you know
58:01
rare it's once in a lifetime and then you know
58:04
the downside is just it's not even addressed
58:06
it's not even acknowledged so real value doesn't
58:09
need a countdown clock it doesn't rely on like
58:14
group pressure or last few spots energy and it
58:18
definitely doesn't show up wrapped in someone
58:20
else's certainty so if it were truly value if
58:24
it were truly value or valuable it wouldn't need
58:26
to be sold so hard Well said, Alyx. And that's
58:30
true to any industry, right? They use car law
58:33
with all the fancy signs and the fancy marketing.
58:36
It's like maybe they don't have the best used
58:39
cars. Funny how that works out. Yeah. I mean,
58:42
that's typically always what we end up comparing
58:45
the Whatnot breakers to. And again, I don't want
58:48
to be overly critical or cynical or anything
58:50
like that, but the whole concept of a car salesman,
58:54
definitely. comes up and i won't use any adjectives
58:58
to describe said car salesman but it's it's definitely
59:01
uh become pretty synonymous with with breakers
59:04
some of these financial advisors now i feel like
59:07
are more like used car salesmen uh hey and by
59:10
the way this is coming from somebody who used
59:11
to break right i told you before i i broke for
59:15
a couple years on on instagram and facebook before
59:17
the whole thing exploded before Whatnot before
59:19
Fanatics Live but nonetheless i was still a breaker
59:22
and before that i was in well not before that
59:25
before Collectors MD i was in advertising sales
59:28
so i was the guy people trying to sell pixels
59:30
so look i i i can relate um you know empathetic
59:36
i understand that at the end of the day a lot
59:38
of these breakers are just trying to do their
59:39
job they're just trying to bring in money for
59:41
the company that they work for like more power
59:43
to you but let's just be a little bit careful
59:45
when we're you know reeling in the uh the potential
59:50
customers especially if you know, we're talking
59:53
about expensive spots or like, you know, children
59:55
getting involved, things like that. Yeah. Right.
59:58
No, we're talking about, it's not, you know,
1:00:00
tens of dollars or dozens of dollars. We're talking
1:00:02
about thousands and tens of thousands of dollars
1:00:04
and upwards of there. Right. So no, exactly.
1:00:08
I think it's well said. Moving on to number three,
1:00:11
I got four here again. Thank you for your time,
1:00:13
Alyx. I'll let you, I'll let you get out of here.
1:00:15
But number three, if you could only collect one
1:00:18
thing for the rest of your life, what would it
1:00:20
be? So I'll say like, you know, cards, you can
1:00:23
do a broad one like that, you know, or shoes
1:00:25
you could choose. You said Funko pops. That would
1:00:27
be an option. Yeah, definitely not Funko pops
1:00:30
and definitely not WNBA players. But honestly,
1:00:35
like this one came to me almost immediately.
1:00:39
And the answer for me is watches without hesitation.
1:00:43
And so my grandfather was a big watch collector.
1:00:46
And a lot of my connection to collecting, I think,
1:00:48
really started there. Like it's really embedded
1:00:50
in my DNA. Just like watching him talk about
1:00:54
craftsmanship and history and what a watch represented.
1:00:58
Like it just always stuck with me. And it wasn't
1:01:01
about like the hype or the resale. It was about
1:01:03
meaning. You know, he really taught me patience
1:01:06
and appreciation. And so that foundation, I think,
1:01:10
just really shapes how I think about collecting
1:01:12
to this day. You know, I love watches. Unfortunately,
1:01:17
I had to sell a lot of them when I was in the
1:01:21
throes of my addiction and going through some
1:01:23
of my financial struggles. But, you know, I do
1:01:25
still have the watch that my wife gifted me on
1:01:28
our wedding day. I still have, you know, another
1:01:31
one that holds a lot of weight in terms of sentimental
1:01:35
value. I have another one that I inherited from
1:01:37
my grandfather. So, you know, again, like curating,
1:01:39
distilling your collection, I think is really
1:01:41
important. Not one person needs. a million watches
1:01:45
or a million pairs of sneakers or 10 zion cases
1:01:48
of sports cards uh but speaking of speak sneakers
1:01:51
i think sneakers would be a close second because
1:01:54
i was a sneaker head long before cards ever entered
1:01:57
the picture in terms of the modern hobby i'm
1:02:00
talking about like the camp outs you know the
1:02:02
the weekly releases the culture the storytelling
1:02:04
uh sneakers really taught me how collecting could
1:02:07
be personal and expressive not just transactional
1:02:10
at one point i mean this was a problem within
1:02:14
itself but at one point i had over 500 pairs
1:02:16
of sneakers in my 20s oh man yeah so uh that's
1:02:20
really where things started to spiral so you
1:02:23
know when i when i talk about these things i
1:02:25
say it you know with a grain of salt um because
1:02:29
in some ways collecting ha really you know hurt
1:02:34
me a lot more than it it brought me value so
1:02:36
with that like I've learned to sort of recenter,
1:02:41
recalibrate, figure out how to trim the fat and
1:02:45
make collecting, provide me with value instead
1:02:51
of no longer serving me, which is ultimately
1:02:55
what it had become over the span of 10, 15 years.
1:03:00
But I feel much, much lighter and more fulfilled.
1:03:08
looking at a fraction of what I once owned than
1:03:12
I did when I was just sitting on a mountain of
1:03:14
crap. Well said. It's collecting with intent,
1:03:19
right? Once you lose that intent, you could have
1:03:22
all the collections in the world. It just won't
1:03:25
really mean as much, right? Right. 100%. The
1:03:29
last thing here, what is one thing you hope listeners
1:03:32
remember after this conversation? And if I had
1:03:35
to pick one, I really think it would just be
1:03:36
the way you ended that last question. You know,
1:03:39
you went through the sneakers. You've seen, I
1:03:42
think, some of the highs to highs of breaking
1:03:44
and lows to lows with your financial hardships
1:03:47
and dealing with this addiction head on. I don't
1:03:51
mean to cut you off, let you answer your own
1:03:52
question. But I just want to say, Alyx, I think
1:03:55
anyone who. wants to take a little introspective
1:03:58
look at themselves um you've kind of opened yourself
1:04:01
out there and uh i think that's a really brave
1:04:04
thing for someone to do i appreciate you saying
1:04:07
that Dan truly um and this is a great question
1:04:09
and i think it's a great uh you know sort of
1:04:12
place to end this conversation which by the way
1:04:15
it's been great you've done such a terrific job
1:04:18
um but i i think the biggest thing i'd want people
1:04:21
to remember is that you don't have to quit collecting
1:04:24
you don't have to quit the hobby to change your
1:04:26
relationship with it for a lot of collectors
1:04:28
it's not about walking away it's just about slowing
1:04:31
things down i think for a lot of collectors it's
1:04:34
not about you know um sort of uh it's really
1:04:38
just about being honest with yourself right and
1:04:41
paying attention to why you're doing what you're
1:04:43
doing right like awareness just changes everything
1:04:47
and once you start noticing those patterns uh
1:04:49
when you're chasing when you're just trying to
1:04:53
numb the pain when it no longer stops being fun,
1:04:56
or like I said before, it no longer is serving
1:04:58
you, that's when you actually get the control,
1:05:02
the agency back. And maybe most importantly,
1:05:05
you don't have to figure all of that out alone.
1:05:07
This stuff is so much heavier when you're just
1:05:10
sitting in isolation or you're feeling that guilt
1:05:12
or shame that you ended up. you know belong through
1:05:15
your savings uh because of cardboard right but
1:05:19
there i promise you there are other people out
1:05:20
there and having other people who understand
1:05:23
uh the nuances of what can come from you know
1:05:28
hobby burnout um and the pull of of just over
1:05:33
compulsive collecting all of that just makes
1:05:36
change feel possible instead of overwhelming
1:05:38
and real quick too um you had put this question
1:05:42
uh on the list and i i just i'd be remiss not
1:05:45
to address it yeah i don't know if you skipped
1:05:48
it or you know just i jump around so i appreciate
1:05:53
your thoughtful responses yeah no please go ahead
1:05:55
this is this is one that i think is really important
1:05:57
and it was advice for others trying to foster
1:06:00
positive culture and i would say And this is
1:06:05
advice that was given to me by a gentleman in
1:06:08
the hobby named Mr. Minty. Great guy. He preps
1:06:13
cards for grading. I met him at National in 2023.
1:06:16
I've had many conversations with him. He's been
1:06:19
a supporter since day one. But what he told me
1:06:21
before I started making content, he said, pick
1:06:24
up a mic and start talking. Don't worry about
1:06:27
audience size. Don't worry about what people
1:06:29
think or what they say. If you help one person.
1:06:33
Just one person, you've made an impact. And that's
1:06:36
what it's all about. That's awesome, Alyx. I
1:06:40
think you are making a real impact. I think you
1:06:43
will continue to do so. And I'm happy to support
1:06:45
in any capacity that I can. I know probably a
1:06:48
lot of people say that, but I do mean it. And
1:06:51
I hope more people do say that. And you continue
1:06:53
to grow it, as I know you will. Anyone who's
1:06:57
interested in learning more, you see down below.
1:07:01
Collectors MD but for those who are just listening
1:07:03
on social you can you can check out Alyx at Collectors
1:07:06
MD um or like i said they have a great website
1:07:09
collectorsmd .com Alyx i'm excited to bring
1:07:13
you back and thank you again for your time thanks
1:07:15
Dan yeah also excited to see uh Sports Man Dan
1:07:19
uh your show grow as well you're doing a a killer
1:07:22
job i know you're gonna crush it so looking forward
1:07:24
to uh yeah man just uh keeping the the positivity
1:07:28
and the momentum going forward Well, I appreciate
1:07:30
that. And there's only one first interview, right?
1:07:33
So you are officially the first interview and
1:07:35
always will be of The Sports Man Dan Show. And
1:07:37
I'm honored and I'm humbled. So thank you.