June 4, 2025

TRAINER'S EYE #163 - "Chasing Deoxys with a Psycho Boost" ft. ShadowlessRed

TRAINER'S EYE #163 -
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Season 1 Business Owners Youtubers

It started with one card but became a daily ritual, a time capsule, and a community of people healing, laughing, and remembering how it felt to chase something just for the joy of it.

ShadowlessRed shares how a 500+ day journey to pull a Crown Zenith Deoxys VMAX turned into something far more meaningful. What began as a single Pokémon card chase grew into a tradition that helped viewers through heart attacks, breakups, and burnout. From nostalgic memories of playing Pokémon Crystal with a white Game Boy Advance to building his channel and vending presence from scratch, ShadowlessRed reflects on how this “one card” connected him with thousands. And why despite the cost, the odds, and the temptation to give up, he still won’t take a free Deoxys.

Listen now and discover why some cards are more than just collectibles, they’re connection points.

Business Owners Playlists:
🎧 Learn how Trainers turned fandom into business inspiration.
Hit play on the Business Owners playlist now!

Sources
Opening Song: "Forget You" by Alex_MakeMusic from Pixabay

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Your next Pokemon adventure begins here!

WEBVTT

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My name is Shadowless Red and this is my Pokemon story.

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Welcome to As The Pokeball Turns where every voice, every journey, and Every memory brings us closer to the world of Pokemon.

00:00:50.286 --> 00:01:00.905
I'm David Hernandez and I'm joined by Shadowless Red, a Deoxys diehard whose hunt for one card turned into something much more ShadowlessRed Welcome to As The Pokeball Turns.

00:01:00.905 --> 00:01:02.136
Thank you for coming on the podcast.

00:01:02.345 --> 00:01:06.665
I I, if you could see how big of a smile I have right now, I am so happy.

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Like this is, this is something I, I've thought about, like, I like driving to work and I'm like, man, I'm really looking forward to this.

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I know we planned it a couple weeks ago and, this is probably the best day that I've had in the last couple weeks, so thank you so much.

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Absolutely.

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And I always look forward to hearing that because making fun.

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We're talking about Pokemon, we're gonna talk about your crazy obsession for Deoxy.

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So

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It's a lot.

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you taking time, man.

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It's feeling is mutual.

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Yeah.

00:01:32.131 --> 00:01:38.596
it's crazy to think about, uh, one Pokemon being this big of an obsession and now we are just in too deep to, to go back.

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Now, speaking of which, you know, you've been chasing a Crown Zenith Deoxys VMAX longer than some people have kept up with their new use resolutions.

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So let's be honest.

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Was there ever a point where you thought, am I cursed?

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I think I.

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series of points?

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You know what, actually, there is one point that I can think of, that I felt cursed and I'll, I'll tell you how this happened.

00:02:01.867 --> 00:02:07.974
I went to Target after work one day, and I usually do this check where I'm like, oh, there are Pokemon cards on the shelf and this is before the craze.

00:02:08.335 --> 00:02:09.264
I walked into Target.

00:02:09.264 --> 00:02:13.442
I saw these, Pokemon, uh, I can't remember what they're called, but they have two packs.

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One fusion starke, one evolving Skies.

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I put a couple of them in my carts and I, I went home and I didn't know they had evolving skies in them.

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I went home, I, I opened, I sat on my kitchen table and I opened'em.

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I was like, oh, there's evolving skies in here.

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And mind you, I've probably opened like 30 Evolving Skies packs up at, up to that point.

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Just'cause it's not a set I really care too much about with pull rates.

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And on the first pack, I hit the, the Umbreon VMAX Alt Art, the Moon Brion.

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And, immediately put on my story and just the, the outcry of people saying, dude, you are cursed.

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I realized that maybe this, this is not meant to be.

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did you realize that Ys has become this kind of, I guess people are very invested in this.

00:02:52.419 --> 00:02:57.610
Did you expect it to get to this point to where you're already 500 plus days in, you're still trying to chase it?

00:02:58.254 --> 00:03:00.504
No, not, not at all, actually.

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Not at all.

00:03:01.284 --> 00:03:06.235
And the the funny thing is when I started this channel, I don't really think there was such a thing as like a chase a day.

00:03:06.604 --> 00:03:15.664
so I, I came up with, with this idea of doing a chase a day, and I'm not gonna lie to you, for the first a hundred days, I don't think it really had any effect on, on anybody.

00:03:15.724 --> 00:03:23.854
There was maybe a couple people watching here and there something changed and I don't know what it was, where I would wake up and there were just like hundreds of comments and I was like.

00:03:24.574 --> 00:03:25.685
Oh, okay.

00:03:25.685 --> 00:03:31.594
This is, this is, this is something I was not prepared for and the funny thing about it is.

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I can't explain it.

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You know, I have people who, who are like, you know, I pulled two Deoxys and, in like in 50 packs, and I'm like, well, have you also pulled six Arceus gold cards?

00:03:42.862 --> 00:03:44.962
Like I have, because that's the trade off.

00:03:45.052 --> 00:03:54.443
The tradeoff is no Deoxys, but I've pulled like a ton of gold cards and like all these Mewtwo, all these great looking cards, and everybody's like, man, I, I, I wish, I wish I had that kinda luck.

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I'm like, you have no idea.

00:03:56.212 --> 00:03:57.443
The kinda luck I wish I had.

00:03:57.944 --> 00:04:03.185
Now just with Deoxy is just, did you love the card so much when you first saw it, or is Deoxy like a favorite Pokemon?

00:04:03.185 --> 00:04:05.870
What's the, what's the reason why that became your Chase card?

00:04:06.481 --> 00:04:09.361
So I think this goes back to.

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When I first started collecting again before Crown Zenith came out, I would kind of lurk on the sets.

00:04:15.555 --> 00:04:16.754
I'd be like, yeah, that's a cool art.

00:04:16.845 --> 00:04:18.285
That Lugia looks cool from.

00:04:18.285 --> 00:04:19.425
From Silver Tempest.

00:04:19.785 --> 00:04:19.935
Yeah.

00:04:19.935 --> 00:04:21.074
Giratina from Lost Origin.

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It was cool, but I don't know if I really want to get into collecting.

00:04:24.555 --> 00:04:29.598
And then when Crown Zenith came out, I saw the glaring gallery subset and I saw the Deoxys card.

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I thought.

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That is so ambitious for, you know, TPCI to do, because I don't know how much they've, well, first of all, you know, the, the gallery cards, you know, going back to the trainer gallery and before that cosmic eclipse, the character, rare kind of a new concept.

00:04:45.447 --> 00:04:48.507
And so, you know, the full art cards really captured my attention.

00:04:48.507 --> 00:04:52.798
Not just that, but the fact that they could incorporate extraterrestrial elements into a card.

00:04:52.918 --> 00:05:03.377
Really, to me, Pushes the envelope from what I expect to see from, TPCI, just because if you ever look at some of, like their manuals and stuff, they, they like try to avoid these like taboo or risk case subjects.

00:05:03.497 --> 00:05:07.997
And I actually think like extraterrestrial subjects are something that I would think they would stay away from.

00:05:08.312 --> 00:05:12.483
but like you literally see a fricking Deoxys getting abducted by another Pokemon.

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to me that was something I'd never expect to see on a card.

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And I just thought.

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That's a cool card.

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And the worst thing you can do, by the way, is tell people your Chase card.

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As soon as you tell the world your Chase card, it's all over.

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You're never gonna pull it.

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It is like a, if you speak it, it means it'll start running away or something like that.

00:05:30.557 --> 00:05:33.583
Like, uh, you kind of curse it like, well, I guess in the way it is kind of cursed.

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Yeah.

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And if you like, look at like a lot of Pokemon content creators, like, they'll say the same thing.

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They're like, man, I should not have started chasing this card because now I'm like 200 packs steep, 300 packs deep and I'll never pull it.

00:05:44.122 --> 00:05:47.213
And uh, there's, there's something really poetic about that.

00:05:47.817 --> 00:05:52.007
Now, you said you weren't certain about diving into collecting before you saw the Deoxys card.

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At that time, why weren't you wanting be collector?

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I,

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It's really weird because I'm the kind of person that I love the games.

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I've pre-ordered every game probably as far back as I can remember.

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Maybe playing, crystal on the Game Boy Advance.

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I was always like the first one to line up and buy a game on release day or pre-order it.

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But There was something about the cards that, you know, when I turned a certain day, I was probably 10 years old and I, I just lost interest in it.

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And it's one of those snowball effects is they come out with so many sets every year that you're like, you know, I'm so far behind now to start collecting again.

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I'm just, I'm just not really, I'm not really gonna do this.

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And then life takes over, you know, school, career, family, and then that all, all that just kind of takes a back burner.

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But I can recall specifically, I, I'm pretty sure I can recall specifically what, what caused me to get back into it.

00:06:42.288 --> 00:06:46.127
Now you talked about how you always pre-ordered all the Pokemon games, and that's pretty impressive though.

00:06:46.127 --> 00:06:51.168
Like the fact that you've pre-ordered all single Pokemon games from going, wait, I guess you said Pokemon Crystal.

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What started your initial launch?

00:06:53.627 --> 00:06:55.158
Like why did you want to get into Pokemon?

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Starting just from the game side.

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I wish I knew.

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my memory does not go back that far, but I can piece it together based on the historical artifacts that remain.

00:07:03.952 --> 00:07:13.471
So, I've moved a few times in my life and every time I've moved and by the way, nobody can hold this against me because I didn't know how valuable Pokemon cards would, would become in the future.

00:07:13.622 --> 00:07:18.091
I would take my Ziploc bag full of base set cards with me everywhere that I moved.

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Ziploc bag, no, no sleeves, no top loader, no binder, nothing like that Again.

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You gotta remember, these cards are not back then.

00:07:26.637 --> 00:07:27.942
They were not worth what they are now.

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we would play in the mud with them.

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I'd take'em on field trips with me.

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I would bite them.

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There was one card I thought was a sticker.

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It was a Charmander reverse from, legendary collection.

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I thought it was a sticker, so I peeled the foil off of it.

00:07:39.720 --> 00:07:42.959
big mistake now, but like, you know, I was five, I was five fucking years old.

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Nobody, nobody knew at the time.

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So I would take this bag and I'd move everywhere with it.

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And, now it's all in a binder, of course, but I can remember collecting, you know, when I was 7, 8, 9, when the ex era had just begun.

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but that's about all I remember.

00:07:59.112 --> 00:08:02.021
And you know, you gotta remember 2005, I was 10 years old.

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Pokemon, uh, was not something you openly told people that you liked as a, as a 10-year-old.

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So I think eventually just became less cool.

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and you just kind of, you just kind of put on the back burner.

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That's crazy though.

00:08:13.906 --> 00:08:17.177
Like I remember like I always had my cards in Spot Tip Pop bag too.

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It was my way of kind of carrying'em.

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'cause you know, you didn't have these fancy card packs and the binders were always those big ones.

00:08:23.146 --> 00:08:23.927
You didn't wanna carry them.

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So I always remember like I would just, if I wanted to take cards with me, whether it be Pokemon, even Yu Gyo, I would like to group'em together.

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I have literally, like I said, a Ziploc bag, zip'em up, usually.

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Ideally, you know, you wouldn't have the little slider.

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You'd have to actually have the one, you have to press it.

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And then I remember just carrying the cards that way.

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You know, I didn't really have like card products or, um, the hard ones, the, I forget what they're called.

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The, um, thick, you know, the ones that are supposed to protect.

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That's why a lot of my cards from back in those days are either warped because of the climate or they're bent.

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Like there's

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Exactly.

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not that protected.

00:08:55.522 --> 00:08:58.581
And I guess that's why, you know, people like those old cards and they're so expensive now.

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That's exactly right.

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These cars will not be worth what they're worth if we didn't do what we did when we were kids.

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So next time y'all claim us, uh, blame us for the market, it's because we just didn't know any better.

00:09:08.746 --> 00:09:09.706
That's really the excuse.

00:09:10.547 --> 00:09:17.746
And, and you know, the funny thing about it is nobody believed that Pokemon cards were gonna be some crazy valuable thing in the future.

00:09:18.346 --> 00:09:22.096
And, you know, obviously you saw it in COVID when people started to go crazy with it again.

00:09:22.366 --> 00:09:25.846
You know, nobody believed when I was 8, 9, 10 years old how, how crazy.

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of, of a, not a fad.

00:09:27.740 --> 00:09:34.246
It was so my parents they were the kind of people that were like, I'm not buying you Pokemon cards, because it's a giant waste of money.

00:09:34.427 --> 00:09:34.547
You know?

00:09:34.682 --> 00:09:40.333
And, and, and remind, you know, mind you, This is a 2 99 pack of XD access, which is now worth what,$1,200.

00:09:40.514 --> 00:09:41.384
They didn't believe in that.

00:09:43.754 --> 00:09:44.043
fool.

00:09:44.333 --> 00:09:47.938
Still do they know that you could probably, that's probably actually the next Apple stock really.

00:09:48.386 --> 00:09:48.626
Yeah.

00:09:48.626 --> 00:09:54.417
What other, I mean, what other item in, in 20 years goes from$2 99 cents to over 1200?

00:09:54.417 --> 00:09:57.746
I mean, last time I checked$1,200 for a pack of XD access.

00:09:57.746 --> 00:09:58.437
It's, it's crazy.

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I mean, go figure.

00:09:59.697 --> 00:10:02.187
And, and you know, my mom watches my videos.

00:10:02.307 --> 00:10:03.626
She's probably listening to this.

00:10:03.956 --> 00:10:04.496
Hi mom.

00:10:04.856 --> 00:10:05.277
Um,

00:10:06.147 --> 00:10:06.236
mom.

00:10:07.527 --> 00:10:08.726
you know, she says it every day.

00:10:08.726 --> 00:10:09.626
She's like, you were right.

00:10:09.866 --> 00:10:14.697
And by the way, she doesn't say that often, but this is one instance where she's like, yep, you were right.

00:10:15.147 --> 00:10:19.331
See, I remember the, I think it was the ex sandstorm, you know, the Hoen era.

00:10:20.006 --> 00:10:20.361
Oh yeah.

00:10:20.652 --> 00:10:22.091
like stepped away from Pokemon.

00:10:22.331 --> 00:10:30.282
I couldn't buy Pokemon cards, so I just remember watching'em through magazine and now those cards are worth so much because they weren't really released that much.

00:10:30.552 --> 00:10:34.211
It was one of the more less known sets because people weren't into Pokemon.

00:10:34.601 --> 00:10:37.902
And you know, I remember I was like, man, I wish I had bought more of those sets, unfortunately.

00:10:37.902 --> 00:10:39.731
But I don't have any of them from that era.

00:10:40.616 --> 00:10:41.187
Oh yeah.

00:10:41.246 --> 00:10:44.756
And, and you know, back then you didn't see like the crazy box sets.

00:10:44.756 --> 00:10:46.437
There were no elite trainer boxes.

00:10:46.856 --> 00:10:49.527
It's not like they were stocking booster boxes on shelves.

00:10:49.706 --> 00:10:56.366
You know, your choice was to buy like, like individual or maybe if you're lucky, two pack blisters and that that's all they put on the shelves.

00:10:56.366 --> 00:10:56.456
And.

00:10:57.432 --> 00:11:02.501
You know, they, they print billions and billions of cards in now in 2025 was not the case 20 years ago.

00:11:02.501 --> 00:11:08.162
So, yeah, I mean, the scarcity effect is, is definitely a real reason why, these cards are just so valuable.

00:11:08.162 --> 00:11:10.782
And then of course, nobody has any of'em in good condition.

00:11:11.245 --> 00:11:15.206
Now, you know, we go from biting Pokemon cards to engagement with the video games.

00:11:15.566 --> 00:11:23.125
You said you don't remember much of the early stuff, but are there any Pokemon games or regions that you remember playing specifically that kind of left a mark on you or an impression on you?

00:11:23.557 --> 00:11:27.517
Yeah, I, I think that, oh, I had the White Game Boy Advance.

00:11:27.547 --> 00:11:29.226
Um, not, it was not my first console.

00:11:29.226 --> 00:11:36.486
I had like a yellow Game boy color as well, but the White Game Boy Advance, I probably played that and, and actually, you know what, if I were to find it today, I bet you it still works.

00:11:36.606 --> 00:11:39.663
But, Pokemon Crystal was, just that game for me.

00:11:39.724 --> 00:11:40.504
I remember playing it.

00:11:40.719 --> 00:11:42.158
until the battery ran dry.

00:11:42.219 --> 00:11:47.676
You know, I don't know where it's now, but you know, when we would go on vacations, you would take it wasn't like what it is now.

00:11:47.676 --> 00:11:55.206
You would take the Game Boy advance and probably like 30 pounds of AA batteries with you because that, that would die like halfway through your road trip.

00:11:55.410 --> 00:11:55.691
Right.

00:11:57.441 --> 00:12:05.431
But I got, I think it's gotta be crystal the one thing that stands out to me about that game is that was the first game where the sprites were like animated and they would move.

00:12:05.581 --> 00:12:07.711
And I was like, this is next gen technology.

00:12:08.173 --> 00:12:08.774
That's true.

00:12:08.774 --> 00:12:11.864
I remember just seeing that and I was like, so awestruck, you know, they were moving.

00:12:11.864 --> 00:12:13.543
I'm like, they can move now.

00:12:13.543 --> 00:12:18.224
Like I'm just used to just seeing them slide on my screen and that's about it, you know, it's very revolutionary.

00:12:18.610 --> 00:12:32.173
Yeah, and, and of course like, just the difference in like game mechanics and storyline storytelling and going to color literally, you know, from gens one to gen two, I think is a big reason why Pokemon had had sticking value when gen two came out.

00:12:32.653 --> 00:12:42.005
Uh, because they just, they just improved so much and, go back and play like Pokemon red and blue right now, they're, they're not really fun to play, but like, but they improve every game.

00:12:42.005 --> 00:12:44.855
And, and Crystal to me was like a huge improvement in playability.

00:12:44.855 --> 00:12:47.946
And, you know, chasing roaming legendaries was super fun.

00:12:48.351 --> 00:12:50.331
there's a reason that they are what they are now.

00:12:51.037 --> 00:12:53.557
Now, I remember earlier you said that eventually you came back to Pokemon.

00:12:53.557 --> 00:12:55.157
So what do you remember first coming back?

00:12:55.157 --> 00:12:58.697
Was it the cards that you were kind of getting back into Pokemon, or was it the games?

00:12:58.697 --> 00:13:00.647
Like what brought you back into the franchise?

00:13:01.173 --> 00:13:12.323
as I got older, you know, you, take more of a focus on school and, you know, trying to, trying to get good grades and then you graduate high school, you get a job, you go to college and you're working your job and go to college as well.

00:13:12.323 --> 00:13:15.441
And, you know, things eventually just, you lose, the fun in your life.

00:13:15.441 --> 00:13:18.683
But one thing I never lost, time for was playing the games.

00:13:18.923 --> 00:13:23.153
So I, you know, I'd go to school, I'd work nine hours at a coffee shop and I'd go home and play.

00:13:23.191 --> 00:13:25.740
XY sun and moon until the sun would go up.

00:13:25.831 --> 00:13:26.010
Yeah.

00:13:26.010 --> 00:13:31.691
I always made time for the games, but I think the cards, it's actually kind of an embarrassing story.

00:13:31.900 --> 00:13:34.900
I'll, I'll admit it's actually an embarrassing story, but it's a, it's a good one.

00:13:34.979 --> 00:13:36.119
don't worry, we won't judge you too much.

00:13:36.119 --> 00:13:36.418
Okay.

00:13:38.908 --> 00:13:46.614
So, this, this is something that not a lot of people know, but I, I don't think, actually, I don't think anybody really knows this except for a few of my close colleagues.

00:13:46.614 --> 00:13:49.464
I was, I was working, this was many, many years ago.

00:13:49.764 --> 00:13:56.317
I was working my first job at a law firm and, my buddy came in from lunch and he sat outside my window.

00:13:56.466 --> 00:13:58.451
And he had packs of Pokemon cards.

00:13:58.451 --> 00:13:59.230
I was like, what?

00:13:59.441 --> 00:14:02.321
They still make, I mean, what you're, you're opening Pokemon cards?

00:14:02.321 --> 00:14:03.431
And he was like, yeah, dude.

00:14:03.431 --> 00:14:04.630
You know, a new set came out.

00:14:04.980 --> 00:14:07.591
I don't remember what it was, some something in the Sword and Shield era.

00:14:07.886 --> 00:14:11.697
And I was like, man, that's cool, but you know, I actually think I wanna learn to play the game.

00:14:12.236 --> 00:14:18.356
So the next day he came in with like, like seven decks and a, and a game board.

00:14:18.356 --> 00:14:20.996
And he goes, let's go into the break room at lunch and play.

00:14:21.086 --> 00:14:21.626
And I was like.

00:14:22.361 --> 00:14:24.881
Dude, I'm gonna be so bad at this, but let me make a deck too.

00:14:25.422 --> 00:14:29.568
So I get home, I make a deck, and I actually found my Pokemon cards.

00:14:29.749 --> 00:14:37.278
And the first thing that I put in my deck, I'm not even joking, is, and I don't know how I got this to this day, is the Zara Aura altar from chilling Rain.

00:14:37.278 --> 00:14:37.418
Oh.

00:14:37.418 --> 00:14:39.548
And I don't know where I found that card.

00:14:39.548 --> 00:14:41.379
I don't, it just showed up one day.

00:14:41.384 --> 00:14:45.011
I, I must have bought a pack when I was, you know, 20 20, 20 21.

00:14:45.011 --> 00:14:48.461
And I somehow pulled that, which is pretty remarkable knowing if you know anything about chilling, rain.

00:14:48.879 --> 00:14:49.277
so.

00:14:49.277 --> 00:14:50.326
I put that in my deck.

00:14:50.356 --> 00:14:53.236
I show up to work and I go, all right, I'm ready to play.

00:14:53.657 --> 00:14:54.826
He takes one look at my deck.

00:14:54.826 --> 00:14:55.606
He starts laughing at me.

00:14:55.606 --> 00:14:57.317
He goes, dude, this is a$75 card.

00:14:57.317 --> 00:14:58.996
You do not wanna play with this.

00:14:59.921 --> 00:15:01.841
And I was like, oh, okay.

00:15:02.110 --> 00:15:06.903
And so, we would play every day at lunch and eventually we would get other people in on it too.

00:15:06.903 --> 00:15:17.037
So my marketing manager would come in, and, you know, our, our tax account would come in and eventually we had this big giant, we'd fill up the room and then, you know, one day, um.

00:15:17.341 --> 00:15:25.741
It, somebody else in marketing comes in with a pizza and uh, some adult beverages and I was like, this is a full blown party now, isn't it, at lunchtime.

00:15:26.109 --> 00:15:30.056
we would literally have decks and we would play at lunchtime and then get back to work.

00:15:30.981 --> 00:15:36.591
makes me back to like the old school yard days to where y'all would just play card games over lunch and it's like, oh, it comes back to work.

00:15:36.591 --> 00:15:38.152
It seems like school never really ended right.

00:15:38.433 --> 00:15:41.673
We are for, we were full blown adults, man doing this.

00:15:41.673 --> 00:15:49.167
Like some of us in our twenties and thirties and forties and even some of us in our fifties playing Pokemon TCG and just having the time of our lives.

00:15:49.407 --> 00:15:52.947
You know, sometimes when you, like, when you, when you think about it, you're like, I don't know where my life's gonna take me.

00:15:53.096 --> 00:15:58.856
That is absolutely not something I ever thought in a million years I would be doing with my life and my professional career.

00:15:59.591 --> 00:16:05.892
I mean, did it feel kind of awkward or I guess what was going through your mind when they, you know, people were starting to watch you over just Pokemon cards?

00:16:05.892 --> 00:16:08.261
Like was that kind of different, unique, or.

00:16:08.660 --> 00:16:13.821
well, you know, it's nosal the first time you get back into it, and I think a lot of people felt this in like 2020 with COVID.

00:16:13.994 --> 00:16:16.870
because like, you know, as, as a, as a, as a millennial, I.

00:16:17.110 --> 00:16:25.931
You know, uh, opening Pokemon cards now, I think we're all, just, all, all of us millennials are just secretly like, living the life that our parents never gave us when we were kids.

00:16:26.291 --> 00:16:30.443
So we're just like, you know, back when we were kids, we just, we just wanted to open packs and packs and packs and packs.

00:16:30.443 --> 00:16:34.254
But it was like a, it was like a, on a rare occasion kind of thing, but now it's like.

00:16:34.254 --> 00:16:38.903
We open it because it's nostalgic and because we have adult money and fun money to do that with.

00:16:39.203 --> 00:16:49.376
So when I open a pack, it, it feels very nostalgic to me, still to this day where I'm like, I feel like I'm a kid just looking for, you know, whatever, whatever card looked cool.

00:16:49.706 --> 00:16:51.417
And, uh, I'm not really about the value.

00:16:51.761 --> 00:16:52.631
I mean I can see that.

00:16:52.662 --> 00:16:56.412
'cause I still try to open cards and you'll laugh whenever people see me.

00:16:56.532 --> 00:16:57.881
I literally tear with my teeth.

00:16:58.032 --> 00:16:58.751
'cause that's how I did

00:16:58.767 --> 00:16:59.636
I see it all the time.

00:17:00.072 --> 00:17:00.402
And

00:17:00.417 --> 00:17:01.136
hilarious.

00:17:01.451 --> 00:17:03.251
like y'all do it so professionally.

00:17:03.251 --> 00:17:06.791
I don't know how y'all do it, but I just tear with my teeth'cause that's all I know about.

00:17:06.791 --> 00:17:10.061
And I just look at the cards and that's just how I did it growing up.

00:17:10.061 --> 00:17:10.902
And that's how I still do it now.

00:17:10.902 --> 00:17:13.271
Unless I have a pack of scissors, I'm using my teeth for it.

00:17:13.632 --> 00:17:14.261
That's hilarious.

00:17:14.291 --> 00:17:17.922
I, you know, when I do the card show, people open packs in front of me and I, I don't judge, man.

00:17:17.981 --> 00:17:18.642
I don't judge.

00:17:18.882 --> 00:17:20.741
Hey man, that's some people, how people do it.

00:17:20.741 --> 00:17:24.229
And, uh, some people it's, uh, it's with their teeth and some people have the scissors.

00:17:24.229 --> 00:17:28.459
I actually, I think I judge a little bit on the scissors, but the teeth, I, I understand.

00:17:28.534 --> 00:17:29.013
Okay.

00:17:29.088 --> 00:17:29.209
it.

00:17:29.269 --> 00:17:30.919
I mean, the scissors, the scissors.

00:17:30.919 --> 00:17:32.769
I'm always like, please don't cut a card.

00:17:32.888 --> 00:17:33.759
Please don't cut a card.

00:17:34.193 --> 00:17:34.195
yeah, yeah.

00:17:35.003 --> 00:17:37.943
At least with teeth, you know, we know, we know what we're hitting, so don't worry.

00:17:37.943 --> 00:17:39.054
We're not gonna eat a card.

00:17:39.054 --> 00:17:39.443
Hopefully.

00:17:40.118 --> 00:17:40.808
Exactly.

00:17:41.199 --> 00:17:42.548
Now here's the important question though.

00:17:42.548 --> 00:17:46.568
'cause you said you brought, you made a deck, your friend did stop you because you had a$75 card.

00:17:46.898 --> 00:17:50.066
Did that deck actually win when you tried to battle your friend?

00:17:50.425 --> 00:17:51.385
I got my ass beat.

00:17:51.536 --> 00:17:52.796
He beat me on the first turn.

00:17:53.066 --> 00:18:02.047
So it was like, we would play, we put our decks down and you know, he, we'd flip our cards and he would go first He would just, to me at least now I know how to play.

00:18:02.047 --> 00:18:04.446
'cause I love TCG Pocket, the app I played all the time.

00:18:04.461 --> 00:18:05.061
Yes.

00:18:05.767 --> 00:18:08.376
he would, he would just do a bunch of things with his hands and be like, I won.

00:18:08.436 --> 00:18:11.007
I'm like, how did, how did you just win?

00:18:11.007 --> 00:18:12.807
I didn't even, I didn't even get to do anything.

00:18:13.141 --> 00:18:17.760
And so, yeah, that was my hard lesson to like actually learning how to play the game, which is still fun.

00:18:17.760 --> 00:18:19.411
Like I said, TCG pockets amazing.

00:18:19.740 --> 00:18:20.161
I agree.

00:18:20.161 --> 00:18:26.010
I, I play TC GPAC on the spare time and I'll open the packs again, it's a pack simulator, but still it's just fun to open it.

00:18:26.040 --> 00:18:28.080
And thankfully I don't have to have scissors and

00:18:28.230 --> 00:18:28.980
Or your teeth.

00:18:29.040 --> 00:18:29.671
nor teeth.

00:18:29.971 --> 00:18:33.721
And so it's kind of fun that even though I get only five cards, I get to kinda see what I got for the day.

00:18:33.721 --> 00:18:38.703
And, you know, if you get the extra packages or the extra, if you buy the extra items, you can kind of open more cards.

00:18:39.034 --> 00:18:42.364
And it's just still a very unique experience, but just digitalized, you know.

00:18:42.711 --> 00:18:43.115
Yeah.

00:18:43.115 --> 00:18:49.131
It's, it's a really successful idea and I think they, they launched it at the right time, right before things started to get crazy.

00:18:49.463 --> 00:18:57.894
It felt like it was filling a gap that the Pokemon card live, you know, when you get those code cards, whatever, it felt like it was really filling a gap that, that, that app leaves.

00:18:58.223 --> 00:19:02.453
I've never really been interested in doing that, so I always toss the code cards or somebody wants one whenever I sell it.

00:19:02.844 --> 00:19:06.351
But, that app actually makes it feel like a, like a fun mobile game.

00:19:06.351 --> 00:19:09.201
Like kind of gives a 2016 Pokemon Go vibes.

00:19:09.526 --> 00:19:13.516
Now, you know, you talked about how at that point you probably started diving into collecting.

00:19:13.516 --> 00:19:20.746
Do you remember trying to see, do you remember the first set or first amount of cards that kind of left it imprint on you or what set you're trying to complete when you first started collecting Again?

00:19:21.172 --> 00:19:22.192
this is the fun part.

00:19:22.348 --> 00:19:32.308
well, in retrospect, you know, I was just starting my career, didn't really have a lot of extra money, and so something about spending money on Pokemon cards to me felt really.

00:19:32.651 --> 00:19:33.520
irresponsible.

00:19:33.911 --> 00:19:35.777
So I didn't really buy that much.

00:19:35.836 --> 00:19:43.537
I think I looked at them and I was like, you know what, you know, maybe one of, maybe one of these days, I'll, I'll have, the strength, the courage to go buy a pack, but right now I don't think I'm going to.

00:19:43.537 --> 00:19:56.526
And then I saw, just going back to that Crown Zenith story, I saw that glaring gallery subset, and I was like, I think this is the time that I actually start to collect again because Money aside, monetary value aside, I don't really care about that.

00:19:56.530 --> 00:19:58.236
I, I just care about great artworks, as you know.

00:19:58.236 --> 00:20:00.036
It's why I'm not chasing the best card in the set.

00:20:00.372 --> 00:20:03.132
the first thing that I bought was a Crown Zenith, ETB.

00:20:03.132 --> 00:20:04.392
From my local card shop.

00:20:04.721 --> 00:20:08.801
I mean now they're going for a hundred dollars plus, but I think they probably had them for like 30 bucks.

00:20:08.801 --> 00:20:10.602
And I was like, are you kidding me?

00:20:10.602 --> 00:20:14.112
30 bucks for cardboard, maybe I don't wanna collect this.

00:20:14.321 --> 00:20:17.759
You know, it's always funny to look back on that and be like, wow.

00:20:17.788 --> 00:20:18.868
Remember when that set was 30 bucks?

00:20:18.868 --> 00:20:20.489
And we all thought it was a giant fucking rip

00:21:39.791 --> 00:21:45.942
Now, you mentioned earlier how you know, you felt weird or irresponsible, especially'cause you're early on in your career, you weren't really making a lot.

00:21:45.942 --> 00:21:48.717
everybody who started their career maybe even now, knows what it's like.

00:21:49.527 --> 00:21:55.932
When did you, I guess, embrace, you know, your collection side as a millennial and what helped you kinda move past the guilt?

00:21:56.538 --> 00:22:03.019
It was probably the channel, and I'm being completely honest with you, when I started.

00:22:03.315 --> 00:22:04.275
Collecting a lot.

00:22:04.694 --> 00:22:10.154
I was watching a lot of those guys that, that open packs for a living, you know, pokey Rev, Coltran, Orion.

00:22:10.634 --> 00:22:13.424
And I was like, man, they have the dream job.

00:22:13.815 --> 00:22:17.924
And of course, you know, don't get me wrong, for them it's, it's, it's very labor intensive.

00:22:17.954 --> 00:22:23.608
There's a lot of work that goes into making a successful channel and it's, it's not just, you know, sunshine and rainbows all day.

00:22:23.608 --> 00:22:26.249
Like, they like, like they make it seem, you know, behind the camera.

00:22:26.729 --> 00:22:28.108
And at the time I was like.

00:22:28.304 --> 00:22:29.594
I could do that, that's easy.

00:22:29.713 --> 00:22:30.193
I could do it.

00:22:30.193 --> 00:22:32.203
And, and, and here's the best part.

00:22:32.443 --> 00:22:38.116
I can make it a tax write that I would feel in my, you know, this, this is like, this is like guy math, right?

00:22:38.116 --> 00:22:41.440
Like, in my mind, that's not being irresponsible.

00:22:41.926 --> 00:22:46.067
And so you just started like your own channel to where you started making your own content.

00:22:46.067 --> 00:22:48.346
I guess you would pick out car packs that you were chasing.

00:22:48.346 --> 00:22:53.027
Like how in those earliest days when you were starting up your channel, how did you decide what cards to go after?

00:22:53.027 --> 00:22:55.696
Were they monetarily or were you just going after ones you loved?

00:22:56.140 --> 00:22:58.329
I had, I had no idea.

00:22:58.569 --> 00:23:02.559
I just thought, I'll, I'll, I'll come up with the content later.

00:23:02.834 --> 00:23:03.957
I just want to do this.

00:23:03.957 --> 00:23:09.186
And, I, I don't think I was really reckless about starting to channel because it's always funny.

00:23:09.186 --> 00:23:09.247
Uh.

00:23:09.544 --> 00:23:11.253
You hear those stories about MR.

00:23:11.673 --> 00:23:14.673
And all these really successful channels and what do they have in common?

00:23:14.673 --> 00:23:15.183
They all.

00:23:15.339 --> 00:23:17.950
Do like a, like an initial marketing research.

00:23:18.160 --> 00:23:21.160
They, they figure out what they need to do to make a successful channel.

00:23:21.369 --> 00:23:23.769
They figure out what, what the successful channels are already doing.

00:23:23.769 --> 00:23:27.400
Well, maybe what, what the, the gap in the marketplace is.

00:23:27.703 --> 00:23:32.923
you, you do a little deep dive onto maybe some of the psychological elements of viewership and.

00:23:33.249 --> 00:23:38.108
If you get that part down, you know, more often than not you're gonna be successful with building a channel.

00:23:38.499 --> 00:23:42.939
And I thought, okay, so if I'm gonna make a channel, it can't be half-assed.

00:23:43.269 --> 00:23:52.781
I have to have the right, hardware, I have to have the right software, I have to have the rights, attitude, charisma, mindset, and I'll just come up with some ideas later.

00:23:52.781 --> 00:23:55.152
'cause if I get those things right, it's gonna be successful.

00:23:55.511 --> 00:23:56.531
I didn't really go that way.

00:23:56.852 --> 00:23:58.817
What was the biggest surprise, I guess, out of that?

00:23:58.817 --> 00:24:01.201
What did, what didn't go correctly as you envisioned?

00:24:04.652 --> 00:24:04.711
Um.

00:24:05.163 --> 00:24:19.564
I, I started filming my first video on, on YouTube, and it ended up being this just really, really, really long 45 minute clip of me opening, like those Pikachu Vmax boxes of Crown Zenith.

00:24:20.099 --> 00:24:30.136
it was a real pain because, first of all, you know, you decorate the set, you get the lighting, you, you, you try to figure out how you're gonna record it you know, you start recording and you get behind, you stare the camera on their face and they're like.

00:24:30.515 --> 00:24:31.325
I look stupid.

00:24:31.505 --> 00:24:32.944
I look really, really stupid.

00:24:33.297 --> 00:24:35.876
Like what 20 something year old does this shit.

00:24:35.967 --> 00:24:36.356
Right.

00:24:36.382 --> 00:24:36.761
Right.

00:24:36.836 --> 00:24:37.057
Um,

00:24:37.527 --> 00:24:41.307
and so I'm looking at the camera and I'm, I'm, I'm flubbing, I'm messing up.

00:24:41.307 --> 00:24:44.576
I'm getting, I, I feel like there's a hundred thousand people watching me.

00:24:45.086 --> 00:24:47.096
And I'm like, this is just not going well at all.

00:24:47.096 --> 00:24:49.557
By the way, that video is still up on my YouTube channel.

00:24:49.826 --> 00:24:50.336
Um.

00:24:50.352 --> 00:24:50.382
oh.

00:24:51.027 --> 00:24:52.832
And, and it just, it's really awkward.

00:24:52.832 --> 00:24:54.362
I still watch it'cause it's funny to see.

00:24:54.362 --> 00:24:55.382
It's, it's really awkward.

00:24:55.592 --> 00:24:56.942
The editing is terrible.

00:24:57.301 --> 00:25:01.382
And so I get these raw clips I load them onto my computer.

00:25:01.682 --> 00:25:04.898
I download Adobe, whatever the, whatever the editing software as.

00:25:04.898 --> 00:25:05.828
I don't use it anymore.

00:25:05.894 --> 00:25:06.134
Mm-hmm.

00:25:06.459 --> 00:25:10.868
And I shit you not, I get a minute into editing and my motherboard fries.

00:25:11.064 --> 00:25:11.284
Oh.

00:25:13.294 --> 00:25:18.505
I was like, well, if this isn't a sign that the channel is not meant to be, that's, uh, I don't know what is.

00:25:19.041 --> 00:25:22.041
you know, it reminds me so much of, you know, me starting out this podcasting.

00:25:22.071 --> 00:25:25.652
'cause you know, having that thought of people watching you is real.

00:25:25.682 --> 00:25:30.031
Like even for me, I'm, I'm a faceless podcast, well not faceless, but I don't record video.

00:25:30.301 --> 00:25:34.741
But I still felt like people were watching me as I was recording even before I did the interviews.

00:25:35.102 --> 00:25:40.261
And it's such a weird feeling to have when you're first starting out and you kind of had to overcome that.

00:25:40.261 --> 00:25:43.261
And it's not people actually watching you, it's your own self-conscious thinking.

00:25:43.261 --> 00:25:45.872
Like, oh, what are they gonna think once you release that?

00:25:45.872 --> 00:25:47.162
And I think that stops a lot of people.

00:25:47.515 --> 00:25:48.744
Yeah, exactly.

00:25:49.855 --> 00:25:51.654
I think it's like learning to drive.

00:25:52.194 --> 00:25:59.259
You have to get your wheels and the first time you get behind the wheel when you're 15, 16 years old, you know, you're like, this, this is going really terribly.

00:25:59.259 --> 00:26:03.788
I could crash and, and, and, and end this all in a second, you know, crash my car, whatever it is.

00:26:03.788 --> 00:26:06.219
And you're like, I never wanna get behind the wheel ever again.

00:26:06.519 --> 00:26:12.278
But then like after six months to a year, you know, you're like, oh, driving, I can do this.

00:26:12.368 --> 00:26:13.118
You know, I can do this.

00:26:13.118 --> 00:26:14.709
Like, uh, you know, like, like it's nothing.

00:26:15.919 --> 00:26:22.558
Now, I gotta tell you, filming for me now is like, it's literally just another chore that I have to do during the week.

00:26:22.769 --> 00:26:25.679
Uh, it's a great chore, don't get me wrong, but it's, it's a chore.

00:26:25.679 --> 00:26:28.078
Like, oh God, Monday is filming day.

00:26:28.528 --> 00:26:35.959
And then, I film, I do what I gotta do, and then I, I, I take my signature black shirt off and, uh, hit the shower, and then I start editing.

00:26:36.108 --> 00:26:38.148
That's, that's literally what it's become.

00:26:38.148 --> 00:26:39.169
Just, just a routine.

00:26:39.614 --> 00:26:44.534
Now, you know, you mentioned how early on you started your mother bordered fried, and you said This is a sign.

00:26:44.804 --> 00:26:48.374
What made you see that not as a sign, but continue going at that point?

00:26:48.374 --> 00:26:51.433
What changed it to where you felt like you could still do this?

00:26:51.828 --> 00:26:53.419
Copious amounts of credit card debt.

00:26:55.074 --> 00:26:55.523
I'm sorry.

00:26:57.909 --> 00:27:00.729
You know, uh, it takes money to make money.

00:27:01.075 --> 00:27:02.694
now it's a full blown business.

00:27:02.994 --> 00:27:04.914
And I'm, I'm, I'm happy it is what it is now.

00:27:04.914 --> 00:27:06.065
But, you know how it is, right?

00:27:06.065 --> 00:27:08.255
Like you can't start a business without having the risk.

00:27:08.285 --> 00:27:08.974
That's inherent.

00:27:08.974 --> 00:27:12.424
I mean, you know, some businesses are cheaper to start than others this one was not.

00:27:12.464 --> 00:27:12.805
Of course.

00:27:12.904 --> 00:27:15.335
Uh, but, uh, yeah, you know, Hey, here's the thing.

00:27:15.755 --> 00:27:18.305
I got the new laptops, the one I'm using right now still.

00:27:18.632 --> 00:27:19.862
I got the video edited.

00:27:19.981 --> 00:27:21.692
Yeah, video obviously didn't, didn't do.

00:27:21.932 --> 00:27:26.102
Anything, it's, it, it's a slow burn to get to the channel, to get to channel where it is now.

00:27:26.409 --> 00:27:27.808
but, I'm glad I didn't give up.

00:27:27.808 --> 00:27:37.241
You know, the credit card thing is just, uh, it just became a part of like managing a business just like you would do any other business if you were to get a personal loan or if you were to get a small business loan.

00:27:37.484 --> 00:27:44.640
as long as you have the right motivation and the drive and maybe a little bit of luck, That kind of stuff takes care of itself.

00:27:45.089 --> 00:27:46.065
I think you said it Pointly.

00:27:46.069 --> 00:27:48.690
'cause you know, it's like I'm still trying to improve it.

00:27:48.990 --> 00:27:55.259
You know, you keep putting money down because you believe in the idea so much and sometimes you know it works out and you gotta keep going with it.

00:27:55.650 --> 00:27:56.670
That's why I laughed so hard.

00:27:56.670 --> 00:27:58.890
'cause I was like that hit two post a home.

00:27:59.730 --> 00:28:01.710
That's, it's true, it's true.

00:28:01.799 --> 00:28:05.039
Uh, you know, uh, first of all, it's not a, it's not a cheap hobby, you know?

00:28:05.039 --> 00:28:06.869
So, but, but here's the funny thing.

00:28:07.170 --> 00:28:15.960
You know, I would watch these pokey rev videos, and by the way, pokey Rev, uh, you know, uh, 2 million plus subscriber, maybe he's at 3 million subscribers on YouTube.

00:28:16.384 --> 00:28:20.795
you know, you could say a lot about him, but what you can say for sure is that he's, he's doing it right.

00:28:21.095 --> 00:28:24.709
He's, he's doing, he's running the business in a really, successful way.

00:28:25.068 --> 00:28:26.989
And so I said, what is he doing right?

00:28:26.989 --> 00:28:29.419
How did, how did he get to be what he is now?

00:28:29.929 --> 00:28:30.888
I say, okay, you know what?

00:28:30.888 --> 00:28:32.239
He's, he's got really good lighting.

00:28:32.628 --> 00:28:34.638
Uh, what's a couple hundred bucks on good lights?

00:28:34.878 --> 00:28:35.298
Okay.

00:28:35.358 --> 00:28:37.969
Uh, he's probably got some good, uh, a good microphone.

00:28:38.324 --> 00:28:40.094
What's a couple hundred bucks on a good microphone?

00:28:40.094 --> 00:28:41.653
He is got a good backdrop.

00:28:41.653 --> 00:28:45.943
he's got the, the signature white table that I, that I was like, I, I gotta find that same white table.

00:28:46.273 --> 00:28:47.144
and I was like, you know what?

00:28:47.144 --> 00:28:56.324
Like that kind of, that kind of, if you do it right the first time, I feel like you're just much more prone to success, even if that does cost a little bit of money.

00:28:56.630 --> 00:28:57.529
I think that's okay.

00:28:57.619 --> 00:29:01.104
If you build it, they will come and, I think I'm lucky that it happened that way.

00:29:01.364 --> 00:29:07.513
I mean, I do the same way to where some point for editing, I could have done Audacity, which is free, or I could have

00:29:07.558 --> 00:29:07.874
Oh yeah.

00:29:07.963 --> 00:29:12.163
our software and I'm like, this paid software, yes, is an investment.

00:29:12.163 --> 00:29:12.824
Absolutely.

00:29:13.199 --> 00:29:17.669
But it saves so much time compared to when I had to do Audacity, the Mike thing.

00:29:17.669 --> 00:29:23.459
I'm probably due for an upgrade at this point, honestly, but I try to, I didn't wanna be cheap, so I didn't buy like a 20 or$15 mic.

00:29:23.459 --> 00:29:26.278
I bought a decent 100,$110 mic.

00:29:26.999 --> 00:29:32.398
like I said, it's due for an upgrade at this point, but you kind of have to put those investments because you're gonna pay it at some point.

00:29:32.429 --> 00:29:33.808
It's gonna either be outta your time or it's gonna

00:29:33.838 --> 00:29:34.048
Oh yeah.

00:29:34.048 --> 00:29:36.479
of the length of the whatever you're, uh, deciding to do.

00:29:36.929 --> 00:29:37.108
And

00:29:37.259 --> 00:29:37.528
Right,

00:29:37.618 --> 00:29:41.308
always been very stern with as far as as the Pokemon ball turns is concerned.

00:29:42.074 --> 00:29:42.423
right.

00:29:42.449 --> 00:29:44.519
do things cheaply just to get it done.

00:29:44.519 --> 00:29:47.638
I want it to be done well at this point.

00:29:47.638 --> 00:29:55.612
I want it to be done well and enough to where people recognize that, oh, this is something that's more professional based at this point, I'm not an amateur trying to figure his way.

00:29:55.612 --> 00:29:56.692
I kind of know what I am.

00:29:57.021 --> 00:29:57.741
It's more of,

00:29:57.771 --> 00:29:58.051
Absolutely.

00:29:58.102 --> 00:30:00.862
I figured it out, I want it to be done perfection.

00:30:00.862 --> 00:30:06.531
'cause I want it to something that's last best example is, you know, I'm currently working on trying to get my logo updated.

00:30:06.997 --> 00:30:10.027
You know, I did something that was basically slapped on together on paint.

00:30:10.086 --> 00:30:11.257
That's really all it was.

00:30:12.037 --> 00:30:20.497
I talked to a friend of mine and I told him my ideas and I told him like, yeah, some people just come here just thinking like it's gonna be like 50 or$60, but it's like a couple hundred dollars.

00:30:20.497 --> 00:30:23.557
And I'm like, I get that investment, this logo.

00:30:23.557 --> 00:30:25.146
I want it to be something that lasts.

00:30:25.477 --> 00:30:30.126
Beyond just what I could do that lasts for years and years and years that people can

00:30:30.307 --> 00:30:30.876
Exactly

00:30:31.176 --> 00:30:33.396
And it's that kind of mindset you have to shift to.

00:30:33.396 --> 00:30:34.477
And a lot of people it struggles with.

00:30:34.511 --> 00:30:36.096
You know, you gotta get there at some point.

00:30:36.574 --> 00:30:36.814
it.

00:30:36.814 --> 00:30:39.034
It's if you think about cost per use.

00:30:39.064 --> 00:30:39.574
Yes.

00:30:39.903 --> 00:30:40.894
it's a no brainer.

00:30:40.894 --> 00:30:43.894
A$50 logo, how long are you gonna use that logo for?

00:30:44.028 --> 00:30:44.299
Right, right.

00:30:44.493 --> 00:30:45.604
a year, maybe two years.

00:30:45.604 --> 00:30:47.344
And, and it's brand recognition, right?

00:30:47.703 --> 00:30:52.126
Like, it's one of those things where I think you put in the time and money in the, in, in the beginning.

00:30:52.483 --> 00:30:57.134
In people's minds, you know, they, they're going to equate that with quality.

00:30:57.703 --> 00:31:03.114
And, you know, it comes down to are you running a hobby or are you running a business?

00:31:03.263 --> 00:31:05.003
If you're running a hobby, it's gonna look like a hobby.

00:31:05.243 --> 00:31:07.973
If you're running a business, you should probably make it look like you're running a business.

00:31:08.644 --> 00:31:18.153
Now for you, at what point did you realize this is no longer a hobby, but now that what you're doing on your channel is now a full on business, did you kind of gradually come to that?

00:31:18.394 --> 00:31:20.284
Or was it just something that happened overnight?

00:31:20.314 --> 00:31:21.753
Not overnight, but you know what I mean?

00:31:21.753 --> 00:31:22.834
Like did you just make a decision

00:31:22.878 --> 00:31:23.269
Yeah.

00:31:23.844 --> 00:31:26.483
Yeah, I, I can tell you exactly what it was.

00:31:26.574 --> 00:31:32.304
I went to the February 20, 23 front row card show back when it was at the Tuscany.

00:31:32.304 --> 00:31:38.183
And if, and if you're listening to this, you've been to the front row card show, you know, now it's at the Rio where it's 550 tables.

00:31:38.183 --> 00:31:39.263
It's a huge ballroom.

00:31:39.534 --> 00:31:45.804
But when it was at the Tuscany was a very small show, maybe 200 tables, and it was nothing like what it is now.

00:31:46.284 --> 00:31:49.193
And I went there as a, as a, as a guest, as a spectator, whatever.

00:31:49.503 --> 00:31:50.703
I thought, you know what?

00:31:51.443 --> 00:31:52.344
I could do this.

00:31:52.584 --> 00:31:53.874
I don't know what I would sell.

00:31:53.903 --> 00:31:56.124
I have no freaking clue what, I have nothing to sell.

00:31:56.574 --> 00:32:01.403
But I think it would be really fun to just get out there and meet a bunch of people and sell.

00:32:01.700 --> 00:32:03.619
And so the first thing I did, I got home.

00:32:03.619 --> 00:32:06.859
And by the way, Pokemon, it's, it's nowhere back then what it is now.

00:32:07.190 --> 00:32:10.009
You could buy a vendor table up to like a week before the show.

00:32:10.490 --> 00:32:14.000
So I bought a vendor table and I was like, alright, I'm credit card.

00:32:14.000 --> 00:32:15.289
You, you're coming in handy again.

00:32:15.940 --> 00:32:22.243
I started making these mystery packs and they, these mystery packs, by the way, they're, they're nothing like what they, what I sell now.

00:32:22.243 --> 00:32:32.640
They were a couple of loose cards and I would put like, you know, like maybe a, maybe a, I think a$2 card in them and one out of every 10 would have like a, like an alternate artwork card from the Sword Shield era.

00:32:33.329 --> 00:32:35.099
And I thought, alright, I'll do that.

00:32:35.130 --> 00:32:41.250
And then I went into, I went into Walmart while I was traveling to California visiting my hometown, and I saw.

00:32:41.315 --> 00:32:44.404
All of these evolving Skyes ETBs on the shelves.

00:32:44.914 --> 00:32:46.234
And I thought, oh, you know what?

00:32:46.234 --> 00:32:47.974
I bet you somebody would want those.

00:32:48.035 --> 00:32:50.801
So I bought like, eight or nine ETBs, thank you again.

00:32:50.801 --> 00:32:52.451
Credit card for coming in handy.

00:32:52.872 --> 00:32:54.971
I, I, I was like, all right, I have something to sell.

00:32:55.278 --> 00:32:59.209
So I show up at this show with like nine ETBs and like 20 mystery packs.

00:32:59.585 --> 00:33:01.085
I sell everything immediately.

00:33:01.085 --> 00:33:06.845
By the way, these evolving guys, ETBs sold at like$70, which, uh, they go for about two 80 right now.

00:33:06.869 --> 00:33:07.500
Wow.

00:33:07.505 --> 00:33:07.765
Yeah.

00:33:08.444 --> 00:33:12.285
And, and I was like, I was like, man, I just, I just made a, I just, I just made money off of this.

00:33:12.345 --> 00:33:17.144
And the best part about it was I got to, I got to tell everybody about my channel.

00:33:17.434 --> 00:33:26.832
You know, I, I made, I made a few bucks, not nothing great, but I got to tell a bunch of people about my channel and I got to meet a bunch of people I was like, alright, this is, this is no longer a hobby.

00:33:26.832 --> 00:33:30.491
I am fully fledged into this as a business.

00:33:30.974 --> 00:33:41.336
And what is it like to go to those card shows now to where now you're just not going as just a random hobbyist vendor, but you're actually going to kind of, of course, you know, sell some stuff, but also try to build your brand to the community as a whole.

00:33:41.949 --> 00:33:52.227
Yeah, it's a weird feeling because I've done like nine or 10 of these card shows with front row, and it always feels like, at least to me, the having the product is just, the means to an end.

00:33:52.586 --> 00:33:57.146
And that's, you know, promoting the brand and, and just communicating with people, talking to people.

00:33:57.596 --> 00:34:03.153
And I, at my first ever card show, I had one person come up to me and said, I watch your videos.

00:34:03.153 --> 00:34:05.733
And I was like, you watch my videos?

00:34:06.034 --> 00:34:08.373
How, how the hell did you find me?

00:34:08.539 --> 00:34:09.048
Yes.

00:34:09.059 --> 00:34:11.309
Like, I'm, I'm, I'm curious, like, how, like, how did you find me?

00:34:11.699 --> 00:34:15.208
And I don't, I don't remember what they told me, but like, that was a shocking moment to me.

00:34:15.239 --> 00:34:17.489
'cause I'd only started my channel like three months prior

00:34:17.568 --> 00:34:17.934
Oh wow.

00:34:18.105 --> 00:34:24.898
and now It's this thing where people will come up to me and, and do one of, one of like a few things.

00:34:25.318 --> 00:34:27.449
They'll say, day five 18.

00:34:27.492 --> 00:34:30.282
or they'll say, can I just give you this Deoxys card?

00:34:30.282 --> 00:34:31.842
Like, no, no, thank you, but no.

00:34:32.172 --> 00:34:34.751
Or they'll hand me a pack like in their back pocket.

00:34:34.751 --> 00:34:36.641
I'm like, okay, thank you.

00:34:36.972 --> 00:34:38.561
and they're like, you gotta open this in the chase.

00:34:39.197 --> 00:34:40.726
Really grateful of that, by the way.

00:34:40.786 --> 00:34:44.536
and, or, or, or they'll say, you know, Hey, can you sign my Deoxys card?

00:34:44.824 --> 00:34:47.824
and I'm like, I cannot believe this is happening right now.

00:34:47.824 --> 00:34:59.780
Like, that is a weird, surreal feeling of like, all because of this stupid, this stupid idea or the, you know, all because of this, this, this weird idea of opening packs, looking for a car and starting this channel.

00:34:59.880 --> 00:35:03.900
You got people wanting to sign a Deoxys card, that's, that's how you know you're legit.

00:35:04.329 --> 00:35:04.630
Yeah.

00:35:04.630 --> 00:35:04.869
Yeah.

00:35:04.869 --> 00:35:13.914
So on on Sunday, somebody came by and he brought his, it was at the Ion Deoxys tag team card, and he goes, can you sign it?

00:35:13.914 --> 00:35:15.983
I said, I'm not, I'm not, this is a really great card.

00:35:15.983 --> 00:35:17.423
I don't know if I, if I should sign this.

00:35:18.148 --> 00:35:18.989
he was like, no, seriously.

00:35:18.989 --> 00:35:19.679
I was like, how about this?

00:35:19.679 --> 00:35:20.608
I'll sign the sleeve.

00:35:20.608 --> 00:35:21.208
How about that?

00:35:21.208 --> 00:35:22.048
And he was like, all right, cool.

00:35:22.048 --> 00:35:22.798
That that works.

00:35:23.099 --> 00:35:28.045
Um, and you know, it's, it's so funny because like it catches me off guard too.

00:35:28.045 --> 00:35:35.335
I'm, I'm working with my, my buddy, my really good friend who helps me with the card show, and I'm talking to this customer and he's talking to me about Pal Day interface.

00:35:35.335 --> 00:35:40.646
He's interested in buying a mini tin I'm poking fun of my buddy and I said, you know, uh, are you looking for that Mew?

00:35:40.697 --> 00:35:42.556
And he goes, no, I've already pulled it.

00:35:42.556 --> 00:35:45.367
And I turned to my buddy'cause I know he has never pulled that bubble Mew.

00:35:45.827 --> 00:35:50.936
And I said, you stop and pulled that Mew and this guy, this customer goes and you stop and pulled that Deoxys.

00:35:50.956 --> 00:35:51.257
I was like,

00:35:51.672 --> 00:35:51.942
shots

00:35:52.217 --> 00:35:55.847
the, how the, I, I didn't even know you knew about this channel.

00:35:55.996 --> 00:35:58.126
And I just got, I just got roasted bro.

00:35:58.606 --> 00:35:58.896
Jeez.

00:36:00.322 --> 00:36:04.251
I'm sure people offer you the deoxy every time you go to these card shows, right?

00:36:04.621 --> 00:36:05.161
Yeah.

00:36:05.371 --> 00:36:06.782
it does happen a lot.

00:36:06.842 --> 00:36:11.108
I think what I get more now is people are like, I want to contribute to the chase.

00:36:11.139 --> 00:36:11.949
Here's a pack.

00:36:12.384 --> 00:36:13.074
Mm.

00:36:13.119 --> 00:36:17.239
always, that's, I mean now with Crown Zena being like$10 a pack, I'm like, Okay.

00:36:17.298 --> 00:36:18.378
I appreciate that.

00:36:18.378 --> 00:36:23.568
That's, uh, it's, it's, it's, it's becoming a little, a little too pricey right now to post every day, but here we go.

00:36:24.048 --> 00:36:27.528
Um, but yeah, the Deoxyss, you know, it's everybody I feel like understands.

00:36:27.528 --> 00:36:29.568
It's like, I, I, you know, I gotta pull.

00:36:29.568 --> 00:36:34.068
I'm not gonna just, what if I just showed up one day on, on the channel and I was like, good news.

00:36:34.128 --> 00:36:36.168
Somebody gave me the Deoxyss goodbye.

00:36:36.543 --> 00:36:36.963
Mm-hmm.

00:36:37.099 --> 00:36:40.969
All that investment for 500 plus days gone vanished.

00:36:40.969 --> 00:36:41.509
Yeah.

00:36:41.844 --> 00:36:43.375
I think that's what I found so interesting.

00:36:43.405 --> 00:36:48.835
'cause you know, I had put, we talked about, I had Poca Tini on, and that's one question I asked him, like, why don't you just buy it?

00:36:48.835 --> 00:36:50.724
Or why don't you just, why go

00:36:50.829 --> 00:36:51.369
Oh yeah.

00:36:51.744 --> 00:36:56.905
And I think a lot of people ask that, especially as the Pokemon TCG scene gets to where it's at.

00:36:57.235 --> 00:36:58.945
But you kind of, it's like an experience.

00:36:58.945 --> 00:37:00.775
You kind of wanna be able to share that moment.

00:37:00.804 --> 00:37:03.001
'cause you can't really get that again, you know?

00:37:03.447 --> 00:37:07.586
I don't think that there's, and this is just my opinion, I know a lot of people feel differently.

00:37:07.976 --> 00:37:11.246
I don't really think there's anything fun in buying singles personally.

00:37:12.081 --> 00:37:15.297
I, I get it, you know, it's the most cost effective way to go.

00:37:15.746 --> 00:37:25.619
You know, you, you could probably spend, I mean, look at, I mean, use my chase as an example, you know, you could probably spend, you know, uh, hundreds if not thousands of dollars looking for a particular card you want, or you can just buy it.

00:37:25.739 --> 00:37:29.849
But, there's just something that about buying it that goes against.

00:37:29.961 --> 00:37:42.074
Literally how we were, how we were raised as kids, which is you get a pack and you open it and that's, maybe you get the cards you're looking for, but like buying singles, to me it feels like, you just got like a secret cheat code to get to, to win.

00:37:42.570 --> 00:37:51.744
Now, you know, in your chase you've had some people who've I think shared some very personal stuff and you've highlighted on your, uh, channel, you know, two comments that stick to mind was one from Orion.

00:37:51.744 --> 00:37:55.943
He said, bro, I got pregnant and had a whole baby in the time you've been trying to get Deoxys.

00:37:56.213 --> 00:37:57.983
I feel for you, rooting for you.

00:37:58.704 --> 00:38:01.434
then the other one, which is more touching, this is what I wanna highlight.

00:38:01.733 --> 00:38:05.454
He said, frankly, these vents help me get through the healing process of my heart attack.

00:38:05.876 --> 00:38:08.217
And I wanna know what is it like to get those kind of comments?

00:38:08.217 --> 00:38:09.836
Like, do you feel kind of.

00:38:10.692 --> 00:38:12.251
Oh man.

00:38:12.266 --> 00:38:14.186
you're kind of tied into their lives in a way.

00:38:14.679 --> 00:38:21.639
You know what it, it reminds me, and again, this is just my perspective, I, I don't know what it's like, but it reminds me of two things.

00:38:22.030 --> 00:38:25.030
One, being a kid watching Jeopardy at seven o'clock every day.

00:38:25.405 --> 00:38:27.010
You, you, you just, you wouldn't miss it.

00:38:27.010 --> 00:38:29.559
Or, you know, my family would all eat dinner together, watch Jeopardy.

00:38:29.739 --> 00:38:30.489
That was our thing.

00:38:30.760 --> 00:38:34.539
And if it was, if Jeopardy wasn't on or was a rerun, be like, what the hell man?

00:38:35.000 --> 00:38:36.260
This is, this is our tradition.

00:38:36.833 --> 00:38:37.614
so I get it.

00:38:37.643 --> 00:38:44.034
There's something about having that tradition for the everyday people that watch that probably makes them feel a little bit of comfort.

00:38:44.034 --> 00:38:48.994
And I, and I really like that aspect of the chase and it makes me realize it's not even about the Deoxys.

00:38:49.313 --> 00:38:50.123
It could be any card.

00:38:50.184 --> 00:38:52.224
It could be, it could be something else tomorrow.

00:38:52.494 --> 00:38:55.224
And people still just really want the, the routine.

00:38:55.224 --> 00:38:57.833
And, and, and I love that because people show up every day.

00:38:58.137 --> 00:39:04.213
The other part, you know, about, you know, recovering from the heart attack, that is, that, that was, I'm, I'm glad you found that.

00:39:04.213 --> 00:39:09.070
I'm glad you remember that because that was, um, that was a pretty life changing, comment to read.

00:39:09.070 --> 00:39:10.389
I, I remember reading that and I.

00:39:11.260 --> 00:39:20.769
It reminds me of, you know, when I was like 18 years old and there was like, you know, you know, back in 2014 there's like these, these vlogs, like these people would vlog all the time.

00:39:20.980 --> 00:39:21.250
Mm-hmm.

00:39:21.250 --> 00:39:26.199
And that was like, that was like your go-to like binge watching content before Netflix was what it was.

00:39:26.590 --> 00:39:39.217
And I remember like going through this like weird breakup at 18 and I was like, well, at least I have the, the vlogs every day from the singer of we the Kings who does this, vlogging from Warp Tour There's something like healing about that.

00:39:39.217 --> 00:39:40.117
I don't know what it is.

00:39:40.146 --> 00:39:48.367
When you have something to watch, something to go to every day, it feels like you, you know, you feel that, that personal connection, so I guess I understand it.

00:39:49.467 --> 00:39:50.666
And I loved how you mentioned Jeopardy.

00:39:50.697 --> 00:39:54.597
'cause I think sometimes as millennials we kind of don't understand it.

00:39:54.626 --> 00:40:01.197
'cause you know, we kind of grew up with the internet, grew up with the, we were the last generation to have both the regular TV and the internet.

00:40:01.556 --> 00:40:04.827
And you know, after us as the Gen Z, they had full internet.

00:40:05.067 --> 00:40:06.717
And I think you brought such a very.

00:40:06.976 --> 00:40:15.646
Down to earth example to where it's like Jeopardy to where this is a family tradition or this is a tradition that I follow, and they kind of fill up that relationship that way.

00:40:15.646 --> 00:40:16.967
I think that's such a good way to put it.

00:40:17.329 --> 00:40:17.619
Yeah.

00:40:17.824 --> 00:40:18.333
Yeah.

00:40:18.463 --> 00:40:18.943
I don't know.

00:40:19.034 --> 00:40:20.474
I don't know what the equivalent would be today.

00:40:20.503 --> 00:40:22.724
I mean, do people still watch cable?

00:40:22.724 --> 00:40:23.143
I don't know.

00:40:23.143 --> 00:40:24.344
People still have family time.

00:40:24.403 --> 00:40:24.884
I don't know.

00:40:24.963 --> 00:40:29.253
ones I know of are the ones who grew up with the boomers and the older folks.

00:40:29.773 --> 00:40:30.014
right.

00:40:30.014 --> 00:40:30.853
Who has cable nowadays?

00:40:30.884 --> 00:40:32.503
I haven't had cable in like 10 years.

00:40:32.548 --> 00:40:34.289
haven't had regular TV in about 10 years.

00:40:34.739 --> 00:40:35.489
I just do streaming.

00:40:37.034 --> 00:40:42.764
Yeah, like it was just, I pull up YouTube on the TV and just like everything I would watch on my phone, I just put on the tv.

00:40:43.228 --> 00:40:45.478
And the funny part, it's not even out of not trying.

00:40:45.478 --> 00:40:51.059
I really try to have regular tv, but you have to go through so many hoops to just try to get regular basic tv.

00:40:51.059 --> 00:40:52.378
I'm like F this.

00:40:52.378 --> 00:40:52.679
I'd rather

00:40:52.844 --> 00:40:53.083
Yeah.

00:40:53.083 --> 00:40:53.143
Yeah.

00:40:53.159 --> 00:40:55.168
the internet on YouTube or go to the website.

00:40:55.168 --> 00:40:56.128
What's the point of me trying

00:40:56.233 --> 00:40:56.563
Dude.

00:40:57.043 --> 00:40:57.764
A hundred percent.

00:40:57.898 --> 00:40:58.438
Yeah, yeah.

00:40:58.438 --> 00:40:58.498
Yeah.

00:40:59.023 --> 00:41:11.384
I mean, here's the, I, I don't feel old, but I'll tell you when I do feel old, feel old when I'm trying to watch a show and I'm like, what dang streaming service is this on this, this TV doesn't even have this streaming service.

00:41:11.503 --> 00:41:12.344
I gotta pay for this.

00:41:12.463 --> 00:41:14.143
I thought I paid for it two months ago.

00:41:14.293 --> 00:41:15.884
And I'm like, okay, I get it.

00:41:15.943 --> 00:41:17.324
This is, this is how boomers feel.

00:41:17.384 --> 00:41:19.364
This is how, uh, this is how my grandparents felt.

00:41:19.724 --> 00:41:20.923
I, I get that man.

00:41:20.954 --> 00:41:21.884
And, and I'm just like, you know what?

00:41:21.943 --> 00:41:23.054
Screw it back to YouTube.

00:41:23.338 --> 00:41:23.579
Yep.

00:41:23.759 --> 00:41:26.338
Here's the one thing that I'll put it, uh, perspective even better.

00:41:26.608 --> 00:41:39.268
Um, I was kind of assisting a teacher with a class and she was trying to teach basic finances, and she says, how much do y'all want to, she told the class, the class is like maybe 16 to 18-year-old to keep in mind how many of y'all want to pay for cable or something like that.

00:41:39.628 --> 00:41:42.688
And they're all looking sideways like, what's cable like?

00:41:42.688 --> 00:41:46.438
Literally they have that confused, perplexed look, and I said, let me help a little bit.

00:41:46.739 --> 00:41:47.938
How many of y'all stream.

00:41:48.659 --> 00:41:49.528
they all raised their hand.

00:41:49.528 --> 00:41:51.449
They didn't know cable, but they knew streaming.

00:41:51.599 --> 00:41:53.159
And then she says, oh, I see, I see.

00:41:53.159 --> 00:41:53.969
Y'all don't know cable.

00:41:54.434 --> 00:41:55.693
Right, right.

00:41:55.693 --> 00:41:55.934
Yeah.

00:41:55.934 --> 00:42:01.003
That's, that's a, it's, it's, it's totally in the past now, like there, I wouldn't, I guess you're right.

00:42:01.003 --> 00:42:04.483
I wouldn't expect kids to like, understand what that, what, what, what it was like.

00:42:04.603 --> 00:42:08.864
But I'll tell you what, if you tell'em this, look, we have every channel on demand.

00:42:09.373 --> 00:42:11.864
All you gotta do is scroll through and you can get anything you want.

00:42:12.043 --> 00:42:14.114
The catch is you just have to watch two minute ads.

00:42:14.436 --> 00:42:16.507
I'd argue that's better than what we have right now.

00:42:16.954 --> 00:42:17.833
Well ShadowlessRed.

00:42:17.853 --> 00:42:19.954
I wanna finish this interview on this last question.

00:42:20.824 --> 00:42:26.974
For over 500 days, they followed your search for one card, and along the way, you know you've built something bigger than the chase At this point.

00:42:26.974 --> 00:42:32.704
We've talked about how people have connected with you and how people have kind of resonated with your chase to try to get the Deoxys card.

00:42:33.423 --> 00:42:37.384
Say from like maybe years or decades from now, people find your channel.

00:42:37.503 --> 00:42:40.324
What do you kinda hope they remember from your journey to this point?

00:42:41.954 --> 00:42:49.009
Oh man, that's a, that's a, that's a really good question.

00:42:49.219 --> 00:42:49.938
Um.

00:42:50.489 --> 00:43:08.224
I think that, I think that the, journey is a real product of its time and it's, almost, if you watch it in 10 years from now, it almost serves as a time capsule for how the, TCG hobby grew from early 2023 to, the time we're doing this.

00:43:08.373 --> 00:43:09.634
And you can see.

00:43:09.673 --> 00:43:17.744
maybe my mindset changed on, you know, shifting things from maybe looking for the most valuable cards to looking for the cards that I like the most.

00:43:18.074 --> 00:43:25.184
every video I talk about a current event or something that's going on in the hobby or something that's going on in, in, in the world.

00:43:25.583 --> 00:43:33.293
it's almost like if you watch the channel from day one to day five, whatever, day five 20.

00:43:33.713 --> 00:43:40.943
You almost, you almost get a sense of here's how the, here's the state of the scene for two years a time capsule.

00:43:41.103 --> 00:43:50.987
and, I think that's, uh, I think that's, that's pretty important because things tend to go out of style very quickly in Pokemon TCGI mean, They come out with five, six sets a year.

00:43:51.409 --> 00:43:52.460
it's overwhelming, right?

00:43:52.460 --> 00:43:53.719
It's, it's so overwhelming.

00:43:54.110 --> 00:43:56.179
And so it's hard to stay current with things.

00:43:56.179 --> 00:44:08.420
So on my channel, you'll, you'll probably see me talk about how evolving skies is the, is the most popular thing, all the way to, you know, to 1 51 to like the dead period from Paradox, rift and Temporal forces.

00:44:08.420 --> 00:44:16.849
when the hobby was kind of at, at a lull, you know, raging back with Twilight Masquerade and the Greninja, and I have commentary on, on, on how these trends go.

00:44:17.159 --> 00:44:20.219
and like I said, none of this has anything to do with the Deoxys.

00:44:20.519 --> 00:44:36.271
It doesn't, it's, it's just, it's, it's just about, being, present, content creator who, who maybe just posts every day and, think there's some, some valuable insight there when, when maybe you start to feel like, you didn't really get a chance to see how the TCG hobby was for, for those time periods.

00:44:37.336 --> 00:44:43.547
Speaking of content, if people want to check out your channel, if they want to maybe buy some merch or buy whatever you're selling, where can they go?

00:44:43.547 --> 00:44:44.777
By all means, please plug away.

00:44:44.777 --> 00:44:44.836
Oh.

00:44:45.481 --> 00:44:46.831
Oh yeah, of course.

00:44:46.952 --> 00:44:49.652
The good news is it's Shadowless Red everywhere you go.

00:44:49.652 --> 00:44:57.181
Facebook, Instagram, youtube.com/at Shadowless Red, my website is just shadowless red.com.

00:44:57.512 --> 00:44:59.402
You could probably find me on TikTok as well.

00:44:59.402 --> 00:45:02.581
Shadowless Red, that's me, that's who I am everywhere.

00:45:03.047 --> 00:45:09.856
Thank you for listening to As The Pokeball Turns, if this story resonated with you, share the podcast with a fellow trainer and don't forget to follow us.

00:45:09.856 --> 00:45:12.856
For more voices, more journeys, and more memories.

00:45:13.217 --> 00:45:17.476
I'm David Hernandez, and remember, your next Pokemon adventure begins here.

00:45:17.929 --> 00:45:18.500
Not happy.