Ep.195 w /Ray from Philly

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What is up? Episode 195? What's in the water in Philly, man, there's a ton of content creation coming out. 

Of that area and good stuff as well. And one of those gentlemen is my guest for today's sports Carnation, Ray fonio. Also, AKA Ray from Philly, great guy, great content, but he's also the founder of the baseball card Hall of Fame, but they're now adding basketball football hockey. And who knows what after that? And they do a great job him and his This guy's that he has a do what with them. He's added some more guys, if they expanded their card, all the fame. We're going to obviously talk about that amongst other things but you know doing a great job with that and glad to have them on on the show. I've got to know him a little bit. He's a really good guy and I think you'll enjoy the interview. So with that being said, let's get this party started. For all hobby, is the people announcer. What up everybody it's your boy cousin has the people's mailman and along with cousin. Tony the architect. We are cousins collectible. Make sure to check us out on the cousins collectible podcast as well as on Instagram because his underscore collectible before we get out of here, we wanted to remind you of a couple things. First and foremost to remember the hobby, it is the people and as always keep focused, keep positive and keep collecting if you'd like to be the hobbyist of people announcer of the week to a wise, or MP3 file. And send it to sports, got Nation PC at gmail.com. 

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Real happy to have my next guest. Many sports card shop at Moko. Get by he hails from the Philadelphia area has his own. He's a content created his own, right? And without further delay, Ray from Philly, we fonio welcome to support our nation. Well, thank you, John for having me on. I appreciate it. Thank you, what? Thanks for being on, I guess. We'll start out. I'm not going to, you know, the boring. Like, how did your hobby, you know, jerk put just your collection. In interest. I know obviously it starts with Philadelphia's folks. But for those listening, what, what do you collect, what do you PC sort of? What how do you have? That's for sure. Well, I started collecting and 1979. Yes, I'm that old and was actively, but we have that in common, I started in 79 as well, but go ahead, that's a good year. Yeah, and my grandfather got the started King. I'm collecting baseball cards. My grandfather was a big Philadelphia aged man from back in the day, you've got me all the stories of Jimmie Foxx and Lefty Grove and Connie Mack. And just one day, sit here, you're starting to collect cards. And I said, okay, so totally got an average with collecting The Hobby and mainly the history of the hobbyist of the game, as well. And here in all the stories, he watched with the whole Philadelphia A's and the Phillies 

As kids in 1950. So started collecting just basically collecting cards putting them in viners throughout the 80s and the 90s. There was tons of shows in and around the area, every weekend. Every weekend. There was probably several shows a month and I pretty much at the mall and yeah I had a break in the early 2000s and before that I was collecting mainly just raw cards. I had known about grated cards before then, but I wasn't interested in them. Mainly, because a lot of the dealers at that time in the 90s thought that it was kind of a scam and nobody should really go into it. It's just a way to make more money for the dealers. Yada yada yada. Well, things have changed quite a bit in the past. I'm going to say 20 years and when I got back into the hobby around 2013-14, that's all I collect. Now is PS a great at cards and I discovered this set registry around the same 

Hi and I didn't know what I wanted to do with the set registry. I don't know what I wanted to collect and I saw some other YouTubers out there that started mentioning this book called the 300, great baseball cards at a twenty Century by Mike Payne. And I looked in a sec registry lo and behold that book has a set registry in there. So I started doing that and became fun because now I had a was, to me it was structured, it was stream. Like now I knew what I was going to do instead of Collecting all over the place almost focused and I enjoyed it thoroughly. And then I started, you know, wanted to do other cards besides that set registry. Then I get into the post were rookie Hall of Fame set registry and then started doing player runs of tops player, runs Schmidt, just renske bench, all that pliers. So now I probably have 30, 40, PSA set Registries. It's like it's like crack. It's totally addictive, but it's fine. It's a lot of fun. 

It's a slightly competitive thing with people competing each other with each other around the country on have a ranking and you can move up the ladder and PSA even does at the national will have a cocktail dinner and they give out Awards to certain people who have done very well in their set registry. Whoever has a really good start registry rank wise or he's been ranked in this certain platform for each consecutive years whatever. So but it's only fun, it's Not like a cut for a set, registry key. Competition, but it's fine. It keeps you focused because before the set registry, when I got back into what I had taken about, a seven-year Hiatus from it from the early 2000s to like, 13 when I got back anyway. I didn't know what I wanted to do. I just didn't know if I wanted to just buy packs and put them in viners. I didn't know if I wanted to do just build sets. And when I started getting more into the grading process of it and buying slabs it appealed to me, because Because of many reasons number one, it authenticated the car because I noticed here has a lot of fraudulent cards out there fakes and things like that of and it it alleviated any questions. As far as what the value of the card was, I remember dealing with dealers in the 80s and 90s and there might have been served players. I wanted to pick up so I wanted to sell certain cards to make money to use that money to buy other players and you're looking at and also we had to go bye-bye. Then we're magazines price guides and you would go to them and say Hey you know the book value on this is such and such amount say $100. And they would say well if that's in this condition to me, it's in this condition and you would argue back and forth while I think it's this condition, what with grading? That's just stops it right there. It is what it is. If it's a 7, it's a seven. If it's an aid, it's an eight and it alleviated, a lot of questions between you and the dealer or you and someone else out one of the by your card or whatever it cut all That out, at, cut out, all that red tape of we will. I think it's valued at this or I think it's value to that, not that I care about the value. But because I collect more from the joy of just collecting, but it saves aggravation down the line. If you wanted to sell certain cards to use that money to buy other cars, it saves a lot of aggravation in that aspect and saves aggravation on authentication. And it kept me focused laser focus as to know What I wanted to buy now. So instead of going all over the place and picking up this in that, I know when I go to a show, or if I'm looking on eBay or in an auction house, I know right off the bat what I'm looking for. So that's mainly, my goal is baseball. I do dabble a little bit in the other sports, but baseball's always been my first love. Always will be and mainly vintage, and I do dab a little bit. On the modern side. I'll buy current players, rookie cards. But if it's to me in an affordable price, I can't I don't like going into modern Flyers, rookie cards. If there are hundreds and hundreds of dollars in that something happens at iPlayer, they get injured, the whatever happens to them. And it's a bigger risk. I think the, to me, if I see a rookie card for under $100, it's a low-risk high-reward kind of a theory for me. So if the flare flare fails, it's not a big loss for me, if 

I something in a 10 for 50 bucks or something. Yeah. Hearing you. I mean I'm not in cuz man, it's like listening to myself. We're really so many similar parallels 1979. My grandfather also got me. It took arch in Brooklyn, went to the corner store with him. I was raised by my grandparents and packing up a kabocha 1979 Topps baseball and I counter, I was a sports kid already playing and I just kind of instantly sort of put two and two together. What? They were asked my grandfather if I could, you know, could I get a couple of them? He said, yes, bottom, you know, 25 cents and the rest is history that first back. Reggie, I was a Thurman Munson guy. He had already passed away, but I was a Yankee fan in my early younger years. I've switched over to the Mets, Steinbrenner sort of room to hold Yankee think for me, that's a show in itself. But you know, 

Reggie Jackson at that time was was the toast of the town and that first pack the fourth or fifth card in was a Reggie and the rest is history. And like you there was some years of when I didn't get rid of my stuff I just kind of hit pause step aside for a real quick break but we'll be right back with more we, right? Introducing the only Auction House dedicated exclusively to the cards of the 1990s, Josh Adams, and John Linden of created, an auction company sold. Only for the rare scarce and hard to find in certain parallels. As the 1990s, Weatherby basketball, baseball football, or hockey 90s options will have the draw tool, consists of smaller, Lots between 100 and 120 watts. So, you cards won't get lost in the shuffle. So, I'm going on the principles of fairness, honesty and integrity 90s auction was created by collectors for Collective registered consign today at 90s oxygen.com, that's 90 

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Is that classic sports car nation is back with more with rain fonio and I hear somebody said what degrading because I've said this, on my show, Ray is when grading first started to really get some Buzz about it. I had a store at a store from 92 to 97. I remember, one of my real frequent customers customers came in with a backyard graded card. I believe it was like 90 III. And it was a remember the Carter was a Mariano. Rivera the 92 Bowman where he's in, you know, the polo shirt. And he said, John look, I just got this back from Beckett. It's graded and everything. You said I was, I was smiling and nodding because I said to his name was Ron, I'm like, Ron likes, this is such a money grab man. You you send your card to another company and they tell you what condition it is. And then they put it in the encapsulated you can. Like touch the cards and such a money grab. Are you going to just if you wanted to pay me 25 bucks or 20 bucks? You haven't told you what condition that was in. And so I was one of those guys in here I am, you know, obviously there's a 180 and have a lot of graded cards myself and for people who don't like grade, you know, and I was wrong and those I just, you know, that's how your your view was at that time, but all great points. You know, when all the fakes And trimming and all all that bad stuff. We hear about, it's a way to authenticate cards. It's also a way to really, like, you said to sort of eliminate a, what's what, you know, what's this worth? We kind of can can once it's graded, we sort of know where it fits in and I'm a, I'm a big greater guy. So it's funny how, you know, thinking about my 1993 version. I myself to current day, how we can, you know, change your opinion. And I even tell people who like our sort of Auntie graders. If you want to label them as such, I always even try to, I don't debate. You know I don't debate a lot of things in the because you're it's just a never-ending. You just go around in circles by always tell the sort of the ante grading, folks, like you don't have to like it. You don't have to submit you don't have to buy but there are you can't deny certain aspects of it. 

Are very crucial in the court. May not do it for you, but you can't deny the importance of it. And exactly. Hit some of the things you brought up Ray. We're exactly along those lines. And so it's just, it's funny. All the parallels 79 grandfather's got us in here. We are all these years later, right? And yeah. It's like, it's uncanny. I mean, I grew up in Philadelphia on Mike Schmidt fan and You to hear something even more funny. Your said, Reggie, where's your guide? My number two favorite player is Reggie Jackson because in Philadelphia I we were the first family on our street to get cable TV and we were able to get channel 11 WPIX in New York. So if I wasn't watching the Phillies, I was watching the Yankees and I became a big graig Nettles fan because you played third, like Schmidt and the guy was in a great Fielder as much and I really Leah loves Greg Nettles but Reggie was the man. So people asked me to tell whose shoes your top five players. I always go Schmidt and Jackson's wanted to because I watch them. I grew up watching it and Reggie play at the same time. Yeah. And you know, it's something you want with that error. Like I was, you know, maybe a little bit ago, man on the porch, a baseball, just had sort of a different feel than it does. Today, I'm still a fan, don't get me wrong, but just sort of different players. We're even more approachable than they kind of are now and but it's fun. All the same, we bought you. You spent, you talk about the pH PS. A registry party. We both actually attended. Yeah. This year I was a guest of Val Mars. I thought it was well done. It was the first time I attended, and you made another great point with the registry is it's sort of a friendly competition. It gives you sort of things to challenges to to meet things. 

Want to complete and then they had that competition. I will in a fun sort of way and it's I'm not on it, but I've even thought quit. It's something I thought about doing it. Chris Carlin, you know, Chris Carlin came around and ask like, hey, you know, any suggestions and I know Chris pretty well, he's been on the show a few times and I've gotten to know one very personal personally, and I say Chris, I got one brought up, you know, so I'm even thinking on a personal level, I have an 81 Kellogg's 3D set. I got it in a collection by out. I didn't buy the sets. It was in there when I when I found it in the bottom of the box and I pull this thing out, right? I mean it is crisp it looks like it's we went back in the DeLorean to 1981 and these things, you know, 81 Kelly crack. Yep. They've been, they wore these things. If you didn't know any better. You'd think they were like, fakes. They they're so they're so distrusting condition, right? I'm like, man, you know, I don't know. You know, it's a 66 or I think it's 66 guard Saturn. So I'm like that and I'm like, every one of these. I don't know if there but everyone looks like it has a shot at at any. Yeah. And it would be a great set to like I would love to send the whole set get the whole set. Ready to get it on the registry. See what it look each card grades out. And so my right, you know when Chris asked me, hey John, what do you got any ideas? It was the first I said, listen, I know you've recently lowered the prices back. Back down but you know, at $18 of card, no offense, I'm not sending in a chat lemon, you know, anyone Kellogg's to even though it's in great shape, you know. But if you lost if you did some. Even if he did it just for like folks that are sending in a set like that, hey you're sending in the whole set, complete its eight dollars of card in that case, I agree. That's so weird. Now you're looking at, you know, Five hundred dollar bill instead of 3,000. I'm not going to send an 81 catalog set right for three thousand dollars. Even though even in the even in the way presents which is great still, that's a good chunk of change for 500 bucks where I think many of them can get a 10 and then you get the whole to Kappa. Teh, I might be number one, all of a sudden on the 81 Kellogg's 3D set for the two cents that's work. Just the old that time, you know. You know eight blocks and and you're not sharing. It's not like you're sending in, you know, the Reggie or the Rickey Henderson and that's it you have to to get that price love. We got to send a set in as a complete set and then braid it like that. And he liked it. He wrote it down and I joked with him. If that comes to be, got a call to Newman room. So, you know, we both got a chunk of what I like to see. You know, we talkin here and you talk about the registry, you know I have like a, some smaller 

That's why I'd love to send in two whole sets, but the difference between and I don't know where I came up with the eight boxes. Just the number that, you know, eight dollars, you know, $7 even better, you know, whatever. They if they do, do it, whatever they decide is cost effective for them and still gives collectors and opportunity to send in a whole set. You know, you look at somebody sets, you know, this rate, somebody's like the main sets, right there? 700 692 card 792 cars. That's right. If you had to, you know, you mean to grade everyone at you know, even at seven bucks that's that's no big price tag. When it's a it's a lot better at seven or eight dollars that than $18 and they can put, you know they can put a, you know, a qualifier, right? He got it, sending the whole set for sending in the whole set you'll get it. If you're just want to think you're going to cherry, pick some stars and say you're going towards the set. No. 

But you know, they can do it they can do it that way and I think I think they'll get more sets that way then we talked about building the registry up so you know, your thoughts on your math, they also offer you know because when I first got into that I was like wow I would love to my favorite sets 1980 and I'll say well I would love to just do that whole set but you know there's six seven hundred cards in that set. But with PSA does offer is each year but just the Hall of Famers. 

Which I've totally gotten involved in right now. With certain particular years, for whatever reason year, I was born 67 tops Hall of Fame set where 1980 tops Hall of Fame set. Where now, instead of 700 cards, there could be 40 and it's just the Hall of Famers, not just the rookies, it's the Hall of Famer. So, for example, 1980, you would submit Schmidt Reggie Jackson's, Yastrzemski bench the Hall of Famers from that year, that's big. That's really taken off and the PS, a step right there, shoot world. Is doing each year but just the Hall of Famers. Yeah, you know, and you could do the Whole Decade. So I'm working on the 70s right now and the 80s and just doing each year and just doing like the 75 tops Hall of Fame set, 76, tops Hall of Fame set because I'm like, you, I mean it's hard to send in six, seven hundred cars of you know Joe Charboneau ever Chet lemon Make the big leagues. But you know, in the grand scheme of things, they're not to make Schmidt's, right? And Ricky Henderson around the floor, beat us when we were kids, they were big names, but yeah, yeah not anymore. Hat Yai about, maybe we'll see it, you know, I put I put the bug in Chris Carlin's here. Let's see. He's a, he's a go-getter that was a great hire by them and he cares like I. Yeah. You know, when I've talked to him, you know sometimes people hey how can it is sometimes it's lip service. 

For Chris, he's a genuine guy. Like, I know he's going to look into it, and if it doesn't happen, it's not, it's not going to be for lack of effort on Chris's part. So we'll see. We'll see what comes out of that. If anything, you were listening to the sports card Nation Podcast, we'll be right back after this break, are you a new sports car collector or someone returning to the hub? Maybe you're just looking for a friendly trustworthy hobby Community to hang out with and 

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Enjoy collecting. This together for many years with a portable break hopeful thread and a Discord group pack with generous, people who genuinely care about the Hobby and other collectors. Check out the brakes at Midwest box. Breaks.com, our goal is to bring you as much value as possible. Also find us on Twitter at Midwest. Passports. Hey folks John here just wanted to remind you use the discount code M bb10 for 10% off. Your first order at Midwest box breaks. Come, let's go. You are listening to you. The sports card Nation Podcast. How many Nationals have you been to at this point? This was my second. The first one was the first. The last time I was in Atlantic City in 1902 2016 and then this was my second and that just doesn't cease to amaze me. I was fully prepared because I saw how it wasn't 16 and even though I was fully prepared, I'll still still blown away. Just by the whole the whole thing. You know the whole Aura of the whole place the the To the place. Atlantic City was from what a lot of people there were telling me was space-wise was the biggest space. They had seen Square footage-wise. So I felt really comfortable and walking down the aisles where I didn't feel like anyone was cramming me. You know, I've gone to shows where there's 56 people deep at the table and you're bumping and left and right on each hop. It was pretty spread out as far as I experienced. I was there for two days on Thursday and Friday and it was great. I mean, I was still at all. It's so many things I saw him and even though I've seen them before, still blows your mind, still takes your breath away. The see that 52 Manilow SGC 9.5 was just like incredible and see some of the old jerseys and uniforms. I mean, it's like Disney World for for collect. Yes, I always say Ray. I always say if it's not here, probably doesn't exist. Yeah, it's extremely. Extremely super rare but even that, you know, even that is probably here. Somewhere. And it was my third one and should have been forth but the one that got postponed, obviously the pandemic but I don't care how many you go to 12, your third, in my case and in in and now we sort of know, you know, once you go to one, you kind of know what to expect more than you go in for your first time. But like you said, it's still always, you know, I coined, at the Super Bowl the hobby, right? It's it's Jen. Generally around the same week every year. Back part, in July front, part of August. And I always say it's the one, the most collectors you're going to have in one place at one time for for week. And yeah, it is something to be said about that too. Like, you know, is a great opportunity to meet people for the first time as a great opportunity to catch up with people, you've already met and see him again, and hang out with them. And so it's more than a hobby. 

See were the Cabbage grown as the cards we collected and that passion. But there's more to it than that, right? It's the people you know, the tagline of this shows that have these two people and it's those those stories behind the cards and catching up with people that is we know is part of that the national as well and I always look forward to going to it and attending it and you know it do this. This was the First time I was there from start to finish and it's still don't have enough time to meet everybody. See every showcase like you need, you almost need two weeks and yeah. You know it's just that big and that immense and I'm a people person so people will come up. I'm sure you get that too. I don't cut conversations as I'm sure I just will talk and then you realize like oh man, that's great, but like that's better. It's there. I gotta I gotta do this section of the show today. I try to break it up. Knowing, how long would it be there? Hey, I gotta do this section today. This section tomorrow, and do that way, and even doing that rate. I think I know why Miss Misty was Friday. Yeah, I will say this Friday, early on, especially for whatever reason. It was really busy wasn't for 25 deep like you met you but they'll you had to box out to get in front of Some yeah. The other kind of either, wait till they can opening opened up almost like a running back waiting for like a hold open, right? Friday was pretty busy and it's funny going there, Saturday driving in, to the under, you know, the parking garage. It was seeing all the cars on my God, man. That's going to be a madhouse, but, for whatever reason, Saturday and I don't know why it seemed. I mean, it was busy. I don't want to make it like it was dead, but it seemed like there was just Wasn't like he didn't have to. Yeah. You didn't have to box out to like fight for a spot in front of a table or show Kate when I kind of based on the traffic. I saw, like, I expected much worse. I don't know, you know, I don't know this, the logistics or the science behind that but Saturday was sort of a breath of fresh air. That's actually where I bought some of my, you know, my two main cards. I bought. I really hadn't spend that much money beforehand and then there was that I want to get in. 

Old fax working, a spawn rookie and that was all. That was Saturday. I try to talk my wife into coming back Sunday, but she was ready to head home. She would the cards don't do nothing for her but she was on the beach and getting a suntan reading the book, drinking a beverage and I tried to talk her into one more day that while I hit the show. But she was tears, she was missing folks here in the dog and he's like now let's head back so I found I found on Sunday did The do that, but it was great. And like you said, it's it's a great event and it doesn't matter how many times you go. It doesn't lose that luster. There's no right, there's so much. You know, I always say you go to Nashville and you're not having fun, you're not doing something right and figure. We got to figure something out. And also, I think it's why it's even more fun now is because of YouTube, when I went in 2016, I had only been on YouTube a little less than a year. So it was fine. But now by 2022, I'm going into my seventh year on YouTube. Now I saw a lot more people that I know that I recognize from their channels or they knew me or whatever and it became a hundred times more fine that there was it the meet and greets that I back in 2016 are afterwards, you know, it was a lot of fun before that. But now the past three years four years with YouTube and that community and That shows and everything else. It's become even more fun, way. More fun because now you're hanging out and you're sharing what you got? And what they got was just icing on the cake. Yeah, and people look out for like, hey, I'm looking for this. I've, you know, I've had people text me. Hey I'm at this table, I don't know if it's your pride, it's great how that when I've done that in Reverse for other people. Hey, you know, I know you're looking for this here, I'll snap a picture and you know, a lot of times, you know, the DMV Maybe the car's not price by at least let them know where the card is and they can do all the hagelin if they so choose and it's nice that we look out that Community we kind of look out for each other than sort of, you know, not to use military term but it's for, you know, Band of Brothers. Right? It truly is. Yeah. And it happened to me quite a few times. Yeah. And I love that aspect of it and you're going to hear from one of our great sponsors but sports card Nation will be right back after that. Fourth card nation has returns. 

You mentioned, you your urine OG when it comes to YouTube? What was it when you watch your show years back? What, what was it that made you do? It was the kind of the distance, you know, how to had all kind of come about. Well, it 2015 14, I got back into collecting and about a year later in 15. I literally was just sitting on my lap and my laptop at home one day. And I just went on YouTube, I used to just go on YouTube really just too. Watch music videos because I was a musician for a lot of years. And I would just go and watch music that and MTV doesn't play music and nope. Funny how that works. It's totally. Yeah. So if I want to go watch videos, I had to go on YouTube, so I'm type. I just sent any type of baseball cards, one day, and it was like, floodgates opened up. I saw like there's people doing videos on baseball cards, really, and I saw one, Person, two people. Free people, and I thought about it for about a 45 days. I'm like me. I might do that. And the first channel I saw was Nate on San Francisco's channels, tops, 85 401, and I watched his channel and I don't know. I just took my phone and I said, let me try out and I don't expect to get any thing out of it. Any response out of it, let me just try it out and see what happens. Why I just showed one of my binders? One day I did a video, I had no idea. Idea what I was doing the quality was awful. That it was terrible but I just did it for fun. I did the video and all son and I get three people. Four people, five, six people commenting and then the next thing you know there's people that were commenting they started doing a. Shout out to my channel and then all of a sudden I went from two subscribers to 50 to 60 to 80 over night and I was just like, this is fine, this is a lot of fun and then you started making connections outside of your video. 

This, which made a hobby, even more fun. So I started getting really addictive include to making content continuously want you to because, you know, when I collected before YouTube, I did, I could you it was hard to share it with anybody, you know, people become a real State. See it. You're like oh yeah, that's nice. You know, that's cool and you know, the move on but now there's hundreds, if not thousands of people all over the country, all over the world, that That you see that or like you and collect and now and like I said to meet them in person and to National made the hobby so much more fun that was with, did it for me it wasn't about being a popular Channel or anything but it made the copy. It made the collecting aspect that much more fun for me because you can you share in that see what they're collecting? I get ideas from them and vice versa, so that was the whole premise of me was to made the 

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It makes for reals a smaller place, right? Smaller. And, you know, you like you said, maybe someone locally, like you said, you'll see your stuff. Like, oh, that's cool. And then that's sort of the end of it. Now, you're now you're stuff's being seen by people of like-minded who are really interested and want to share notes and tips and tricks and and that sort of thing. And it again it makes they don't have to be in your same city they can be Me on a different continent. Even and it doesn't, it doesn't matter that he sort of eliminate, that Gap and distance. And if it's funny, even though I started sportscar Nation, the podcast in 2018, which is really, when you think about four years is not a terribly, long time. But in podcast years, that's a long time is very few shows when I started this podcast. And now, like you said, there's thousands, you know, if you can if you count you And just even audio podcast. It's probably for, you know, five figures in that six figures in content, so, imma more consistent than others. But there's that many show, the no shortage now. And I just think it shows your how the Hobbies grown and how social media has grown. And even when I started this show, re very similar to, like, what you said, I didn't go in with sort of any expectation that I just said, hey, I want to know, I had done some, some audio video for A buddy of mine and his sports radio show pertaining to the Hobby side. And then that kind of ended because I I used to have Friday's off and then I did it. So I, that was a Friday thing and then I'm like, hey, I still want to talk about this and so I launched this show in November 2018. Not knowing you know, how many people were going to download it. I didn't, you know, people ask me. Did you set any 

Expectation. I just went in sort of flying by the seat of my pants open minded. I kind of expected it to be slow going when you first start something new or knows who you are, like initially and it just sort of built like a crescendo. I didn't expect that I didn't, you know, have any sort of like Grand Illusion or anything and it just it's crazy. Sometimes I've stayed on the show out that like if you would have told me four years ago, this is where the show would be and these people We would be on and, you know, be this many people would be interested. I wouldn't probably, but believe to get a little thought you were nuts, but yet, you know, here we are. So it's crazy. And when, you know whenever someone is at, you know, ask me like Johnny, I'm thinking about starting a podcast any tips that, you know, the first one I always say is, you know, do it because you're have a passion and you love it and go and sort of open minded, don't always look. The downloads right off the bat, you got to sort of build that up and but you know, I always say someone asked me like what how do you know when you would stop doing the show? And I always say it has nothing to do with me getting a demographics report and seeing downloads go down it'll be when I turn the mic on Ray and I just don't have that. It's almost like going to work, right? My God, man. I don't want to do it today. Exactly. And if I get to that point, that's that inner voice. To me saying you're done John I hope you know I don't anticipate a happen, I hope it doesn't but if it did that'll that'll be the first indication rather than any right rooms or or anything like that when I don't have a passion or a love for it and I know it's time to you know hang the mic up so to speak right. And and what not and hearing you talk about that you gotta you've gotta have a big people see through that anyway people know when you're you know he would be A phony or going through the motions and people can tell when you really love what you're doing and talking about people people pretty smart and Keen to that. So I won't have to be me. I'm sure I'd get a few messages like hey, what's going on lately? You know, so you know then I would know but I don't foresee it and your I know in watching you you know you can tell you the hobby, what you're And sharing that with Folks and, you know, trying to teach at the same time, right? You know people ask me because I bet you know we've done this so long they're like oh you know everything but far from it and hobby changes so much. It's like I use the car analogy, right? You could be a mechanic and then the next kind of cars have new chipsets and they have to learn all his the same thing with the hobby we have to learn. I learned as much as I teach. I think some fresh And educate it. You all would. It's a day goes by and I haven't learned something in the hobby. I didn't try that days what it border balls that we took the words right out of my mouth. I was going to say the same exact thing and people will come up to me and they ask, you know, I'm thinking about though, I don't know what to do, how do I do it? And I just say just do it. Well, I don't know how to do the heading that you just don't worry about it. Just do it. Just get a phone and just do it and all that stuff will gradually come. Yeah, I am. 

I've been doing it for a little over seven years and like you said, people think I know everything about this Hobby and I tell them, I'm far from it, I'm far from it. I you, you probably know more than I do it. And I'm, and if you're not learning every day, like you said, you're missing out. I've learned every single day when I watch other content on, like, I didn't know about that. I didn't know about that. It's amazing. And I just tell people, if you have an interest in doing it just do it. And, you know, in the After about four years, I was doing like four or five videos a week and it beginning, and it's like you said, you don't want it to become a job. And I remember it by the fourth fifth year, it started to kind of feel like that, but then we'll got me out of that was helping other people get their channels off the ground and kind of reliving it from the beginning all over again. So, yeah, you know, that's when I telling tell people just do it, you need help with anything. I'll help you were being creative and even cat that wise, right? We learn on the Fly. 

Right, you say like you start with a phone, then you get a little legitimate camera, then you get an editor you and you you, you know, Rome wasn't built in a day, right? You start think someone's at my door? I've got to get that be right back. Hi on Sports guard. Is your number one source. For all your PSA and other grading submissions, their Elite status improves, turnaround times. Heck they even provide the card Savers, their chat rooms provide updates on all your submissions. They also offer wax options and Single cards to cover, all the bases. Check them out on Facebook, at iron sports cards group, or on the web at iron sports cards.com or even give them a call at. 1-877-560-4440 sa Rob's, got you covered. Thanks for sticking with us. Let's return to the show. It's funny. I listened to some of the earlier episodes of this show and I delete them if they really want farted it to shoka. Honestly, didn't know. Some people might say, well, you still terrible job but the early ones in comparison to like current edition, like it's cringe-worthy answering. If they were like part of sort of the history of the show, I would I would delete them because they're, you know, I was used like you said the phone. So the auto qualities, Not the same but you learn as you do it. How to upgrade things, how to do different things even editing. Like, the process of editing actually takes me the last time now than it did then. And just because I learned how to do stuff more sort of automated or mass editing rather than, you know, individual like slices and stuff. So you learn and you go in with, you know, knowing that you're going to get. Better at it. The more you do it's like riding a bike, right? He said she does start with training wheels, eventually you get confident, you get, you take those off. You might fall down a few times and get some strawberries on your knees and that just gets you more focused like the keep your balance and before, you know, it you're you're pedaling and steering and they're like holy smokes, then everything sort of slows down, right? Like right of quarterback, when I kind of Clicks in format to play slows down, they 

Stuff better. I think it's like, I'm not going that far from a quarterback. I did play football wasn't quarterback because it different. But I always use that sort of analogy because that break seems to really kind of fit how it is and but it doesn't happen like that. Initially you got to get right to that stage and long as you're patient and willing to put in the time and effort and you know and I you know you mentioned even with yourself you know you get to 45 of a week and sometimes you may be a little Bit of burnout sets in but you can find different ways to sort. We tried I always tell people whatever you do like if it's too much then you cut back a little bit, if it's not enough, you do more, whatever, whatever you find that balance, it might be different for different people. Everyone have different schedules and job requirements, you know, beer single guy and you don't have anything pulling yet and differe