From Sports Media to Netflix: How Alex Giaimo Went From Watching the Hobby to Living It

When you're a reporter or host or anything, and especially if you work in sports, a lot of people think it's so glamorous, but it's such a grind. I can't explain to you the pepper grind that I've been through. The number one line I get from men. Oh, you actually know. You shit. Yeah, you know, bro, I do. I've worked in sports my entire life. Welcome to the Collector Nation podcast here on the Collector Nation Network. Whether you're chasing grills or calling bluffs, you take you inside the hobby. Here's your host, Ryan Alford. What's up guys? Welcome to Collector Nation here on the Collector Nation podcast network. We appreciate it. We know you got options. We know there aren't many better than this one though. We'll be honest. Come on, especially when we got guests like this. We're going, you know, I could call her many things. We debated this before the episode. Actually, you know, bad ass, cool as hell, voice of the hobby. We're just going to call her Alex Jai Mo. Yeah, yeah. I know. You got it. I'm slow clap. Okay, very excited. Yeah, right. I know is that do you have Italians in South Carolina? Yeah, of course we do, but it's just that quite as, you know, where we are, a fluid Italian. I'm not a fluid Italian, you know, like Southern guy trying to pronounce deep Italian names. They're probably, yeah, that could probably be like an audiobook or something. Fun. Fun, a fun little fact. If my last name is GI, so it's I-A-I, so it's three vowels in a row, which is a dip thong, and that only exists really in Italian last name. So if you're ever on Jeopardy, that's what it's called when you have three vowels in a row. And it really, really happens. So I, you know, well done. Kudos to you. I, I only took, you know, my wonderful producer, Bella, typing it out in phonics for me, you know, like, but I did get it. I got through it. But let's have Alex. Where are we in Jersey? New York, where are we today? We're about an hour south of Manhattan. So in in Jersey, you know, Bruce Springsteen Country, babe. So it's awesome, just hanging out, but I'm not enjoying the snow. It's brutal right now here. So it's just freezing cold here. We're in that upstate part of South Carolina. Oh, it's freezing cold. It's literally negative. It's like 15 degrees actually today here. I think when people hear South Carolina, they go, oh, yeah, it's warm and nice. I mean, we get four seasons here. You know, it's like 25 degrees this morning. You don't know if you're in it. But I'm born and raised. So we're used to it. But we'll be like 60 next week, the 70. Exactly. Abraham's so quick. So MLB correspondent news journalist. I met you at the national doing things in around the hobby. And of course, the king of collectibles, the golden touch. I know you're narrating doing different things through that. I mean, you got your hands in a lot. Yeah, I mean, I started doing this. I mean, I've been a collector my whole life. And I went to Syracuse University for sports journalism. And traditional sports reporting was my thing for 10 years. Then COVID happened. You know, I haven't told you this in real life. COVID happened. And I was like at the bottom of the barrel. Like a lot of people were. And I said to myself, how do I work harder or not smarter? Because when you're a reporter or a host or anything, and especially if you work in sports, a lot of people think it's so glamorous, but it's such a grind. I can't explain to you the pepper grind that I've been through. And like, the pepper doesn't hit you like the way you wanted to hit you. It's like not a high. It's like sold at all times. Yeah. Ironically. It's like really like Nording Salt. And I worked in Iowa. I covered a big 10 Iowa Hawkeyes football basketball. Oh, that's not sexy. Covered nose Iowa Hawkeyes. Actually, what was sexy was not that this Jersey girl left the short to go to Iowa. But the Hawkeyes had the best season of their entire existence. When I was there, they went 10 and 0 undefeated. We went to the Rose Bowl. The big 10 championship game. Christian McCaffrey, I don't know if you remember that year when he was on Stanford. He scored like five touchdowns. I mean, he ran for like five touchdowns in the barricade. But it was it was such an experience. And it was great. And then I worked for the New York Chats, Ryan. And it was also great. But the jets of the jets. And there was a lot of drama. In the locker room, outside of the locker room, all of that. I also went through it's been a it's been a grind. But yeah, so then the COVID happened. And like everyone lost their jobs that worked in life sports. At the time I was working for the New York Mets. Just on their jumbo tron. It was honestly a job that I took like a downgrade for. Because that was like a jumbo tron girl. They told me I was going to talk like actual baseball. But I essentially was just promoting Dunkin' Donuts gift cards. Like every freaking night of my life. But COVID hit. And then sports ended and it was shut down. And obviously I was unemployed. And I was like, I am so done. Because I busted my ass. Like I was my whole life. And I'm like, F this. I literally, we mentioned UFC earlier before our pod started. I literally, what's AW? They wanted to hire me. And honestly I probably shouldn't take that job. Because those women make so much money. And I'm an actress now essentially as well. But I said to myself, how do I work smarter or not harder? And I fell in love with my father's finishes. I moved in with my grandmother during COVID. Because I was in a relationship in Manhattan. And then everything shut down. And then my relationship ended. So I had nowhere to go. So I moved in with my grandma. Went down into her basement. And she had all these amazing collectibles that I just fell in love with. And I went on eBay. And I learned eBay. And I started selling on eBay in 2020. Like the PES dispensers, Barbie dolls, like the old Lego Batman sets. Like I made thousands and thousands of dollars. And like I enjoyed it. But most of all, I enjoyed my father's vintage baseball card collection that I fell in love with. Which is awesome. Which is currently at PSA right now getting graded. And I'm off the record. I guess it's not off the record. I fell on the arrow with you. But I'm working on a little video series with PSA about the grading process. Because a huge part of what I want to do in the space and what I have been doing is educating people. Not within the hobby. Like everyone, you guys know what you're doing. But outside of the hobby. And I think that ultimately grows the hobby. It's where everyone involved. And this series is about the whole grading process. Because I can't tell you how many people DM me. And they're like, oh, I have this collection. Do you want to come see it? And I'm like, first of all, no. But they're like, no sense, but I absolutely not. But they're like, what do I do? How do my friends and family, how does the process begin? Where do I go? What do I blah, blah, blah? And I'm going to, you know, educate we as a team. We're going to educate and have, hopefully, have people learn to, you know, grow their personal collections. So that's exciting. I don't want the episode to be about this. But I think it's interesting. You know, you made a good comment. Like an attractive woman that's in media. Oh, it just be so easy. You know, I think that, and I know the business. Because I have a lot of friends. And I met a lot of people like yourself. And that's just a misconception, right? Thank you. Yes. You guys have to bust your ass. And, you know, like, those heels dig into the turf. You know, like, I'm just saying like, there's sort of this expectation to look glamorous. And you're still having to cover and walk a million miles with, you know, your camera guy or sometimes doing it yourself. It is not glamorous being in media. You're right. I mean, sometimes doing it yourself, like, when I worked in Iowa at my first job, I was literally a one, they say one man, Ben, but I was a one woman, Ben held. And I have arthritis now in my hand because of it. Helled the camera, which is like 20 pounds. And the microphone in this hand in my left, you know, my left hand, the camera in my right hand, filmed a live, film myself live all throughout Illinois and Iowa with a live backpack in the middle of a field. Like, all of that. Then I edit, I shoot the video. I edited the video. It's a lot to get to where I am now. Like, I was making $27,000 a year, like when I started. And I'm not young anymore, by the way. And I'm not afraid to admit it. I'm 36 years old. And I will, you know, toot my own horn that this was like before the Me Too movement when I got started before any of that. So I would like to say, like, yeah, like women like me sort of paved the path for women now today. And obviously women older than me did that for me. But it's easier. It's an easier path now for people. It's not easy at all. But Ryan, Asia grind. And yeah, like every day for women in general, I got to look good at the same time and sound good. It's a lot of stress and pressure. And yeah, I would love to do what you're doing right now. Throw on a freaking hat. Throw on a hoodie. And just focus on the content. But at the same time, like there are moments where it's an amazing thing. Because I feel like being a young, strong-minded woman with a voice is such an important thing right now. And I think when you make it in sports as a woman, it's like it's cool. Now, you've made it. I mean, I think I don't know if there's, again, I was in New York and around the sports media, you know, I wasn't in the hobby at the time. And I've seen how hard it is, you know, in general. But much less sort of the stigma is entering the calm. And like what you have to sort of, it's like this bar you have to reach of credibility. You know, it's like one thing to be pretty. It's one thing to talk decent. It's another to sort of have the smarts and the wits to navigate it all. Exactly. And it's like, I pride myself on being, I've gotten this compliment a lot for men. You know, I want to sit at a bar and have a beer with you. Yeah. And it's like, yeah, that's the ultimate goal. I never wanted to be reporter Barbie. Like, I just want to shoot the shit with men or women. I don't care who you are. And talk sports. But being a woman and looking in certain ways, sometimes like, obviously, you are a judge. Like, you're, oh, you only got there because of your face. Like, no, like, I actually know. And this is the number one line I get for men in my entire life and career. Oh, so you, you actually know you're shit. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, I do. I've worked in sports my entire life. I went to the number one Gerald School in the world. I know my shit. I have two brothers. I'm an athlete. So yeah, anyway, I love it. I love it. So you like the cards, you got into, you know, you go and grandma's basement, it's a treasure trove of, of all, you know, like, gold and silver collectibles everywhere, figuratively speaking. And so you get into it like, so you take a liking to it. And now, you know, you've parlayed that because of credibility and knowledge. And again, being more than a face on the screen. I mean, what do you think about sort of the state of the hobby and media? I mean, and I would lump. And I want to talk specifically, obviously, about what you're doing with King of Collectibles. So you can tie that into it, but like, maybe connect those dots, like what you're seeing, you know, experiencing at the shows, being a voice at a lot of these events and things. Just paint some picture for us. I think that I'm not sure like when you got back into the hobby, but when I started like 2021, it was two years, only been two years, like just under two years. And a year of that was just ripping, just ripping packs with my kids. Like, that was a year of it. But I've been a year in the business, really. Yeah, the adrenaline high addiction is real. I get it. I was like, yeah, 80 grand later. God, I was like, I got that body to, uh, previously throw away. Dude, you just got to see the land fill in our neighborhood. Yeah, but bro, those are memories you're making with your kids at the same time. That you can never, you know, like, you can't put a price on that. So that's, I've told that a million times. I said, I spent, I don't know if said, I don't know. I know it was more than 50 grand. I'll just say that. So that's your, don't put your wife. But yeah, she knows, she watched it all go down. And, but it was priceless from, because the kids wanted to hang out with dad. And we did. And it was together. Like, I would, I'd pay 4x. So what do you, what do you guys rent? Like, what's your sport? It's just as mainly football. I mean, some basketball. But it was mainly in, I click a baseball, grown up. I mean, you know, the poor bills, I living in New York or I refuse to pull for the giant. So I became a, a bill's fan. This was in 2008, 2009. Wait, who was the quarterback at that time? Oh, geez. We had, well, yeah, Jim Kelly. And then you went to like, never wear old. Exactly. You know, like five or 10 guys. I can't remember. And then nobody for 10 years. Nobody for 10 years. And then Josh Allen 2017, the savior. So all the matters is Josh Allen came in 27. I would have Clemson. So I pulled for Trevor, Trevor and ETM being on the same, both going to Clemson. That's an easy, we put my kids. It broke their heart. We, it was a really tough weekend watching Jacksonville and Buffalo play. So do you guys agree for the Panthers or no? No. Is that that's, but that would be in the North Carolina. We're in South Carolina. No, I know. But that's that would be the closest location of an NFL. It would be, but we never became panthers. I don't blame you. Yeah, I don't root against them. Like, of course, if two people, if they're playing someone else and I don't care who's, yeah, I'll move for the Panthers. I hate the Panthers for life because I was in the Fanatic Survivor Pull this year. I actually, they actually hired me to promote it. And then I got locked in. I made it 12, I made it like 11 weeks. I was one, it was 150,000 people. I was one of 3,000 left. Remember this Saints Panthers game? Panthers from home. And I said to myself, all right, I'm going to take the Panthers, but then my friend was like, yeah, the Panthers, you know, since being favored at home, have never won a game in like 10 years. And like, my idiot self was like, all right, whatever. Like, I'm going against it. And they screwed me so hard. I was out. But to the stage, so I lost a survivor pull to the Saints. Yeah, we can say that. Not many people, but I would put in the money on our money or whatever you were wagering, the winner lost on all the Panthers. Well, it was a million five payout. And then like, but then they, oh, no big deal then. So I only had to wait. Like, I only had to win like another two or three weeks. I would have gotten like a hundred grand. Like, I have lost so much sleep. That sucks, but that's what you get for betting on the Panthers. I know, I know, they're tough. It was a Tyler show or was it still been to rob their quarterback in that game? I don't remember. I don't. He took over. Tower looks pretty easy. I'm not going to lie. I didn't watch it. Well, I would have watched that trash. That's why we aren't fans of them. We're like winners. Dude, I'm a fan. So I think it's much local hate from ever. I mean, all hail on the Panthers. They're just, there's not easy to pull for. Like, it's just no real history. We didn't. And look, and they've passed on so many Clemson guys. And they, and they's right down the road to be such a great story. So I've been like, F them for a long time. Is Cam Newton the best pamper of all time? Like, who probably? I mean, you know, he was the only one that actually got him to play us. Actually, I think we're in, they were in Super Bowl. Yeah, they went to the Super Bowl. Yeah, but still, yeah, he just, he was a beast. Those were fun days. I like this ball is huge for you down there. I was big, but we did. I didn't play baseball. I collected growing up. So I have a lot of junk wax freaking 87 to 92 baseball. The worst years to, to have, you know, been collecting as a child. Me too. Yeah. And so ton of that and they were baseball cards, because you collected back then. You know, it's some, I have some basketball too. Had Jordan cards and things. I do had some Jordan. That was by the way, I think worth anything for my collections. Like old Jordan cards. Yeah, but let me, I have to end it up for you for a second. Like when you got back into the hobby and you knew you had all these baseball cards and these boxes, literally boxes of wax from tops that were like a two feet long. Did you think like everyone else in the, in the world, especially me in my grandma's basement? Oh, I'm going to be rich. And then once you, once you actually researched and, and started listening to podcasts and, and learn, you're like, this is a, this is, I couldn't even sell this for $5. I kept up with, I was not keeping up with what, to the level that you're describing and what I'm doing now, absolutely not. But I knew it had heard, you know, like sort of just like going, I know I got that at the basement. All right, what do I have? And I, you know, like taking a peek and gone, that's seen that even 10 years ago, it was called junk wax. Like, I was like, that's stuff never going to work. And they printed way too much. They had no, you know, no limited cards. Yeah. And so I knew what I had for the most part. I had no misconceptions. The best one stuff I knew was going up. But yeah, I was not surprised. Was it disappointing? I've been disappointed a lot of other things. And not that. I mean, I did. I was like, yo, like, I was looking for like, you know, like, um, what's the word I'm looking for? Melt, not malfunctions, but, uh, error cards. That's all you're chasing in those. And there's, you know, like, you know, like $500, you know, I was looking for the Frank Thomas error card. I was looking for, you know, all the griffy rookies, which I, you know, my brother was a huge griff, griffy fan. And as he's 38 years old, so it was around that age. Um, but yeah, it was disappointing. But at the same time, it's the reason why I'm, you know, sitting here talking to you today, because I taught myself. I forced me to learn, you know, and learn. What do you feel like now? Like, obviously, you've got some vintage stuff. It sounds like, but what's, what's like, what gets you like, if you, what gets my excuses going? Yeah, I'll get them on. Honestly, I would just say mostly baseball, um, and like, I hate to say this, because it's such like a hobby snob thing is, hey, but like, I've learned, I've lost so much money in this space, by the way. So, so much. Well, only national treasures and, but I wish I had that much money. No, I'm saying like, when I first started, you know, doing this in 2021 and 2022, and actually collecting, like, I'm not just a face, like, I actually have a passion for this. I, you know, I invested in manual quickly for the New York Knicks, and I would spend $500 on his rookie card, you know, his auto, and now that cards were not like zero, like, I've lost so much, and then investing in slapping them and greeting them, and all this bullshit that is, that most people don't understand goes into this, um, but also at the same time, I could say that it's what forced me to be who I am today, like, I learn from those mistakes. Now, I don't like recommend that for people to do. What do your research before spending money? I was very frivolous, and I was like, oh, yeah, money grows on trees. And it doesn't, um, these days, I've, I have a passion for vintage, and you, your original question is like, what do you collect? Like, vintage, and I have a bunch of, I have a bunch of cards that are worth like under 200 or 100 bucks. And I'm looking now in my free time to sell those, and then buy, you know, go up and buy more of like a goat, grill card for myself. Um, what would that be? What would be a, like, a baby? I'm looking for like a babe, um, like a gaudy, specifically the yellow one. I don't know the exact, um, name of the card, because I don't, yeah, I don't care. I just, I like to look at, I think it's art, but I'm looking, yeah, I'm looking to buy, um, like a babe, I have a, a nice Ted Williams, um, I'm a baseball girl. Yeah. So I want to do that. And I'm, I'm not in, like, at first I was a flipper. Like, I would, no, I attempt it to flip. It's impossible. And it also, I think it also ruins the game for you a little bit. Like, it's hard to be a collector on a flipper. Exactly. It's, it's, it's, it's a lot like, also like sports betting. Like, I used to bet on games, but I, I want to sit and actually enjoy the game. So, you know, like, I don't want to bet on Drake May versus a sit-em. Like, I want to just make fun of them and watch the game. But are you sure? I bet a lot in college. I was a big gambler, like in college, like I would do college games. And I'd be watching like the Tuesday night Mac special. Like, you know, Ohio versus whoever. And in some ways it made the, the crappy games interesting, but then I was like, I didn't like losing money. And so, and you, you don't win. I mean, over long haul. And so, I quit probably where I have for college. And now, I think you're right, though, because it does kind of changes your perspective. When you're, I mean, you're just so into whatever that stat is. What did that thing is? Is it, you kind of lose the, the bigger picture of the game. Right. And that's why I only really, nowadays, that's why I want to sell my car. My, you know, lower end cards and buy higher goats because they're retired. Like, right, like they can't screw up. They can't get a deal. Like, I mean, they can't most of them are dead. But you know what I'm saying? Yeah, exactly. They're not going to throw a hammy. Exactly. And like, they're done. Like, their legacy is locked in. So. Well, you know, it's like your station. We buy cards. So, you know, long to give me first dibs on everything. I would love that. Give me a deal, though. We'll have to talk. I'll give you this, you know, 12% of current market value. I'm just kidding. The, no deal. So what's going on with Netflix in this little show called King of Collectibles? I mean, yeah, it's just a tiny show. Yeah, I know. That's a joke. For the first seasons. And I think the average lifespan of an original series on any network is one year. Yeah, you guys have been crushing it. One season. So to have three is an honor. And, you know, you know, Ken works so hard and his brand is exploding. I'm happy for him and everyone involved. My castmates. Those are good dudes. And what they do, they're salesmen. I mean, you know, you know business. And I think what they do is the best of the bizz in high-end collectibles. And it's been awesome like being a part of it. You walk into that building and they have this, like, most people don't know. There's the business side where you see on the show where we are. And then there's the vault area. So you walk into this room, Ryan. And it's like, it feels like the ghosts of sports past and are haunting you. Like, Babe Ruth. You know, Jackie Robinson, like, everything you can imagine is there. And it's like really cool stuff. And it's like millions and millions and millions and millions and millions of dollars. Not everything is about money. For me, I don't care about money. It's nostalgia. It's just like holy crap. Jackie Robinson wore this jersey when he was, you know, being accosted just for simply being black and changing the narrative of the game and the world. It's really cool. If you can get yourself down there at one point, you know, it's in New Jersey, but it's now or 45 minutes away from where I am right now. It's Philly Country. Like, they're all Philly fans, which I judge hard. I don't know why, because I'm a jet. It's not like we're doing much better up here in New York. Yeah. I mean, not a jet. But, yeah, King of modules, it's awesome. It's also season one. I was a narrator as the host. And it's like sort of like really cool being, you know, at that time, at least, like a female, you know, voice and face of the space. It's introduced me to so many people. Which was the goal, right? Like, and I love, you know, educating and like, you know, helping people not only make money from their mom or dad's, you know, basement, I guess, but also like, you know, make more memories with their kids. Like, like we talked about with you and your sons earlier. And it's just an honor and privilege. And this year, I don't, do you know the episode where I I spoke to the couple that sold the bowl next card? I have not watched this year's. It's on my DVR. I've been so busy. I've been working with you. You've got to watch it. I don't stand down. I've watched nothing. So take no offense to that. No, I don't, I don't, I don't, I don't, I don't, the bills and the jaguars on Sunday and comes in on Saturdays. That's okay. So my favorite scene this year in the whole show. And I, I don't care. I'm a part of it or not. It's my favorite scene. It's about this couple. They are from Western Maryland. They're around my age. So they're around like 35-ish. They've been together forever. They've been trying to get pregnant for years, years and years. They're the sweetest couple you'll ever meet. And they obviously have had some issues. The wife has had some health issues as well. And this, the husband pulled a bonix superfractor. And he just like you, he was new to the hobby. Like I think even newer or new to breaking. And he bought into like a hundred dollar break. And it was like only like the second or third time he bought into a break. He pulled it, what turned out to be a $50,000 bonix superfractor. So they came to Golden. And it's my favorite scene on the show. Me and Ryan Krupa, my cast me, you know, talked to them on the couch. And we were like, do you want to sell the card? Here's what we can offer you. And they agreed. And they said, it's we want the card, the funds from what we get from the sale to go towards IVF to help us have a child. I mean, you have four boys. You know how important that is to people. So it's just such a gut-wrenching, heart-wrenching moment, but also so sweet at the same time. Because it's like, we're at the end of the day, we all disagree on topics. But I don't think anyone would disagree that, you know, that is such a special moment. And like sports cards sometimes are sold for so much money. And then that money is used for things that isn't really necessary. But in this case, the money is used hopefully to make a life. And as a single 35-year-old woman in my self right now, like the only thing in life I want is to have a child. So it meant so much to me emotionally. So yeah, I recommend you guys watch that because it's awesome. Anyway, the card sold for 50 grand, right? And then what happened to Bone X just now in the playoffs? Uncle broken. Uncle broken. What does his value shouldn't go down there for that? I wouldn't think so. But my point that I'm trying to make is that if they didn't, like the volatility in this sports card mark is crazy, right? So like, technically they could have, I'm glad they sold it. They might have lost 12, like it's like 25, 35, 40, I mean, people less half the value. Right, but like Bone X performed. He wasn't great, but he was good. He was good in the playoffs and he was in the regular season. Yeah, I mean, yeah, and I think he performed better than Drake Mayhaz, honestly, and CJ throughout everyone. But like he won, right? So like if they still had the card, they could have sold it, like high when he won, but then at the post game conference and press conference, you know, the coach announced that he broke his ankle. So like, it's just such a volatile market. And that's why I don't invest anymore in current players. I just like, I can't take the risk. There's with the golden, like in the show, you know, what's the biggest thing that you could talk about that maybe people don't see? And I'm not saying necessarily juicier bad or anything, but maybe just something interesting that the camera doesn't show, or I mean, it's television. Like, yeah, I can talk about the that like that, I can talk about the process of making TV magic in general. Is that what you would? Yeah, I mean, to that end, like the process and just maybe just things, people don't see that might be fascinating to someone. I mean, I think most people now, if they have, you know, half a brain, just be honest, like they know it's TV and other, you don't see everything, like they get it. But we don't know what we don't see necessarily. So maybe there's something interesting. Right. So like working for Netflix might sound glamorous. It's not working. The title of this episode is the Lamar and Dunn. Like I really, I make, I don't care. I can say this. I make like barely any money, nothing, nothing. I do this for the love of the freaking game. Love the game for the passion. It's like, listen, it, but it helps my credibility. It's, I love representing their brand. I also only represent brands and work for people that, like, that I believe in. And I do believe in the Golden Brand. But working for Netflix, it's that, like we film eight to nine months before the show airs. So like a lot of the prices drop or go up and blah, blah, blah, and we don't know what airs until we see it. Like I didn't know what I was doing until I saw it, like live on global TV with everyone else, which is very frustrating. We, in TV, especially on a Netflix series, like that's like, we film every scene, like four times over. You know, I don't. I nail it on the first day. You nail it on the first time, every time. Just like this podcast. A lot of everyone else, you know, you got to, you know, it's, it's called TV magic. It's called one tick wonder. The deals are exact. The deals are real, but like the magic behind the process is exhausting. Talking with Alex Jai Mo, she is one of the originators on King of Collectibles. And she didn't want to be called a journalist though. Anything but a journalist, right? No, I mean, I, I think I, I mean, I am one. But yeah, just call me a whatever. I think a media personality. Yeah, that's fine with me. The hobby and in sports. That's all that matters. How many events, like hobby events, like, everything that's going on, are you, are you doing a year? Like, what's, what's that schedule look like? I, I go to the big shows. I mean, it's expensive to travel. And that's like the most frustrating part. I go to all this, like a lot of the, I go to the Philly Show, which is an hour and a half for me. And then I go to a bunch of other stuff, like, you know, in the Westchester Long Island area in New York. How these appearances are these just, you're going? Well, I just go and I brought, I brought my dad to the Philly Show this year, which was awesome. He was like, is this, he was, he was a little underwhelmed. I was like, Dad, you got to come to the, you know, the national. Obviously, I go to the Phenatics Fest. I actually, the last two years lived 10 minutes away from the Javid Center, which is where Phenatics Fest is hosted, I guess. And FYI, I was one of the first 50 contestants in the Phenatics Games. Tom Brady paid me $5,000 check in 2025. That was cool. I wanted to get him to sign it, but I only went out. I about said it, he signed that thing. I would make him get it to a big cardboard one, you know, like they did on the most price of the ride or something. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I mean, he's good at the sales. Yeah, so I go to the national, the Phenatics Fest, I go to the Philly Show. I was like, I got like 10 shows a year. I would love to go to more, but if it's not driving distance, like, I'm not going, is that just don't have, you know, I just can't waste the funds. The Boyz and I did the national and Phenatics Fest last year. Yeah, I mean, we did local shows. What are you going to do this year? It's tough for a lot of people because of the Phenatics, Phenatics Fest is, you know, FIFA World Cup. It's like, yeah, I could rent my apartment out for like, $15,000 that week. That's how crazy the price is on. Go stay with grandma or she's, it's like 10 minutes away. I'm going, I'm going to. Yeah, I'll do that. I got plenty of money. That's what I'd go to. Yeah, so a lot of people are struggling with like, or grappling with the idea of like, do I go to Phenatics Fest? Do I go to the national? And I think it's different for who you are as a person or a collector. Like, Phenatics Fest is definitely not mostly about collecting. It's mostly about sports. And I think I like it. I mean, I like to that. I want to get your spending. I'm glad you brought that up. No, I love it. No, let me lead you a little bit. But I'm going to, let me tell you my perspective. And I want you to give me yours. Like, so we went to both and we were new back to the hobby. So we hadn't been doing them every year. I'd really, the national didn't really exist when I was collecting as a kid. Like, it might have, but it was nothing. I mean, this is a look, I'm ancient. So like, but in all seriousness, the national was awesome. Like a fire hose, very hobby, very cards. Like, very specific to the hobby and collecting cards and memorabilia. But in a lot of other things, but mainly cards and awesomeness in that. But it's a fire hose. And the FNACS Fest is more like a marketing act of, you know, I was in marketing marketing activation for brands. Needs collectibles. So it's like entertainment plus collecting. And so I enjoyed both for different reasons. But I, but I enjoyed had a lot of fun. Yeah, I mean, I think you hit the nail on the head. Like, the reason why I came into the, the reason why I started making money in the hobby is my vision the entire time. And it was bridging the gap between traditional sports, collectibles, game use, memorabilia and all of that. And I think FNACS Fest does a wonderful job of that, right? It also, it gives you a plethora of options. Like if you're a sports fan, you can do that. If you're a collector, you can do that. But you can do both at the same time. And I think it's great for collecting. Because, and I think they did a great job this year, as opposed to year one, you know, infiltrating the hobby more into, you know, the overall space. So like more average shows and janes walked around with their little sons and daughters. And they were like, oh, I want a sports card, mummy. And daddy and like, then they bought them, right? And I know a lot of, I know like this is a factual thing that most, most of the dealers did like 50% better revenue, maybe even more depending on who you are. Oh, they crushed it. Yeah, we're talking wax, we're talking singles, we're talking, you know, everything. Everything. So yeah, I mean, they did a, they did a great, great job. I think that this year, I don't know. I mean, I, I can talk to more people. I'll get back to you. But I think that I do think that it's going to be, if you, if you're a collector and you're grappling with, with the decision of going to the national or Finax Fest, I, and I, I would go to the national this year, only because Finax Fest is, it's FIFA World Cup. I think it's going to be like, it's going to, it's going to be all your, it's going to be wild. Like it, I mean, but it's, but it's also amazing, but the, the price is going to be like insane. And I'm not hurting Finax by saying this. They're not going to need any help. The whole, the whole soccer world is going to be there and going. If you can go to both go, but if you are, if you want to focus mostly on collecting and trading or selling or buying, you go to the national, it's in Chicago again this year, right? Yeah, Chicago then to true Detroit. Yeah, so fine. As long as it's not in Cleveland again, or, yeah. Atlanta city. I've just been much to, I've been a Troy like twice. I was just going to say I've never been in Detroit, but I've heard good, it's like, it's coming a long way. It's really, yeah, it's really growing. That's what I hear and when I was there, I was like, it's cool, you know, but it was, I just been a lot of times like one night. Yeah, I mean, I think we can use a chance. I mean, I'm, I'm, I'm pretty, I mean, Rosemond's perfect for the national because it is perfect. The steak houses in the look, you know, locality of everything, but it does get sort of repetitive. Yeah, well, I mean, it'll be my second year there. And we'll be set up with collector nation. This will be my third or fourth at Chicago. Yeah, like the first national, yeah, it's been like at least four. No, three, at least three. What's the state of the hobby, like from your perspective? I think it's like never been better. What do you think? Like, I mean, we got past the COVID boom, went, we dipped a bit. And but not everything is about pricing. And now I think prices are leveled and normalized. And which is wonderful because it's, there's no price gouging. And people can get, you know, not bamboozled as much. And not, you know, lose the, their bread. Yeah. But in terms of media, I don't even think we've scratched the surface. Like I'm on a Netflix show. I'm also on an MLB network show focuses directly on baseball cards. And that show I will say gets some of the best ratings that MLB has ever had because they just replay the shows. Like when baseball's not on, like right now in the off season, they'll play the show. I can't tell you how many people text me photos of myself in a bar on the screen. You know, and all over the country because MLB network is playing that show. Because people love to watch a baseball card show. It's nostalgia. It's memories. And everyone can relate to it. Everyone. Like our grandma's can relate to it. You know what I'm saying? Like, so I think the state of the hobby is fantastic. And I, I, I, again, I were only scratching the surface. And I think it's going to go up, up, up and beyond. I mean, I don't know if you heard the news. Fanatics just announced their starting to do the media corporation around, centered around it as well. And we know Michael Rubin. And Mayan, they're going to go wild with that. Yeah. I mean, I took, I mean, I had, I had a, I've had a number one business show. And I'm not scrapping it. I'm keeping it as well. But I'm focusing the majority of my attention on collector nation. And so I'm not doing that. Just for nostalgia. I knew it was a big business. They were feeling good with the state, the state of the union. Yeah. And I just think there's, there's a lot of opportunity to do amazing content in this space. And to bring personalities like yourself. And to, you know, professionalize the media landscape in this industry. Exactly. And it's, it's just starting. I think it's like only, I mean, it's going. Mainstream and it's going to go up. And I'm proud to be one of the people that I think helped bring it there. And I think it benefits everyone involved. Like, you know, like the old, the old dies in the hobby. You're like, oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. No, bro, like it's a good thing for everyone involved. And if you don't like it, then don't watch it. But it's a good thing. I agree. Great. And like, I just heard on the news, I think in New York City, New York, as a school, an elementary school, literally had to ban sports cards from the school. Because kids were treating and making deals and doing, and talking about them during class. And they were like, yo, you guys like, you need to like pay attention. So they ban, they ban cards. And I think that's a great thing. If you think about, not a great thing that it was banned, but think that's awesome that our youth is like invested right now, you know what I'm saying? I mean, other than doing it, doing that, then doing, I don't know. Yeah, and I think Pokemon, we're only talking about sports, but Pokemon is helping too. Like Pokemon is bigger than ever. Yeah. So I have my stores Pokemon. It should be because non sports TCG, honestly, is like even more lucrative than popular. Yeah, it's crazy. It is. Again, Charizard can't tear his ACL. True. Yes, but Mew can, you know, have a bad day. I love you. I love Mew. You're a good shirt. What a dad joke. Sorry, I got all the, I wrote the book on dad jokes. Are you kidding? So Alex, as we close out here, I mean, what's, what does like, if you were writing the billboard, like, okay, well, I want the next couple of years to be, obviously, you want to be profitable in your efforts. We all do. So I think we can probably put that as an asterisk for everything that we all do in business. Yeah. But that to the side, I mean, what does success for you in your mind and happiness look like? Oh my God. Isn't that such a, it's a crazy question? But like, it is, but you got to think about it. Because if you don't think about it, you won't get there. Like, define success, right? It's like, what is success? Like, I talked about that. I think it's, but I like to put in groups. Like, I'll tell you, I asked you the question, but I'll maybe maybe take the pressure off, because it's like, I tried not to be so hyper-specific with myself. It's more like, okay, when I set the goal with the hobby, I said, there's a lot of money to be made here. My kids are into it. We continue to go closer. And there's business to be done. And I see like, we're in a lot of things. There's no blue ocean, like, because there's no opportunity, like, because everything's like done, I see wide open blue space. No, like, but that was it. I didn't have to define exactly how it was going to happen. I just solved that. No, honestly, I think that your question of what to success look like is like a question that like, nobody really, we can't answer first all, it's a great question. I think about this every day, right? Because a lot of people think success means money. And if you work on TV, usually you don't make that much. I'm a type of person. And this is why I need to listen to your business podcast, Ryan, that like, I'm an idiot. I should be focused more on money. And I'm going to be this year. That is a thing. Okay, I live in New York, New Jersey. It is expensive. But success to me this year within the hobby, I'm starting my own podcast, by the way, 10 years overdue. I think that I can monetize that. I want to show my, I want to talk about my dating disasters. I want to talk about, you know, my hobby failures. I want to talk about bonics, bringing his ankle on a freaking kneel down play. Like, I think I can. And I think I will. In terms of Netflix, I don't know if the show get renewed. Renewed, maybe it does. Maybe it doesn't. I don't know if I'll be a part of it. MLB Network, it's baseball offseason. I can't wait for baseball to come back. I think the hobby is thriving the most when baseball is in play. Unfortunately, those Dodgers, in my opinion, I don't know how you feel about parity, but I can't, I can't take the Dodgers stuff right now. I'm off topic of getting up everything. Yeah, we could do another show on that. We could do a whole other show on that. But yeah, I'm going to, you know, we've harped on media. I'm going to start posting, posting, posting, nonstop and educating not only myself, but other people and just entertaining. Because at the end of the day, when I came into this space six years ago, I'm going to say 99% of the people involved were not entertaining. And then more and more people, like yourself, have become involved. And it's more fun now. And I enjoy the competition, like bring it on. I love it. We need Mo, Jai Mo. That's what we need, you know, get it out there. Oh, I like that. Maybe that's what I should call my podcast. Need Mo, Jai Mo, you know, people learn how to say your last name without. You know, what's your success this year? I look, I've got, I'm deep in it. Like I collect your nation, collect your station. I'm going to try a strong arm town like you to come on and distribute with us. And you know, get some big brands in this book. My goal is to enlighten the big brands on what's happening in the hobby space. And they need to get their act together because there's a lot of activity at a lot of eyeballs and a lot of a fluency. And I don't think the big brands are completely awake to the hobby. And so my goal is to do that from the media side with brand deals and stuff like that. Well, look, I want to build a destination, you know, space. Like we got a cool last door, 3,000 square feet. It's got a bit of old school, new school filled to it. We got TVs everywhere. It feels like a sports bar meets a bougie. Well, I don't know if it's geeky or something. I don't know. It's cool. I don't know if it's that last part is probably 10% that 90% of the first. But, but it's cooler than most, you know, I've got taste. I mean, and we're doing some fun things, but it's going to be experience. And so it's like a laboratory for the hobby and for media for or a collector nation and living, breathing. Because look, I wanted to come into the space, but I wanted to do authentically. Well, you know, what's authentic is putting your money where your mouth is. Yeah. And building a, buying a building, building a studio that's in a hobby store that you're building. And really not taking inspiration from anyone other than what I see the hobby needs. And I think it needs places where people can come and collect and to not feel like it's just a transaction. And to embrace what this is, which is fun. It's a past time. It's fun to rip hacks. It's fun to hang out and collect. And we need to embrace more than that than just buy it, rip it, move on. So that's the goal. Yeah, I mean, I, I'm, um, we're just getting to know each other. But I'm proud of you. That's awesome. Good for you. Kudos to you. Congratulations. I'm excited to come check it out. Would be happy to, um, promote it if, if it's, you know, decent, I think it will be. I think it's going to be, I think you're going to have huge success. I'm sure the hobby, I mean, listen, the South Carolina, I'm sure you, it's probably pretty rural. It's not, it's, it gives kids and parents a thing to do that is not drugs or alcohol or something. And I think, I think it's, um, I think it's a smart move. And I, and I wish you all the best. I'm excited to see it. Well, I look forward to building on our relationship and keeping up with what you're doing. And, you know, I'm a fan. So I appreciate it a lot for coming on. Work here by keep up with Alex Jymo. Yeah, literally just follow me at Alex Jymo. So it's Aliex G-I-A-I-M-O. On Instagram, TikTok, I need to get my YouTube going Ryan. That's, that's also on my list this year. And I'm, and I'm starting a podcast like within the next two weeks. Um, yeah, and I'd be, I would love if you plug that when it comes out. But it will. Thanks for having me. It's been, it's been fun. It's been great. Hey guys, you know, to find us, thecollectoration.com. You'll find the full episode highlight clips, links to all of Alex's stuff, including her new show will update it once that's live. And I'll continue to be working behind the scenes to get her on Collectoration where we know you'll want her. Thanks for tuning into the show. Be sure to follow us on your go-to podcast platform and catch the full video episode over on YouTube. Visit us at collectornation.com and follow Ryan on Instagram at RyanAlford. Now get out there and collect yours.