ONIT’s New Era: Alexis Ohanian, Gravity Baseball, and the Future of College Cards

We just recently were bought by 776 Capital and leading the charge there is Alexis Ohanian. Having the founder of Reddit being part of our group now and leading that charge is fantastic. He believes in the product. We had sent him UCLA products and he's like, man, this is incredible. It's awesome to see his vision in this company. going forward hats off to you guys for attracting his attention and hats off to him for recognizing what you guys have done with the product you're going to see a lot of growth a bigger sign of the commitment that we've already been making to supporting the sports that aren't just the ones that everybody in the hobby is talking about the hobby is becoming a little bit of the land of monopolies and i'm talking to you tops talking to everybody let's keep it fresh and new welcome to the collector nation podcast here on the collector nation network Whether you're chasing grails or calling bluffs, we take you inside the hobby. Here's your host, Ryan Alford. Onnit athlete is having a major moment in the hobby. And gravity baseball is just one of those steps. They were just purchased by Alexis Ohaniam. You might know who that is. We'll get to that and more today on Collector Nation as we break down what Onnit is doing to differentiate themselves in a crowded space with lots of upside. And let me tell you, they're hot and you want to get after their newest releases. Corey Hollingsworth joins me on Collector Nation today. What's up, Corey? Welcome to Collector Nation. What's going on, man? Happy to be here. Good to see you. Good to see you, man. Really enjoyed this partnership with you guys. I'm a big proponent of everything you guys are doing, supporting the college athletes. And you know what? You guys have made it easy on me because the product is and as head of product, I'll give you the compliments. It's differentiated and feels like a premium experience. And it's come a long way, man. Thanks so much. You know, it's been an awesome journey to see the growth of the company and the growth of the product where, you know, we're doing what we can to push the boundaries of what we can print, what we can, you know, get done, get across the line. And it's been really exciting to see, you know, our partners really. really enjoy the changes that we've made and, and consumers also to, to talk a lot about, Oh my gosh, this has been such a great product to really, you know, to see. So it's been really exciting to see how much we've grown just in the last year, year and a half or so. And it's, it's been a really great thing to see. Well, good news and bad news is head of product. It doesn't sound like that train is slowing down anytime soon. I know we're going to talk about a new release with Gravity Black, but I think for our audience, we'd be remiss. You've been one of the headline topics the last couple of weeks in the hobby with just ownership news. No big deal. No big deal at all. Not a not a known entity. Yeah. Talk to me about what's going on there. Yeah, so it's been great. We just recently were bought by 776 Capital and leading the charge there is Alexis Ohanian. And as somebody who has been perpetually online for many years, having the founder of Reddit be part of our group now and leading that charge is fantastic. No big deal. He's, you know, even outside of that, the way that he has really... pioneered and championed women's sports and all the groups that he's been a part of. It's been really exciting. He is someone who's a real firebrand. He's somebody who has a ton of ideas and a lot of great hope for the space. And as a collector himself, It's great to have that where he's clearly coming in with some fresh eyes and some fresh ideas. And I think it's really going to inject a lot of energy here. And, you know, again, he believes in the product. He's seen it. I remember we had sent him, I don't want to say UCLA, some products last year because of our presence in the gymnastics space. And he's like, man, this is incredible. this and great to see the representation. So it's awesome to see, again, just his vision and what he really sees in this company going forward. And it's been exciting, an exciting couple of weeks, months. It's been awesome. It's complimentary, though, to the work that you've done and the team there at Onnit when, like you said, someone that's a, you know, has led a firebrand, is sort of a firebrand, personal brand on some levels, married to one of the most famous women athletes, badasses on the planet, Serena Williams. You know, like I said, I mean, hats off to you guys for attracting his attention and hats off to him for recognizing what you guys have done with the product. with the work with college athletes, with recognizing what's happening, even a lot with, you mentioned with women's sports, the, the, the energy around it top to bottom. I think, you know, people have been, you know, maybe late to the game, but it's a lot of excitement around sport in general. Um, maybe talk to about, is there anything that you can divulge that are, uh, you know, already plans with Alexis or things that you are talking about that may not already, uh, be on the radar. Yeah. Well, I can't say too much, but- Is it all under the hood? I mean, a lot of that's gonna be under the hood. It is still very much, things are still progressing there, but I can tell you, I mean, I would say that you're going to see a lot of growth in what we've already been doing. Anyone who has understood or known what we do on it, some of our most successful releases, some of our biggest ones are ones that collectors look forward to every year are Nebraska volleyball. And, um, you know, we had Arkansas softball in previous years, Oklahoma softball, Texas tech softball this year. Um, and then, you know, a few years ago we were able to get, uh, Boston college hockey as well, which was a really successful release. So specifically Boston college women's hockey. And so I would say that you're going to see a lot of that move movement. You're going to see a lot of that growth, uh, But I mean, ultimately, I think that you're going to see that, you know, and as a with him being a UVA grad, I would expect to see maybe a little bit more with with Virginia. But we'll see. Yeah. But I think that you're going to see, I would say, just a bigger sign of the commitment that we've already been making to to, you know, supporting the sports that aren't just the ones that everybody in the hobby is talking about. You know, I've been in the hobby for a collector for years. and then been in this industry on the business side of things since 2012. And so I've been in the space for a minute. The hobby obviously has their darlings, the things that they really gravitate towards. I love that what we've been able to do is focus on the team, focus on the players who aren't necessarily represented there. And, you know, I think that Alexis's support there is just going to be, you know, a catalyst to see a bit more of that too. Yeah, I can't wait to see you guys started to push the envelope. I mean, with your leadership on product, which I've seen the evolution of of the product, the premium feel, you know, leaning into some of the things that make the hobby great with, you know, numbered things and parallels that feel differentiated while also staying true to, like you said, the teams and, you know, the college experience. And I think you guys have really appreciated. I don't know, played a really nice balancing act with all of that. And I, you know, so to see you guys get infused with, you know, new energy and new ideas and likely some some capital, I'm sure. The sky is the limit. And look, well, we need some competition here. You know, the hobby is becoming a little bit of the land of monopolies. And I got no I have no hate. Look, I love what Tops is doing. I love what everybody's doing. But let's let's keep it fresh and new. Well, I think that, you know, ultimately we have a spot in the hobby and we have a spot that I think collectors are really starting to see and enjoy. And, you know, we've said we're not trying to, you know, defeat fanatics. We're not trying to get one over on Panini or anybody else. There's a certain area that we are really happy to support. And, you know, there's opportunities there and there's opportunities for everybody. There are other companies that can come in and do other things too very well. And I think that the good thing about the hobby that I've seen, obviously, even though we are in a monopolization of the big leagues right now, you do still have other companies doing really innovative, really cool things, both on the license and the unlicensed side. And I'm excited that the things that we stand for here, being fully licensed, being fully on card, working with the players you know paying more in nil than anybody else those are the things that we really stand on and that is not to say that what the other companies are doing isn't for them or anything else like that this is what we really stand for and you know there's innovative products that are coming out every single day um it's there's more products in the market now than there have been in a long time and but there's really cool clusters and really cool things that are happening you know, I'd say you see a new release every, every week or so. And sometimes you just see something that's like, man, that's amazing. That's fantastic. So, yeah, there's plenty of room in the hobby. I think it's, it's, it's not an or discussion. It's an and, and it's cause I think a lot of collectors it's, you know, they, they want something fresh. They want something different. And, you know, collecting a college team and, you know, like the athletes at that level, it is a different experience, usually a different, a little different mindset, but I think it's opening up to more collectors to give them another avenue for, because a lot, you know, everybody likes to be get ahead and know, you know, the guys are going to be pro, but then there's a guy that just want to support the team. And I think you're seeing more of that because as again, whether it's women's sports, men's sports, whatever it is, more and more on television because you've got so many more outlets for media now, you know, like with all the different ESPNs and all the channels and all that. I mean, women's softball had its moment. I don't know what the ratings were, but I have to imagine they were great. I mean, I had friends I didn't even, you know, like you were watching. I know that I watch anything that is sports. I live, breathe and eat sports. But friends that I don't even say the same thing, I'm like, so it's having a moment. Well, you know, it's fascinating you say that because, you know, this year we went really long into both baseball and softball. I think that we produced more collections this year in those sports than we have in previous years. And, you know, that's kind of where gravity came from, too. And we'll chat about that in a bit, I know. But for softball, I mean, you've seen people over the years, you've seen a little bit more interest ratchet up. You know, Oklahoma softball had its incredible run. In this last few years, you've seen Nigeri Kennedy, who, you know, from Texas Tech, who was Megan Grant this year, multi-sport athlete, you know, women's basketball, in basketball and in softball, making headlines in both sports. And she was a signature athlete in both of our programs. Awesome player, awesome partner for us. And, you know, I had friends who live in L.A., but they're like, oh, my gosh, she's breaking the home run record. And you see she's absolutely crushing it. That old team is crushing it. we were able to see. And then even, you know, you mentioned softball. We worked with Georgia softball this year and recently produced a content piece with Kirsten Roos, who is an incredible athlete on that team. And, you know, they, they went well into the playoffs or yeah, into the tournament. And, you know, we were able to partner with her and share her story a little bit. And it's awesome. There's a lot of great stories in softball and college baseball. And in college baseball, we've had some of the highest ratings in years. And it's been an incredible tournament. You know, we've just had Oklahoma baseball win, and they were a partner of ours this year. So we were super excited about that. There's a lot of great stories to tell in collegiate sports. And it's not just, you know, in the big sports. It's 100% right. And I mean, great transition point. Let's go ahead and get that cat of the bag with baseball. Gravity Black now at Walmart or Best Buy, you know, like where are we going to be? Talk to me about this product. What sort of, I know, I mean, imagine being a product guy, it's got to be exciting watching your babies come to life and stuff like that. But talk to us about Gravity Black. So gravity, yeah, it's just gravity, by the way. I don't know if you want to do anything. Yeah. It's just gravity. Just gravity. Just gravity. Okay. That was all my show notes for some reason. You're good. We also have a product called black. So we have one that's called gravity. One that's called gravity and black. It's yeah. Gravity and black. We can go, we can go whichever way you want to. Yeah, no, but I want to call it what it's called. Cool. Yeah. All right. We'll stick with gravity, regular gravity. Yeah. I can edit that in. Perfect. Awesome. So, so yeah, so, so gravity, you know, this is the first year that we've produced gravity previous to this season. Everything that we did was just team size. So it was always just, you know, Oklahoma baseball or UCLA baseball or Indiana football, whoever it was. But we introduced a couple of different brands. You know, my background, I've worked for Panini for a long time, produced a number of brands over the years across multiple verticals there, NBA, NFL, FIFA, And we had a lot of different... You really had to do a lot of work to create brands and things that could stand alone on the market. And we wanted to jump into that a little bit and create gravity where we're still staying true to who we are. We've got... We're focused. We're focusing on the whole team. We're focusing on these players who, you know, you'll see a lot of offensive linemen and defensive linemen in our products that you're not going to see in other products. But with Gravity, we took a step forward and just made a theme set, something that was a little bit different. And then for baseball, we kind of had this audacious idea to say, hey, well, what if we made this, you know, utilizing the licenses that we have, what if we made this a mixed product? And it's the first time that we've ever produced something that is fully mixed, fully blended, meaning it's not just a single team property, but you're seeing 10 of the top teams in college baseball and all in that same pack in that same mix, And not only that, but for the first time, we were able to print on Optichrome technology. So this features our ION, the brand new ION technology that we're utilizing going forward. It won't be on every one of our products, but certain products will be able to utilize that. And yeah, so we took a look at the players that we were working with, the schools that we were working with, and... We looked like, oh, my gosh, like, especially with the draft coming up, we have some players who people are going to be talking about through June, July and even onward. And so we kind of put this all together and got the approvals, got everything that that needed to get done there and super excited to to put this out on the market. Like we had great. partners with MJ Holdings and SP Images who were distribution partners who found, you know, great opportunities there to get distribution in Walmart and Meijer and Best Buy and select hobby shops. And the initial response has been awesome. I mean, we've had a lot of people who are you know pulling great low numbered parallels of rock chelowski who's probably going to be the number one pick coming up this season um in the draft next month and then you got a lot of people who are just understanding oh my gosh there's these great prospects there's these people who had incredible seasons incredible careers and uh yeah it's the first time we've put this out into the market and it was it's been really really good so far Is this the official Chrome product for Onix? This is the debut of our Ion OptiChrome technology. How, and for someone experiencing that, I mean, are we expecting like the Optic, you know, like similar type thing, Topps Chrome, like similar type feel, right? you're gonna see a very similar feel. This is printed with the exact same specs as your standard OptiChrome that you can see in a Prism, in an Optic, in a Topps Chrome. It's the exact same specs. All growns up. On it is all growns up. But look, I will say this. And I've said this in some of our features. You guys have pushed paper pretty far, like in keeping it unique with some of the feels and the touch. Like I give you guys a lot of credit for what you did on the paper side. So I'm sure you're going to hit a home run once you're working with Chrome. You know, it was ambitious and it was a little scary at first because, you know, I've worked with OptiChrome products in the past and there's a lot that goes into it. Our print partner was really excited to push that with us and worked with our design team and our pre-press team to make sure that the carts were getting... done exactly the way we needed to. We went out and, you know, did press checks and made sure that every little detail was right. And, you know, it exceeded our expectations. When the sheets came back to our office in Boise, we saw our teammates who were just like, googly-eyed because of how great it looked you know and we've you know to your point we've we've made some really exciting products we've had some great um designs and our design team knocks out of the park we love what they've done um you know but this is this printer just was able to come in and um and take that to the next level. And so, yeah, we're super excited about it. You know, it won't, like I said, it won't be on every single one of our products going forward, but just the same way that, you know, Top Series 1 is on paper, Bowman, you know, Bowman Chrome is on Opti. And, you know, you've got different looks and feels for every brand. And so we're excited for the Gravity brand going forward and what that's going to look like. And it's going to be a good compliment. You know, we also have Black, which we mentioned earlier. Black has a different look and feel. Varnish, it has a different. Yep. Yeah, there you go. That's the black product right there. Yes. Just so you need to be watching. We've got both. We have both. Gravity and black. Yeah. Right here. Exactly. Maybe that's where it came from. Gravity black. It was stacked on top of one another. Yes. That's what it is. We got gravity, we got black together, but yeah, we're good. And yeah, so black, for example, it has a different kind of technology. It has a cool UV varnish on it, as well as some great foil elements. And that, you know, we had some incredible cards in there. The Solaris and Polaris inserts there were just beautiful. And, um, yeah, I'm just going to open it while you're talking, Corey. I'm just, I'm just going to go in, you know, exactly. Exactly. Yeah. So, uh, I love it. I love the, um, the texture on the paper you guys have pulled off like that, that kind of a suede on some of the inserts. That is, that's awesome. Yeah, you know that we had our blackout inserts for one touch and all that stuff like those ones, the soft touch rather, those ones had a really good, really good feel and everything else. It's a super, super great. I love what we've been able to do there. Oh, yeah. These feel premium. Nice. Oh, I got an insert in here, I think. Of some sorts. I don't know what the Chris Braswell is. Oh, so you've got gravity football there. Gotcha. Yeah. Yeah, it is a football. And these are the new opti or not, but that was not. That's kind of like our pre opti basis. So that was the first time that we had printed gravity baseball, but you see that that look and feel with the varnish on there. Yeah. Yeah. So yeah, that's what I'm talking about. That is nice. Yeah. And if you open the black as well, you'll actually see that next step in that, too. So the base set there has a different varnish and look and feel. And there's some incredible inserts in there, too, that were on a really shiny substrate that that really brought a lot of those cards to life. We have some inserts in there that are such as Ascend and Access where you look at those and they're awesome. And then we have Seven Wonders in Gravity. We've got all kinds of great inserts, hard to pull cards. And yeah, there we go. Just get all that out of there. Oh, yeah. So this is actually. Yeah. So that one, you actually get a full base set right there. So that is the entire base set for that was for Oklahoma. Correct. Yeah, Oklahoma football. We had a great season. Yes, Oklahoma football. Yeah, so you have the entire base set there, and then you have a bonus pack that's going to have an assortment of inserts, autographed parallels, things like that. Yep. We're just going to create FOMO right here on set, Corey, with your product. I get to open it live on or recorded, but in person here while we're talking. Oh, yeah. Perfect. Love it. Oh, okay. Oh, that's cool. Look at there. Got an auto right there out of the start. Ooh, which guy? That's a silver auto. Isaiah Satagna? Satagna, yeah. Satagna? He's back this year. He's going to be one of their top wide receivers. To 99. Nice. And like Corey mentioned, and I want to say this. I'm talking to you, Tops. I'm talking to everybody. On-card is the only way. Let's get rid of – I want to start a hashtag, no more stickers. You know, like, no sticker autos. Years ago, there was a major CEO of a card company who was proudly proclaiming, on card isn't hard. I won't say it's not hard, but it's worth fighting for. It is. We love to be able to, my big thing is I just love being able to see an athlete see a card of themselves and sign it for the first time. You know, obviously there's a lot of players who've been hyped up for many years who've signed stickers and everything else, but a lot of times they won't see a card. I want to make sure that, you know, when we're, when we're doing these deals that they actually get the chance to see the cards themselves. We've had a number of players who have just like, you know, stop taking pictures, send it to their moms, you know, show, Hey, I'm signing cards. It's great. These look awesome. I'll be honest. I've opened quite a few already. So I'm both the talk about it, and I'm a card-carrying member of the Onnit fan club. Awesome. But they're gorgeous. And these, I mean, not only the design, but the feel. You've got the... It looks like the foil, I imagine that's what it is, foil wrap around that. That's not easy to pull off. Let me just tell you on the printing side. Coming up as a marketing guy, I know what it takes to print this kind of stuff. Not easy. Yeah, it was that one, especially too, you know, that was a set where Skylar, who is our lead designer, he had an idea. We started talking with our print team about doing some cool things with that varnish so that those cards had a cool depth to it. So even though like the outer frame is a dark black, you see this really cool varnish on it that, oh, and that's a, I believe it's a Solaris card right there. Is it? Is that a hit? That's a huge one. Yeah, that's one of the rare ones. That's Satania 2. So I got Satania's auto and this guy. It looks like... Alright, I'm going to say it out loud. It looks like a cooler version of a Color Blast. I don't know what you're talking about, but, you know, it is a really cool version of, you know, the way. This is this is the way I wish that certain other things were made. I'm just saying it's it's a better design of because using the tech. See, I'm an art design art direction guy. This is how it should be art directed. There's a lot of layers going on here that people need to appreciate and see. And. With the foil and the refractor built in. Gorgeous. Yeah. Gorgeous card. They, again, it was something that, I think that you had, yeah, you had the one that's a little bit more of a swirl, correct? Oh, yeah. And another auto. Oh, great. With, this is Amarian Robinson, number two. All right. Out of 49. I'm telling you guys. Like this, it's like a gorgeous set of cards. And, oh, they do have the more matte feel and the blackout version. I'm telling you. You guys, it's not easy to differentiate. There's a lot of the same stuff going on. And you guys do it, though, with the designs and the feel, the look. I think that each product that I've been a part of, we've been able to improve the experience on. And that's not to say that we didn't have good experiences before, but just thinking about, you know, the importance of contrast when you're opening up a pack, right? If if you have if you have 10 cards and they all look the same and there's not a lot of differentiation, you're going to be like, OK, it's cool. I don't know if I want to open another. But if you know if you're able to open up a pack like that and see, I got a silver auto, a red auto. This card is. I've got my base and parallels. You want to be able to see, hey, I've got a lot of variety in here and there's something that makes me want another pack. And there's part of that to me that I just want to make sure, this is going to sound weird, but I'm a huge Survivor fan. And whenever they talk about adding something new, there was a running thing about, yeah, but is it fun? And for this, I'm like, when we're talking about, okay, opening something new, opening up a product, is this like, okay, are we having fun when we're opening it? Is it something that makes me want to open another pack? Those are things that we think about on a product side where it's like, okay, if this is the way that the product is going to get published, does this make you want to open another one? wanting to make sure it's a fun open. It represents the brand. It represents the team and it makes you want to open something new. It does. I'm telling you, like I'm sitting here and I've opened too. And I'm kind of like Jones and open, you know, more. I happen to have some cheerleader ones from Boise state. It looks like I'm not going to open it because we want to save them for some customers. But you, but you just nailed it though. Cause I was thinking, and you've made the point for me. The differentiation from card to card and the design, I sometimes open packs and I'm like bored halfway through it. It's not just because they're base cards, but they're not even interesting base cards. It's repetitive. And I don't feel any of that with these. This feels like a premium experience. That's awesome. Well, thank you very much for that. And I mean it. I mean, it just is. Yeah. Like, we just want to make sure that we can... have someone who, whether they're buying a single pack for, you know, at the campus bookstore, or if they're buying a break online, or if they're, you know, going full on box and pack openings, everything else like that. We have people who buy, you know, our single packs, which is our standard, you know, pack that you would see at a campus bookstore. There are people who buy a hundred of those at a time and they just go through them and they rip them and they love them. And, you know, there's gotta be something there is to make stuff to make them want to go and do it over again. It's not just auto chasing. It's not just, you know, a player collector or a team collector. It's, it's, it's, it's a fun open and that's what you really want to have too. It's just a good experience when you're opening the product. It feels different. I mean, I, that's, that's the highest compliment I can give you because different is what sells and is it, I open a lot of cards and it every time I open, I guess it feels different. And it's not because the logo in the right top is different. It's because it feels thoughtful. You've done a great job with this. The whole team has. And hey, when we get some Chrome in the hands, who knows what happens? I mean, you know, we have to get that. And if anyone's listening, if you DM me on it, I'm going to send you a free pack on me. So DM me on it, and I will send you a free pack out of my collection. And I don't do that very often. I want you to on it. Instagram DM on it. And I'll send you a free pack. Corey, so we got football coming up. That's my favorite sport. What can we say or tease about on it football in 2026? Let's see. What can we tease and talk about? I would say more short print inserts. You got me. I'm hooked. There's the hook. Some that fall less than one per case that are ultra rare. City limits are going back to a rare hit too. And they will have a new look and feel that I think is absolutely stunning. for team set stuff. You'll see a new addition to our lineup in terms of a new configuration. That info will be coming out soon. There will be a couple teams making their debut as a football team for the Onnit offering. Can we name those teams yet, or is it a surprise for a new launch to come? It'll be a surprise. Okay. Surprise coming. Two new teams. All right. Yep. And then we also will be having Gravity Football. And so... You will be definitely seeing a mixed product with OptiChrome technology, with our Ion OptiChrome technology, and more information is going to be coming on that one soon too. I love it. I know you kind of have a sporadic release maybe based on team, don't you? They come out based on when you get things done and those autos, the ink dried on the autos and everything else. No redemption cards, right? No. If, if, if we, if we have a redemption card, something has gone a little cray cray. Um, but at the same time, you know, it's something that we don't ever ambition to have, but if there were an instance, say, you know, uh, you know, we work with top universities and if, if that player was going to sign with us and and we knew that they wanted to be the sign. Never say never if it's the right person. I don't ever say never. I don't ever want there to be redemption cards in our product, I never do. But if for some odd reason, ever want to do. But yeah, you know, to your point. Any names that we can name that have signed that aren't like surprises or is everything sort of under wraps for football? We're still under wraps. I mean, we've just had our first signings. We've had three signings so far. We have another few planning this week. And then right after the 4th of July holiday, we're going to be having a ton of signings. So, Um, I'm always going to be a little bit more conservative on that where I don't want to say, Hey, so-and-so is signing, but, um, and then all of a sudden he gets, they get both feet and they don't sign. Um, but I like it. I will. I never want to jinx it. I've seen too many times, you know, I've been in this hobby for almost 15 years. I've seen too many times where something gets promised and not delivered. And I will always be, you know, much more cards to the chest for that. There's just a lot of really great stuff that's coming out. We've expanded, like at some universities, we've expanded how many people are signing. So they're going to be more signature athletes. So you're going to see a little bit more of that. We're really trying to make sure that we have a good representation of players who we think are a mix of fan favorites, hobby darlings, as well as up and coming players. that we think are gonna be important over the next few years. So I'll tell you that, you know, we've really taken a look from top to bottom on these rosters. You know, our signature athlete research And our team has already been looking at that, following transfer portals, following who's gone where, and wanting to make sure that we get this out as soon as possible. You know, our hope is to have the majority of schools released in August. You know, there might be some that are a little bit later, but we want to be as close to week zero as we can. And, you know, because we want we won't be able to be able to celebrate it and, you know, capture the momentum for all of the great hype that these schools have. 100%. Is it, as far as signing schools, I mean, what can you say about that process? And, you know, like the audience would, you know, probably help them understand maybe what goes into that. You know, the negotiation, I mean, I call it what it is. It's got to be, I guess, a negotiation on some level. But maybe what you can, what you can share about that process. Yeah, you know, it is a process. We have a lot of schools who we work with that make it super easy. And then there's some that is just because they are great universities that have a lot of things going on. Sometimes it takes some time and, you know, it's a longer process. But we have an incredible licensing team, Samantha, who heads up our licensing division. She has a great way of like communicating everything that we need and understanding everything that university needs to really make sure that it feels as symbiotic of a relationship as it can be. And I would say that when it comes down to it, we look at adding universities all the time. I think this year we're looking at maybe 30 universities for football. I think that's kind of what we're looking at. So it's a little bit more than we did last year. Yeah. But I can tell you that list might start out, depending on the year, that list might start out at 50. That might start out a different number because we see value in working with so many different universities. And ultimately, we have to come through and say, okay, is there anything that we need to push back on? Is there anything where we need to say, no, we have to have this university? That's a non-negotiable. Those are little things that we have to do. And we start that process as early as January. And so it is definitely something that, and I'll tell you this, like we're in that process already right now for our winter sports, you know, we're looking at a number of sports that we've produced over the last few years and saying, okay, can we do that earlier? Can we do this? Can we do more of this sport? always looking at. And I'll tell you that there's a lot that goes into that. And, you know, even when it comes to our partners who help with group licensing and things like that, to make sure that we have the ability to work with these athletes, there's a lot that goes into it. And it's, it's a lot of meetings. It's a lot of conversations. And again, our team from, from Samantha to Mike, who heads up our university relations, it's, it's, it's a whole, whole process. And we, we do a lot to make sure that everything's a Above board, everything is, you know, to the licensees credit, you know, so we want to make sure that we're doing justice to them, not just making the coolest cards that we want to do. Because if we if we just did that and we were reckless about it, then they wouldn't work with us. And so we want to make sure that we're supporting the school, supporting the players and while also doing what we can to make the coolest cards that we can make. I think you're having a lot more success than not on all those fronts. But whose heads do I need to go shake at Clemson to get them back on? I mean, they're 20 minutes down the road. Can you name names? I'm going to go chop some legs. I need my Clemson guys back out there. You know, I would love to have them back. I would love to have them back. You know, I think that they're obviously a great university. And, you know, we had a couple of great releases with them. But, yeah, I would love to have them back. I think it's a future conversation. But, you know, because I got to be down. Don't let me, you know, he's got some sway. So I would think that he might be able to have the right conversations. I'll make my pitch for it. Here's what I'll say. Look, this is good for the athletes and it's good for the school, too. This is free marketing and free promotion. Not free, but, you know, like they're getting compensated. And you guys are taking care of the athletes, paying higher than anyone else. So I'll be your agent for the day on this and say, come on, schools, like sign the dotted line, get your players out there. You get free brand, you get premium products, and now you're on Chrome. Let's go. Yeah. Right. Well, I'll tell you this, we, and this is a slight tip ahead, but I'll tell you this. We actually had a university that we met at an event. You know, we work at a lot of different events and trying to get our name out there and make sure that we're meeting with partners who we want to work with. They learned about what we did, found our cards, saw our cards and said, Hey, we have to have this for our university. And we've been talking with them now for four or five months about a sport, not football. And we're pretty much on the finish line of getting that across because they saw the value. They see, hey, this is perfect for our university, perfect for our athletes. And it's a school that we were not licensed at. We had no connections to. And they saw our cards, fell in love with it, and we're wanting to make it work. So I'll tell you this, that there are schools... and there's a lot of groups that just say, hey, this is exactly what I want. And we're happy to be able to jump in and make that happen, make that a reality for them. Yeah, I mean, I know it's complicated. I know I'm not making light of that. I'm just saying, as I open another pack, that it puts your players – it's marketing. It's an engine. And it's like the high tide raises all ships, man. Like y'all promote them. They're putting y'all like – It's got, I'd have to really know, and we're not going to get into it. I'll drop this point, but you know, like I have to really know the reasons that it falls apart. Like, sure. And maybe it's more complex than I think it is, but if it's just greed, they need to play the long game with the brand more, more impressions with their name or impressions with their players. Yeah. it's better for recruiting it's better for bigger brand deals like all that right i'll tell you this there's the collectible space is just growing just not even in the sports space, you've seen collectibles go crazy over the last couple of years. Seeing like One Piece, for example, the One Piece release was one of the hottest things on the market. And even on the TCG side where magic starts to do the other world properties like Final Fantasy and Lord of the Rings, those are going nuts. too to the point where people aren't just using those for the utility of of the game but just collecting them because they like the property and i think that there's a tremendous opportunity where you know there's a lot of markets that aren't on the national stage that you know if where we can work with them and create collectibles that are on brand that their fans are going to love and to me that is is just incredibly rewarding to be able to see that come to Well over 30 years. I've seen like, I've seen the days from when, you know, I had the Dick Tracy cards back in the day, you know what I mean? age me a bit, but, but, but from that to the days of score and pinnacle and upper deck and Fleer, you know, in the late nineties, and then seeing what changed in the two thousands and everything else, this hobby is always evolving. And right now, you know, people have said, okay, there's all this stuff going on because of COVID, but it's like, it's actually just the evolution of this industry. Like it was starting to go up already. And I think what's best about it is that it's not just the same old thing. There's constantly, there's been so much more innovation over the last like five, six years that has been really exciting to see as a collector to the point where people are having more ownership. People are having more excitement around what they're doing. And it isn't just going someplace, buying cards and that's it. There's an experience with it. Yeah. Yeah. And it feels like where maybe the COVID stuff felt like in a natural, like higher bump, it feels more sustainable now. Cause I feel like there's so many more people and broader audiences and even institutional money coming in cause they recognize it. And we can't deny the values of like of these things anymore. Yeah. Well, even on that same point, like you mentioned the value in it, you know, we pride ourselves on, you know, we haven't really been raising prices. Like, you know, we know that there's a lot of trading card products that could be a lot higher. There's ones that could be, you know, more price elastic. But... we pride ourselves on being able to have something that the average fan, you know, even if they're just a team enthusiast, like we kind of talk about team enthusiasts, hobby enthusiasts, when somebody walks into the bookstore at Virginia tech or Georgia or wherever, or Clemson someday, um, you know, to be able to walk up and see, well, I've got TCU here, but you know, if somebody just walks up and sees this and says, okay, that's 1299. Yeah, that's great. That sounds good. Um, um, you know if they saw that and it was 175 they'd be like what why i just want to support my team and so we really have done a great job i think in making sure that hey this is still an exception of the team first and then but also, you know, making sure that it is something that's collectible that the hobby enthusiast is going to enjoy and finding ways to, you know, thread that needle a bit. I would say you thread it. I mean, because I'm staring at what looks like a lot of premium cards at me that I've opened here that I wouldn't. You take the logo off it, and I would just say that's a beautiful card. We're going to keep the logos on, though. Yeah, I would. I would. It's good for brand. I just mean it doesn't matter. It's just a well-designed product. And the bias here is purely that this is a gorgeous card, and I think I'm going to keep it. sweet that's for you i know i like it uh cory how about some details um we got any of those details we mentioned them all the time on the show but website where we can buy the newer products all that good stuff Awesome. So if you head to on it, athlete.com, so on it, athlete.com will have all of our product information. You can see there's some product that is available for purchase there. If you go to our socials, we're generally on an athlete across the board. But if you go onto our tick tock and whatnot channels, you'll find, we have breaks going on regularly. That's product that is readily available for anybody. If they want to purchase it sealed or if you want us to open it there, it's it's that's how that is. You can find us at Target and you find us at Walmart. You can find us at Best Buy. You can find us at Meijer. Gravity Baseball is in those locations now, actually. So you'll find those mega boxes at Best Buy. Walmart and Meijer. And after that, we've got a few different places also that our distributors like to put our product. I mean, you'll find them at local mom and pop shops. You'll find them sometimes at grocery stores. So you'll see it across the board. If you're in a college town, there's a lot of opportunities to find our products. if there's some place that you want to see our product please by all means let us know and we can try and make that happen uh because you know we're always trying to find the right spot for um for fans to interact with our products and then of course i've even mentioned hobby shops i mean go to your local your local friendly hobby shop talk to your neighborhood card store and you know if you're in a market that has a great uh college or university you want to see supported talk to them about it uh you know we work now i think we've published product now for over 75 college across the country, you know, from Florida to Washington to Southern California, all the way up to Boston College. So, and just about everywhere in between. So we are, you know, really excited to continue to support college athletics and the players and, you know, really to continue to serve the fans who love these teams too. Corey, man, it's been fun. I really love what you're doing. It's been fun. And look, I'm a big supporter and believe in what you guys are doing. And hey, if you're listening, you come to Collector Station, we've got it. We've got Onnit. So come here. And if you go to OnnitAthlete.com and you use Collector Nation, you'll get 15% off your first order. That's Collector Nation, all one word at OnnitAthlete.com. And I'm telling you, If you'll DM me on it, I'm going to send you a free pack, and then you know where you can place your order at thecollectorstation.com on it and any other hobby product of your choice. But let me tell you, this one is staying with me. Corey, really appreciate it, brother. It's been fun. Thank you so much. I really appreciate it. Hey, guys, thecollectornation.com. That's where you learn more about everything we're doing. We're bringing the hobby straight to you every week. See you next time. 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 collector nation.com and follow Ryan on Instagram at Ryan Alford. Now get out there and collect yours.