WEBVTT 00:00:00.010 --> 00:00:02.549 Today's guest on The Shallow End is Alyx Effron. 00:00:02.710 --> 00:00:06.150 He's the founder of Collectors MD, a group that 00:00:06.150 --> 00:00:08.250 provides support to people struggling with addiction 00:00:08.250 --> 00:00:11.429 -like behavior around sports cards and other 00:00:11.429 --> 00:00:14.669 collecting spaces. Since the group started a 00:00:14.669 --> 00:00:17.109 few months ago, I've watched with admiration 00:00:17.109 --> 00:00:20.030 as Alyx has addressed the elephant in the sports 00:00:20.030 --> 00:00:25.070 card room. Addiction, secrecy, overspending, 00:00:25.170 --> 00:00:29.629 loss of control. The discussion you're about 00:00:29.629 --> 00:00:32.509 to hear might not be as enjoyable as hearing 00:00:32.509 --> 00:00:36.049 about a big chase or a big pickup, but it also 00:00:36.049 --> 00:00:38.609 just might be one of the most important pieces 00:00:38.609 --> 00:00:43.049 of content you listen to this year. Do we control 00:00:43.049 --> 00:00:47.929 sports cards or do they control us? And how do 00:00:47.929 --> 00:00:52.229 we know or sense when that line has been crossed? 00:00:53.450 --> 00:00:55.950 If this podcast makes you think about yourself, 00:00:56.880 --> 00:01:00.659 or someone you know, I urge you to check out 00:01:00.659 --> 00:01:06.459 collectorsmd .com. It's a great first step. My 00:01:06.459 --> 00:01:09.459 name is Dave Schwartz. I would dave sports cards 00:01:09.459 --> 00:01:12.840 on Instagram. This is The Shallow End. Thanks 00:01:12.840 --> 00:01:21.459 for tuning in, and let's get started. Welcome 00:01:21.459 --> 00:01:25.280 now to the podcast. This is Alyx. Alyx, I'm very 00:01:25.280 --> 00:01:28.370 excited to... have you on we were chatting before 00:01:28.370 --> 00:01:32.129 we hit record about some of the reasons for doing 00:01:32.129 --> 00:01:34.730 what you're doing with Collectors MD first of 00:01:34.730 --> 00:01:37.209 all thank you for being here and how are you 00:01:37.209 --> 00:01:40.510 dave thank you so much for having me i really 00:01:40.510 --> 00:01:42.510 appreciate you giving me the opportunity to come 00:01:42.510 --> 00:01:45.189 on the show talk a little bit about what we're 00:01:45.189 --> 00:01:49.109 doing at Collectors MD um it's been a little 00:01:49.109 --> 00:01:52.730 over two months now so there's a lot to uh discuss 00:01:52.730 --> 00:01:57.180 and some exciting announcements that we've been 00:01:57.180 --> 00:02:00.379 working hard on. So yeah, man, thank you. Thank 00:02:00.379 --> 00:02:04.019 you for having me. Before we get into what I 00:02:04.019 --> 00:02:06.959 anticipate being an important and necessary conversation, 00:02:07.219 --> 00:02:10.199 for those people who are listening or watching 00:02:10.199 --> 00:02:15.939 and have not heard, can you explain what Collectors MD 00:02:15.939 --> 00:02:19.379 is and what the mission is? Absolutely. So at 00:02:19.379 --> 00:02:21.659 its core, the mission of Collectors MD is simple. 00:02:22.000 --> 00:02:24.180 It's to bring support, awareness, and accountability 00:02:24.180 --> 00:02:27.080 to a space that often blurs the line between 00:02:27.080 --> 00:02:30.439 collecting and compulsion. We're not anti -hobby 00:02:30.439 --> 00:02:33.099 by any means. We still love the hobby. That's 00:02:33.099 --> 00:02:35.780 kind of something that comes up quite a bit. 00:02:36.080 --> 00:02:38.719 It's not about shaming people for enjoying cards 00:02:38.719 --> 00:02:41.080 or sneakers or comics or whatever they collect. 00:02:41.419 --> 00:02:44.740 It's about recognizing when the lines get crossed, 00:02:44.960 --> 00:02:47.719 right? When what used to bring joy starts to 00:02:47.719 --> 00:02:50.699 cause stress, damage relationships, or drain 00:02:50.699 --> 00:02:53.680 your finances. There are people out there who 00:02:53.680 --> 00:02:55.759 are silently struggling with this, spending money 00:02:55.759 --> 00:02:59.099 that they don't have, hiding purchases from their 00:02:59.099 --> 00:03:02.379 loved ones, chasing hits, feeling that dopamine 00:03:02.379 --> 00:03:05.340 crash the second the break ends, and no one's 00:03:05.340 --> 00:03:07.340 really talking about it, at least not in a way 00:03:07.340 --> 00:03:10.099 that feels safe or judgment -free, right? So 00:03:10.099 --> 00:03:12.539 that's where Collectors MD comes in. That's what 00:03:12.539 --> 00:03:14.900 we're here for. We host weekly support meetings. 00:03:15.000 --> 00:03:18.199 We put out content that speaks honestly about 00:03:18.199 --> 00:03:21.979 mental and emotional toll. the mental and emotional 00:03:21.979 --> 00:03:24.780 toll collecting can take. We're building a space 00:03:24.780 --> 00:03:28.319 where people can be real about their experiences 00:03:28.319 --> 00:03:32.080 without feeling alone or ashamed. We're also 00:03:32.080 --> 00:03:34.500 advocating for change within the hobby, within 00:03:34.500 --> 00:03:36.759 the industry, things like better safeguards, 00:03:36.759 --> 00:03:39.719 self -exclusion tools, transparency from platforms 00:03:39.719 --> 00:03:42.460 and breakers, because if the hobby is going to 00:03:42.460 --> 00:03:46.030 keep evolving, it has to do so responsibly. So 00:03:46.030 --> 00:03:48.870 yeah, this isn't just a content brand or a passion 00:03:48.870 --> 00:03:52.469 project. It's a full -fledged movement. It's 00:03:52.469 --> 00:03:55.129 one rooted in personal experience, real conversations, 00:03:55.129 --> 00:03:57.729 and the belief that you can love the hobby and 00:03:57.729 --> 00:04:00.949 hold it accountable at the same time. And to 00:04:00.949 --> 00:04:04.629 be clear, oftentimes what gets most associated 00:04:04.629 --> 00:04:09.050 with addiction and gambling, in my mind, went 00:04:09.050 --> 00:04:11.610 to Gamblers Anonymous when you first started. 00:04:11.919 --> 00:04:13.780 And I know you've talked before about how that's 00:04:13.780 --> 00:04:16.939 a corollary there between the two. Yeah. But 00:04:16.939 --> 00:04:21.300 people consider the breaking side of collecting 00:04:21.300 --> 00:04:24.779 to be more associated with gambling and addiction. 00:04:24.939 --> 00:04:27.420 But really, it's not just that. It can also be 00:04:27.420 --> 00:04:32.019 toward just the small purchases on eBay and ComSea 00:04:32.019 --> 00:04:33.459 and just buying and buying and buying. Is that 00:04:33.459 --> 00:04:36.639 correct? Yeah, that's 100 % correct. While breaking, 00:04:36.720 --> 00:04:42.600 I think, mimics gambling more. more clearly uh 00:04:42.600 --> 00:04:47.779 any form of purchasing something that you don't 00:04:47.779 --> 00:04:49.639 know the contents of even if that's like a two 00:04:49.639 --> 00:04:53.060 dollar value pack at target or walmart is technically 00:04:53.060 --> 00:04:57.639 gambling it falls within that category so um 00:04:57.639 --> 00:05:00.439 absolutely i mean gambling has existed within 00:05:00.439 --> 00:05:04.300 collecting uh specifically with sports cards 00:05:04.300 --> 00:05:08.259 for for decades uh pretty much ever since you 00:05:08.259 --> 00:05:11.279 know it became popular it's just become more 00:05:11.279 --> 00:05:14.540 and more glorified especially by the manufacturers 00:05:14.540 --> 00:05:17.639 and the higher powers within the industry they're 00:05:17.639 --> 00:05:20.819 creating mechanics they're creating features 00:05:20.819 --> 00:05:24.480 within their platforms that mimic gambling to 00:05:24.480 --> 00:05:30.019 such an extent that it screams you know uh for 00:05:30.019 --> 00:05:34.779 reform i mean there there has to be something 00:05:34.779 --> 00:05:38.279 that's put in place to protect the end consumer 00:05:38.990 --> 00:05:41.410 That is, you know, ultimately super vulnerable 00:05:41.410 --> 00:05:46.350 to falling down the wrong path. Before we get 00:05:46.350 --> 00:05:48.689 too deep into the conversation, people might 00:05:48.689 --> 00:05:50.769 want to know what your background is. So who 00:05:50.769 --> 00:05:53.870 is Alyx and what are your ties in history with 00:05:53.870 --> 00:05:57.930 the hobby? Yeah, so my name is Alyx Effron. I 00:05:57.930 --> 00:06:00.589 have been a collector my entire life. Started 00:06:00.589 --> 00:06:03.850 out really as sneakers. I was a big sneakerhead 00:06:03.850 --> 00:06:07.589 and I still am to an extent for many, many years. 00:06:08.939 --> 00:06:11.939 I, at one point, had over 500 pairs of sneakers, 00:06:12.139 --> 00:06:16.759 somewhere around my mid to late 20s. When the 00:06:16.759 --> 00:06:20.379 pandemic hit, I was reintroduced to the sports 00:06:20.379 --> 00:06:22.639 card hobby by a friend that I grew up with. And 00:06:22.639 --> 00:06:26.000 I was invited to basically join a break group 00:06:26.000 --> 00:06:28.759 called Bogo Breaks, where we were breaking on 00:06:28.759 --> 00:06:31.939 Instagram and Facebook on a daily basis. This 00:06:31.939 --> 00:06:34.279 was early on in the pandemic, say like around, 00:06:34.459 --> 00:06:39.170 started around like April or May of 2020. and 00:06:39.170 --> 00:06:41.589 uh i got sucked in really fast you know having 00:06:41.589 --> 00:06:45.389 that sort of collecting gene in me um i i just 00:06:45.389 --> 00:06:48.730 have always loved to collect not just sneakers 00:06:48.730 --> 00:06:51.689 but uh memorabilia i mean i collected trading 00:06:51.689 --> 00:06:54.209 cards when i was younger i grew up in the 90s 00:06:54.209 --> 00:06:58.709 so obviously pokemon and michael jordan and you 00:06:58.709 --> 00:07:02.910 know upper deck fleer those were all deeply rooted 00:07:02.910 --> 00:07:07.519 in in my childhood and so um The current state 00:07:07.519 --> 00:07:09.300 of the hobby, or at least the state of the hobby 00:07:09.300 --> 00:07:12.579 in 2020, was just so attractive to a collector, 00:07:12.699 --> 00:07:15.480 especially someone who was collecting sneakers, 00:07:15.639 --> 00:07:17.379 which take up a lot of space. As you can see 00:07:17.379 --> 00:07:19.759 behind me, this is what's left of my collection. 00:07:20.839 --> 00:07:24.420 But at one point, it just got so out of hand. 00:07:24.579 --> 00:07:28.100 My wife, my girlfriend at the time, was scratching 00:07:28.100 --> 00:07:32.079 her head, like, how are we going to... Did I 00:07:32.079 --> 00:07:36.100 just lose you, Dave? No, I'm here. You mentioned 00:07:36.100 --> 00:07:39.120 if you can see behind me, so I decided to make 00:07:39.120 --> 00:07:40.579 you bigger on the screen. Got it. I was like, 00:07:40.620 --> 00:07:46.199 where did he go? Yeah, so my wife would give 00:07:46.199 --> 00:07:48.519 me a hard time. Every purchase, every week there 00:07:48.519 --> 00:07:51.120 was a new release and I'd have boxes coming in 00:07:51.120 --> 00:07:54.920 and the stacks were to the ceiling and I was 00:07:54.920 --> 00:07:59.230 finding any and every crevice of... our home 00:07:59.230 --> 00:08:02.769 to store sneakers. And it just, it started to 00:08:02.769 --> 00:08:05.889 really get out of hand. So the idea of collecting 00:08:05.889 --> 00:08:08.790 sports cards or replacing, not fully replacing, 00:08:08.870 --> 00:08:12.730 but replacing the sneaker obsession with something 00:08:12.730 --> 00:08:18.810 a little bit more accessible and I guess collectible 00:08:18.810 --> 00:08:22.089 in terms of how much space it takes up was just 00:08:22.089 --> 00:08:24.230 really attractive to me. So I got sucked into 00:08:24.230 --> 00:08:26.230 the hobby first on the breaking side, but then 00:08:26.230 --> 00:08:29.540 started to join breaks. Started to open personals, 00:08:29.600 --> 00:08:32.460 you know, quickly found a few shops that I would 00:08:32.460 --> 00:08:35.460 constantly break with or, you know, purchase 00:08:35.460 --> 00:08:38.840 those personals from. And that started to spiral. 00:08:39.039 --> 00:08:43.080 And, you know, I was also gambling, online gambling. 00:08:43.179 --> 00:08:48.279 Blackjack was my kryptonite. So I think like 00:08:48.279 --> 00:08:51.600 the sports card really fueled that behavior where, 00:08:51.700 --> 00:08:54.620 you know, there were cycles where I was joining 00:08:54.620 --> 00:08:57.440 two, three, four thousand dollar breaks. getting 00:08:57.440 --> 00:09:00.279 skunked, and then going and playing blackjack 00:09:00.279 --> 00:09:02.659 to try to recoup my losses and doing it all over 00:09:02.659 --> 00:09:06.639 again. So it got out of hand pretty quickly. 00:09:07.759 --> 00:09:10.519 And so over the last couple of years, you know, 00:09:10.539 --> 00:09:13.159 I've been toying with this idea of Collectors 00:09:13.159 --> 00:09:17.259 MD. I have experience going to GA meetings. I've, 00:09:17.259 --> 00:09:22.100 you know, I've participated in outpatient treatment. 00:09:23.600 --> 00:09:26.179 actually at a local facility here in Jersey called 00:09:26.179 --> 00:09:30.360 Right Choice Recovery, where they focus on problematic 00:09:30.360 --> 00:09:35.419 gambling and overcoming that addiction. That 00:09:35.419 --> 00:09:37.919 was like an 18 -week program that I did about 00:09:37.919 --> 00:09:41.100 a year and a half, two years ago. So I have the 00:09:41.100 --> 00:09:45.240 experience, you know, through GA, through therapy. 00:09:46.039 --> 00:09:48.980 I'm not an expert in the space. I'm not a licensed 00:09:48.980 --> 00:09:52.049 therapist. or a doctor or a clinician or anything 00:09:52.049 --> 00:09:56.929 like that. But I've experienced the highs and 00:09:56.929 --> 00:10:01.190 lows of addiction firsthand. And I feel strongly 00:10:01.190 --> 00:10:07.029 that this area is completely lacking within the 00:10:07.029 --> 00:10:09.129 hobby, within the industry. And so I've been, 00:10:09.129 --> 00:10:11.129 again, toying with this idea of Collectors MD 00:10:11.129 --> 00:10:13.909 for some time now. And a little over two months 00:10:13.909 --> 00:10:18.230 ago, I just decided to... bring it to life and 00:10:18.230 --> 00:10:21.289 it's been a rocket ship ever since so so what 00:10:21.289 --> 00:10:25.830 what led you to come to the conclusion that this 00:10:25.830 --> 00:10:30.929 was something that needed to be within the hobby 00:10:30.929 --> 00:10:32.830 so you you felt what you were going through and 00:10:32.830 --> 00:10:35.809 i really commend you for for working through 00:10:35.809 --> 00:10:37.570 it and getting help and that's that's incredible 00:10:37.570 --> 00:10:40.610 what were sort of the motivating factors for 00:10:40.610 --> 00:10:44.879 wanting to first identify the signs that this 00:10:44.879 --> 00:10:47.340 was also happening within the hobby one and then 00:10:47.340 --> 00:10:51.659 two to do something about it yeah so i think 00:10:51.659 --> 00:10:56.100 i recognized it when i self -excluded from gambling 00:10:56.100 --> 00:10:58.860 that's uh something that you can actually do 00:10:58.860 --> 00:11:02.480 in uh very depending on where you live but uh 00:11:02.480 --> 00:11:04.940 it's available in most states where gambling 00:11:04.940 --> 00:11:08.480 online gambling that is is legalized so i self 00:11:08.480 --> 00:11:11.409 -excluded in the state of new jersey First for 00:11:11.409 --> 00:11:13.350 a year, because you have two options. You can 00:11:13.350 --> 00:11:16.230 either do a year or five years. So this was back 00:11:16.230 --> 00:11:20.129 in April of 2023. I self -excluded reluctantly 00:11:20.129 --> 00:11:24.450 after a year or sorry, for a year after being, 00:11:24.509 --> 00:11:28.529 you know, basically directed to or advised to 00:11:28.529 --> 00:11:31.470 in these GA rooms by therapists, by, you know, 00:11:31.470 --> 00:11:33.129 family members. It was just really hard for me 00:11:33.129 --> 00:11:36.009 to sort of, you know, come to terms with that. 00:11:36.570 --> 00:11:37.909 You know, it was a part of my identity, right? 00:11:37.990 --> 00:11:39.549 It was part of my lifestyle, so it was hard to 00:11:39.549 --> 00:11:43.330 let go. But I eventually did it and sort of refocused 00:11:43.330 --> 00:11:48.590 my attention, my energy, my finances to the hobby 00:11:48.590 --> 00:11:51.529 and the hobby, you know, exclusively. And as 00:11:51.529 --> 00:11:54.429 I continued to, you know, join more breaks and 00:11:54.429 --> 00:11:58.490 open more personals and started to spend money 00:11:58.490 --> 00:12:01.129 that I shouldn't have been spending, was spending 00:12:01.129 --> 00:12:04.309 beyond my means, I started to realize how many. 00:12:05.349 --> 00:12:08.950 synergies there were between the hobby and gambling. 00:12:09.149 --> 00:12:13.169 And the fact that I couldn't self -exclude myself, 00:12:13.409 --> 00:12:16.350 right? I couldn't put myself in timeout or put 00:12:16.350 --> 00:12:20.210 myself in a cool off period or take a break from 00:12:20.210 --> 00:12:23.490 the apps. I still had access and I still to this 00:12:23.490 --> 00:12:28.190 day have access was problematic to me. And it 00:12:28.190 --> 00:12:32.149 sounds a little crazy, right? Because as a normal 00:12:32.149 --> 00:12:36.929 adult, you would think, How does another adult 00:12:36.929 --> 00:12:41.009 not have the wherewithal, not have the self -control 00:12:41.009 --> 00:12:47.690 to avoid something that's toxic to them? But 00:12:47.690 --> 00:12:50.330 the reality is addiction is a real thing, and 00:12:50.330 --> 00:12:54.529 it affects more than just alcoholics and drug 00:12:54.529 --> 00:13:05.269 addicts and gambling addicts. a gambling machine 00:13:05.269 --> 00:13:08.710 of sorts. And so, you know, again, not having 00:13:08.710 --> 00:13:13.090 these limitations in place poses a lot of risk, 00:13:13.289 --> 00:13:16.830 a lot of issues for people like me who are susceptible 00:13:16.830 --> 00:13:20.710 to, you know, falling into these traps and going 00:13:20.710 --> 00:13:23.629 down these dark paths. It's such a slippery slope 00:13:23.629 --> 00:13:28.789 in so many different ways. And so my hope, my 00:13:28.789 --> 00:13:31.970 intention with Collectors MD is that we create 00:13:32.519 --> 00:13:35.940 enough awareness for the hobby and the industry 00:13:35.940 --> 00:13:41.639 to recognize that these guardrails, these limitations 00:13:41.639 --> 00:13:44.820 need to be implemented in order to protect the 00:13:44.820 --> 00:13:49.159 consumer. What has been the response over the 00:13:49.159 --> 00:13:54.379 last couple of months to a Collectors MD from 00:13:54.379 --> 00:13:57.759 people within the hobby community? It's been 00:13:57.759 --> 00:14:03.399 received extremely well. I mean, I was, honestly, 00:14:03.399 --> 00:14:05.820 taken aback a little bit, especially when I first 00:14:05.820 --> 00:14:08.480 launched it. I had people reaching out who wanted 00:14:08.480 --> 00:14:12.000 me to come on their podcast and talk about it. 00:14:12.039 --> 00:14:14.039 I mean, this was like just a couple days in a 00:14:14.039 --> 00:14:16.759 week or two in and I didn't quite realize what 00:14:16.759 --> 00:14:20.279 I was getting myself into. Because this is, you 00:14:20.279 --> 00:14:22.080 know, surprisingly, I think to a lot of people, 00:14:22.200 --> 00:14:27.740 an area of focus that people have been talking 00:14:27.740 --> 00:14:30.480 about, or at least thinking about for a very 00:14:30.480 --> 00:14:34.929 long time. And whether it's, you know, kind of 00:14:34.929 --> 00:14:39.509 a topic that people shy away from because they 00:14:39.509 --> 00:14:43.070 don't want to be judged or perceived the wrong 00:14:43.070 --> 00:14:45.730 way or associated with their brand for, you know, 00:14:45.750 --> 00:14:48.929 a number of reasons. That could be part of the 00:14:48.929 --> 00:14:53.190 reason why this hasn't really come into, you 00:14:53.190 --> 00:14:59.309 know, the light where it needs to be. But I think 00:14:59.309 --> 00:15:02.690 with Collectors MD, it's allowed for that. It's 00:15:02.690 --> 00:15:07.690 allowed for people who feel like they've been 00:15:07.690 --> 00:15:12.090 alone for far too long to have a sense of community. 00:15:12.330 --> 00:15:14.049 And that's what we're doing with the weekly support 00:15:14.049 --> 00:15:19.190 meetings. People now have a platform or a community, 00:15:19.309 --> 00:15:22.429 I should say, that they can be a part of and 00:15:22.429 --> 00:15:23.970 know that they're not alone. There are other 00:15:23.970 --> 00:15:25.710 people out there who are struggling with the 00:15:25.710 --> 00:15:27.779 same things as them. Say a little bit more about 00:15:27.779 --> 00:15:30.340 that, if you would, about these weekly support 00:15:30.340 --> 00:15:33.799 meetings. And if people want, if people sense 00:15:33.799 --> 00:15:35.960 something happening with themselves that they're 00:15:35.960 --> 00:15:38.600 not happy with, that they want to change, what 00:15:38.600 --> 00:15:43.320 tools does Collectors MD offer to help people? 00:15:45.000 --> 00:15:49.460 Absolutely. So we started. our weekly support 00:15:49.460 --> 00:15:53.259 meetings about six weeks ago this coming wednesday 00:15:53.259 --> 00:15:55.259 tomorrow actually tomorrow night today's tuesday 00:15:55.259 --> 00:15:58.600 i know this is gonna go live friday uh but as 00:15:58.600 --> 00:16:03.019 of the time of this episode going live we will 00:16:03.019 --> 00:16:07.279 have uh conducted six meetings um those meetings 00:16:07.279 --> 00:16:11.740 basically have been inspired by my experience 00:16:11.740 --> 00:16:15.879 in GA, where we have a foundation called the 00:16:15.879 --> 00:16:18.759 Collectors MD Recovery Guide, which is basically 00:16:18.759 --> 00:16:21.200 an adaption of the Gambler's Anonymous Yellow 00:16:21.200 --> 00:16:25.399 Book, which covers the 12 steps of recovery. 00:16:26.320 --> 00:16:28.720 There are 20 questions in there for anybody to 00:16:28.720 --> 00:16:30.879 read through to see if they potentially have 00:16:30.879 --> 00:16:35.139 a problem. And it goes through a variety of parts 00:16:35.139 --> 00:16:39.159 ranging from, you know, when spending turns to 00:16:39.159 --> 00:16:42.539 the cycle, to momentum versus intention, to defining 00:16:42.539 --> 00:16:45.379 recovery, and really just digs into all these 00:16:45.379 --> 00:16:49.500 details about addiction and about how, you know, 00:16:49.500 --> 00:16:53.419 people can fall into these cycles within the 00:16:53.419 --> 00:16:58.690 hobby. a really, really positive turnout. There's 00:16:58.690 --> 00:17:02.610 actually a Google Forms link that you can go 00:17:02.610 --> 00:17:06.529 to and answer a handful of preliminary questions 00:17:06.529 --> 00:17:10.730 so that we can collect your information and ultimately 00:17:10.730 --> 00:17:15.329 add you to these meetings. But I think it was 00:17:15.329 --> 00:17:17.930 the week before last, we had our biggest turnout 00:17:17.930 --> 00:17:22.130 so far, which was 17 total participants, which 00:17:22.130 --> 00:17:25.009 was really, really awesome. And it's helped a 00:17:25.009 --> 00:17:28.400 lot of people. uh so far and i don't expect to 00:17:28.400 --> 00:17:31.660 grow i understand how important privacy is obviously 00:17:31.660 --> 00:17:35.539 um but just what are some of the broader general 00:17:35.539 --> 00:17:37.819 topics that come up at the meetings you mentioned 00:17:37.819 --> 00:17:42.319 you had 17 people a couple meetings ago what 00:17:42.319 --> 00:17:44.539 are some of the broader things that come up there 00:17:44.539 --> 00:17:46.920 subject wise that if you brought them up here 00:17:46.920 --> 00:17:50.079 somebody Who is struggling and either they know 00:17:50.079 --> 00:17:51.819 or they don't know, it might recognize something 00:17:51.819 --> 00:17:53.640 in themselves saying, can we talk? Yeah, we've 00:17:53.640 --> 00:17:56.000 talked about X, Y and Z or situation, something, 00:17:56.119 --> 00:17:58.579 whatever you can say that still protects people's 00:17:58.579 --> 00:18:00.660 privacy. Of course, that's still on a broader 00:18:00.660 --> 00:18:05.799 spectrum might help somebody else down an easier 00:18:05.799 --> 00:18:08.940 path. Absolutely. We do treat these meetings 00:18:08.940 --> 00:18:11.440 like closed anonymous meetings. So we do respect 00:18:11.440 --> 00:18:15.420 the privacy. excuse me, and confidentiality of 00:18:15.420 --> 00:18:18.019 all of the participants, but I can absolutely 00:18:18.019 --> 00:18:21.900 give you a high -level overview of what a meeting 00:18:21.900 --> 00:18:24.339 looks like. We basically just start out going 00:18:24.339 --> 00:18:28.859 through the guidelines, quick about Collectors MD, 00:18:29.039 --> 00:18:33.680 and things like it's a confidential and judgment 00:18:33.680 --> 00:18:39.039 -free space. Participation is optional. You only 00:18:39.039 --> 00:18:40.539 speak if you're comfortable. Listening can be 00:18:40.539 --> 00:18:45.119 just as powerful. We appreciate honest and respectful 00:18:45.119 --> 00:18:49.759 sharing. We try to push for only offering advice 00:18:49.759 --> 00:18:53.359 when requested. We want to offer support but 00:18:53.359 --> 00:18:55.720 not solutions unless someone asks for guidance. 00:18:56.099 --> 00:18:59.599 We support. We don't fix. Our focus is on understanding, 00:18:59.859 --> 00:19:03.430 not solving. And so we make sure that everybody 00:19:03.430 --> 00:19:05.690 is on the same page when it comes to the guidelines. 00:19:06.009 --> 00:19:08.630 Then we go through the recovery guide. We spend 00:19:08.630 --> 00:19:11.369 about 10 minutes just walking through it. And 00:19:11.369 --> 00:19:14.349 then we reserve the majority of the meeting for 00:19:14.349 --> 00:19:16.930 our share and support. So that's an opportunity 00:19:16.930 --> 00:19:19.730 for members to share anything they want, anything 00:19:19.730 --> 00:19:22.809 they're comfortable with, whether that be a recent 00:19:22.809 --> 00:19:28.089 experience or something that resonated with them 00:19:28.089 --> 00:19:31.420 that they maybe saw on social media. or just 00:19:31.420 --> 00:19:36.799 something super general. We also include a discussion 00:19:36.799 --> 00:19:40.119 prompt each week so that if people come in and 00:19:40.119 --> 00:19:41.819 they don't really know what to talk about, we 00:19:41.819 --> 00:19:45.839 have this on screen so that it kind of gets people's 00:19:45.839 --> 00:19:48.900 brain juices flowing. So for instance, this week, 00:19:49.000 --> 00:19:51.299 the discussion prompt will be the stories we 00:19:51.299 --> 00:19:54.220 tell ourselves, how justification keeps us stuck. 00:19:56.170 --> 00:19:59.509 So we basically will explore topics like what 00:19:59.509 --> 00:20:02.069 are some of the most common justifications you've 00:20:02.069 --> 00:20:04.450 used to excuse compulsive spending in the hobby? 00:20:04.650 --> 00:20:06.650 Have you ever convinced yourself something was 00:20:06.650 --> 00:20:09.750 an investment or harmless fun when deep down 00:20:09.750 --> 00:20:12.529 you knew it wasn't? How do justifications show 00:20:12.529 --> 00:20:14.769 up in your language, habits, or thinking? Are 00:20:14.769 --> 00:20:17.769 there specific narratives like I deserve this? 00:20:17.829 --> 00:20:21.099 I'll sell this later. This is my last one. that 00:20:21.099 --> 00:20:23.480 you catch yourself repeating, and what would 00:20:23.480 --> 00:20:25.500 it look like to replace these stories with more 00:20:25.500 --> 00:20:27.099 honest, supportive truths. And the objective 00:20:27.099 --> 00:20:30.000 here is really just to explore how the stories 00:20:30.000 --> 00:20:32.819 we tell ourselves can either fuel the cycle or 00:20:32.819 --> 00:20:35.319 help break it. And by recognizing the mental 00:20:35.319 --> 00:20:37.480 scripts we use to justify compulsive behavior, 00:20:37.680 --> 00:20:40.299 we can begin to rewrite them and reclaim a more 00:20:40.299 --> 00:20:42.220 intentional, grounded relationship with the hobby. 00:20:42.440 --> 00:20:46.339 So again, that's just there for people to... 00:20:47.769 --> 00:20:51.529 you know, use as a crutch if they want to focus 00:20:51.529 --> 00:20:53.269 on a specific topic and they're not sure what 00:20:53.269 --> 00:20:57.670 to talk about. But again, we are very reformed 00:20:57.670 --> 00:21:01.589 in that we allow any and everybody to talk about 00:21:01.589 --> 00:21:04.309 whatever they want, as long as they're being 00:21:04.309 --> 00:21:09.089 respectful to others within the space and are 00:21:09.089 --> 00:21:14.559 being honest and open -minded. Great. For those 00:21:14.559 --> 00:21:16.579 of you who are listening right now, I have up 00:21:16.579 --> 00:21:22.599 on the screen the link for the meetings. The 00:21:22.599 --> 00:21:26.400 Google form that Alyx mentioned is here. If you 00:21:26.400 --> 00:21:31.279 go to the website for Collectors MD, at the top 00:21:31.279 --> 00:21:33.720 is a resources link, and it can take you to this 00:21:33.720 --> 00:21:37.819 form, among other things. So, Alyx, in your experience, 00:21:38.019 --> 00:21:43.789 what are some signs that people... can maybe 00:21:43.789 --> 00:21:47.609 sense or recognize in themselves that might begin 00:21:47.609 --> 00:21:51.730 to suggest, maybe I'm not in control of my hobby 00:21:51.730 --> 00:21:55.190 experience as much as I think I am. And maybe 00:21:55.190 --> 00:21:58.809 this experience is more in control of me. Yeah, 00:21:58.849 --> 00:22:00.730 it's a great question. And it's actually a part 00:22:00.730 --> 00:22:05.589 of the Collectors MD recovery guide. When we 00:22:05.589 --> 00:22:09.349 have new members join, we will go through these 00:22:09.349 --> 00:22:12.509 20 questions that again are adapted from Gamblers 00:22:12.509 --> 00:22:14.349 Anonymous and tailored for compulsive spending 00:22:14.349 --> 00:22:16.630 and collecting. And basically, if you answered 00:22:16.630 --> 00:22:19.869 yes to any of these questions, it's an indication 00:22:19.869 --> 00:22:22.369 that you're in the right place. You're not alone 00:22:22.369 --> 00:22:24.829 and we're here for you. So I could go down that 00:22:24.829 --> 00:22:29.710 list real quick if. Sure. Yeah. So basically, 00:22:29.849 --> 00:22:32.029 actually, you know what? I have an abbreviated 00:22:32.029 --> 00:22:35.769 version just because and I'll quickly caveat 00:22:35.769 --> 00:22:39.019 this. We've had. so many people joining and we 00:22:39.019 --> 00:22:41.880 try to keep these meetings within one hour that 00:22:41.880 --> 00:22:44.980 reading this recovery guide ends up taking more 00:22:44.980 --> 00:22:47.740 time than we'd like it to while it's extremely 00:22:47.740 --> 00:22:50.519 important and it's the foundation for our recovery 00:22:50.519 --> 00:22:53.839 we want to make sure that we allow as much time 00:22:53.839 --> 00:22:56.059 as possible for everybody to get a chance to 00:22:56.059 --> 00:22:58.579 share so this week i've actually been working 00:22:58.579 --> 00:23:01.700 on uh an abbreviated version of the guide for 00:23:01.700 --> 00:23:04.140 group use so it's basically just simplified for 00:23:04.140 --> 00:23:06.759 clarity reflection and pacing uh and so i'll 00:23:06.759 --> 00:23:08.880 just read uh the 20 questions from that version 00:23:08.880 --> 00:23:13.039 um one do you hide how much you spent two do 00:23:13.039 --> 00:23:15.640 you overspend often three have you sold things 00:23:15.640 --> 00:23:18.559 to fund your hobby four have you lied about purchases 00:23:18.559 --> 00:23:22.579 five do you check apps constantly six have you 00:23:22.579 --> 00:23:25.420 missed work or plans due to collecting Seven, 00:23:25.500 --> 00:23:28.119 do you get anxious when not buying? Eight, have 00:23:28.119 --> 00:23:31.660 you gone into debt over your hobby? Nine, have 00:23:31.660 --> 00:23:34.460 you broken promises to stop? 10, do you justify 00:23:34.460 --> 00:23:38.059 everything as investments? 11, do you feel a 00:23:38.059 --> 00:23:41.099 high when buying and regret after? 12, do you 00:23:41.099 --> 00:23:44.240 avoid looking at your finances? 13, do you compare 00:23:44.240 --> 00:23:47.000 your collection to others? 14, do you spend to 00:23:47.000 --> 00:23:50.220 cope with emotions? 15, have you set limits and 00:23:50.220 --> 00:23:53.140 broken them? 16, do you buy things you don't 00:23:53.140 --> 00:23:56.180 actually want? 17, has your behavior strained 00:23:56.180 --> 00:23:58.960 your relationships or health? 18, does your hobby 00:23:58.960 --> 00:24:02.019 feel like pressure instead of joy? 19, have you 00:24:02.019 --> 00:24:05.099 felt out of control? 20, do you worry you have 00:24:05.099 --> 00:24:07.279 a problem? And again, if you've answered yes 00:24:07.279 --> 00:24:10.079 to any of these questions, that's probably an 00:24:10.079 --> 00:24:14.059 indicator that you might want to just take a 00:24:14.059 --> 00:24:18.380 step back and reevaluate why you're collecting 00:24:18.380 --> 00:24:20.460 in the first place. And that's all it is. It 00:24:20.460 --> 00:24:22.480 doesn't necessarily mean that you have a problem. 00:24:22.970 --> 00:24:25.789 or that you've been diagnosed with some addiction 00:24:25.789 --> 00:24:28.490 or some psychological issue. It's more so just 00:24:28.490 --> 00:24:31.930 being self -aware, taking personal inventory, 00:24:32.150 --> 00:24:34.329 and making sure that you are collecting with 00:24:34.329 --> 00:24:38.269 intention and not compulsion. I'm glad you brought 00:24:38.269 --> 00:24:40.589 that up because as I was listening to that list 00:24:40.589 --> 00:24:43.730 of 20 things, a couple of them I checked off 00:24:43.730 --> 00:24:50.650 myself, namely checking apps too often and sometimes 00:24:52.039 --> 00:24:55.000 feeling more stressed out by the hobby than getting 00:24:55.000 --> 00:24:58.440 an enjoyment from it. But I think it's worth 00:24:58.440 --> 00:25:01.319 reinforcing that just because somebody maybe 00:25:01.319 --> 00:25:03.359 sensed one or two or three things in themselves 00:25:03.359 --> 00:25:06.920 with the list, that doesn't necessarily mean 00:25:06.920 --> 00:25:09.940 or trigger addiction. Right. But at the same 00:25:09.940 --> 00:25:14.680 time, it might. And so it's worth, it's worth 00:25:14.680 --> 00:25:17.140 thinking about. Have you had people come to you 00:25:17.140 --> 00:25:20.059 in the last couple of months saying that either 00:25:20.059 --> 00:25:23.640 the guy that you wrote, Or the appearances that 00:25:23.640 --> 00:25:28.119 you've made on things that you've written, other 00:25:28.119 --> 00:25:30.259 people's podcasts you've appeared on, in which 00:25:30.259 --> 00:25:33.539 they have begun to recognize certain behaviors 00:25:33.539 --> 00:25:38.299 in themselves? Yeah, absolutely. As a matter 00:25:38.299 --> 00:25:41.480 of fact, I'd love to read an email I received 00:25:41.480 --> 00:25:45.519 from, I obviously won't name their name, but 00:25:45.519 --> 00:25:50.210 I received an email on Monday morning. It really 00:25:50.210 --> 00:25:55.190 hit home for me just because it sort of reinforced 00:25:55.190 --> 00:25:59.230 why I'm doing this, right? It made me feel validated 00:25:59.230 --> 00:26:01.869 in that Collectors MD is actually making a difference. 00:26:02.690 --> 00:26:05.349 So I'll just, I'll read this email. Again, it 00:26:05.349 --> 00:26:08.430 came through actually 2 a .m. on Sunday. Hey, 00:26:08.470 --> 00:26:11.630 found your... Hey, found your resources through 00:26:11.630 --> 00:26:13.829 some YouTube channels. This is definitely hard 00:26:13.829 --> 00:26:15.670 to talk about, as I'm sure many collectors feel 00:26:15.670 --> 00:26:18.109 the same way, but I do think I have a dependency 00:26:18.109 --> 00:26:20.549 on buying sports cards, not only as a coping 00:26:20.549 --> 00:26:24.089 mechanism, but also fulfillment. I guess my issue 00:26:24.089 --> 00:26:26.769 is I really do think I enjoy the hobby from a 00:26:26.769 --> 00:26:29.549 collector's perspective, but also I like the 00:26:29.549 --> 00:26:31.829 investment angle. The idea that I can buy these 00:26:31.829 --> 00:26:34.369 awesome cards that I can enjoy, but will also 00:26:34.369 --> 00:26:36.849 hold their value potentially over time. I think 00:26:36.849 --> 00:26:39.109 I'm a smart buyer now, more so than I was a year 00:26:39.109 --> 00:26:41.390 ago. I don't really prospect on young players 00:26:41.390 --> 00:26:43.630 so much. So I'm not into the gambling aspect 00:26:43.630 --> 00:26:47.589 of it as much, but it just gets me going emotionally 00:26:47.589 --> 00:26:50.289 sometimes. And it's messed up because I feel 00:26:50.289 --> 00:26:52.410 like this should be a fun thing to do, but it 00:26:52.410 --> 00:26:54.509 becomes stressful and sometimes financially detrimental 00:26:54.509 --> 00:26:58.289 to me. I'm not in any serious debt from it, but 00:26:58.289 --> 00:27:00.450 I definitely noticed the cycle of dopamine rush 00:27:00.450 --> 00:27:02.849 from getting a card I love to the come down and 00:27:02.849 --> 00:27:04.950 then back into needing to make a purchase to 00:27:04.950 --> 00:27:07.509 make any negative feelings go away. Just wanted 00:27:07.509 --> 00:27:10.640 to share this with you. And it's comforting to 00:27:10.640 --> 00:27:13.059 know that other collectors feel this way. Thanks. 00:27:14.799 --> 00:27:18.299 Yeah, there's a lot there. Yeah. That was really 00:27:18.299 --> 00:27:20.819 powerful for me, right? Because it's, again, 00:27:21.019 --> 00:27:25.259 like people don't necessarily realize that they 00:27:25.259 --> 00:27:28.019 are falling into these cycles, that they might 00:27:28.019 --> 00:27:30.559 be overspending or overextending beyond their 00:27:30.559 --> 00:27:33.539 means or doing something that might be financially 00:27:33.539 --> 00:27:38.059 detrimental, as he said. But because Collectors MD 00:27:38.059 --> 00:27:41.779 exists and because people are starting to recognize 00:27:41.779 --> 00:27:44.759 it and it's, you know, popping up on people's 00:27:44.759 --> 00:27:47.559 feeds and, you know, as I join more and more 00:27:47.559 --> 00:27:50.059 of these podcasts, more people are just talking 00:27:50.059 --> 00:27:53.700 about it. You know, it allows for a sense of 00:27:53.700 --> 00:27:59.299 awareness to come into play. People take a step 00:27:59.299 --> 00:28:02.099 back and self -reflect and ask themselves, hey, 00:28:02.240 --> 00:28:05.849 do I have a problem? I don't want people to go 00:28:05.849 --> 00:28:11.950 crazy and suddenly have this hypochondriac type 00:28:11.950 --> 00:28:16.069 of reaction where like, I don't know if I have 00:28:16.069 --> 00:28:19.769 a problem or not. Do I need to get help? Do I 00:28:19.769 --> 00:28:22.109 need to start seeing a therapist? That's not 00:28:22.109 --> 00:28:23.990 what this is about. It's just more so about, 00:28:24.150 --> 00:28:28.269 again, just creating awareness and a space for 00:28:28.269 --> 00:28:31.809 people to feel like and know that they are not 00:28:31.809 --> 00:28:34.779 alone. And I actually just want to quickly mention 00:28:34.779 --> 00:28:37.819 something really, really important. And this 00:28:37.819 --> 00:28:40.720 is something that I had brought up earlier is 00:28:40.720 --> 00:28:43.559 that I'm not a licensed therapist, a doctor, 00:28:43.680 --> 00:28:45.720 a clinician, anything like that. I don't have 00:28:45.720 --> 00:28:47.980 any experience in the medical field. But what 00:28:47.980 --> 00:28:53.720 I do have is experience as an addict. Right. 00:28:53.839 --> 00:28:55.920 I mentioned that I had a gambling addiction. 00:28:56.099 --> 00:28:59.079 I mentioned that I had an addiction to collecting. 00:28:59.420 --> 00:29:03.660 Those were. two areas that became really problematic 00:29:03.660 --> 00:29:07.519 for me and my family um that that you know had 00:29:07.519 --> 00:29:11.579 a negative impact on my life and so with that 00:29:11.579 --> 00:29:14.880 i want to make sure that people understand that 00:29:14.880 --> 00:29:18.619 Collectors MD is intended to be a peer support 00:29:18.619 --> 00:29:22.970 group uh and you know we're here to provide Support 00:29:22.970 --> 00:29:25.309 and resources for collectors who feel overwhelmed, 00:29:25.529 --> 00:29:27.849 out of control, or financially strained by the 00:29:27.849 --> 00:29:30.730 hobby. We want to raise awareness, promote healthy 00:29:30.730 --> 00:29:33.329 habits, and advocate for responsible participation, 00:29:33.569 --> 00:29:36.890 not to shame or to criticize collectors or breakers, 00:29:36.950 --> 00:29:41.950 but again, just to provide a sense of comfort. 00:29:43.329 --> 00:29:48.009 With that, we just announced a partnership as 00:29:48.009 --> 00:29:52.640 of yesterday, Monday, June 2nd. where we have 00:29:52.640 --> 00:29:55.119 partnered with a licensed mental health provider 00:29:55.119 --> 00:30:00.640 called Birches Health. So going forward, if we 00:30:00.640 --> 00:30:05.220 have an individual that needs professional help 00:30:05.220 --> 00:30:07.940 beyond the peer support that we can offer, we 00:30:07.940 --> 00:30:10.880 can refer them and direct them to Birches Health, 00:30:11.079 --> 00:30:15.640 which is again a facility that focuses on problematic 00:30:15.640 --> 00:30:19.150 gambling and behavioral addiction. So that's 00:30:19.150 --> 00:30:21.150 really important. It was a huge milestone for 00:30:21.150 --> 00:30:26.049 us. And again, it cements the fact that there's 00:30:26.049 --> 00:30:30.369 a need for this. It provides validity and credibility 00:30:30.369 --> 00:30:33.990 for Collectors MD in this space. And I'm really 00:30:33.990 --> 00:30:36.170 excited to see where that partnership takes us. 00:30:36.430 --> 00:30:38.769 For sure. Congratulations on that partnership. 00:30:39.309 --> 00:30:42.690 Thank you. And I apologize if I missed this from 00:30:42.690 --> 00:30:45.450 one of your previous appearances. Do you still 00:30:45.450 --> 00:30:49.160 collect at all? Do you have an involvement in 00:30:49.160 --> 00:30:52.660 the hobby beyond Collectors MD? Yes. So I think 00:30:52.660 --> 00:30:54.119 this is really important. And this is something 00:30:54.119 --> 00:30:58.440 that I think comes up quite a bit, right? Because 00:30:58.440 --> 00:31:02.420 I mentioned BOGO breaks, which I'm not active 00:31:02.420 --> 00:31:04.839 on. We don't break anymore. I'm not a breaker 00:31:04.839 --> 00:31:07.539 at all anymore. We stopped or I stopped doing 00:31:07.539 --> 00:31:12.559 that in, say, 2021. But I also have several other 00:31:12.559 --> 00:31:16.789 handles, one for my sneaker page. one for my 00:31:16.789 --> 00:31:20.089 cards. I haven't posted on either in quite some 00:31:20.089 --> 00:31:22.490 time, but as you can see behind me, you know, 00:31:22.490 --> 00:31:25.730 still have a few pairs of sneakers, still have 00:31:25.730 --> 00:31:30.710 a handful of cards in my collection. And, you 00:31:30.710 --> 00:31:33.430 know, the contradiction, I guess you could call 00:31:33.430 --> 00:31:37.369 it, is kind of the whole point, right? That duality 00:31:37.369 --> 00:31:41.230 is my story. The blurred line between being a 00:31:41.230 --> 00:31:43.869 passionate collector and falling into compulsive 00:31:43.869 --> 00:31:46.970 behavior, that isn't theoretical for me. It's 00:31:46.970 --> 00:31:50.190 personal. I was deep in it. I love the chase, 00:31:50.430 --> 00:31:52.609 the thrill of the rip, the community, the culture, 00:31:52.690 --> 00:31:56.359 all of it. But I also know how easily that passion 00:31:56.359 --> 00:31:58.720 can tip into something darker, into something 00:31:58.720 --> 00:32:00.920 that affects your mental health, your finances, 00:32:00.940 --> 00:32:03.579 your relationships. And I think that's the part 00:32:03.579 --> 00:32:06.000 that will resonate with people because so many 00:32:06.000 --> 00:32:08.680 of us are walking that tightrope, whether we 00:32:08.680 --> 00:32:11.539 realize it or not. So when people ask how I can 00:32:11.539 --> 00:32:15.759 be both, how I can be at the forefront of this 00:32:15.759 --> 00:32:18.559 movement and also be involved in collecting, 00:32:18.759 --> 00:32:22.539 how can I love the hobby and want to challenge 00:32:22.539 --> 00:32:24.640 the hobby? the way it's operating. I tell them 00:32:24.640 --> 00:32:27.640 that's exactly why I started Collectors MD, not 00:32:27.640 --> 00:32:29.819 to cancel collecting, not to cancel the hobby, 00:32:30.000 --> 00:32:32.640 but to make space for conversations that the 00:32:32.640 --> 00:32:35.160 hobby doesn't always allow. Conversations about 00:32:35.160 --> 00:32:37.799 accountability, intention, and support. I'm not 00:32:37.799 --> 00:32:40.619 standing outside the problem shouting in, I'm 00:32:40.619 --> 00:32:42.519 speaking from the middle of it, just trying to 00:32:42.519 --> 00:32:44.960 light the path forward for anyone who's ever 00:32:44.960 --> 00:32:48.599 felt that same pull. Okay, so there are two last 00:32:48.599 --> 00:32:50.859 things, not last, there are two things I want 00:32:50.859 --> 00:32:54.789 to get to before. Before we let you go, the last 00:32:54.789 --> 00:32:56.650 thing is I definitely want to have to talk about 00:32:56.650 --> 00:33:00.589 the industry and things that are in place that 00:33:00.589 --> 00:33:05.089 make it pretty hard for people to navigate in 00:33:05.089 --> 00:33:06.569 certain ways. But before we get to the industry, 00:33:06.750 --> 00:33:10.529 I want to talk about a part of the site that 00:33:10.529 --> 00:33:16.799 talks about the three MDs. And you are on. Denny, 00:33:16.799 --> 00:33:18.779 Denny Kars, Denny Kars podcast talking about 00:33:18.779 --> 00:33:20.880 the three MDs and said, you know, you mentioned 00:33:20.880 --> 00:33:23.059 you're not a doctor, but MDs, it's sort of a 00:33:23.059 --> 00:33:27.660 play on word and it's mental detox, money discipline 00:33:27.660 --> 00:33:34.059 and meaningful decisions. Money discipline strategies. 00:33:34.500 --> 00:33:37.700 I think we kind of understand what's there. Meaningful 00:33:37.700 --> 00:33:40.799 decisions. For those of you who are listening 00:33:40.799 --> 00:33:43.000 to this right now, I have a page on the screen 00:33:43.000 --> 00:33:47.819 that. that lists these three MDs. And Alyx has 00:33:47.819 --> 00:33:50.539 meaningful decisions as making decisions based 00:33:50.539 --> 00:33:53.039 on your values, not hype or external pressure. 00:33:53.700 --> 00:33:57.039 One is ask, is this bringing me peace or pushing 00:33:57.039 --> 00:33:59.240 me deeper into compulsion? And then third point, 00:33:59.339 --> 00:34:01.980 reflect on whether the purchase aligns with your 00:34:01.980 --> 00:34:04.859 long -term vision. Okay, so we have money discipline 00:34:04.859 --> 00:34:08.039 as one MD, meaningful decisions as another MD. 00:34:08.400 --> 00:34:11.699 The one I want to spend a few minutes on is mental 00:34:11.699 --> 00:34:15.260 detox practices. I think this is really interesting. 00:34:15.460 --> 00:34:17.599 And, and this is what I thought of personally 00:34:17.599 --> 00:34:20.659 with this. I've mentioned on this podcast and 00:34:20.659 --> 00:34:23.000 others before that the person who really got 00:34:23.000 --> 00:34:26.340 me into sports was my mom. She died like 20 years 00:34:26.340 --> 00:34:31.400 ago. Right. But in, in the weeks and months after 00:34:31.400 --> 00:34:33.559 she passed, I've not mentioned this part before 00:34:33.559 --> 00:34:37.489 as we were like cleaning out. her clothes and 00:34:37.489 --> 00:34:40.309 helping my dad organize all her thousands of 00:34:40.309 --> 00:34:42.429 books to donate that sort of a thing. And as 00:34:42.429 --> 00:34:44.469 he was going through finances, he realized that 00:34:44.469 --> 00:34:48.889 she had left him with tens of thousands in debt 00:34:48.889 --> 00:34:52.170 because she loved to she was she was she was 00:34:52.170 --> 00:34:53.989 an addicted gambler. She would go to the casinos. 00:34:54.429 --> 00:34:57.769 We knew that we didn't know the extent to what 00:34:57.769 --> 00:35:00.329 she was doing there. And because she also handled 00:35:00.329 --> 00:35:03.449 the finances, she was able to find a way to hide 00:35:03.449 --> 00:35:08.400 it. Right. Right. And so over the last 20 years, 00:35:08.519 --> 00:35:11.400 me, like others in the family, I've been a little 00:35:11.400 --> 00:35:13.059 bit more cognizant of our own behavior. Like, 00:35:13.079 --> 00:35:14.679 wait a minute, you know, sometimes addiction 00:35:14.679 --> 00:35:18.119 can be in genetic or inherited or whatever. Right. 00:35:18.699 --> 00:35:22.079 And think I'm okay for the most part, right? 00:35:22.139 --> 00:35:26.159 But this mental detox part. is where I got stuck. 00:35:26.360 --> 00:35:30.300 It's where I froze on. This idea of meaningful 00:35:30.300 --> 00:35:33.099 consumption, does this serve or just distract 00:35:33.099 --> 00:35:36.440 me? Declutter your space and mostly take a break 00:35:36.440 --> 00:35:39.860 from apps, influencers, notification, or product 00:35:39.860 --> 00:35:44.760 drops. I've never been into a break. I don't 00:35:44.760 --> 00:35:46.059 collect sites. I don't care any of that, but 00:35:46.059 --> 00:35:50.280 it's the app part of it. Since I really got into... 00:35:50.960 --> 00:35:54.219 Back into the hobby, 2020, I guess now, during 00:35:54.219 --> 00:35:57.519 COVID, coming up on five years. I was looking 00:35:57.519 --> 00:36:00.579 back on the screen time component of my iPhone, 00:36:00.679 --> 00:36:02.739 which keeps track of how much time you spend 00:36:02.739 --> 00:36:06.739 online per day. That can be scary. It's scary. 00:36:06.960 --> 00:36:10.500 And as much as I'm on now, compared to where 00:36:10.500 --> 00:36:12.199 I was before I got back into the hobby, it has 00:36:12.199 --> 00:36:16.039 nearly doubled. Sheesh. And it is those apps. 00:36:16.199 --> 00:36:19.690 And my spending is under control. I don't have 00:36:19.690 --> 00:36:23.070 a big collection. I kind of align with what I 00:36:23.070 --> 00:36:26.110 want, but just the amount of mental bandwidth 00:36:26.110 --> 00:36:31.289 that I give over to the hobby is insane. Right. 00:36:31.429 --> 00:36:34.670 And in the meetings that you have and in the 00:36:34.670 --> 00:36:37.389 people that you talk to, is this something that 00:36:37.389 --> 00:36:38.889 you were seeing with people saying, it's like, 00:36:38.909 --> 00:36:42.090 I just can't unplug from the hobby. Like, I just 00:36:42.090 --> 00:36:44.409 can't like stop checking, checking, checking, 00:36:44.429 --> 00:36:48.420 checking for cards or sometimes even just. I 00:36:48.420 --> 00:36:50.320 think it was I forget who, but someone else said 00:36:50.320 --> 00:36:52.840 it's like hobby doom scrolling where you're just 00:36:52.840 --> 00:36:54.440 going through Instagram. You're just going and 00:36:54.440 --> 00:36:56.380 going is how much do you see this sort of a thing? 00:36:56.900 --> 00:37:01.119 Yeah, no, I mean, it's it's a huge part of the 00:37:01.119 --> 00:37:03.739 cycle that we talk about. And that's why we've 00:37:03.739 --> 00:37:07.619 implemented it into these three pillars. Mental 00:37:07.619 --> 00:37:10.039 detox being the first. Right. And when we talk 00:37:10.039 --> 00:37:12.119 about mental detox in the hobby, we're not talking 00:37:12.119 --> 00:37:14.920 about. quitting or deleting everything forever. 00:37:15.179 --> 00:37:17.480 We're just, we're talking about intentionally 00:37:17.480 --> 00:37:21.940 clearing up space bandwidth physically, digitally, 00:37:22.019 --> 00:37:23.940 and emotionally. So you can actually hear yourself 00:37:23.940 --> 00:37:27.139 think again, right? The hobby, the hobby bombards 00:37:27.139 --> 00:37:29.880 us with noise. There's new drops almost every 00:37:29.880 --> 00:37:34.420 day. Now flash sales, influencer takes hot lists, 00:37:34.639 --> 00:37:37.860 breaker height, and it doesn't stop. It's designed 00:37:37.860 --> 00:37:41.059 not to the more overwhelmed you are, the easier 00:37:41.059 --> 00:37:44.369 you are. to manipulate. That's how marketing 00:37:44.369 --> 00:37:47.530 works, right? So the first tool we encourage 00:37:47.530 --> 00:37:50.510 is mindful consumption. That means asking yourself, 00:37:50.769 --> 00:37:54.010 is this serving me or is it distracting me? And, 00:37:54.110 --> 00:37:57.710 you know, am I watching this break because I 00:37:57.710 --> 00:38:00.230 enjoy it or because I'm restless, anxious, or 00:38:00.230 --> 00:38:03.710 feeling that sense of FOMO, you know, into thinking 00:38:03.710 --> 00:38:06.989 like I need to be a part of this or, you know, 00:38:06.989 --> 00:38:08.650 there are going to be consequences, right? We 00:38:08.650 --> 00:38:11.150 kind of like trick ourselves into thinking that. 00:38:11.639 --> 00:38:14.219 Another powerful piece of mental detox is decluttering, 00:38:14.360 --> 00:38:18.699 not just your shelf, but also your phone, your 00:38:18.699 --> 00:38:21.880 feed, your algorithm on following accounts that 00:38:21.880 --> 00:38:25.000 might trigger you to spend. Muting breakers who 00:38:25.000 --> 00:38:27.480 never stop selling or never stop hitting you 00:38:27.480 --> 00:38:31.280 up. You don't owe them your peace of mind, right? 00:38:31.500 --> 00:38:34.360 We also recommend taking breaks. So intentional, 00:38:34.599 --> 00:38:38.480 time -bound breaks from platforms, from marketplaces, 00:38:38.519 --> 00:38:42.130 from group chats where it's always, about the 00:38:42.130 --> 00:38:44.769 next chase. You'd be surprised how much clarity 00:38:44.769 --> 00:38:47.309 shows up when that noise starts to die down. 00:38:47.909 --> 00:38:50.809 Because here's the truth. You can't make intentional 00:38:50.809 --> 00:38:53.489 decisions when you're overstimulated. You can't 00:38:53.489 --> 00:38:56.070 tell what you actually want when you're being 00:38:56.070 --> 00:39:00.289 told what to want 24 -7. So mental detox is about 00:39:00.289 --> 00:39:03.969 creating space between you and the stimulus so 00:39:03.969 --> 00:39:06.769 you can respond instead of react. It's not about 00:39:06.769 --> 00:39:09.889 punishing yourself. It's about creating peace. 00:39:10.679 --> 00:39:14.800 for yourself. We detox not because we hate the 00:39:14.800 --> 00:39:17.940 hobby or want to exit the hobby or push it away, 00:39:18.159 --> 00:39:21.619 but because we care enough to engage with it 00:39:21.619 --> 00:39:25.000 on our own terms versus the terms of the manufacturers, 00:39:25.460 --> 00:39:28.139 the breakers, and the platforms. All right. So 00:39:28.139 --> 00:39:31.579 let's now turn to the industry. And I purposely 00:39:31.579 --> 00:39:33.880 wanted to save this as the last part of the discussion 00:39:33.880 --> 00:39:37.019 because it can go any number of ways. Sure. When 00:39:37.019 --> 00:39:40.260 we talk about the industry, we talk about pick 00:39:40.260 --> 00:39:43.719 your company, right? But there's Fanatics, there's 00:39:43.719 --> 00:39:46.300 Whatnot, there's PSA, there's a million others. 00:39:46.440 --> 00:39:52.360 No, there's dozens of others. What sort of mechanisms 00:39:52.360 --> 00:39:56.719 within the industry and what they do, do you 00:39:56.719 --> 00:40:05.380 see that makes... I'm trying to phrase this carefully. 00:40:05.719 --> 00:40:08.480 What do you see within the industry that makes... 00:40:08.670 --> 00:40:13.750 addiction of sports cards and all that comes 00:40:13.750 --> 00:40:17.269 with it that makes it harder to break the cycle. 00:40:18.389 --> 00:40:21.750 Yeah. So, you know, I mentioned the synergies 00:40:21.750 --> 00:40:26.389 between breaking these, not just breaking, but 00:40:26.389 --> 00:40:29.710 the platform experiences, the user flow, if you 00:40:29.710 --> 00:40:34.050 will, and how it mirrors gambling to a T, right? 00:40:34.170 --> 00:40:39.079 So the hobby. has become the wild west that's 00:40:39.079 --> 00:40:40.940 what we always say you hear people saying that 00:40:40.940 --> 00:40:44.880 all the time and so we are pushing for industry 00:40:44.880 --> 00:40:47.559 level reforms not because we want to ruin the 00:40:47.559 --> 00:40:52.059 fun but because fun without safeguards turns 00:40:52.059 --> 00:40:55.019 into harm really really fast and i learned that 00:40:55.019 --> 00:40:58.039 the hard way with with gambling right we're advocating 00:40:58.039 --> 00:41:02.119 for basic very very basic very rudimentary consumer 00:41:02.119 --> 00:41:04.239 protections that already exist in these other 00:41:04.239 --> 00:41:06.420 industries with similar psychological mechanics 00:41:07.039 --> 00:41:10.219 things like deposit limits. Okay. So people can 00:41:10.219 --> 00:41:12.420 cap what they're spending before it starts to 00:41:12.420 --> 00:41:16.800 spiral. They can put in their settings on Whatnot 00:41:16.800 --> 00:41:19.619 or Fanatics that they're only allowed to deposit 00:41:19.619 --> 00:41:23.079 like $500 a week, something like that. Self -exclusion 00:41:23.079 --> 00:41:25.480 tools. So if someone knows they need a break, 00:41:25.579 --> 00:41:29.179 they can opt out and actually stay out. So if 00:41:29.179 --> 00:41:31.820 you constantly feel that itch, if you feel like 00:41:31.820 --> 00:41:33.159 you're not going to be able to control yourself 00:41:33.159 --> 00:41:36.369 later this evening. Once your partner goes to 00:41:36.369 --> 00:41:39.590 bed and you're tossing and turning and you can't 00:41:39.590 --> 00:41:44.429 fall asleep, you don't have to worry about falling 00:41:44.429 --> 00:41:48.530 into that trap where you're going to pick up 00:41:48.530 --> 00:41:51.449 the phone, mindlessly start joining breaks and 00:41:51.449 --> 00:41:54.409 wake up the next morning feeling that sense of 00:41:54.409 --> 00:41:57.670 regret. Transparency around odds, really, really 00:41:57.670 --> 00:41:59.730 important. If you're selling a randomized product, 00:42:00.269 --> 00:42:02.289 The buyer deserves to know what their chances 00:42:02.289 --> 00:42:06.289 are, just like you would at a casino or in a 00:42:06.289 --> 00:42:11.429 loot box. We see this a lot in gaming. We see 00:42:11.429 --> 00:42:16.010 checklists. Sometimes we see pack odds for manufacturers 00:42:16.010 --> 00:42:19.510 like Topps. But when it comes to repacks, when 00:42:19.510 --> 00:42:24.090 it comes to this gray area, these products that 00:42:24.090 --> 00:42:27.949 are produced by breakers, by third -party companies. 00:42:28.650 --> 00:42:31.550 There's no transparency whatsoever. We don't 00:42:31.550 --> 00:42:33.909 get to see any sort of odds and everything is 00:42:33.909 --> 00:42:36.929 engineered for the consumer to lose. Right. The 00:42:36.929 --> 00:42:40.409 house is always going to win. This is all just 00:42:40.409 --> 00:42:45.429 sort of under the guise of of a hobby. Next, 00:42:45.550 --> 00:42:47.269 we have standardized language and disclosure. 00:42:47.510 --> 00:42:50.809 So no one's getting baited. No one's getting 00:42:50.809 --> 00:42:53.349 bait and switched by words like guaranteed hits. 00:42:54.750 --> 00:42:57.429 high roller box without understanding the real 00:42:57.429 --> 00:43:00.909 value proposition. And this is especially critical 00:43:00.909 --> 00:43:03.869 when it comes to live breaking, because the way 00:43:03.869 --> 00:43:06.849 it's set up right now, again, it is just a free 00:43:06.849 --> 00:43:08.650 for all. It's the Wild West. There's no regulation. 00:43:08.969 --> 00:43:11.650 There's no third party oversight. There is no 00:43:11.650 --> 00:43:14.769 enforcement of ethical practices, just companies 00:43:14.769 --> 00:43:17.530 and creators cashing in on behaviors that if 00:43:17.530 --> 00:43:20.929 this were gambling or even gaming would be heavily 00:43:20.929 --> 00:43:24.550 regulated. Imagine this. Imagine if a casino 00:43:24.550 --> 00:43:27.969 let you gamble with no age verification, no spending 00:43:27.969 --> 00:43:30.949 limits, no player protections, and no posted 00:43:30.949 --> 00:43:33.670 odds. That's exactly what's happening here, except 00:43:33.670 --> 00:43:36.449 instead of chips. Sorry, and that was one of 00:43:36.449 --> 00:43:38.349 my questions, and I'm so ignorant when it comes 00:43:38.349 --> 00:43:41.010 to breaking. What I'm going to ask is, are there 00:43:41.010 --> 00:43:44.010 age checks at Whatnot in Fanatics Breaks or whatever 00:43:44.010 --> 00:43:45.929 it's even called? Do they check ages on those 00:43:45.929 --> 00:43:50.550 sites? You know what? I'm not 100 % certain if 00:43:50.550 --> 00:43:54.030 it's... uh a part of this i know you have to 00:43:54.030 --> 00:43:57.730 put in your age but there's no way for them to 00:43:57.730 --> 00:44:01.389 really determine if a kid is going on there and 00:44:01.389 --> 00:44:05.829 lying about his you know birthday right it's 00:44:05.829 --> 00:44:07.070 not like walking into a casino where they can 00:44:07.070 --> 00:44:10.349 check your driver's license right it's it's completely 00:44:10.349 --> 00:44:14.050 unregulated so you do definitely have to uh put 00:44:14.050 --> 00:44:16.969 in your birthday when you sign up but i'm not 00:44:16.969 --> 00:44:21.449 sure how rigid the verification process currently 00:44:21.449 --> 00:44:24.610 is because, candidly, I signed up for my Fanatics 00:44:24.610 --> 00:44:29.550 Live and Whatnot accounts years ago. But I'm 00:44:29.550 --> 00:44:34.090 sure it's very, very simple for a 12 -year -old, 00:44:34.250 --> 00:44:41.590 11 -year -old to download the app on mom's device 00:44:41.590 --> 00:44:46.389 and start using mom's credit card to join breaks. 00:44:47.230 --> 00:44:48.969 uh and something that's happening quite a bit 00:44:48.969 --> 00:44:52.469 you see chargebacks and all sorts of crazy stories 00:44:52.469 --> 00:44:58.289 um on reddit and instagram and so on um but what 00:44:58.289 --> 00:45:01.789 i was getting at is that you know uh with with 00:45:01.789 --> 00:45:06.980 breaking Rather than chips, you're buying teams 00:45:06.980 --> 00:45:10.000 or repacks or instant rips. And while the hobby 00:45:10.000 --> 00:45:12.860 hides behind terms like entertainment and community, 00:45:13.420 --> 00:45:17.980 the mechanics don't lie. These are 100 % gambling 00:45:17.980 --> 00:45:20.920 adjacent systems being marketed to consumers 00:45:20.920 --> 00:45:24.900 of all ages with zero guardrails in place. So 00:45:24.900 --> 00:45:27.360 reform doesn't necessarily mean like the end 00:45:27.360 --> 00:45:29.699 of the hobby. It just means the beginning of 00:45:29.699 --> 00:45:31.860 a safer one. That's all it is. It's just more 00:45:31.860 --> 00:45:35.840 transparency. A space where collectors don't 00:45:35.840 --> 00:45:37.800 feel like they're being exploited for profit, 00:45:37.960 --> 00:45:40.500 but they're actually being empowered to participate 00:45:40.500 --> 00:45:43.219 with clarity and intention. So it's about protecting 00:45:43.219 --> 00:45:46.519 the people who make the hobby what it is, which 00:45:46.519 --> 00:45:49.559 is the collectors. And it's just it's long overdue. 00:45:49.559 --> 00:45:52.579 And frankly, I'm shocked as I've done my research 00:45:52.579 --> 00:45:56.679 and I continue to advocate for this. It's it's 00:45:56.679 --> 00:46:00.280 mind blowing to me that Fanatics and Whatnot. 00:46:00.809 --> 00:46:04.489 and even the manufacturers Panini Topps Upper 00:46:04.489 --> 00:46:07.369 Deck none of these companies have taken any accountability 00:46:07.369 --> 00:46:12.829 rev at the very least uh you know raised a few 00:46:12.829 --> 00:46:16.769 points here and there hey like this is this is 00:46:16.769 --> 00:46:19.230 something we should probably tighten up this 00:46:19.230 --> 00:46:22.210 is probably something or an area that we should 00:46:22.210 --> 00:46:27.239 um you know create some some rules for it's just 00:46:27.239 --> 00:46:30.719 they continue to add new features just make it 00:46:30.719 --> 00:46:38.960 more enticing more um you know attractive to 00:46:38.960 --> 00:46:43.219 people who have these tendencies to overextend 00:46:43.219 --> 00:46:45.920 themselves to participate and that's the scary 00:46:45.920 --> 00:46:48.519 part and i mentioned this to you before we came 00:46:48.519 --> 00:46:51.320 on the live but Fanatics Live just announced 00:46:51.320 --> 00:46:55.119 today or i'm sorry yesterday this new uh feature 00:46:55.119 --> 00:46:59.539 called instant rips which is basically uh their 00:46:59.539 --> 00:47:05.880 version of offering uh buybacks on repack so 00:47:05.880 --> 00:47:10.139 you purchase uh you purchase a repack for 800 00:47:10.139 --> 00:47:13.719 bucks you hit a 500 card they'll give you 90 00:47:13.719 --> 00:47:16.679 of that on the spot you get your money back and 00:47:16.679 --> 00:47:19.219 you re -roll i mean if that isn't if that doesn't 00:47:19.219 --> 00:47:22.650 scream gambling I don't know what does right 00:47:22.650 --> 00:47:25.730 so it's fine that they add these elements like 00:47:25.730 --> 00:47:29.929 gambling isn't illegal gambling you know is a 00:47:29.929 --> 00:47:32.070 form of entertainment for a lot of people that 00:47:32.070 --> 00:47:34.889 if they can do it within their means and they 00:47:34.889 --> 00:47:37.869 have self -control uh and they're not you know 00:47:37.869 --> 00:47:41.489 overstepping or doing anything um as far as like 00:47:41.489 --> 00:47:45.349 lying to their partners or spending this month's 00:47:45.349 --> 00:47:49.480 mortgage on it like More power to you. Do your 00:47:49.480 --> 00:47:53.099 thing. But there needs to be regulations in place, 00:47:53.300 --> 00:47:58.119 just like they exist for gambling. It's remarkable 00:47:58.119 --> 00:48:00.760 to me that something like this can be introduced 00:48:00.760 --> 00:48:09.900 by a company as big and impactful and game -changing 00:48:09.900 --> 00:48:15.059 as Fanatics, but still not have to create a sense 00:48:15.059 --> 00:48:20.539 of rules. guardrails protections like it's it's 00:48:20.539 --> 00:48:22.699 crazy to me that that that just doesn't exist 00:48:22.699 --> 00:48:25.659 so one last thing i'll say is like when you're 00:48:25.659 --> 00:48:32.420 watching uh a sports game and you see um an ad 00:48:32.420 --> 00:48:35.820 for a casino or a sports book right at the bottom 00:48:35.820 --> 00:48:42.559 of the spot commercial generally there's some 00:48:42.559 --> 00:48:47.400 sort of um messaging around responsible gaming 00:48:47.400 --> 00:48:51.880 responsible gambling yeah disclaimer if you or 00:48:51.880 --> 00:48:53.699 you know somebody who has a problem call 1 -800 00:48:53.699 --> 00:48:56.360 -GAMBLER that's a part of their corporate responsibility 00:48:56.360 --> 00:48:59.300 right that's that's a part of the the rules you 00:48:59.300 --> 00:49:01.599 want to uh you know play in this space you got 00:49:01.599 --> 00:49:03.780 to follow the rules that have been set by the 00:49:03.780 --> 00:49:07.179 uh governing body why doesn't that exist within 00:49:07.179 --> 00:49:10.579 the hobby when there's so many synergies it's 00:49:10.579 --> 00:49:13.400 mind -boggling to me that there isn't some sort 00:49:13.400 --> 00:49:17.059 of gaming commission that that is over seeing 00:49:17.059 --> 00:49:20.559 all of this it's literally just Fanatics Panini 00:49:20.559 --> 00:49:26.940 Whatnot eBay and you know we're basically uh 00:49:26.940 --> 00:49:31.679 marketing slaves to those higher powers with 00:49:31.679 --> 00:49:34.739 with nobody kind of keeping an eye on any of 00:49:34.739 --> 00:49:37.239 this to make sure that it's happening fairly 00:49:37.239 --> 00:49:42.280 and um in such a way that protects the consumer. 00:49:42.900 --> 00:49:46.519 Yeah. And I think it's worth noting that what 00:49:46.519 --> 00:49:48.679 you, Alyx, and what Collectors MD is trying to 00:49:48.679 --> 00:49:52.760 do is not to get rid of it. It's to make it more 00:49:52.760 --> 00:49:54.940 responsible, more accountable. And I would urge 00:49:54.940 --> 00:49:58.860 people, when you hear outside factors, other 00:49:58.860 --> 00:50:02.059 people defending it, saying we don't need regulation 00:50:02.059 --> 00:50:04.760 or this or this or that. It's entertainment. 00:50:04.900 --> 00:50:06.719 It's fun. It's like, oh, someone enters a break 00:50:06.719 --> 00:50:08.500 because they can't get all the Oakland Raider 00:50:08.500 --> 00:50:10.119 cards that they want. And this is how they get 00:50:10.119 --> 00:50:15.039 it. Like, sure. I think it's worth asking what 00:50:15.039 --> 00:50:18.219 they have to gain and what their incentive is 00:50:18.219 --> 00:50:22.559 to not want to have regulation on it. And when 00:50:22.559 --> 00:50:25.679 you dig deeper into what their motivations are 00:50:25.679 --> 00:50:31.119 and what they get out of using you, you begin 00:50:31.119 --> 00:50:33.980 to understand why they. why they are operating 00:50:33.980 --> 00:50:36.739 that the way that they are. Now, we are starting 00:50:36.739 --> 00:50:39.039 to run out of time here a little bit. So I think, 00:50:39.079 --> 00:50:43.579 Alyx, my last question for you would be, what 00:50:43.579 --> 00:50:46.940 would you say to someone or what would you make 00:50:46.940 --> 00:50:51.739 open to someone who is feeling like maybe they're 00:50:51.739 --> 00:50:55.559 a bit out of control or just worried about their 00:50:55.559 --> 00:50:59.420 own behavior? What can their next steps be to 00:50:59.420 --> 00:51:02.670 take back some of that control? Yeah, so what 00:51:02.670 --> 00:51:05.969 I don't want to do is scare anybody into thinking 00:51:05.969 --> 00:51:09.750 that they might have a problem. I personally, 00:51:09.809 --> 00:51:16.989 you know, feel a sense of, what's the word, like 00:51:16.989 --> 00:51:21.329 obligation, right? Because I have experienced 00:51:21.329 --> 00:51:24.550 both sides. I know what it's like to chase the 00:51:24.550 --> 00:51:27.030 high, the rush of a big pull, the late night 00:51:27.030 --> 00:51:29.510 breaks, the dopamine hits that feel like dull. 00:51:30.090 --> 00:51:32.309 never come fast enough. I've experienced the 00:51:32.309 --> 00:51:36.250 spiral, the financial strain, the shame, the 00:51:36.250 --> 00:51:38.969 mental toll. I've seen how something that starts 00:51:38.969 --> 00:51:41.489 as a hobby can morph into something far, far 00:51:41.489 --> 00:51:44.710 more dangerous. But I've also spent years in 00:51:44.710 --> 00:51:47.050 this space, not just as a collector, but a student 00:51:47.050 --> 00:51:49.489 of it. I understand the mechanics, the culture, 00:51:49.590 --> 00:51:52.070 the psychology behind the platforms and the products. 00:51:52.190 --> 00:51:54.789 I know what's broken and I know where the hope 00:51:54.789 --> 00:51:58.500 lives. So that's why Collectors MD exists. Not 00:51:58.500 --> 00:52:01.880 because I'm against the hobby. I'm not. I love 00:52:01.880 --> 00:52:04.300 the hobby. I truly do. I'm passionate about the 00:52:04.300 --> 00:52:08.840 hobby. But it's because I believe in its potential 00:52:08.840 --> 00:52:11.280 to be something healthier, more sustainable, 00:52:11.380 --> 00:52:14.980 and more honest. I feel like I bring a rare combination 00:52:14.980 --> 00:52:18.179 of lived experience with addiction, deep industry 00:52:18.179 --> 00:52:20.139 knowledge, and a genuine love for collecting. 00:52:20.380 --> 00:52:25.150 So again, I really want to push the point. home 00:52:25.150 --> 00:52:27.190 that I'm not here to tear it down. I'm here to 00:52:27.190 --> 00:52:30.329 help build a better way forward for myself and 00:52:30.329 --> 00:52:32.690 for everyone else who's ever felt like they've 00:52:32.690 --> 00:52:35.210 lost control, but still love the card. So if 00:52:35.210 --> 00:52:39.929 you feel that way, if you feel like you are on 00:52:39.929 --> 00:52:42.389 a slippery slope and are starting to go down 00:52:42.389 --> 00:52:45.510 that path where you're overspending beyond your 00:52:45.510 --> 00:52:48.650 means, you're hiding packages, you're hiding 00:52:48.650 --> 00:52:52.949 finances, then Collectors MD is here for you. 00:52:54.529 --> 00:52:57.869 know that you are not alone and it's okay. And 00:52:57.869 --> 00:52:59.730 you don't have to give up the hobby. You don't 00:52:59.730 --> 00:53:02.650 have to quit. There are layers to it. Some people 00:53:02.650 --> 00:53:04.309 might have to. Some people might have to take 00:53:04.309 --> 00:53:08.190 a long break and then come back to it with a 00:53:08.190 --> 00:53:12.610 different mindset. But we can identify that together. 00:53:12.809 --> 00:53:15.070 We can figure that out. And again, with the help 00:53:15.070 --> 00:53:17.809 of Birches Health, there are even more professional 00:53:17.809 --> 00:53:20.690 tools and resources to identify those things. 00:53:22.119 --> 00:53:24.239 So, you know, if you want to learn more about 00:53:24.239 --> 00:53:27.460 Collectors MD, you can go to our website, Collectors MD 00:53:27.460 --> 00:53:30.119 .com. You can check us out on social. We're on 00:53:30.119 --> 00:53:34.699 Instagram, TikTok, Twitter, Facebook, Mantle, 00:53:34.780 --> 00:53:40.559 Reddit, a few others. But we want to be wherever 00:53:40.559 --> 00:53:44.619 the consumer is consuming their content. And 00:53:44.619 --> 00:53:46.559 we want to make sure that we're providing a space 00:53:46.559 --> 00:53:50.460 for people to feel that sense of safety, that 00:53:50.460 --> 00:53:54.019 sense of comfort that they've been longing for 00:53:54.019 --> 00:53:59.280 far too long. Alyx Ruffin, thank you for taking 00:53:59.280 --> 00:54:02.800 the initiative to create Collectors MD. Thank 00:54:02.800 --> 00:54:05.690 you for your leadership on this issue. Thank 00:54:05.690 --> 00:54:07.710 you for sharing your story. And I hope that we're 00:54:07.710 --> 00:54:10.449 able to talk again sometime soon. Dave, thank 00:54:10.449 --> 00:54:12.489 you so much for having me, man. It was a pleasure 00:54:12.489 --> 00:54:16.010 chatting with you. And thank you for your support. 00:54:16.130 --> 00:54:20.110 It means the world. And looking forward to keeping 00:54:20.110 --> 00:54:22.869 in touch and seeing where this thing goes. All 00:54:22.869 --> 00:54:24.349 right, man. Take care. All righty.