What's going on everybody? Welcome back to Stacking Slabs. This is your hobby content alternative.

I am your host here, Brett. Flagship episode coming at you. I gotta say, out of the gates, I am filled up with a lot of joy based on the the launch of my first book collecting for keeps, finding meaning in a hobby built on hype.

I just wanna thank you. So much great feedback, so much engagement. You know, you do these launch days and you're like, is anyone gonna care? Is anyone gonna pay attention? Is anyone going to actually, download this thing?

And the feedback was so overwhelming. Just so many great collectors in this space engaging with that piece of content and sharing what matters and why they liked it and telling their damn friends and doing those things.

And it made it all worth it. Just like that twenty four hours made it all worth it.

Now, you know, it's my job to continue to let people know that this this book exists, and I think you should read it. But just wanna say out of the gates, thank you to everyone who, helped with the promotion sharing that.

I I couldn't even begin to account for the amount of reposts that I did on Instagram from people who were just sharing, why they liked it.

So if you haven't already, make sure you check it out. The link will be in the show notes. All you have to do is drop your email and name, and you'll get that sent over to you.

And if you're late to the party, which I'm not an early adopter on stuff. I'm usually a couple steps behind. So, if you're if you're reading it later, definitely, let me know what you think.

And if you feel inclined, tell a damn friend about it. But that was huge. Really excited to get that into the world, and hopefully, it gets you to think about the way you collect differently and differently in a good way.

There was a lot of thought and energy put into that, and there'll be a lot more that I'm gonna dig into.

But I think that like, launching that, seeing the reaction, and getting some of the comments really was the driving force for today's episode.

And so today, I wanna zoom out and talk about something that has been on my mind a lot lately.

Something I live every day. Something that honestly, I don't think gets enough credit for how much it shapes the way we all collect, connect, and keep this hobby moving forward.

And so we're gonna do a little episode. It's gonna be inception here, content inception, inception because we're going to talk about content.

Now I'm not just a content creator even though I'm all in and I do this professionally. I'm also a content consumer. If I'm not reading or writing, I'm listening or watching or scrolling.

Podcasts, mostly podcasts, some YouTube, lots of Instagram Instagram reels, for every corner of the hobby, not just the lanes I collect in either. I listen to Vince vintage baseball guys, talk on podcasts and YouTube channel.

I'm thinking about, Tony Southern Collector 14 and his channel. Just getting educated, trying to understand, like, what's happening in this space that I don't pay much attention to.

Listen to modern basketball guys, wrestling collectors, WNBA deep dives, all those things because I think doing that makes it better for me as a collector and a creator.

It enhances my overall experience. It sharpens me as a collector, as a business owner, and as someone who is trying to build something meaningful here. I don't know if you feel the same way.

I hope you do, especially with stacking slabs. But I I, my content cycle, I I listen to I I would say I might listen to more podcasts than anybody, and I create maybe more podcasts than a lot of people.

But, whenever I get the time, like, I personally, and this might make me sound like a little bit of an old man, but I I would much rather listen to great podcast content than certainly hop on YouTube or watch TV or read anything.

Like, my preferred medium for content is this channel. I love it. I build a career around it. It's just how it it it I can I can do things and consume and get smarter and better?

I I love it here. And there's we've done testing in other areas, but there's a reason why this is my zone here. This is my space because I know I'm not the only one who feels the same way.

And so whenever a new piece of hobby content, pops up in my feed, that gets prioritized number one. Like, I usually shelf all the other sports and entrepreneur podcasts and all those things I listen to.

Those play second fiddle to the Sports Card podcast. And I've been thinking about that, and it's because this is the most interesting place and space for me right now. And I appreciate all the creators.

And, also disclaimer here, like, I'll probably mention I just mentioned Tony. I'll probably mention content creators that I listen to just naturally and having this conversation. There's no chance I'll be able to mention everyone.

Like, if you're not mentioned, this is not a a a slight on you. It's just I'm kinda shooting from the hip on a lot of this stuff, and stuff is going to come to my brain, and I'll probably mention something.

But I I listen to so much, and I wanna thank everybody out there too for, being passionate, sharing your thoughts, your opinions, vocalizing.

Like, there are a lot of people out there who appreciate it. And while it might seem like I'm creating more, I'm I'm consuming just as much. So when I there that we'll say that disclaimer.

Also, like, disclaimer number two or maybe just advice or tip. Like, if you are in a jam, like, trying to find new podcasts or do and or, you know, check it out, it's new stuff or learn about new areas.

Like, a good place to always go to just in case you aren't dialed into this already is Cardbladder has a feed on their app.

And I, you know, I'm not doing this every day, but I'll I'll check the feed and I'll just zoom you can find stacking slabs on the feed.

But I'll just, like, zoom through the feed, and I'll say say if there's anything new popping up or just something that I might be interested in.

So that's always a good space. Now whatever you do, don't put whatever you find above stacking slabs because no one else is your hobby content alternative.

That's just here. All jokes aside, I'm excited to dig into this conversation. I think right now, content is front and center in the hobby conversation, which is really good for everybody, really good for myself.

And so when I dropped the new book, Collecting for Keeps, How to Find Meaning in a Hobby Built on Hype, the feedback I got, obviously, I mentioned it was just so good, and that made me stop and think.

And then I started seeing some posts from people that I respect. Chris McGill said, who someone I respect immensely said he pointed out chapter three of the book, The Signal and the Noise.

He said the topic was especially timely right now. And I think he's right. I mean, and I wanna get into this in in this episode is that, I'm a fan of the diversity of content, although not all of the content I think is helpful.

And it's about navigating that. Like, how do we push away content that's not going to be helpful and focus in on the content that we do.

There's a signal, and there's a lot of noise. I think we're in a moment where there's more noise than ever before, and finding the signal has never been more important.

I saw Kyle from the Wax Museum podcast, said something to the effect of if you like content, share it. That's one of the best things you can do to help out.

I say it all the time, tell a damn friend. And that hit me because as creators, we pour everything we've got into what we make, but without the collector sharing, commenting, engaging, the content doesn't travel.

So this episode is my chance to put some a stake in the ground and say, I I believe in content.

I believe in this community. It's what I'm doing full time. It's my brain is always thinking about ways to do what I do better, change what I do for the better, create new things that matter.

And so this this episode will be like with me airing it out a little bit. I think it's essential in any community to keep people excited, informed, and connected.

And I believe, that I'm in a position based on me being a consumer, me being a collector, and me being a creator working full time in this space that I I I probably have some opinions, and I'm probably decently positioned to share them.

I've lived in content before the hobby, during the hobby, and, obviously, it's what I do now. So here's what we're gonna do. Here's what we're gonna do in this episode.

I wanna talk about why content matters more than ever before and how it benefits the broader community and strengthens the market, talk about the role of education in making better collectors, why diversity of formats and voices is a strength.

We all in the space should celebrate. I think it's so easy to disregard something that doesn't look like something that we are interested in, but those pieces in those segments need to be supported too.

And it's really important that I think we recognize that. And we'll talk a little bit about why I'm doing why I'm doing this.

Like, why I made the decision to leave my comfortable, well paying job with tons of upside to work here. And by the way, like, this is the best career decision I've ever made.

And I've worked for some exceptional companies that have done some crazy things, but this it's not even been a full year yet. We're coming up on a year. This has been the best decision I've ever made.

And we'll talk about psychology a little bit. We always talk about psychology. I think if you walk away from this episode with one thing, I hope it's that great content doesn't just happen.

It is the product of time, thought, and genuine love and passion for the hobby. And if we want this thing to keep growing, we'll all have a role to play in supporting it. And maybe I'll double down before we get into it.

It is a product of time, thought, and genuine love for the hobby. This takes so much time, not just, like, talking into a microphone, but the whole lead up, the the ideation, the formatting.

And so I want you to, like, consider that when you hear or see other individuals in the space that are consistently doing it. So it takes a lot of capacity now.

I'm, like, on hyperdrive right now because it's I'm trying to push this business forward so I can then go to the next stage. And so that part of that process is, like, rapid creation, new formats, and, my capacity's at an all time low.

But it's not just me. It's anyone who's creating anything. Like, it takes a lot of love. It takes a lot of passion. If I didn't give a shit about cards collecting the way it made me feel, I'd never be doing this.

I do it because I care. I do it because it interests me. I do it because I love this space. So let's get into this. Okay. I've talked about this a lot, but I think it's a good stage setter for this conversation.

I have been in content for the last fifteen years working in content for marketing and technology companies, creating campaigns, building audiences, launching new product, learning how to tell stories through content, and learning deeply about how to connect with the individual on the other side.

I built this skill set around connecting ideas to the right audience at the right time.

I think it is very important to know who you're aiming for and to be very specific. And so when I launched Stacking Slabs, it was a passion project to process kind of what I was learning as a collector.

And the launch of Stacking Slabs was really, apparent because I I knew there was a need because I knew that there were so many other people like me.

And I just so happened to live in a world of content, so I could probably spin up, talking about what I was going through quicker than maybe some others. And so that's why I did it.

And so that early gap, caused me to network, caused me to think about what content matters. And I realized quickly, like, the how to make money content was overflowing and prevalent, but I didn't care about it.

I I literally was not coming here to make money. I was coming here because and I mentioned this in collecting for keeps. I I had a void. I I had I had quit consuming alcohol.

I it was damaging my life, and I needed some space to fill it in the hobby that was that, was that, safety raft in a way. Grabbing the the hobby and and letting it take me to shore and keep me grounded.

And I realized that there's just not an like, not as a marketer, like, working in marketing and just thinking a lot about psychology, intention, motivation, desire, meaning there wasn't a lot of stuff out there.

So it was like, okay. Here's a niche I can dig into. Like, you know, this is can be my corner of the block, and I can just go ham and just figure it out.

And so that's when I started documenting the journey and be and became the flagship episode and obviously, you know, expanding it into a network.

I think it matters now because those same principles that I used in tech and the way I approached it were really fueling how I looked at sports card content.

Now not the substance in the content itself, but the structure and more importantly, the delivery and creating something that I would want to resonate with someone else.

And I think content isn't an afterthought. It should be the foundation for the hobby. I think it's one of those pillars, and it's how I've leaned into building a brand in this space.

Now, I think there's a lot of different reasons why content matters in the hobby. And so I'm gonna I can't like name them all or we'd be here all day.

That's I'm I'm Hobby Content's number one cheerleader. If you're a creator, like, I'm on the sidelines doing back tucks and got my pom poms out, you know, cheering for you.

But I think, hobby content keeps collectors engaged in between transactions. You can't buy like, maybe some actually, some people do.

They just buy $24. 07 every hour, but that's atypical. What's typical is you make a big purchase and then it's like you're trying to figure out what else to fill your time and space with.

And even when people aren't buying or selling, I think I know they're watching, listening, and learning, through stories, interviews, market breakdowns, all of these things.

This keeps the energy up. It keeps us excited. It keeps us motivated. It allows us to think differently about the segment of the hobby that we're collecting in. It also opens the door to other segments of the hobby.

I mean, whether you like it or not, we are all influenced. And in influence has such a negative connotation because we associate it with influencers or people trying to get attention or pitch something, shove something down your throat.

But naturally, great content influences the way that you look at something, think about something, and that's always the mark.

When I start reacting after I listen to a great podcast episode or go down exploration, do research for myself, maybe open up a new safe search, that's when I'm like, this is great content.

And so I think the engagement in between the buying is really important.

Like, when I was heading home from the national, it's like, I just wanna listen to hobby podcast. I just wanna keep engaged. I want I wanna feel connected even when I'm not on Instagram, not on eBay, not doing those things.

And I think that's that the fact that content can do that for all of us is very important. It gives us stability during market shifts. Prices will forever go up. Prices will forever go down.

Hype cycles will always come come and go. It's natural. It's nonstop. It's always gonna happen. Just like rewind the tape, but think about your hobby experience over the last five to ten years. You've seen so many different phases.

Like, we're in a phase right now that I'll say feels the most, feels the the strongest and the most authentic way possible. Now does that does that does that mean these prices are gonna stay where they are forever?

No. But it just it feels like there's the right type of excitement, right type of moves being made, right type of content. And I think content keeps people connected regardless of those cycles.

Informed collectors, and this is what I'm constantly striving for. It's like, if I can inform you, if I can make you think about something a different way and keep you, more engaged and smarter, then that's good for the hobby.

And so informal collectors are more confident and will make stronger and make for a more stronger or resilient market. Like, we don't think about that, but that is true.

Like, this is a I'm a product of that. Like, when I listen to podcasts and I hear people talk, it's just like, man, that's that's something different. That's that's something I wasn't thinking about before.

And I've said this to Chris, but if you're not already listening to Chris's Hosh cast, I mean, you know, he'll get on, like, once a week and talk for two hours about a topic, and it'll just go Broadway.

And he'll talk about his personal collecting, and he'll talk about, the reasons why he did that, and he'll talk about the money.

And I I've mentioned mentioned this to him. I'm like, dude, thank you so much for, like, being very transparent about talking about what you're paying for the stuff you're buying.

That helps me think through the way I think about things in an odd way. And also as a collector, and then also it helps me think through the delivery of, how I talk about cards and my own cards and when I'm buying stuff.

And it's just it's weird. It's like we as collectors feel like, oh, it's different. This maybe this is different because you've got one side of the market that's very flashy and loud, and they're always talking about prices.

But then we have made this decision that, like, because we're we're trying to build these awesome collections, we don't maybe we it might feel, taboo to talk about what we paid for it. Like, I'm all for it. Like, share.

Talk about it. I think it's great. So I appreciate that. And that in and of itself, and that's one tiny, tiny example. But we see this all the time. And I also think, like, there's content as the cultural glue to this space.

I think documenting collections, niche sets, hobby history builds a living archive. One thing that I continue to observe about our space, which is crazy well, it's not crazy.

It's normal, but it presents an opportunity where you've got so much dialogue and conversation about what's new, what's hot, what's on the front end, but there's not a lot about what has been here and what laid that groundwork.

And that's the stuff that's interesting. I wanna know about sets. I wanna know about parallels. I wanna know about why a manufacturer did certain things.

And I think creators in this space who are dialed in help tell those stories and make those stories keep those stories alive. Without content, much of our culture would live in just, like, fleeting social media posts or private chats.

And so I think the role of content in this space matters, and I think we should all consider that as we listen to and support creators.

And I think I talk a lot about just the role of education and just how education in this hobby, I think, is severely lacking.

It's certainly getting better, but there's always more opportunity. And in chapter three of collecting for keeps, the chapter's about the signal and the noise, and we're overloaded with information, but not all of it's useful.

And I think for new collectors, good education content accelerates their learning curve and keeps them from making costly mistakes.

I don't believe every new person who comes into this space or returns to this space needs to go down the same track that the hobby kind of funnels us through right now where it's like, alright, let's go buy some stuff to make some money that we don't care about and that cycle that never ends well.

And most of the time, like, those people probably leave. The few that stay, like, give a shit, and then they go on this path of, like, learning, how I collect for keeps.

Like, I think the role of education can help alleviate some of the churn and can help support, collectors advancing into new levels quicker than before.

And for experienced collectors, I think, you know, education gives deep dives in niche storytelling, and it gives them the opportunity to expand beyond their own lane.

Education fuels confidence, and I think confident collectors stay in the hobby longer and spend more money intentionally.

Great content creators don't just inform, they give you frameworks for making your own decisions. That's really important.

I will I try to talk a lot in frameworks. I think the more we talk in frameworks, the easier it is for you as the listener to digest points that I'm trying to make. And so that's something that I think is important.

I think there I wanna spend some time in this talking about the diversity in content creation. There's so many different formats. We got podcast, YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, newsletters, long form blogs, books.

Now, I'm not the only one who've done it, but books exist. Each of them have their own rhythm, and each of them have their own audience. And there's different creator types.

You can drill down on that. You've got analysts who live in the data, storytellers who bring history to life, breakers who provide entertainment and access, historians who archive and educate, artists who reimagine the hobby visually.

Like, there is so much. Think about that. There's more. I could keep going.

We do twenty more minutes talking about creator types. There's different segments, vintage baseball, ultra modern basketball, WNBA, NASCAR, non sport wrestling, prospecting, high in collecting, budget building, all of that.

The strength of the hobby is that someone out there is creating content in every niche, and the variety means collectors can find voices and perspectives that match their style.

I love finding creators and voices that match my style, but then I also expand out and like to listen to everything.

I think the takeaways don't just consume one type of content, step outside your lane to see how others think and operate. You know, I probably say the most pivotal decision I made in my career happened in November 2024.

The decision when I told, the CEO I was working for that, I no longer am working here and, gave my two week notice and then was followed up by, your last day is tomorrow.

And I said, okay. Well, at least I won't be lingering on anymore and I can, you know, spend some more time creating.

And honestly, like, what's crazy, I'm, like, reflecting on this now. It's, like, I'll never forget that first Monday coming in here and being, like, okay.

Time to build something cool. And I wrote a note down. I wish I still had it. I've got a post it note that just said, write a book that you care about.

And I just kept that post it note on my computer, and that became the driving force for, writing, collecting for Keep. So I'm following through with, my own accountability, which I think is good.

But the decision, right, leaving steady corporate careers isn't, isn't easy. I I actually, like, posted the book and wrote a little copy on LinkedIn to share with my, like, professional content tax.

I used to spend all day on LinkedIn. I not a big LinkedIn guy, but it was the necessary evil. But I returned to, like, promote the book and, all business contact commented saying, like, hey.

Like, just wanna let you know, like, I really appreciate your courage to just get up and leave and do what you're doing. And that meant a lot to me. And I never thought, like, the decision was courageous in a way.

But anybody out there who's an entrepreneur, who's, working on your own business knows that at one point, you just have to make the leap. Like, I, for decades, I would listen to people say, you have to make the leap.

You can't do both. You can't be in two worlds. And I'd be like, maybe I can do both. But you really can't until you make the leap. And once you make the leap, you can just go all in and you figure it out.

I'm still trying to figure it out. I'm but I I'm learning. And that learning and figuring out and working at the intersection of content and collecting is the most satisfying decision that I've ever made.

I think committing to multiple shows, partnerships, live activations, cards in hand, all that stuff popped up and it would not have happened if it wasn't for me going all in.

And I think the payoff is building deeper connections with other creators in the space, the partners and sponsors I work with, collectors, having the bandwidth to explore more formats and collaborate in ways that wouldn't have been possible before.

It's a long game. Like, this isn't transactional. It's planting seeds for a long period of time, and content is the compounding asset. Each episode I drop, each post video, my goal is to build trust with you over a long period of time.

The audience you build now will fuel opportunities down the road, and I'm 100% confident that that has taken place since I started stacking slabs.

Maybe let's round the corner here with just some psycho thoughts on psychology and impact of content. I think psychology is really important, and I think about it a lot. It gives identity shaping.

The content you consume influences what you value, what you chase, and how you see the hobby. Provides inspiration, seeing other collectors, passion, and creativity can spark new projects and collecting goals for you.

FOMO awareness, understand how content can create urgency that's not always in your best interest and how you can balance that excitement out with patience. And then validation, right?

Hearing other collectors articulate what you feel can affirm your approach and keep you engaged even when you're not making moves. So we close this out. Just be vocal about the content you love. Like, comment, support those creators.

Not all creators are here to make money, but visibility is currency. So give those creators that you appreciate visibility. I can't like, I I I listen to so many podcasts all the time, and I I love it.

I can't get enough of it. And I just want if you're creating, keep creating more. If you've thought about creating, like, get off and just start start doing it. You know, collecting for keeps, that book is very important to me.

It I wanted to share it because it gives intentionality and respect for the craft of collecting and content creation. I hope this resonates with you. And if it does, hey. I'm gonna tell you.

Tell a damn friend. More stacking slabs coming your way. Always appreciate you tuned in and engaged. If you've got thoughts on content, I'd always love to hear it. Appreciate you support me. Take care. Talk to you soon.