In this episode of The Collector’s Compass, Alyx sits down with Nick Jarman, Founder & CEO of The Certified Trading Card Association (CTCA) and Founder of The Global Trading Card Registry (GTCR), to discuss what it will take to build a healthier, more transparent, and more sustainable future for collecting.

Nick brings more than 25 years of leadership experience to The CTCA—the only nonprofit trade association exclusively focused on the trading card industry—uniting manufacturers, hobby shops, breakers, grading companies, platforms, and collectors around shared standards, education, trust, and accountability.

Alyx is also proud to serve on The CTCA Advisory Board and has witnessed firsthand the collaboration taking place among industry leaders working together to help shape the hobby's future.

The conversation explores Nick's journey, the inspiration behind The CTCA, and why the modern hobby needs stronger collaboration, greater transparency, and proactive leadership as collecting continues to evolve.

Fresh off Fanatics Fest NYC 2026, Alyx and Nick reflect on finally meeting in person and share takeaways from connecting with collectors, businesses, manufacturers, platforms, and industry leaders while promoting The Healthy Hobby Initiative and #RipResponsibly.

They also explore The Healthy Hobby Initiative, the strategic partnership between Collectors MD and The CTCA designed to promote healthier collecting habits, consumer awareness, transparency, trust, and long-term sustainability. Collectors MD focuses on education, support, awareness, and advocacy for collectors and families, while The CTCA works with industry stakeholders to strengthen standards and confidence across the hobby ecosystem.

Nick also shares the vision behind the Global Trading Card Registry (GTCR), his newest initiative focused on bringing greater organization, connectivity, and innovation to collecting.

Finally, Alyx and Nick discuss why collaboration—not competition—will help shape the hobby's future, and why responsible collecting doesn't diminish its excitement—it helps protect it for generations to come.

Whether you're a collector, hobby business, breaker, content creator, parent, investor, or simply passionate about the future of trading cards, this is a conversation you won't want to miss.

Subscribe, share, and join the conversation around transparency, education, responsibility, and building a healthier hobby.

Watch The Episode On YouTube

Learn More & Join The Movement:

Website: collectorsmd.com

Nonprofit: lohas.org/client/the-cmd-foundation

Socials: bio.collectorsmd.com

Weekly Meetings: bit.ly/45koiMX

Contact: info@collectorsmd.com

YT: ‪@collectorsmd

IG: @collectorsmd

Learn More About The Healthy Hobby Initiative:

Website: thehealthyhobby.com

Follow Nick:

IG: @nickjarman

LI: Nick Jarman

Learn More About The CTCA:

Website: thectca.org

YT: ‪@thectca1‬

IG: @thectca

FB: The CTCA

X: @thectca

LI: The CTCA

Learn More About The GTCR:

Website: thegtcr.com

IG: @thegtcr

X: @thegtcr

Help for Problem Gambling: Call or Text 800-GAMBLER

This Episode of The Collector's Compass is sponsored by ‪All Touch Case, a premium display and protection solution designed to showcase your cards while keeping them safe. Use code COLLECTORSMD for 15% of your order. Collect. Protect. It’s a peace of mind.

#CollectorsMD | #TheCMDFoundation | #CTCA | #GTCR | #HealthyHobby | #RipResponsibly
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g20Iy1o1oN8&t=100s

In this episode of The Collector’s Compass, Alyx sits down with Pang Ming Wee—better known throughout the hobby as @TheCardBoss2021—the creator and host of the Courtside Investor‬ Podcast, one of the fastest-growing long-form conversation platforms in the sports card space.

Based in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Pang has built a truly global audience by sitting down with collectors, dealers, entrepreneurs, content creators, hobby historians, investors, and industry personalities from around the world. Through thoughtful conversations with guests including Chris Hoj, Adam Gray, Jeremy Lee, Sports Card Dad, Dan The Card Man, T-Pott, and many others, Courtside Investor has become one of the hobby's most respected interview-driven platforms.

Before fully immersing himself in sports cards, Pang spent more than twenty years in accounting and finance while simultaneously competing professionally in Magic: The Gathering, representing Malaysia internationally and capturing a National Championship.

What separates Courtside Investor from many hobby platforms is the focus on people rather than transactions. While much of today's hobby content revolves around prices, hype, breaking, and market movement, Pang has built a platform centered around stories, philosophies, collecting journeys, and the lessons that shape collectors over time.

In this conversation, Alyx and Pang discuss his collecting origins, his competitive Magic: The Gathering career, the transition from accounting and finance into full-time hobby entrepreneurship, and what originally inspired him to launch Courtside Investor.

They also explore the realities of building a global hobby audience from Malaysia, the evolution of content creation within the hobby, what makes a great podcast guest, and the lessons Pang has learned from conducting nearly fifty long-form interviews with some of the hobby's most respected voices.

The conversation dives into insights gathered from the guests Pang has had on the Courtside Investor podcast, highlighting common themes surrounding collecting philosophy, hobby longevity, personal fulfillment, and what separates healthy collecting from endless chasing.

Pang also shares his perspective on the current state of the hobby, including social media's influence on collecting culture, the growing focus on money and investing, hobby hype cycles, content creator responsibility, and how collectors can maintain perspective in an increasingly fast-moving environment.

Alyx and Pang additionally discuss collecting philosophy, grail cards, meaningful cards, the future of the hobby, the opportunities that many collectors may be overlooking, and the long-term vision for Courtside Investor moving forward.

At its core, this episode is about collecting, storytelling, community, content creation, and the lessons that emerge when you spend years listening to some of the hobby's smartest and most passionate voices.

Topics covered include:

• Pang's collecting origins

• Competitive Magic: The Gathering and representing Malaysia

• Pang's accounting and finance background

• Returning to sports cards during the pandemic

• Building Courtside Investor

• Growing a global hobby audience from Malaysia

• The evolution of hobby content creation

• What makes a great podcast guest

• Lessons learned from nearly 50 hobby interviews

• Insights from the guests Pang has had on the Courtside Investor podcast

• Collecting philosophies from hobby leaders

• Social media's impact on collecting culture

• Hobby hype cycles and perspective

• Content creator responsibility

• Personal collecting philosophy

• Grail cards and meaningful cards

• The future of sports card collecting

• The future of Courtside Investor

If you've ever wondered what some of the hobby's most respected collectors, creators, and entrepreneurs have in common, or wanted to hear the perspective of someone who has spent years sitting down with many of the hobby's brightest minds, this is a conversation worth listening to.

Because sometimes the most valuable thing you can collect isn't a card—it's a lesson.

Subscribe, share, and join the conversation around awareness, intentional collecting, and building a healthier relationship with the hobby.

Watch The Episode On YouTube

Learn More & Join The Movement:

Website: collectorsmd.com

Socials: bio.collectorsmd.com

Weekly Meetings: bit.ly/45koiMX

Contact: info@collectorsmd.com

YT: ‪@collectorsmd

IG: @collectorsmd

Follow Pang Ming Wee & Courtside Investor:

Website: courtsideinvestor.com

YT: ‪@courtsideinvestor‬

IG: @thecardboss2021| @courtside_investor

Help for Problem Gambling: Call or Text 800-GAMBLER

This Episode of The Collector's Compass is sponsored by ‪All Touch Case, a premium display and protection solution designed to showcase your cards while keeping them safe. Use code COLLECTORSMD for 15% of your order. Collect. Protect. It’s a peace of mind.

#CollectorsMD | #CourtsideInvestor | #RipResponsibly | #CollectResponsibly

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hb9L06bDTgo&t=629s

In this episode of The Collector’s Compass, Alyx sits down with Paul Baldwin Jr.—aka @Paullydoughnuts⁩—founder of #GetToStackin, trusted hobby voice, and one of the more outspoken, community-rooted personalities in the space today.

Paully brings a grounded, collector-first perspective to a moment in the hobby that feels as exciting as it does uncertain. With 20K+ followers across his socials and years of experience transacting and building trust within the community, he’s become a voice many collectors have turned to as the hobby has started feeling louder, faster, and harder to make sense of.

Alyx and Paully unpack the current state of the hobby from multiple angles—including Fanatics’ branded credit card, this year's Topps Industry Conference, the continued financialization of fandom, and what it all means for where the hobby is headed.

They discuss the return of iconic products like Topps Chrome Football and Bowman Basketball, the Topps licensing takeover, and why modern wax prices have reached a point where we're starting to question who today’s products are really built for.

The conversation centers on trust, transparency, and accountability, honing in on the recent Whatnot controversy, lawsuits, repack concerns, and the growing tension between community and commerce in the live-selling and breaking ecosystem.

They explore what’s changing in the hobby, what's worth protecting, and whether the space is evolving in a way that feels healthier, more sustainable, and more aligned with the people who helped build it.

At its core, this episode focuses on a bigger question: are we building a better hobby—or just a faster, more expensive, more emotionally volatile one?

Topics covered include:

• Paully’s roots in the hobby and why his voice resonates

• The launch of #GetToStackin and building trust in the community

• Fanatics’ new branded credit card and what it signals

• The financialization of fandom and hobby participation

• Topps’ growing influence and the new licensing era

• The return of Topps Chrome Football and Bowman Basketball

• The skyrocketing cost of wax and accessibility concerns

• Whether modern product is still built for real collectors

• The recent Whatnot controversy, lawsuits, and trust issues

• Repack culture, transparency, and accountability in the hobby

• What still feels worth protecting in today’s hobby

• Whether the hobby is becoming healthier or just more intense

If you’ve been feeling both excited and uneasy about where the hobby is headed, this conversation will hit home. Growth isn’t always the same thing as progress.

Subscribe, share, and join the conversation around awareness, accountability, and building a healthier relationship with collecting.

Watch The Episode On YouTube

Learn More & Join The Movement:

Website: collectorsmd.com

Socials: bio.collectorsmd.com

Weekly Meetings: bit.ly/45koiMX

Contact: info@collectorsmd.com

YT: ‪@collectorsmd

IG: @collectorsmd

Learn More About Paul & #GetToStackin:

Website: gettostackin.com

YT: @Paullydoughnuts

IG: @paullydoughnuts

X: @paullydoughnuts

Help for Problem Gambling: Call or Text 800-GAMBLER

This Episode of The Collector's Compass is sponsored by ‪All Touch Case, a premium display and protection solution designed to showcase your cards while keeping them safe. Use code COLLECTORSMD for 15% of your order. Collect. Protect. It’s a peace of mind.

#CollectorsMD | #RipResponsibly | #CollectResponsibly

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3E0cc_bWqGI&t=93s

In this episode of The Collector’s Compass, Alyx sits down with Tony Cefalu—founder of Sportano Collecting Club and creator of The Underdog Hobby Show.

Tony is a lifelong collector who has built a community-first alternative to the status-driven, hype-heavy side of today’s hobby. Through his events, he’s creating spaces centered on connection, access, and authenticity—where collectors of all levels feel welcome.

In this conversation, Alyx and Tony unpack the growing culture shift in the hobby—from gatekeeping and ego to live-selling pressure, inflated pricing, and FOMO-driven behavior.

Tony shares what he’s seen on platforms like Whatnot, where speed, urgency, and manipulation can pull collectors—especially newer ones—into decisions they don’t fully understand in real time.

The conversation also turns personal, as Tony opens up about his experience with sports betting and how he began recognizing similar patterns in his relationship with collecting—where the focus can quietly shift from the card to the feeling.

Together, they explore the difference between collecting with intention and chasing a rush, and what it looks like to build healthier habits without losing the joy of the hobby.

At its core, this episode is about accountability, awareness, and building a better hobby—without becoming anti-hobby.

Topics covered include:

• The origin of Sportano Collecting Club and The Underdog Hobby Show

• Gatekeeping and culture issues within the hobby

• Whatnot, hype cycles, and live-selling pressure

• FOMO, urgency, and collector behavior

• Parallels between sports betting and ripping

• Self-awareness and recognizing unhealthy patterns

• Building a more community-first, intentional hobby

• The Sportano x Collectors MD partnership

If you still love the hobby but feel conflicted about where it’s heading, this conversation will resonate.

Because a better hobby doesn’t happen by accident—it gets built on purpose.

Subscribe, share, and join the conversation around building a healthier, more intentional hobby.

Watch The Episode On YouTube

Learn More & Join The Movement:

Website: collectorsmd.com

Socials: bio.collectorsmd.com

Weekly Meetings: bit.ly/45koiMX

Contact: info@collectorsmd.com

YT: ‪@collectorsmd

IG: @collectorsmd

Follow Tony & Sportano Collecting Club:

Website: sportanocollectingclub.com

IG: @sportano.collecting

Help for Problem Gambling: Call or Text 800-GAMBLER

This Episode of The Collector's Compass is sponsored by ‪All Touch Case, a premium display and protection solution designed to showcase your cards while keeping them safe. Use code COLLECTORSMD for 15% of your order. Collect. Protect. It’s a peace of mind.

#CollectorsMD | #SportanoCollectingClub | #RipResponsibly | #CollectResponsibly

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wJMe25Tsdek

In this episode of The Collector’s Compass, Alyx sits down with Jay Abrenica—a longtime Yankees collector, father, and active member of the Collectors MD community.

Jay’s story reflects the full evolution of the modern hobby. From the simplicity of collecting as a kid to navigating today’s fast-paced environment shaped by live breaks, constant access, social pressure, and manufactured urgency.

After struggling with sports gambling, Jay entered recovery through Gamblers Anonymous and has remained sober since March 2024. But like many, the pattern didn’t simply disappear—it shifted. Card breaks became a substitute behavior, carrying many of the same mechanics: variable rewards, instant gratification, emotional chasing, and the illusion of control.

Alyx and Jay explore how easily collecting can move from connection to compulsion, and what it takes to recognize that shift in real time.

Jay shares the moment his son woke him up during a late-night break session—a turning point that forced him to confront what was really happening beneath the surface. The conversation also expands into financial accountability, denial, and the importance of “doing the math” honestly rather than avoiding the reality of spending patterns and behavior.

They also discuss Jay’s framework for intentional collecting, including the three-question test: What am I feeling right now? Can I wait 24 hours? Am I buying the card or buying the feeling?

Jay reflects on the role guardrails now play in his life—not as punishment, but as protection. He shares what it looks like to build systems that support long-term stability while still maintaining a healthy relationship with the hobby.

The conversation also highlights the importance of community and peer support. Jay opens up about finding Collectors MD, why it felt different from other spaces, and how shared accountability and honest conversations helped him feel less isolated in the process.

At its core, this episode is about rebuilding trust—with yourself, your family, and the hobby itself.

Topics covered include:

• Growing up collecting cards

• How the hobby evolved from simplicity to speed and pressure

• Sports gambling and substitute behaviors

• Card breaks and gambling-adjacent mechanics

• Recognizing the shift from collecting to compulsion

• Financial accountability

• Building guardrails and healthier habits

• Family, recovery, and rebuilding trust

• Why community and peer support matter

• How intentional collecting creates sustainability

If you’ve ever felt the tension between enjoying the hobby and feeling pulled by it, this episode offers a clear and honest look at that line—and what it takes to stay on the right side of it.

Subscribe, share, and join the ongoing conversation around building a healthier, more intentional hobby through awareness, accountability, and community.

Watch The Episode On YouTube

Learn More & Join The Movement:

Website: collectorsmd.com

Socials: bio.collectorsmd.com

Weekly Meetings: bit.ly/45koiMX

Contact: info@collectorsmd.com

YT: ‪@collectorsmd

IG: @collectorsmd

Follow Jay:

IG: @jabrenica69

Help for Problem Gambling: Call or Text 800-GAMBLER

This Episode of The Collector's Compass is sponsored by ‪All Touch Case, a premium display and protection solution designed to showcase your cards while keeping them safe. Use code COLLECTORSMD for 15% of your order. Collect. Protect. It’s a peace of mind.

#CollectorsMD | #RipResponsibly | #CollectResponsibly

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8eQGvG8PV18