Austin Evans Instagram – “At six years old, I decided that I like tech, cars, and Pokémon,” says creator-collector Austin Evans (@austinnotduncan). “Nearly 20 years later, those are still my three favorite things.”
You may know Austin from his 15 years as a creator, sharing high-energy videos reviewing technology, building PCs and consoles and testing online services. But alongside his love for technology, Austin’s always nurtured a passion for Pokémon. And while you don’t always see it front-and-center in his videos (except for that time he built a Pokémon PC for @leonhart!), the cards are never far away—and they even play a role in his video production: “We keep booster boxes all over the office because before every video we all crack a pack of whatever we’ve got,” Austin shares. “Someone pulls a great card and it gets all hype, then we shoot the videos.”
As a collector, Austin sadly no longer has the original cards he collected when he was young. “Back in 2014, I had an apartment fire, and so I lost all my old stuff,” he recalls. But that same incident, unexpectedly, also got him collecting again. “One of the very first things I did after that fire, I went up to a game shop and I bought myself a Base Set Two Charizard,” he explains. And while he has a small set of individual cards that he loves for their meaning to him or the unlikely stories behind them, most of his energy goes to collecting sealed items.
“It makes me smile knowing that I don’t know what’s inside—but I don’t want to know. While those boxes are sealed, they could be anything,” he explains. “The more patient I can be, the better the reward will become. It’s just marinating and getting better and better every year.”
And for those just starting to collect, Austin offers the following advice: “Just think about what you like, and try to the best of your ability to make that your priority. To me, there’s a lot more joy to be found in the unusual. The more unusual, the weirder, the cooler stuff that has a personal story—that’s why we collect, right? It’s to tell stories, to connect with people you know, to share a memory and create a special occasion.”
For more from Austin, check out the feature at rarecandy.com/blog | Posted on 09/Jul/2024 02:57:59
