Hobby Hotline show fills big void for hobbyists, collectors

In late 2019, a group of podcasters, myself included, were feeling the void left by Cardboard Connection Radio, a live call-in show hosted by Rob Bertrand of GoGTS that ran from 2002-2015.

About eight of us decided to create a new live show, and in January of 2020 we started to meet to work on the format. We would rotate three of us on a Saturday morning show that focused on current hobby topics and offer opinions in full transparency. We also knew we wanted to be open to other opinions and genuine hobby discussion and debate.

We created a YouTube channel and decided to use StreamYard, an up-and-coming video streaming service that would allow us to provide a link during the show where viewers could come on-screen visually or participate vocally. We also decided to release the video podcast in audio form for hobbyists who could not catch the show live.

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We also decided as a group that we would add to the show roster as needed. Each host had different roles off-air to handle promotion, editing and other tasks.

More than three years later, Hobby Hotline is still going strong. Some of the faces have changed, new hobbyists have come on board and old hosts have left.

The hosts come from various segments of the hobby to bring different voices to the show and cover the most ground. Some notable hobby personalities have been part of the Hobby Hotline team — Jeremy Lee, Sooz, Chris Carlin, Eric Norton, Mike Sommer, Brian Gray and others have been part of the rotation.

The show's current roster includes: Dr. James Beckett, Sports Card Insights; Danny Black, Hobby News Daily; Brody the Kid, the Hobby Life; Mike C, Junk Wax Hero; Chris Harris, BaseballCardPedia.com; Drew Herndon, Lemme Get That Podagraph; Rich Klein, Hobby Guru; Erica Massenburg, LoveWhatYouCollect; Mike Moynihan, Baseball Collector/Bench Clear Media; Adam Palmer, Heroes for Sale; Tony Ramos and Oscar Torres of Cousins Collectibles; Victor Roman, The Rookie Card Specialist; and Logan Ward, Nascard Radio.

The group participated in a live Q&A on the main stage at the 2022 National Sports Collectors Convention in Atlantic City and will be well represented again at the 2023 NSCC show in Chicago. 

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The show prides itself on inclusivity and availability. It's shown great resiliency through the years, seeing hosts come and go and roles and duties change as needed.

Let's be real here — like any group or relationship, there are differences of opinions, disagreements or simply clashes in personalities. Some hosts have had to leave due to time constraints or jobs. In total, 30 different hosts have been part of the show since its launch. Many who have left still call in on occasion, watch or participate in the chat room during the show. Most will tell you they enjoyed their time with the show and group.

We've all been blessed to grace the main stage at The National in 2020 and 2022. We hope to continue that in future years.

We've added days for the show and at one point we were doing Saturday morning and Tuesday night shows as the hobby news cycle exploded along with the hobby in general during the pandemic.

In late 2022 an offer was extended by host Mike Moynihan to move the Saturday show to the Bench Clear Media Network he is a part of to extend our coverage and range. We cut back our Tuesday night show to the first Tuesday of each month.

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We try to have each host on just once a month to keep things fresh and offer new perspectives each week. The show offers insights and even some inside info due to the relationships the hosts have with other hobby dignitaries and companies.

The chat room during the show is usually lively and engaging, with many of the comments going on screen for additional discussion. The door is always open for anyone to come on and agree, disagree, discuss and debate the topics we are talking about.

We've had our ups and downs but I'm excited to be involved with this different type of show and excited to see it evolve further.

You can find the show on most social media at @HobbyHotline.

— John Newman is a collector, dealer and the host of the Sports Card Nation podcast. Catch his Hobby Quick Hits on Monday and his guest interviews on Friday on your favorite podcast plat­form. You can reach him at sportscard­nationpc@gmail.com or on Twitter at @ sportscardnati1