How Action Figures Changed Our Idea of "Work"
My husband worked factory for 18 years. That’s 18 years of 12 – 13 hours on his feet in steel-toed shoes on a concrete floor, working machines on a night shift two on, two off, three on, two off. The pay was great, the benefits were decent, but the rest of it was kind of miserable. His schedule was completely thrown off because of working nights, so his sleep wasn’t restful and his days off were not productive. He was overweight, because the overnight cafeteria only served fried foods. He had high blood pressure, was cranky all the time, and night shift meant that I slept alone half the month.
At the time, we figured, hey, it’s a job. Everyone hate their job, right? I mean, I did too. You just… do it… till you can retire. That’s life. Suffer through it. Go get a straw and suck it up.
I’d see those meme’s and Hallmark-style messages telling everyone to “follow their dreams” and “if you do what you love, it’s not work,” and they made me wanna barf. Doing the things you love isn’t going to pay off that car payment any faster or make the property taxes go down.
And then COVID happened.
And we lost … a lot… of people. I don’t mean just globally, I mean personally. Poof. Gone. And it really does give you perspective on what’s important, where you spend your time and effort, and who you surround yourself with. There’s a phrase that I like, “it’s about the difference between making a living and making a life.”
After it was safe to go outside, we immediately started getting back to some of the things we love most – going to Comic Cons. We absolutely love the atmosphere – surrounded by fellow geeks who appreciate great films, incredibly complex cosplay, and of course, toys. Seeing someone immediately remember their 13 year old self and the fun they had with their siblings was / is downright inspirational. I also realized how much my husband actually knew about action figures – we’re talking deep insight into articulated joints, regular vs mail-away, and how to spot an OG Ninja Turtle from a remake. And it got me thinking.
I sat on it for a little while, and then when we were away on vacation, still complaining about work when we should have been enjoying a sunset, I said to him, “You can call me crazy, but what would you think about actually doing vintage toys full time as a business. You’re REALLY GOOD at this.” He first looked at me like I had lobsters crawling out of my ears. And then… he did that thing that the dogs do when you say they’re name and they pensively cock their head to the side. That’s also when he finally noticed the sunset behind us.
“Hmm.”
We started out slowly, concentrating on crisp, original Ninja Turtles and other random toys. We realized that some conventions had an audience that was actually too young for the products, and lost some revenue as anime-heads walked past our GI Joes and NSync dolls.
But we found a rhythm, found the niche shows that toy hunters and collectors go to, and found some great like-minded friends to help us network. What was a side hustle turned into his full time gig and guess what? His health, his mood, his sleep, all improved 100%.
Yes, we absolutely took a pay cut. But you know what?
Who cares.
Now on a Thursday night, you’ll find us pricing out My Pet Monsters and matching the right blaster to the right Star Wars figure, instead of sitting around complaining about how much we hate our jobs. And yes, I said “we” – because as you know, I left “agency life” and started this business earlier this year. And I’m 100% healthier and happier, too.
“Work” has a whole new perspective for both of us. It’s not cushy, and there’s no retirement in sight, but there’s a whole lot more laughter and fun going on at our house these days.
