February 10, 2025 • 31 mins
In this Pokemon interview, we are joined by Caleb Hatfield, a Pokemon Trainer who co-owns Rockets Markets, a business who helps hosts and market events around Dallas-Fort Worth.
Caleb Hatfield starts his journey with Pokemon Blue and playing the Pokemon games and watching teh anime. Caleb continues his Pokemon journey playing through the Hoenn games, but somehow completely misses Pokemon Gold & Silver!
Caleb Hatfield takes a brief break from Pokemon, but returns with Pokemon GO where he would play the game during the initial hype of 2016. Caleb would also play Pokemon GO with his girlfriend as they would Shiny Hunt together and even share catches.
Finally, Caleb Hatfield dives into the origin of Rockets Markets and becoming a vendor using Rockets Relics. He gives insight into how he met his business partner and what he has learned along the way about hosting Pokemon events around the DFW area.
Sources
Opening Song: "Forget You" by Alex_MakeMusic from Pixabay
Connect with RocketsMarkets: Website | Instagram
Connect with David Hernandez: Linktree
E-mail Me: asthepokeballturnspodcast@gmail.com
Join Our Discord Community!
https://discord.gg/AqAbD7FbRt
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Caleb Hatfield (00:00):
Hey, I'm Caleb Hatfield from Rockets Markets
(00:02):
and this is my Pokemon story.
David Hernandez (00:43):
Welcome to As the Pokeball Turns, where we
interview people about theirexperience with Pokemon.
name is David Hernandez.
I'm joined by Caleb Hatfield, coowner of Rocket's Markets, where
they curate exceptional vendormarkets, pop ups, and craft
markets across a diverse rangeof genres.
They both host TrainerCon, adynamic Pokemon marketplace and
(01:03):
convention where Pokemontrainers celebrate all things
Pokemon.
Caleb Hatfield (01:07):
Thanks, man.
David, you're such aprofessional.
This is awesome to be on thiswith you.
David Hernandez (01:11):
It is, and it's finally nice to bring you on
because we met, I think,
Caleb Hatfield (01:15):
It had.
David Hernandez (01:16):
was it three or four?
And I was excited because I hadnever heard of a Pokemon trainer
convention.
I was like, yeah, I can get tobe around other Pokemon people,
just
Caleb Hatfield (01:25):
Heck yeah, man.
I remember meeting you.
I mean, I definitely was at atTrainerCon 3.
That was the first time that wewere at our new space.
It was a much larger space thanwe'd had before.
But, yeah, man, it was good tomeet you and glad that we
fostered a friendship out ofthis.
David Hernandez (01:40):
For sure, and it's cool to see you also come
out to the community.
So it's clear that you have sucha passion for Pokemon.
Caleb Hatfield (01:48):
Sure.
So it started when, my parentsgraciously took me to a Toys R
Us back in the day.
we were walking down the aisleand I remember seeing Pokemon
blue version and I just I had tohave it my parents knew that I
was into Pokemon and you knowwith a little bit of egging on
they let me go home with Pokemonblue version
David Hernandez (02:09):
What was it like to finally you play
Caleb Hatfield (02:13):
dude absolutely after watching the anime for so
long it was interesting to tofinally get to play and I was so
excited I remember after beatingthe elite four I actually
leveled up my dug trio to level100.
David Hernandez (02:26):
Oh, wow.
Why your favorite Pokemon?
Or was it just
Caleb Hatfield (02:30):
Not even close.
Um, I have no idea why I dugDrio.
I think I just heard that, youknow, if you leveled up a
Pokemon to level 100, then itlike magically turned into Mew
or something like that.
And so, you know, it had be, ithad to be, you know, those
things were crazy.
David Hernandez (02:51):
That's cool.
Caleb Hatfield (02:55):
Oh, geez.
My starter had to be, Charizardfor sure.
Um, What's wrong with
David Hernandez (03:02):
ha ha ha ha
Caleb Hatfield (03:06):
I you're right.
You're right.
After going back and playing asBulbasaur and Venusaur, like,
alright, there's some othersthat are pretty good in there.
David Hernandez (03:14):
But you said you were also watching the anime
beforehand,
Caleb Hatfield (03:20):
I mean, back at that point in my life, I didn't
even realize that shows had astory to them.
It was just kind of like, youknow, the show's on.
So let me just watch thisepisode and see what this
episode is about.
I didn't know that there was anoverarching story to anything
really.
I just knew that Ash was 10always and never beat the elite
(03:40):
four.
David Hernandez (03:42):
That's true, wouldn't have gotten to the
games, it sounds
Caleb Hatfield (03:45):
Absolutely not.
No, there would have been noway.
David Hernandez (03:48):
How did you feel that now that Ash has kind
of retired from the Pokemonfranchise?
Caleb Hatfield (03:53):
It's bittersweet, man.
to be honest, I haven't reallykept up with the anime in quite
a while, but, you can't stay 10forever, I guess.
David Hernandez (04:01):
He
Caleb Hatfield (04:03):
That's right.
That's right.
Oh,
David Hernandez (04:14):
Charizard, Pokemon Blue I did Blastoise,
And, I just love, being able topick your own Pokemon, and just,
know, develop kind of a bond,and going through all the Gym
Leaders, because I always hadtrouble beating, because
Alakazam and Kadabra were justso
Caleb Hatfield (04:28):
geez.
Absolutely.
David Hernandez (04:30):
Mhm.
What about, did you stick withand
Caleb Hatfield (04:36):
Absolutely, man.
I mean, well, okay.
So I, played blue and I gotyellow at a thrift store for
like 5 bucks or something likethat.
I paid for it with my ownallowance.
It was that cheap.
I actually didn't play 2nd genfor, I mean, a while.
It was probably 5 years agountil I actually sat down with
crystal and played it.
(04:57):
I had blue and, and yellow and Iwas content with that.
I, I didn't even know that therewas a second generation for a
while, so it went from first gento, third gen and ho end, and
then, you know, just kind ofwent on from there.
I did play Soul Silver and HeartGold whenever those came out,
but the second gen just kind ofslipped on by.
David Hernandez (05:16):
That's crazy, especially considering how many
people revered Gen 2 and it justslipped you You just, it just
didn't care, you didn't careattached
Caleb Hatfield (05:27):
Well, it wasn't that I didn't, didn't want to
get into it.
I just didn't know it existed.
I had no idea.
It wasn't until I was atsomebody's house, kind of just
playing around and he busted outhis game boy.
And I remember seeing theclassic, first gen graphics on
the screen, but it had so muchmore color.
(05:48):
I was like, what is this?
Do you have a better game boythan I do or something?
And, uh, then I saw all thesedifferent Pokemon that I hadn't,
uh, I hadn't seen before and itwas just kind of mind blowing.
David Hernandez (06:01):
I was wondering, so, you know, you
kept playing after, you know,Gen 3.
Do you have a particularfavorite, like, generation that
you grew to play or
Caleb Hatfield (06:11):
I don't know, man.
It's tough because like, youknow, I grew up with the first
gen, but.
As I get older, like the, thethird gen Pokemon going back to
that art style and those Pokemonspecifically, I just, I don't
know, something just gravitates.
I just gravitate towards the genthree, Pokemon and the art
style.
So I would have to say isdefinitely the best for me,
David Hernandez (06:34):
What
Caleb Hatfield (06:38):
Flygon, um, Salamence.
I mean, even like the littleguys, like the Reggie's, Latias,
Latios, Jirachi, all of the, thelegendaries in that are just so
sleek.
they just have something tothem, man.
David Hernandez (06:52):
I agree, cause I mean,
Caleb Hatfield (06:56):
Mm hmm.
Mm hmm.
David Hernandez (07:03):
world building, I love the Pokemon specifically,
like, there's not, I hate themost is Feebas, it pain catch.
But, other than because it looksbad, it's just cause it was a
pain, it was just a hard one tocatch.
I never, I Pokemon that I lookat, I'm like, I don't really
care for it.
So, yeah.
seemed like
Caleb Hatfield (07:23):
hmm.
Dude.
All of it, all of it, art style,the story.
I mean, you, you hit the nail onthe head, all of gen three.
It doesn't miss.
Absolutely.
David Hernandez (07:35):
of those three starters and you'll have the
probably similar difficulty.
I think Mudkip has the mostadvantage probably out of the
three, but it's not by youreally would have still just a
solid play Trico or Torchic aswell.
Caleb Hatfield (07:49):
I'm right there with you, man.
David Hernandez (07:50):
What's your favorite
Caleb Hatfield (07:51):
Pokemon?
Dudee, it's a toss up betweenQuilava and Absol.
So Quilava, just because, youknow, I grew up a little emo kid
and Quilava's pretty uh, prettyalt.
been a favorite of mine for awhile.
Absol though, it's, first off,the dark type.
(08:13):
It's something to it.
You know, it's got a lot of typeadvantages.
but also Absol, it may not begreat at special attack, but it
sure does have thunder it's gotfire blast.
It has blizzard that it canlearn.
It's got all, it can cover somuch ground.
David Hernandez (08:29):
it in your playthroughs, I assume?
Caleb Hatfield (08:32):
No.
Well, it was.
It was.
I mean, okay, so it is myfavorite Pokemon, but I've come
to learn that it has someweaknesses to it, too.
Used to.
Used to, I would use it in, inmy playthroughs, but, you know,
(08:56):
I've grown a little bit, learnedthat there, there may be a few
other Pokemon that can do thejob a little better than Absol.
Still holds a special place inmy heart, though.
David Hernandez (09:06):
Oh my, I mean, I can see that the emo stuck
with you with as I called itwhen I like, it's kind of the
emo Pokemon
Caleb Hatfield (09:13):
That's right.
Yeah, exactly.
Um, As I've grown older, I'vecome across people in my
hometown that like, will talkabout Pokemon.
And at the time we had no ideathat either of us played
Pokemon.
So I think in my community, itwas kind of more hush hush about
like, you know, there wassomething, taboo about being
(09:35):
into Pokemon.
David Hernandez (09:36):
Well, it was, I remember it was, there was a
certain period where it was kindof, shameful in a way to be into
Pokemon because some peopleeither thought it was too
little, you're too old to beinto it.
And then also, you know, nerdculture wasn't really embraced
at the time.
This is before, you know, theMarvel Cinematic Universe.
I think, I always accredit thatto really why people who have
kind of nerdy of, I don't wantto say come out, but they can
(09:58):
kind of be more comfortableabout Having kind of those
interests and it just was adifferent time that thankfully
it's gone
Caleb Hatfield (10:07):
Right.
Yeah, absolutely.
I mean, that's all that we wantis for people to be who they
want to be.
So that's perfect.
And I, you know, Pokemon kind ofallows that.
David Hernandez (10:17):
it does it does it does Well, as we keep going
(11:03):
on, I know that I've met you atPokemon Go at
Caleb Hatfield (11:09):
Go, I was actually a day one Pokemon Go
download.
I was so excited for it.
And then I got out there andstarted playing and I was like,
Oh, this kind of sucks, but mygirlfriend at the time, she's
now my fiance, she told me thatshe played Pokemon go and I was
like, really?
(11:29):
So she kind of got me back intoit.
Um, this was probably two yearsago that I, that I really got
back into it.
2023, I think September, 2023.
David Hernandez (11:40):
Now you were surprised, so was she not much
Caleb Hatfield (11:45):
So, as far as I know, like she would watch the
episodes every once in a while.
I don't think she's ever playeda Pokemon game like a core game.
Um, so learning that she wasinto Pokemon go.
Yeah, it was, it was surprising.
Um, I'm really glad that she didplay it because, you know, it
got me into it.
Now it's, it's awesome.
(12:05):
I love the raids, the maxbattles that they're introducing
now.
And just the, the communitythat's around Pokemon go, it's,
it's so cool to go to, the stuffthat.
That you hold and, you know,where you're passing out those
wristbands.
I mean, I've got a, a backpackfull of all the, the wristbands
that you, uh, that given outnow.
(12:26):
So.
David Hernandez (12:27):
And if you want one of them wristbands, you can
become one by Anyway, Ha ha
Caleb Hatfield (12:33):
That's perfect.
do
David Hernandez (12:35):
ha
Caleb Hatfield (12:36):
helps David out helps.
Uh, so, Yeah, going to thosePokemon Go events is really
cool, being able to see how muchof a community there still is
around Pokemon.
This game that we've beenplaying since we were kids, it's
still, it's still going strong.
It's so, so cool.
David Hernandez (12:55):
What would you and your girlfriend do?
Would like y'all just take walkstogether or just would y'all's
Caleb Hatfield (13:01):
So, in the beginning, we kind of just like
hung out and saw what was in ourarea.
We're both kind of from a smalltown area.
So there really wasn't much of aPokemon go community.
Um, it was just something moreto do to pass the time.
But when we got to Dallas, goingin like, Oh, I see a red gem
(13:22):
near us.
Let's go mess them up.
Let's go take over that gym.
you know, she's in the yellowone, which is instinct.
Okay.
And I'm in blue with his, whichis mythic, So.
Yeah, we would kind of have arivalry like, uh, whenever I saw
a yellow gem, uh, you know, I'dbe like, Oh, I'm about to mess
you and your folks up.
(13:43):
And same with her to me.
but yeah, just kind of afriendly rivalry, I guess, is
what we were going for.
And, that kind of evolved to,you know what, maybe let's get
out there and do a route or, Oh,I see this Pokemon that we don't
have.
Let's go find out where that is.
And that just kind of evolvedinto like, Oh, well, there's
this Pokemon go event that'sgoing on at Addison circle park,
(14:07):
you know, let's, let's go seewhat's going on there.
And then there you are.
so it was just kind of a, a funevolution of, you know, it
started innocently and now it'slike just a thing that we do.
David Hernandez (14:21):
almost like a social outing, it
Caleb Hatfield (14:23):
That's exactly right.
Yeah.
David Hernandez (14:25):
do you try to shiny hunt at all?
Or, like, what's
Caleb Hatfield (14:30):
So shiny hunting is definitely a thing,
especially when there's like acommunity day.
she and I will, uh, we'll texteach other screenshots of like,
Oh my God, look who I just got.
Look what shiny I just got.
And, you know, it's, it's reallycool.
David Hernandez (14:44):
Awesome.
That's amazing, It's cool to seehow Pokemon goes kind of not
only kind of enhance your Iguess
Caleb Hatfield (14:52):
right.
Yeah, it's kind of neat howPokemon does that.
David Hernandez (14:56):
I want to kind of dive into, you know, how we
did meet, which was at thetrainer and want to know, like,
how did this start originally?
It's like overseas it's byrocket markets, the kind of the
oversight.
How did y'all kind of kind
Caleb Hatfield (15:12):
Yeah, so, we started with our first event was
held at a little coffee shop.
Okay, well, let me back up.
Our first kind of foray intogetting into events within the
Pokemon community was withRockets Relics.
That's a, a little company thatare a little business that we
made, uh, where we make, Dioramacubes from, the Pokemon TCG, we
(15:34):
would, we would nevercannibalize a card to do this,
but we would take the image ofthose cards and kind of make it
into a diorama, a 3d dioramawhere it has some dimension.
And it's more of like a,collectible, a memorabilia
piece, somebody to put it ontheir desk or whatever or like a
shelf in their room.
And it kind of evolved intolike, well, we have this
product, we started making airfresheners to go along with
(15:57):
that.
And then it was like, okay,well, we're going to these
events and they're awesome.
we want to hold eventsourselves.
So we created trainer con andtrainer con is where we had, a
marketplace where artists couldcome and, Set up their shop and
sell their products and, youknow, we saw what it would do
(16:18):
for us and we wanted to spreadthe love within the community
and and have other people do thesame thing that we were doing.
So we would have artists come,people that are selling sealed
products like TCG products.
People that are making clothesfor, like, Pokemon themed
clothes, you know, all differentkinds of people in the Pokemon
community.
(16:38):
We just wanted to, to spread thelove, to be a part of it, you
know, So over time that evolvedinto us holding a TCG tournament
and then like a super smash brostournament, and then most
recently a cosplay contest it'samazing to see how much fun
there is within the communityand how strong and how tight
knit of a community, the Pokemoncommunity is, there's always a
(17:01):
friendly face that you see at,these events, like, uh, I'm by
nature, somewhat of a loner andseeing all of these wonderful
people at the markets, whetherit be our markets or somebody
else's is just, it's so neat.
So neat to share a story about,what's going on.
You know, I've learned so muchabout these people's families.
(17:23):
So it's really such a tight knitcommunity.
and I've typically I'm more oflike the product side of things.
I create, things for us to sell,and then.
Joey, my business partner ismore on like the socializing
with people.
He's much more social than I am.
Um, so he's kind of the, thevoice of the company.
I'm kind of the hands of thecompany, if that makes any
(17:46):
sense.
David Hernandez (17:47):
Earlier, uh, while you were talking, you said
to kind of give people theopportunity that Jaw Guys
received.
Caleb Hatfield (17:52):
hmm.
David Hernandez (17:53):
I guess.
Could you give me more insighton like, maybe you go into these
events?
Like before y'all started thewhole rocket relics and
everything, how did y'allexperience going to these other
events that made y'all want tostart this?
Caleb Hatfield (18:04):
I mean, we were, we were nobodies within the
Pokemon community.
we really didn't have a name atall.
And, being kind of boosted up byIndigo Plateau, they showcased
us for one, one event.
They put us on their Instagramstory.
People were coming to theirmarket like, Oh my gosh, I saw
(18:24):
your product on Indigo Plateau'sInstagram story.
I have to have this.
And I guess it just kind of wentfrom there, seeing what they did
for us.
We kind of wanted to do that forother people.
David Hernandez (18:37):
Mm hmm.
And then that's what led y'allto kind of want to start the
Caleb Hatfield (18:44):
Right, right.
Because there's so much love tospread in the Pokemon community
and, being able to spread it, itfeels nice.
It feels nice and it feels likewe're doing, we're doing
something that, you know, givesback to where we started, if
that makes sense.
David Hernandez (19:02):
It does.
And then I loved how y'all saidy'all get to kind of know these
vendors, you get to not kind ofknow the
Caleb Hatfield (19:10):
Absolutely.
Yeah, we, we talk throughout theday.
We always like to check in withour vendors and make sure that,
you know, do you need anything?
what can we do to help you?
Do you want us to stand in yourbooth while you run to the
restroom?
Or, you know, just a number ofthings.
What can we do to make thisbetter for you?
You know?
Just kind of along those lines,we'll, we'll do whatever we can
(19:33):
for our vendors because weourselves are vendors.
David Hernandez (19:37):
So y'all get to kind of experience, I guess, the
struggles that they're kind ofgoing through, or
Caleb Hatfield (19:44):
Absolutely.
Yeah.
I mean, we know exactly whatgoes through people's heads.
So, you know, we try to be onestep ahead.
David Hernandez (19:50):
What kind of things?
Could you give me some insight?
Just, like, what are
Caleb Hatfield (19:56):
So I think the biggest thing is where's the
restroom?
Where's the restroom?
Where's the food?
So tried to accommodate in thoseways.
And, we always try to pointpeople in the right direction of
either 1 of those.
David Hernandez (20:13):
They're kind of
Caleb Hatfield (20:17):
There have been events where we're just like, Oh
my God, I've got to go real bad.
Where do I, where's the nearestbush?
Because I have no idea where therestroom is.
David Hernandez (20:29):
I was wondering, so, you know, you
hosted the first Trainer Con,you know, before, you know, you
finally decided to host it forPokemon people.
what went through your mind whenyou started hosting your own
event for vendors?
Were you Were you kind offreaking out at that point?
Especially because you, you'remore on the, you know, uh, not
loner, but
Caleb Hatfield (20:49):
Absolutely, absolutely.
Reserved is going to be thebetter way to put it.
So, yeah, I mean, I'm also moreof a go by logic sort of thing.
I mean, Joey is too, but, it wasso I'm more of a planner and I
have to see the data to justifywhat we're doing.
(21:10):
Right.
So.
Knowing zero data about like,oh, is this going to turn out?
Okay.
Are there are people even goingto show up?
Like, it was so nerve wrackingthat 1st trainer con that we
that we had, we just had no, orI had no idea if it was going to
work or not.
Joey was just like, yeah, no,it'll work out.
(21:30):
It'll be fine.
And it did.
It did.
I actually, he inspires me allthe time to, To kind of just
lean back and trust the process,because that's what he does.
He, he knows exactly how to dothings, how to make things
happen.
And, I've seen it firsthand.
So knowing zero data about the,the event, how it was going to
(21:52):
go, and then seeing how it went,like, it was an amazing process.
It was an amazing transformationfrom being nervous as hell to,
Oh, my God.
This is actually working.
David Hernandez (22:05):
I mean, it's very scary because that's a real
possibility that nobody shows upbecause you're wondering, did I
market this event enough?
Do about it?
Would people even care to comeout?
And the fact that I think, youknow, y'all have to put all this
investment, you're hoping thingswork out.
You're promising vendors thatpeople are going to come.
Like, how embarrassing would itbe?
(22:25):
You host this event and nobodyshows You know, it's just, it
not only makes us bad on you,but it looks, it hurts the
vendors that you deeply, of
Caleb Hatfield (22:36):
Exactly.
Exactly.
And I've kind of relaxed aboutthat in the more recent ones
have when we've seen theprogression of having, we
started with 10 vendors, I think11 vendors and the, our more
recent ones are our next one.
We're going to have over ahundred.
So I've, I've learned to trustthe process now.
David Hernandez (22:57):
My last question, just in regards to
what y'all have been I wanted tokind of get an insight on how
you and Joey met.
Like, when did y'all first kind
Caleb Hatfield (23:07):
Yeah, so before we started working together on
Pokemon stuff, we actuallystarted working together in a
job.
that's how I met Joey.
He was a graphic designer for a,for a company.
And I came in as a productionmanager for this company.
And, we started just kind ofchatting back and forth and I
(23:30):
think it was like the second orthird day.
I noticed that he had a cup thathad Pokemon cards all the way
around it.
And I was like, Hey, uh, what'sgoing on with that cup there?
I like it, but what's going on?
And he was like, Oh dude, youlike it?
I got it from a Pokemon market.
I was like, I didn't know therewas such a thing.
(23:52):
So from there, you know, it justkind of took off.
It was like, Oh, well, who'syour favorite Pokemon?
What games have you played?
Do you know how to play the TCG?
And I had no idea how to playthe TCG.
So he got me into that too.
I mean, as just threw down cardsand we're just like, here, I'm
going to hit you with the head,but, and it your grout on.
(24:16):
you know, he's actually taughtme a lot about, about like the
TCG Brought me into thecommunity as a, as a whole.
so anyway, after we startedtalking about Pokemon and like
where we came from, where wewanted to go, it was a no
brainer.
We were business partners.
It was just meant to be, Who's
David Hernandez (24:35):
idea was it to start the do these
Caleb Hatfield (24:38):
well, it wasn't mine.
David Hernandez (24:43):
okay, on a limb.
It's probably Joey's,
Caleb Hatfield (24:47):
might be right.
David Hernandez (24:49):
I might be right.
Who is there?
A third person?
We don't know about but you, Iburied in the basement.
Caleb Hatfield (24:56):
Oh, geez.
Okay, well, you know, it'sWally.
He was always just a little,little sorry little guy in Gen
David Hernandez (25:02):
Oh, poor Wally.
Oh, had a health condition.
Come
Caleb Hatfield (25:07):
Did he really?
Oh, no.
David Hernandez (25:09):
had
Caleb Hatfield (25:10):
Oh, well, so do I.
He has no excuses.
David Hernandez (25:14):
Oh damn.
But I did kind of wonder, saidyou're more reserved, you know,
you gotta see the data.
And then for Joey to pitch ideais like, Hey, let's do, let's
start a business together andlet's a host where we bring
vendors in, some
Caleb Hatfield (25:35):
Absolutely.
I was like, yeah, um, let's doit.
But.
I need to know how this is goingto happen.
We need to plan this thing out.
And, uh, you know, he kind ofgave me a rough outline, but in
my mind, it wasn't enough data.
I needed to know the wholething.
Like, how many people are goingto be there?
And you never know.
That's not, that's, that'ssomething that you, you can't
(25:56):
plan for.
and I think it was just all theunknowns that I wasn't prepared
for, but, he was just kind oflike, trust the process.
David Hernandez (26:03):
I mean, how do y'all kind of find a balance?
Because, you know, you got yourplanner, he's by the seats of
his pants.
Sounds like, how do y'all kindof find that balance to kind of
work together and make polar
Caleb Hatfield (26:15):
We very much are, but being polar opposites
covers all of the bases.
So, absolutely.
He's the social guy.
I'm the behind the scenes guy.
at least that's the way I likeit.
David Hernandez (26:29):
Hey,
Caleb Hatfield (26:30):
That's exactly right.
So, know, we're going to, thesevenues beforehand and kind of
checking them out, making surethat it will work for our needs,
measuring out the spaces.
and yeah, we are polaropposites, but we're a lot alike
in the same vein.
We have a common goal, I guess.
David Hernandez (26:49):
What's something that maybe has Do you
have any funny stories on that?
Caleb Hatfield (26:54):
Hmm, you know, thankfully I can say that we
haven't really had anything go,go wrong.
I think that might be, it isright.
But you know what that's from?
It's from
David Hernandez (27:07):
What?
Caleb Hatfield (27:08):
planning.
David Hernandez (27:12):
you have done your thorough homework, and
whatever you and Joey got goingon, clearly it works.
I'm
Caleb Hatfield (27:21):
Yeah, absolutely.
Well, okay.
Okay.
I will say this.
There has been one thing thatwent wrong.
It was our first TCG tournament.
We had, One person sign up thenight before, the TCG tournament
was supposed to go on.
And so we were like, okay, we,we got to make a decision.
We can't go on with the TCGtournament with one person.
(27:41):
I mean, there was, I think itwas 150 prize.
We can't just walk up and handthis person 150 bucks.
So we.
Made the tough decision tocancel that first TCG tournament
and, uh, you know, we, we putout a blast on social media
saying that, you know, we'resorry, but can't make it happen.
(28:03):
And then we get to the event.
We're setting up and.
People are coming up to us like,Hey, where do I sign up for the
TCG tournament?
And we probably had a dozenpeople that day, like, dude,
we've had the ad up for so long.
I wish you would have told us,but it's not their fault of
course, but you know, it's oneof those things that it was a
(28:25):
tough decision to make, but wefelt like it was the right one
at the time.
And turned out it may not havebeen.
Yeah.
David Hernandez (28:35):
but had to say, nah, he can't just do it by
himself.
Caleb Hatfield (28:39):
Right?
David Hernandez (28:41):
But I mean, that's a tough decision though,
because on one hand you want tohim at least earn it.
But on the other, you kind ofwant to, it'd be kind of he's
the only one who signed up.
So he wins
Caleb Hatfield (28:53):
Exactly.
That's exactly right.
if he would have had oneopponent, it'd have been fine.
We would have had to honor thedeal.
And we would have gladly, butyeah, exactly.
But we didn't have that.
So had to make a decision.
And this thing is just growing.
It's growing.
It's amazing to see how much itis growing.
(29:14):
This will be our first time inthis new market hall and next
event.
We'll probably even have toupgrade to a bigger space
because of it.
Yeah.
David Hernandez (29:27):
Oh, Caleb, thank you for coming on the
show.
Before you go, if people do tocheck out Jaws Merchandise, if
they want to go to this
Caleb Hatfield (29:34):
Yeah.
David Hernandez (29:36):
please
Caleb Hatfield (29:37):
So, first off, I want to, to kind of plug a few
of our vendors, a few of a fewpeople that mean a lot to me and
to us.
first off, I want to plug our,our artists that we have.
Her name is Liz Anna May onInstagram, Liz Hendrickson.
She does amazing art.
She's done all of our arts forall of our events, except for
(29:58):
the first one.
That one was just kind of throwntogether, but she's done all of
the art.
an amazing artist.
Uh, she just got, I think anaward recently.
So Liz anime, uh, professorCaton.
An amazing artist, uh, withinthe community.
She does play mats, mouse pads.
Um, my mouse is on a mouse padright now from her, button up
(30:20):
shirts, all kinds of cool stuff.
Blank canvas.
She does heat press, hoodies,sweatshirts, tote bags, all
kinds of cool stuff.
Joro Gumo does.
Rugs, she makes rugs and bunchof different cool little art
pieces.
Meiji market helps a lot withthe TCG tournaments also does
(30:41):
her own art, uh, within thecommunity.
She's amazing.
Ghostly waters is a guy that we,we met recently, but he's
becoming a fast friend and.
Really big part of, what makestrainer con trainer con.
and the list goes on, man, I cango on forever, but if you want
to look at our stuff, rockets,relics trainer con on Instagram,
(31:03):
rockets markets.
com to find our events.
Hey, I'm Caleb Hatfield from Rockets Markets
(00:02):
and this is my Pokemon story.
David Hernandez (00:43):
Welcome to As the Pokeball Turns, where we
interview people about theirexperience with Pokemon.
name is David Hernandez.
I'm joined by Caleb Hatfield, coowner of Rocket's Markets, where
they curate exceptional vendormarkets, pop ups, and craft
markets across a diverse rangeof genres.
They both host TrainerCon, adynamic Pokemon marketplace and
(01:03):
convention where Pokemontrainers celebrate all things
Pokemon.
Caleb Hatfield (01:07):
Thanks, man.
David, you're such aprofessional.
This is awesome to be on thiswith you.
David Hernandez (01:11):
It is, and it's finally nice to bring you on
because we met, I think,
Caleb Hatfield (01:15):
It had.
David Hernandez (01:16):
was it three or four?
And I was excited because I hadnever heard of a Pokemon trainer
convention.
I was like, yeah, I can get tobe around other Pokemon people,
just
Caleb Hatfield (01:25):
Heck yeah, man.
I remember meeting you.
I mean, I definitely was at atTrainerCon 3.
That was the first time that wewere at our new space.
It was a much larger space thanwe'd had before.
But, yeah, man, it was good tomeet you and glad that we
fostered a friendship out ofthis.
David Hernandez (01:40):
For sure, and it's cool to see you also come
out to the community.
So it's clear that you have sucha passion for Pokemon.
Caleb Hatfield (01:48):
Sure.
So it started when, my parentsgraciously took me to a Toys R
Us back in the day.
we were walking down the aisleand I remember seeing Pokemon
blue version and I just I had tohave it my parents knew that I
was into Pokemon and you knowwith a little bit of egging on
they let me go home with Pokemonblue version
David Hernandez (02:09):
What was it like to finally you play
Caleb Hatfield (02:13):
dude absolutely after watching the anime for so
long it was interesting to tofinally get to play and I was so
excited I remember after beatingthe elite four I actually
leveled up my dug trio to level100.
David Hernandez (02:26):
Oh, wow.
Why your favorite Pokemon?
Or was it just
Caleb Hatfield (02:30):
Not even close.
Um, I have no idea why I dugDrio.
I think I just heard that, youknow, if you leveled up a
Pokemon to level 100, then itlike magically turned into Mew
or something like that.
And so, you know, it had be, ithad to be, you know, those
things were crazy.
David Hernandez (02:51):
That's cool.
Caleb Hatfield (02:55):
Oh, geez.
My starter had to be, Charizardfor sure.
Um, What's wrong with
David Hernandez (03:02):
ha ha ha ha
Caleb Hatfield (03:06):
I you're right.
You're right.
After going back and playing asBulbasaur and Venusaur, like,
alright, there's some othersthat are pretty good in there.
David Hernandez (03:14):
But you said you were also watching the anime
beforehand,
Caleb Hatfield (03:20):
I mean, back at that point in my life, I didn't
even realize that shows had astory to them.
It was just kind of like, youknow, the show's on.
So let me just watch thisepisode and see what this
episode is about.
I didn't know that there was anoverarching story to anything
really.
I just knew that Ash was 10always and never beat the elite
(03:40):
four.
David Hernandez (03:42):
That's true, wouldn't have gotten to the
games, it sounds
Caleb Hatfield (03:45):
Absolutely not.
No, there would have been noway.
David Hernandez (03:48):
How did you feel that now that Ash has kind
of retired from the Pokemonfranchise?
Caleb Hatfield (03:53):
It's bittersweet, man.
to be honest, I haven't reallykept up with the anime in quite
a while, but, you can't stay 10forever, I guess.
David Hernandez (04:01):
He
Caleb Hatfield (04:03):
That's right.
That's right.
Oh,
David Hernandez (04:14):
Charizard, Pokemon Blue I did Blastoise,
And, I just love, being able topick your own Pokemon, and just,
know, develop kind of a bond,and going through all the Gym
Leaders, because I always hadtrouble beating, because
Alakazam and Kadabra were justso
Caleb Hatfield (04:28):
geez.
Absolutely.
David Hernandez (04:30):
Mhm.
What about, did you stick withand
Caleb Hatfield (04:36):
Absolutely, man.
I mean, well, okay.
So I, played blue and I gotyellow at a thrift store for
like 5 bucks or something likethat.
I paid for it with my ownallowance.
It was that cheap.
I actually didn't play 2nd genfor, I mean, a while.
It was probably 5 years agountil I actually sat down with
crystal and played it.
(04:57):
I had blue and, and yellow and Iwas content with that.
I, I didn't even know that therewas a second generation for a
while, so it went from first gento, third gen and ho end, and
then, you know, just kind ofwent on from there.
I did play Soul Silver and HeartGold whenever those came out,
but the second gen just kind ofslipped on by.
David Hernandez (05:16):
That's crazy, especially considering how many
people revered Gen 2 and it justslipped you You just, it just
didn't care, you didn't careattached
Caleb Hatfield (05:27):
Well, it wasn't that I didn't, didn't want to
get into it.
I just didn't know it existed.
I had no idea.
It wasn't until I was atsomebody's house, kind of just
playing around and he busted outhis game boy.
And I remember seeing theclassic, first gen graphics on
the screen, but it had so muchmore color.
(05:48):
I was like, what is this?
Do you have a better game boythan I do or something?
And, uh, then I saw all thesedifferent Pokemon that I hadn't,
uh, I hadn't seen before and itwas just kind of mind blowing.
David Hernandez (06:01):
I was wondering, so, you know, you
kept playing after, you know,Gen 3.
Do you have a particularfavorite, like, generation that
you grew to play or
Caleb Hatfield (06:11):
I don't know, man.
It's tough because like, youknow, I grew up with the first
gen, but.
As I get older, like the, thethird gen Pokemon going back to
that art style and those Pokemonspecifically, I just, I don't
know, something just gravitates.
I just gravitate towards the genthree, Pokemon and the art
style.
So I would have to say isdefinitely the best for me,
David Hernandez (06:34):
What
Caleb Hatfield (06:38):
Flygon, um, Salamence.
I mean, even like the littleguys, like the Reggie's, Latias,
Latios, Jirachi, all of the, thelegendaries in that are just so
sleek.
they just have something tothem, man.
David Hernandez (06:52):
I agree, cause I mean,
Caleb Hatfield (06:56):
Mm hmm.
Mm hmm.
David Hernandez (07:03):
world building, I love the Pokemon specifically,
like, there's not, I hate themost is Feebas, it pain catch.
But, other than because it looksbad, it's just cause it was a
pain, it was just a hard one tocatch.
I never, I Pokemon that I lookat, I'm like, I don't really
care for it.
So, yeah.
seemed like
Caleb Hatfield (07:23):
hmm.
Dude.
All of it, all of it, art style,the story.
I mean, you, you hit the nail onthe head, all of gen three.
It doesn't miss.
Absolutely.
David Hernandez (07:35):
of those three starters and you'll have the
probably similar difficulty.
I think Mudkip has the mostadvantage probably out of the
three, but it's not by youreally would have still just a
solid play Trico or Torchic aswell.
Caleb Hatfield (07:49):
I'm right there with you, man.
David Hernandez (07:50):
What's your favorite
Caleb Hatfield (07:51):
Pokemon?
Dudee, it's a toss up betweenQuilava and Absol.
So Quilava, just because, youknow, I grew up a little emo kid
and Quilava's pretty uh, prettyalt.
been a favorite of mine for awhile.
Absol though, it's, first off,the dark type.
(08:13):
It's something to it.
You know, it's got a lot of typeadvantages.
but also Absol, it may not begreat at special attack, but it
sure does have thunder it's gotfire blast.
It has blizzard that it canlearn.
It's got all, it can cover somuch ground.
David Hernandez (08:29):
it in your playthroughs, I assume?
Caleb Hatfield (08:32):
No.
Well, it was.
It was.
I mean, okay, so it is myfavorite Pokemon, but I've come
to learn that it has someweaknesses to it, too.
Used to.
Used to, I would use it in, inmy playthroughs, but, you know,
(08:56):
I've grown a little bit, learnedthat there, there may be a few
other Pokemon that can do thejob a little better than Absol.
Still holds a special place inmy heart, though.
David Hernandez (09:06):
Oh my, I mean, I can see that the emo stuck
with you with as I called itwhen I like, it's kind of the
emo Pokemon
Caleb Hatfield (09:13):
That's right.
Yeah, exactly.
Um, As I've grown older, I'vecome across people in my
hometown that like, will talkabout Pokemon.
And at the time we had no ideathat either of us played
Pokemon.
So I think in my community, itwas kind of more hush hush about
like, you know, there wassomething, taboo about being
(09:35):
into Pokemon.
David Hernandez (09:36):
Well, it was, I remember it was, there was a
certain period where it was kindof, shameful in a way to be into
Pokemon because some peopleeither thought it was too
little, you're too old to beinto it.
And then also, you know, nerdculture wasn't really embraced
at the time.
This is before, you know, theMarvel Cinematic Universe.
I think, I always accredit thatto really why people who have
kind of nerdy of, I don't wantto say come out, but they can
(09:58):
kind of be more comfortableabout Having kind of those
interests and it just was adifferent time that thankfully
it's gone
Caleb Hatfield (10:07):
Right.
Yeah, absolutely.
I mean, that's all that we wantis for people to be who they
want to be.
So that's perfect.
And I, you know, Pokemon kind ofallows that.
David Hernandez (10:17):
it does it does it does Well, as we keep going
(11:03):
on, I know that I've met you atPokemon Go at
Caleb Hatfield (11:09):
Go, I was actually a day one Pokemon Go
download.
I was so excited for it.
And then I got out there andstarted playing and I was like,
Oh, this kind of sucks, but mygirlfriend at the time, she's
now my fiance, she told me thatshe played Pokemon go and I was
like, really?
(11:29):
So she kind of got me back intoit.
Um, this was probably two yearsago that I, that I really got
back into it.
2023, I think September, 2023.
David Hernandez (11:40):
Now you were surprised, so was she not much
Caleb Hatfield (11:45):
So, as far as I know, like she would watch the
episodes every once in a while.
I don't think she's ever playeda Pokemon game like a core game.
Um, so learning that she wasinto Pokemon go.
Yeah, it was, it was surprising.
Um, I'm really glad that she didplay it because, you know, it
got me into it.
Now it's, it's awesome.
(12:05):
I love the raids, the maxbattles that they're introducing
now.
And just the, the communitythat's around Pokemon go, it's,
it's so cool to go to, the stuffthat.
That you hold and, you know,where you're passing out those
wristbands.
I mean, I've got a, a backpackfull of all the, the wristbands
that you, uh, that given outnow.
(12:26):
So.
David Hernandez (12:27):
And if you want one of them wristbands, you can
become one by Anyway, Ha ha
Caleb Hatfield (12:33):
That's perfect.
do
David Hernandez (12:35):
ha
Caleb Hatfield (12:36):
helps David out helps.
Uh, so, Yeah, going to thosePokemon Go events is really
cool, being able to see how muchof a community there still is
around Pokemon.
This game that we've beenplaying since we were kids, it's
still, it's still going strong.
It's so, so cool.
David Hernandez (12:55):
What would you and your girlfriend do?
Would like y'all just take walkstogether or just would y'all's
Caleb Hatfield (13:01):
So, in the beginning, we kind of just like
hung out and saw what was in ourarea.
We're both kind of from a smalltown area.
So there really wasn't much of aPokemon go community.
Um, it was just something moreto do to pass the time.
But when we got to Dallas, goingin like, Oh, I see a red gem
(13:22):
near us.
Let's go mess them up.
Let's go take over that gym.
you know, she's in the yellowone, which is instinct.
Okay.
And I'm in blue with his, whichis mythic, So.
Yeah, we would kind of have arivalry like, uh, whenever I saw
a yellow gem, uh, you know, I'dbe like, Oh, I'm about to mess
you and your folks up.
(13:43):
And same with her to me.
but yeah, just kind of afriendly rivalry, I guess, is
what we were going for.
And, that kind of evolved to,you know what, maybe let's get
out there and do a route or, Oh,I see this Pokemon that we don't
have.
Let's go find out where that is.
And that just kind of evolvedinto like, Oh, well, there's
this Pokemon go event that'sgoing on at Addison circle park,
(14:07):
you know, let's, let's go seewhat's going on there.
And then there you are.
so it was just kind of a, a funevolution of, you know, it
started innocently and now it'slike just a thing that we do.
David Hernandez (14:21):
almost like a social outing, it
Caleb Hatfield (14:23):
That's exactly right.
Yeah.
David Hernandez (14:25):
do you try to shiny hunt at all?
Or, like, what's
Caleb Hatfield (14:30):
So shiny hunting is definitely a thing,
especially when there's like acommunity day.
she and I will, uh, we'll texteach other screenshots of like,
Oh my God, look who I just got.
Look what shiny I just got.
And, you know, it's, it's reallycool.
David Hernandez (14:44):
Awesome.
That's amazing, It's cool to seehow Pokemon goes kind of not
only kind of enhance your Iguess
Caleb Hatfield (14:52):
right.
Yeah, it's kind of neat howPokemon does that.
David Hernandez (14:56):
I want to kind of dive into, you know, how we
did meet, which was at thetrainer and want to know, like,
how did this start originally?
It's like overseas it's byrocket markets, the kind of the
oversight.
How did y'all kind of kind
Caleb Hatfield (15:12):
Yeah, so, we started with our first event was
held at a little coffee shop.
Okay, well, let me back up.
Our first kind of foray intogetting into events within the
Pokemon community was withRockets Relics.
That's a, a little company thatare a little business that we
made, uh, where we make, Dioramacubes from, the Pokemon TCG, we
(15:34):
would, we would nevercannibalize a card to do this,
but we would take the image ofthose cards and kind of make it
into a diorama, a 3d dioramawhere it has some dimension.
And it's more of like a,collectible, a memorabilia
piece, somebody to put it ontheir desk or whatever or like a
shelf in their room.
And it kind of evolved intolike, well, we have this
product, we started making airfresheners to go along with
(15:57):
that.
And then it was like, okay,well, we're going to these
events and they're awesome.
we want to hold eventsourselves.
So we created trainer con andtrainer con is where we had, a
marketplace where artists couldcome and, Set up their shop and
sell their products and, youknow, we saw what it would do
(16:18):
for us and we wanted to spreadthe love within the community
and and have other people do thesame thing that we were doing.
So we would have artists come,people that are selling sealed
products like TCG products.
People that are making clothesfor, like, Pokemon themed
clothes, you know, all differentkinds of people in the Pokemon
community.
(16:38):
We just wanted to, to spread thelove, to be a part of it, you
know, So over time that evolvedinto us holding a TCG tournament
and then like a super smash brostournament, and then most
recently a cosplay contest it'samazing to see how much fun
there is within the communityand how strong and how tight
knit of a community, the Pokemoncommunity is, there's always a
(17:01):
friendly face that you see at,these events, like, uh, I'm by
nature, somewhat of a loner andseeing all of these wonderful
people at the markets, whetherit be our markets or somebody
else's is just, it's so neat.
So neat to share a story about,what's going on.
You know, I've learned so muchabout these people's families.
(17:23):
So it's really such a tight knitcommunity.
and I've typically I'm more oflike the product side of things.
I create, things for us to sell,and then.
Joey, my business partner ismore on like the socializing
with people.
He's much more social than I am.
Um, so he's kind of the, thevoice of the company.
I'm kind of the hands of thecompany, if that makes any
(17:46):
sense.
David Hernandez (17:47):
Earlier, uh, while you were talking, you said
to kind of give people theopportunity that Jaw Guys
received.
Caleb Hatfield (17:52):
hmm.
David Hernandez (17:53):
I guess.
Could you give me more insighton like, maybe you go into these
events?
Like before y'all started thewhole rocket relics and
everything, how did y'allexperience going to these other
events that made y'all want tostart this?
Caleb Hatfield (18:04):
I mean, we were, we were nobodies within the
Pokemon community.
we really didn't have a name atall.
And, being kind of boosted up byIndigo Plateau, they showcased
us for one, one event.
They put us on their Instagramstory.
People were coming to theirmarket like, Oh my gosh, I saw
(18:24):
your product on Indigo Plateau'sInstagram story.
I have to have this.
And I guess it just kind of wentfrom there, seeing what they did
for us.
We kind of wanted to do that forother people.
David Hernandez (18:37):
Mm hmm.
And then that's what led y'allto kind of want to start the
Caleb Hatfield (18:44):
Right, right.
Because there's so much love tospread in the Pokemon community
and, being able to spread it, itfeels nice.
It feels nice and it feels likewe're doing, we're doing
something that, you know, givesback to where we started, if
that makes sense.
David Hernandez (19:02):
It does.
And then I loved how y'all saidy'all get to kind of know these
vendors, you get to not kind ofknow the
Caleb Hatfield (19:10):
Absolutely.
Yeah, we, we talk throughout theday.
We always like to check in withour vendors and make sure that,
you know, do you need anything?
what can we do to help you?
Do you want us to stand in yourbooth while you run to the
restroom?
Or, you know, just a number ofthings.
What can we do to make thisbetter for you?
You know?
Just kind of along those lines,we'll, we'll do whatever we can
(19:33):
for our vendors because weourselves are vendors.
David Hernandez (19:37):
So y'all get to kind of experience, I guess, the
struggles that they're kind ofgoing through, or
Caleb Hatfield (19:44):
Absolutely.
Yeah.
I mean, we know exactly whatgoes through people's heads.
So, you know, we try to be onestep ahead.
David Hernandez (19:50):
What kind of things?
Could you give me some insight?
Just, like, what are
Caleb Hatfield (19:56):
So I think the biggest thing is where's the
restroom?
Where's the restroom?
Where's the food?
So tried to accommodate in thoseways.
And, we always try to pointpeople in the right direction of
either 1 of those.
David Hernandez (20:13):
They're kind of
Caleb Hatfield (20:17):
There have been events where we're just like, Oh
my God, I've got to go real bad.
Where do I, where's the nearestbush?
Because I have no idea where therestroom is.
David Hernandez (20:29):
I was wondering, so, you know, you
hosted the first Trainer Con,you know, before, you know, you
finally decided to host it forPokemon people.
what went through your mind whenyou started hosting your own
event for vendors?
Were you Were you kind offreaking out at that point?
Especially because you, you'remore on the, you know, uh, not
loner, but
Caleb Hatfield (20:49):
Absolutely, absolutely.
Reserved is going to be thebetter way to put it.
So, yeah, I mean, I'm also moreof a go by logic sort of thing.
I mean, Joey is too, but, it wasso I'm more of a planner and I
have to see the data to justifywhat we're doing.
(21:10):
Right.
So.
Knowing zero data about like,oh, is this going to turn out?
Okay.
Are there are people even goingto show up?
Like, it was so nerve wrackingthat 1st trainer con that we
that we had, we just had no, orI had no idea if it was going to
work or not.
Joey was just like, yeah, no,it'll work out.
(21:30):
It'll be fine.
And it did.
It did.
I actually, he inspires me allthe time to, To kind of just
lean back and trust the process,because that's what he does.
He, he knows exactly how to dothings, how to make things
happen.
And, I've seen it firsthand.
So knowing zero data about the,the event, how it was going to
(21:52):
go, and then seeing how it went,like, it was an amazing process.
It was an amazing transformationfrom being nervous as hell to,
Oh, my God.
This is actually working.
David Hernandez (22:05):
I mean, it's very scary because that's a real
possibility that nobody shows upbecause you're wondering, did I
market this event enough?
Do about it?
Would people even care to comeout?
And the fact that I think, youknow, y'all have to put all this
investment, you're hoping thingswork out.
You're promising vendors thatpeople are going to come.
Like, how embarrassing would itbe?
(22:25):
You host this event and nobodyshows You know, it's just, it
not only makes us bad on you,but it looks, it hurts the
vendors that you deeply, of
Caleb Hatfield (22:36):
Exactly.
Exactly.
And I've kind of relaxed aboutthat in the more recent ones
have when we've seen theprogression of having, we
started with 10 vendors, I think11 vendors and the, our more
recent ones are our next one.
We're going to have over ahundred.
So I've, I've learned to trustthe process now.
David Hernandez (22:57):
My last question, just in regards to
what y'all have been I wanted tokind of get an insight on how
you and Joey met.
Like, when did y'all first kind
Caleb Hatfield (23:07):
Yeah, so before we started working together on
Pokemon stuff, we actuallystarted working together in a
job.
that's how I met Joey.
He was a graphic designer for a,for a company.
And I came in as a productionmanager for this company.
And, we started just kind ofchatting back and forth and I
(23:30):
think it was like the second orthird day.
I noticed that he had a cup thathad Pokemon cards all the way
around it.
And I was like, Hey, uh, what'sgoing on with that cup there?
I like it, but what's going on?
And he was like, Oh dude, youlike it?
I got it from a Pokemon market.
I was like, I didn't know therewas such a thing.
(23:52):
So from there, you know, it justkind of took off.
It was like, Oh, well, who'syour favorite Pokemon?
What games have you played?
Do you know how to play the TCG?
And I had no idea how to playthe TCG.
So he got me into that too.
I mean, as just threw down cardsand we're just like, here, I'm
going to hit you with the head,but, and it your grout on.
(24:16):
you know, he's actually taughtme a lot about, about like the
TCG Brought me into thecommunity as a, as a whole.
so anyway, after we startedtalking about Pokemon and like
where we came from, where wewanted to go, it was a no
brainer.
We were business partners.
It was just meant to be, Who's
David Hernandez (24:35):
idea was it to start the do these
Caleb Hatfield (24:38):
well, it wasn't mine.
David Hernandez (24:43):
okay, on a limb.
It's probably Joey's,
Caleb Hatfield (24:47):
might be right.
David Hernandez (24:49):
I might be right.
Who is there?
A third person?
We don't know about but you, Iburied in the basement.
Caleb Hatfield (24:56):
Oh, geez.
Okay, well, you know, it'sWally.
He was always just a little,little sorry little guy in Gen
David Hernandez (25:02):
Oh, poor Wally.
Oh, had a health condition.
Come
Caleb Hatfield (25:07):
Did he really?
Oh, no.
David Hernandez (25:09):
had
Caleb Hatfield (25:10):
Oh, well, so do I.
He has no excuses.
David Hernandez (25:14):
Oh damn.
But I did kind of wonder, saidyou're more reserved, you know,
you gotta see the data.
And then for Joey to pitch ideais like, Hey, let's do, let's
start a business together andlet's a host where we bring
vendors in, some
Caleb Hatfield (25:35):
Absolutely.
I was like, yeah, um, let's doit.
But.
I need to know how this is goingto happen.
We need to plan this thing out.
And, uh, you know, he kind ofgave me a rough outline, but in
my mind, it wasn't enough data.
I needed to know the wholething.
Like, how many people are goingto be there?
And you never know.
That's not, that's, that'ssomething that you, you can't
(25:56):
plan for.
and I think it was just all theunknowns that I wasn't prepared
for, but, he was just kind oflike, trust the process.
David Hernandez (26:03):
I mean, how do y'all kind of find a balance?
Because, you know, you got yourplanner, he's by the seats of
his pants.
Sounds like, how do y'all kindof find that balance to kind of
work together and make polar
Caleb Hatfield (26:15):
We very much are, but being polar opposites
covers all of the bases.
So, absolutely.
He's the social guy.
I'm the behind the scenes guy.
at least that's the way I likeit.
David Hernandez (26:29):
Hey,
Caleb Hatfield (26:30):
That's exactly right.
So, know, we're going to, thesevenues beforehand and kind of
checking them out, making surethat it will work for our needs,
measuring out the spaces.
and yeah, we are polaropposites, but we're a lot alike
in the same vein.
We have a common goal, I guess.
David Hernandez (26:49):
What's something that maybe has Do you
have any funny stories on that?
Caleb Hatfield (26:54):
Hmm, you know, thankfully I can say that we
haven't really had anything go,go wrong.
I think that might be, it isright.
But you know what that's from?
It's from
David Hernandez (27:07):
What?
Caleb Hatfield (27:08):
planning.
David Hernandez (27:12):
you have done your thorough homework, and
whatever you and Joey got goingon, clearly it works.
I'm
Caleb Hatfield (27:21):
Yeah, absolutely.
Well, okay.
Okay.
I will say this.
There has been one thing thatwent wrong.
It was our first TCG tournament.
We had, One person sign up thenight before, the TCG tournament
was supposed to go on.
And so we were like, okay, we,we got to make a decision.
We can't go on with the TCGtournament with one person.
(27:41):
I mean, there was, I think itwas 150 prize.
We can't just walk up and handthis person 150 bucks.
So we.
Made the tough decision tocancel that first TCG tournament
and, uh, you know, we, we putout a blast on social media
saying that, you know, we'resorry, but can't make it happen.
(28:03):
And then we get to the event.
We're setting up and.
People are coming up to us like,Hey, where do I sign up for the
TCG tournament?
And we probably had a dozenpeople that day, like, dude,
we've had the ad up for so long.
I wish you would have told us,but it's not their fault of
course, but you know, it's oneof those things that it was a
(28:25):
tough decision to make, but wefelt like it was the right one
at the time.
And turned out it may not havebeen.
Yeah.
David Hernandez (28:35):
but had to say, nah, he can't just do it by
himself.
Caleb Hatfield (28:39):
Right?
David Hernandez (28:41):
But I mean, that's a tough decision though,
because on one hand you want tohim at least earn it.
But on the other, you kind ofwant to, it'd be kind of he's
the only one who signed up.
So he wins
Caleb Hatfield (28:53):
Exactly.
That's exactly right.
if he would have had oneopponent, it'd have been fine.
We would have had to honor thedeal.
And we would have gladly, butyeah, exactly.
But we didn't have that.
So had to make a decision.
And this thing is just growing.
It's growing.
It's amazing to see how much itis growing.
(29:14):
This will be our first time inthis new market hall and next
event.
We'll probably even have toupgrade to a bigger space
because of it.
Yeah.
David Hernandez (29:27):
Oh, Caleb, thank you for coming on the
show.
Before you go, if people do tocheck out Jaws Merchandise, if
they want to go to this
Caleb Hatfield (29:34):
Yeah.
David Hernandez (29:36):
please
Caleb Hatfield (29:37):
So, first off, I want to, to kind of plug a few
of our vendors, a few of a fewpeople that mean a lot to me and
to us.
first off, I want to plug our,our artists that we have.
Her name is Liz Anna May onInstagram, Liz Hendrickson.
She does amazing art.
She's done all of our arts forall of our events, except for
(29:58):
the first one.
That one was just kind of throwntogether, but she's done all of
the art.
an amazing artist.
Uh, she just got, I think anaward recently.
So Liz anime, uh, professorCaton.
An amazing artist, uh, withinthe community.
She does play mats, mouse pads.
Um, my mouse is on a mouse padright now from her, button up
(30:20):
shirts, all kinds of cool stuff.
Blank canvas.
She does heat press, hoodies,sweatshirts, tote bags, all
kinds of cool stuff.
Joro Gumo does.
Rugs, she makes rugs and bunchof different cool little art
pieces.
Meiji market helps a lot withthe TCG tournaments also does
(30:41):
her own art, uh, within thecommunity.
She's amazing.
Ghostly waters is a guy that we,we met recently, but he's
becoming a fast friend and.
Really big part of, what makestrainer con trainer con.
and the list goes on, man, I cango on forever, but if you want
to look at our stuff, rockets,relics trainer con on Instagram,
(31:03):
rockets markets.
com to find our events.
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