TRAINERS EYE #136 - "Roar With Confidence Using Arcanine Energy" ft. Joey Lopez from Rockets Markets
February 21, 2025 • 33 mins
Joey Lopez, co-owner of Rockets Markets, takes us through his unique journey from Pokémon card collecting to creating unforgettable Pokémon events in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. From his early days of watching from the sidelines due to his parents' opposition to finally playing Pokémon SoulSilver, his passion for the franchise grew into organizing major events like Trainer Con. Joey shares the lessons learned in entrepreneurship, how he connected with his business partner, Caleb Hatfield, and how Pokémon communities thrive through events that bring fans together.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Joey Lopez (00:00):
Hey guys, this is Joey from TrainerCon, and this
is my Pokemon story.
David Hernandez (00:43):
welcome to, as the pokeball turns, Where people
share their experience withPokemon.
My name is David Hernandez.
I'm joined by Joey from RocketsMarket.
Joey, welcome to As the PokeballTurns.
Thank you for coming on.
Joey Lopez (00:55):
Hey, hey David, I'm a super excited to be here.
And yeah, I appreciate youhaving me on the other half of
Rockets market so super excited
David Hernandez (01:04):
Now, for those who may not know, and I've
actually had your partner incrime, Caleb on the podcast,
definitely go check out hisepisode, but I was told by him
that you're kind of the brainsbehind the operation.
Is that kind of true?
Joey Lopez (01:16):
That's so funny.
In the, uh, episode that I waslistening to, he had me as the
loosey goosey one.
In the episode, and he was thebrains one.
Did he come back and tell youthat I was the brains one?
David Hernandez (01:28):
Well, he said, like, the idea came from your
head that, like, he's the onewho does the background type of
stuff and you're kind of theface, if that makes sense.
Maybe I'm saying the wrong word.
Joey Lopez (01:37):
That's so funny.
No, I, uh, I'll take the brains.
Yeah.
I, um, I, I'm the guy I feellike with, with the ideas.
Caleb's the, uh, Caleb's kind ofthe workhorse for us.
and you know, we both have areally good ideas, but, I feel
like my ideas are, uh, it kindof what we end up playing out a
little bit more.
David Hernandez (01:56):
I mean, let's give some insight to people who
are listening.
Can you tell people what isRocket Market?
What is the business y'all havebuilt up together?
Like, what is it about?
Joey Lopez (02:04):
Yeah, yeah, so, Caleb and I have known each
other for a couple years now, westarted a business that was kind
of, it was all based on Pokemon.
We started with these dioramatype cubes that we made into
Pokemon cards and dioramasaren't an original concept, but,
We decided to make them into,like, Pokemon cards and sell
(02:27):
them at markets.
And while we were going tomarkets and selling them, we
were like, why don't we createour own markets?
And so, yeah, Rockets Marketstarted and we created Trainer
Con from it.
So Yeah, it's been kind of allbased on Pokemon from the start,
Rockets Relics being the, theones that created the cubes and
then Rockets Markets kind ofdoing the trainer con and stuff.
(02:47):
So yeah,
David Hernandez (02:48):
Now, it's crazy to, for you to just make an
entire convention around justPokemon.
It's a lot of work to host theseevents.
What made you kind of want tospearhead and dive into this?
Ha ha ha!
Joey Lopez (03:01):
started, like I said, with the diorama cubes.
our very first event was withIndigo Plateau.
they've become great businessfriends of ours.
And, um, we brought our dioramacubes to, one of their outdoor
markets that they host theselittle mini markets.
And on our first event, we likemade a killing, like selling
these diorama cubes and we weresuper worried, like nobody was
(03:23):
going to buy them.
And, uh, we, we kind of feltlike millionaires selling like a
ton of cubes that weekend, basedon something that we were super
passionate about.
And so.
I'm kind of like theentrepreneur, I feel like
between the both of us.
And so with one of my other.
Businesses that I had on theside.
I had worked with, Bear CaveCoffee in Mesquite, and they
(03:45):
have like an event center in theback of their coffee shop, and I
had done an event with thembefore, and I was like, Hey, I
want to create a Pokemon event.
of our own.
And they were super gracious tolet us use the space.
Um, the owners there are supersweet.
And, uh, yeah, it was kind ofjust off to the races.
just, you know, createdTrainerCon.
(04:06):
I feel like almost out ofnothing and on a shoestring
budget.
Um, in a closet is what it feltlike too.
So, sure.
David Hernandez (04:15):
you know, it doesn't, I mean, unless you're
blessed with money, and ofcourse you weren't, but a lot of
times it just starts with anidea and you just kind of pursue
it and you kind of let it evolveand grow.
You don't have all the answers,but you kind of figure out along
the way, I think.
Joey Lopez (04:26):
Yeah, absolutely.
And it, it did evolve, uh, forsure.
And it, and it continues toevolve.
like I said, we started with 12vendors.
And I want to say most peoplewho came to the first TrainerCon
probably just people that werecoming through the coffee shop.
So our first people to actuallycheck out the event were like, I
had no idea this was going on.
And we were like, yeah, cause,you know, we use like 50 on ads,
(04:49):
so there was probably no way youwere going to know anyways.
So we did the first event andthen the second event we had a
little bit more under our belton what to expect.
And then by the second event wewere like, let's, let's really
bite this and let's go big.
So we went from 12 vendors tolike 70 plus.
on the next one.
and yeah, it's just been growingand growing ever since we're up
(05:11):
to 120 vendors at a, now a thirdspace.
yeah, it just keeps, it keepsgoing and we're super excited
and, uh, happy about thecommunity that we're growing
together.
David Hernandez (05:22):
One thing that Caleb said is that he's kind of
a logics kind of guy, but you'reone who says it's going to kind
of work out.
What gives you, I guess, thatconfidence to kind of.
Go with and say like, Hey, we'rejust going to host this event
and go to these differentplaces.
And it's going to kind of workout in the end.
Like, is it true that you havethat kind of confidence or is it
just more of that's hisperception?
Joey Lopez (05:41):
Yeah, I guess that does, um, play a role in, in
kind of our partnership.
He's a little bit more cautious,than I, I kind of look at it in
a way like.
When we started TrainerCon andRockets Relics and we were going
to events, we literally, webuilt it on Pokemon, about
Pokemon, but then our seed moneyfor starting all of this was
(06:03):
selling Pokemon cards in orderto have money to start doing
events and stuff.
So You know, from the start, youknow, he was really cautious
about that.
And in my head with liketraining cards and stuff like
that, um, with Pokemon cards, Iwas always like, you know, their
stocks, they go up and down invalue and, uh, we're going to
cash in some stocks and we'regoing to make this stream
happen.
(06:23):
But, you know, from the start,he was kind of cashing in, like
some of his childhood Pokemoncards.
And so he's always kind of been,I feel like from the start, a
little bit more cautious onthings, but, think our
relationship works really wellwith that where.
You know, every week I can cometo him and say, Hey, I've got
this idea.
And, and he's like, Oh no,what's the idea.
And then I run through the ideaand, uh, you know, we decide if,
(06:45):
you know, it's a good one ormaybe it's a bad one or it
needs, you know, a little bitof, um, tweaking and working.
And so, yeah, it, it just worksreally good with, uh, people.
David Hernandez (06:54):
for those who don't know my story, I started
this podcast with the idea of, Iwanted to build people up, you
know, originally I startedPokemon go and I wanted to get
the leaders.
Cause I feel like there was noplace to kind of bring people on
to, to share their story andwhat they do for the community.
And I had no idea what I wasdoing.
I'd never done recording apodcast.
I barely knew how to edit audio,but.
Like what you said, like youjust started building up slowly
(07:16):
and slowly.
And it's nerve wracking,especially for me, because I
think I relate more to Calebthan you honestly, to where I
got to see the analytics, butyou also had to kind of have
your spirit to where sometimesyou just got to go with the
wind, you won't have all theanswers right away,
Joey Lopez (07:28):
Yeah, yeah.
And, and, you know, I, I go withthe wind, but, you know, I,
we're both analytics in our ownway.
Full time, I'm a marketingdirector.
And so a lot of my job is theanalytic side of things.
Um, how things are performing,posts are performing, ads are
performing.
You know, that has carried us areally long way with, how we do
things.
(07:49):
And so it always comes down tothe numbers at the end of the
day, if something's not workingor it didn't work a couple of
times, we're not going to keepdoing it.
So,
David Hernandez (07:57):
right?
Joey Lopez (07:58):
but, but I think having that entrepreneurial
spirit and a little bit of goodluck and, uh, it's really
carried us.
David Hernandez (08:05):
Well, I was going to say, you kind of touch
on a very important partbecause, you know, everybody
talks about how they want to betheir own boss, right?
They want to be independent.
They don't want to have toanswer to anybody.
And, you know, here you are, yousaid it's, you have to both be
analytical.
You have to look at theanalytics of, are you getting, I
guess, the output of what youput into it?
You know, is it worth it?
And two, you've got to bedisciplined.
I imagine.
Joey Lopez (08:25):
oh yeah, there's, uh, there's definitely a lot of
discipline that goes into it.
We're at a point where, like,TrainerCon, I almost told
people, or I have told people inthe past that, like, TrainerCon,
up until this TrainerCon that'scoming up March 23rd, has been
pretty much a philanthropal,that the right word?
(08:45):
Philanthropy?
David Hernandez (08:46):
Fill in.
Joey Lopez (08:50):
to the community.
we really haven't, we've brokeneven on almost all things that
we've done.
So, you know, there is a lot ofhesitation in things where it's
like, Oh man, if, if weoverspend in this, then we're
going to be really in the red.
and so, I guess, yeah.
So there is a lot of likehesitation in that and, uh, we
want to be our own boss.
That would be cool one day tojust say, Hey, we, we do trainer
(09:13):
con.
That's our thing.
Uh, we also sell cards on theside.
with DFW Pokemon and so yeah, itis, is an idea to be our own
boss, but you know, you have to,I always tell Caleb, you gotta
find a way to fly kites and makemoney.
So it's, it, it, it's fun to,uh, to fly kites, but you know,
at the end of the day, it's gotto make some money.
David Hernandez (09:32):
Have, I guess, have you always had this
entrepreneur spirit or did itkind of like come from some
inspiration?
Joey Lopez (09:38):
I feel like I've always had it, ever since I was
like a kid, I would play likeshopkeep or something that was
like my favorite game as a kidwould be like, you know, play
shopkeep.
I was the one running the shopand.
I've had countless businessesover time and Caleb's had a
couple too.
So, you know, it's coupled bothof us, into doing this, but, uh,
you know, entrepreneurship isreally, I think where my heart
is at and, what I love to do,
David Hernandez (09:58):
And it's kind of cool because now you get to
kind of bring people with youwith rockets markets to where
people can kind of join becauseall those vendors, they're also
entrepreneurs in a way.
So it's like I want to say aclub of entrepreneurs, but it
kind of is because you all kindof do business together.
I
Joey Lopez (10:15):
our trader con event, but then we're vendors as
well.
So if it's not a rockets relics,um, stuff that we do.
With our cubes and our, our 3dprints and our diet, you know,
our dioramas and, uh, arcademachines and stuff.
We're also selling Pokemoncards, you know, at different
events.
And so a lot of us kind oftravel, you know, we, we all
know each other.
we all know struggles that we gothrough when it comes to like a
(10:36):
good event.
and so, yes, from the start, wewere like, let's make this as
great as we can for our vendorsas well.
and it may not always, I mean,in the beginning, it probably
didn't come down to.
I want to say not every vendorat the first event was maybe
profitable.
but we tried to make, you know,the best experience as we could
for those vendors.
And I want to say many of thosevendors that we started with,
(10:58):
those first 12 are still with usto this day.
So we just try to make, theevent great for the attendees,
of course.
But, um, then I feel like we dothe same for our vendors as
well.
David Hernandez (11:08):
know this can be blasphemy, but it's like
there, you're like 12 disciplesand y'all are like leading the
way.
You're the shepherds.
Joey Lopez (11:15):
I agree.
Yeah.
Yeah.
I mean,
David Hernandez (11:17):
Oh,
Joey Lopez (11:19):
really are 12 disciples.
I want to say they've probablyall, you know, stayed with us.
We've had a Judas along the way,but, uh,
David Hernandez (11:26):
no, I'm not.
Hopefully I'm not the Judas.
Okay.
Joey Lopez (11:29):
No,
David Hernandez (11:29):
I'm just a podcaster
Joey Lopez (11:31):
That's right.
Just the media.
David Hernandez (11:33):
exactly, but I want to ask.
So, you know, you've mentioned alot about Pokemon cards and
being TCG.
What is it about that aspect ofPokemon that got you interested
into that section before youbecame a vendor?
Joey Lopez (11:43):
Yeah.
So, uh, with TCG specifically,Like I started like, um, like
SoulSilver was one of myfavorite games growing up.
That was the first game Iplayed.
Um, then like along the way Ihad some Pokemon cards and, I
really haven't been as like intoPokemon cards until like, you
know, like the 2020 boom when Ithink everybody was into it.
Um, and Yeah, so, you know, we,we sell cards now.
(12:07):
We buy and sell cards.
it's just kind of an extra, anextra thing that we're doing
where it's still adding like arevenue stream to our business.
It is still a way where at theend of the day, if we were to
look at all of the pieces, it isstill a net positive thing that
we're doing for us as abusiness.
where, you Pokemon cards, thenmaybe we can use some of that to
(12:30):
continue to grow trainer con ornow that, you know, trainer con
is having a little bit of profitin it.
We can use that to grow ourPokemon card stuff.
So it all feeds into each other.
helps us put it on an experiencefor trading on, but then helps
us with our, you know, extraadditional side businesses as
well.
David Hernandez (12:45):
So do you look to Pokemon cards as a way to
kind of see which ones are goingto go up in price over time?
Or do you collect like certainfavorites?
What's your approach to thePokemon TCG?
Joey Lopez (12:59):
you know, we both have our own personal collection
where it's like we could neversell these, but from the start,
like I said, we both, you know,put money into the business by
selling Pokemon cards.
David Hernandez (13:10):
Mm hmm.
Joey Lopez (13:10):
you so much TP collectibles for, uh, that seed
money.
That you gave us
David Hernandez (13:14):
Oh wow, shout out TV collectibles.
Yeah
Joey Lopez (13:17):
Yeah.
Shout out Tom, the patron saintof Pokemon.
but yeah, he, he bought up, youknow, some of our first Pokemon
cards.
So, and then we look at it in away where it's like they're
stocks to us where, Cards willgo up in value and, you know,
we'll, we'll sell high, but, youknow, we can also buy back some
of those favorites as well.
When the market's down, So yeah,it, just a fun thing that we do
(13:38):
and it's, it's kind of a newthing for us, but we're already
like signed up for like a coupleof collecticons and stuff.
So we're taking it on the road,
David Hernandez (13:46):
On that road y'all hitting the hit y'all
hitting the streets now.
Joey Lopez (13:48):
we really are.
I mean, we're, we're hitting ithard this year and one of those
things where Caleb's a littlebit hesitant on it and I'm like,
let's go, let's roll, let's rollthose dice, you know?
Hey you! Yes, you with the ears!Don't go anywhere, just taking a
quick ad break.
We'll be right back.
Pokemon Trainers, listen up.
TrainerCon Dallas is back andleveling up in a big way.
(14:12):
And here's the best part,general admission is pay what
you want.
So that means you get to grabyour tickets for this event for
as little as a dollar onlinethrough March 22nd, or just pay
5 at the door when you getthere.
Kids under 12 are free.
This one day event is packedwith 120 tables featuring top
Pokemon TCG vendors, collectors,and creators.
(14:32):
So if you're looking for rarecards, must have merch, or a
perfect spot to make trades,this is where you want to be.
It's all happening Sunday, March23rd at the Dallas Event Center
in Farmer's Branch, from 10am to5pm.
TrainerCon Dallas is always apacked crowd, so don't miss out.
Get your tickets atRocketsMarkets.
com slash TrainerCon Dallas.
(14:52):
A special thank you to MattMonkeybread, Gus Ulrich, and all
other patrons for your continuedsupport.
Now let's get back to theepisode.
David Hernandez (15:01):
so you said your first game was SoulSilver
with Pokemon.
So you never played any of thegames beforehand or like, what
was your experience with Pokemonup to that point?
Joey Lopez (15:10):
Yeah, so, my earliest memory of, like,
Pokemon was like, I remember myolder cousins, and I was, I was
small, I was maybe like five.
My older cousins had, like,Pokemon cards, and they were
kind of, like, all throughouttheir rooms and stuff.
Just scattered everywhere, and Ilook back and I'm like, Oh man,
all those Pokemon cards on theground.
Um,
David Hernandez (15:30):
Yeah, it makes you cringe a little bit.
It's like, I don't know thevalue and the conditions of
them.
Yeah.
Joey Lopez (15:39):
So, to be honest, I wasn't allowed to play Pokemon
growing up.
It wasn't until like when I wasin sixth grade that I was
finally, like, allowed by myparents to play Pokemon.
They believed that Pokemon was,like, actual like demonic type
stuff.
David Hernandez (15:54):
Hmm.
Joey Lopez (15:54):
Like I, I'm pretty sure that I'm pretty sure it was
like church fed stuff where itwas like pocket monsters
David Hernandez (16:01):
Yeah.
They thought it was witchcraftand y'all were summoning demons
and evolution.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Joey Lopez (16:06):
yes.
It was around the same time,like Obama was also the
antichrist and stuff like that.
So, I mean, it was just thecraziest stuff the church could
say they were saying at the
David Hernandez (16:14):
Right.
So,
Joey Lopez (16:16):
so I wasn't allowed to play Pokemon growing up.
you know, I was like, In the 6thgrade and like my best friend,
he had a uh, a DS Lite and hewas playing of the Pokemon games
and I remember watching like hisDS and being like so, captivated
by just like all the things youcould do in SoulSilver at the
time and the DS was already likea super cool, game system for
(16:37):
me.
There was like a time where Ijust like begged my parents like
please like I just want to dothis yeah, I want to be able to
like play and battle my friendsand stuff like that
David Hernandez (16:48):
um, Hey,
Joey Lopez (16:53):
I got the upper hand over the church, but they did
cave
David Hernandez (16:58):
it's not, it's not easy overcoming Jesus.
That's pretty good.
Joey Lopez (17:00):
not you know, you know, it's not
David Hernandez (17:03):
You know, that's what, that's what helps
you with entrepreneur skills.
That's part of the negotiation.
You're already working on it.
God was working on you for thatanyway.
Joey Lopez (17:09):
Yeah, yeah, I, somebody was in my corner for
me, uh, higher power orotherwise, um, and, and my
negotiation skills did, did playthrough and I got to get
SoulSilver and it was like the,the set with the PokeWalker.
David Hernandez (17:23):
Oh yes.
Yeah.
Joey Lopez (17:24):
I mean, it's such a classic and I was, I was hooked,
like I logged hundreds of hoursinto SoulSilver and then my
excitement of like being able toplay through, the Kanto region,
at the end of SoulSilver isKanto region,
David Hernandez (17:38):
Yes.
You got it right.
Yeah.
Yep.
Joey Lopez (17:43):
all of like the legends that you could catch in
the game.
there was the casino in thegame.
There was the, the athleticcompetitions.
It was just like so much to doyeah, that's kind of like how I
started.
And then on the DS, you couldplay like the, the Game Boy,
advanced games.
And so.
playing, like, SoulSilver, Icould play, uh, still on the DS,
(18:04):
I could play, like, Platinum,and, uh, I think I played
Diamond, and then I switchedover to the Game Boy Advance,
and I could play, Emerald, whichwas super fun, everybody loves
Emerald, of course, and then,you know, Ruby Sapphire, stuff
like that, and I played all theway up till, like, Sun and Moon
came out, and I don't think Iplayed Sun and Moon, so I've
played, I've played for a goodwhile, So there was only like a
little bit of a gap betweengetting out of Pokemon.
(18:26):
I think that was probably like2015 and I got back in 2020.
David Hernandez (18:29):
I've always had the belief and it's gonna be a
bit of a hot take.
I actually think the Nintendo DSis the second ever best game
system from Nintendo.
I think
Joey Lopez (18:38):
the original Nintendo.
David Hernandez (18:40):
no, just altogether.
Like if you Yeah, because youknow, people usually usually
people in 64 and the switch iskind of up there.
I think it's at least number twothat the Nintendo DS by itself
is the best console Nintendo'sever released.
Joey Lopez (18:54):
Okay.
David Hernandez (18:55):
you have, you said you can also go back and
play the Game Boy Man's games.
The games are pretty solid.
You know, you have the gen fourgames all the way up to black
and white.
You also have the Mario Kartgames.
You had a lot of the wireless.
I think, like I said, you know,you started with SoulSilver and
I can't imagine what better gameto start your journey than with
Pokemon SoulSilver.
(19:15):
Cause that's the considered, Iguess, the golden era of
Pokemon.
And so you will.
Yeah, I feel like I got really,really lucky.
Oh, man.
I, uh, you know, it's Yeah,okay, so, like Yeah, yeah, yeah,
I think there's a lot of peoplewho win for better or worse.
Joey Lopez (19:44):
so much camaraderie went into that game and with
Pokemon and, uh, yeah, it wasjust such a great time.
Oh man, I I don't know if Iwould even go 6.
I really, I, I remember like thefirst couple times playing
(20:05):
through like, even in 5th gradeI feel like I was young.
Um, but like just likemainlining Feraligatr all the
way through.
Um, you know, he's like level100 by the time you get to the
elite 4.
Um, but Feraligatr and then, uh,Arcanine's always been one of my
favorites.
I can't remember if you can gethim in Yeah, okay, so like
(20:27):
Arcanine, and then, if I had topick one more, um, Gyarados is
always great.
Um, yeah, yeah, yeah, I thinkjust, I really think three is
kind of all I would roll with,for better or worse.
David Hernandez (20:41):
Yeah.
Joey Lopez (20:41):
it was really like, these guys are the coolest, I
wanna, you know, I wanna dothis.
David Hernandez (20:44):
Is one of those your favorite by chance?
Joey Lopez (20:46):
Arcanine has always been my favorite, I really,
really love Arcanine.
David Hernandez (20:50):
Oh, why Arcanine?
Joey Lopez (20:51):
big Arcanine fan.
David Hernandez (20:53):
Oh, why Arcanine?
Just because it's a dog or?
Joey Lopez (20:55):
Um, just fire dog, you know,
David Hernandez (20:59):
Hey, can't go wrong with that, yeah.
Joey Lopez (21:00):
Yeah, yeah, I, I really can't say why.
I think maybe, I'm sure it hasto do with, like, um, seeing
those Pokemon cards kind ofscattered in, in, um, older
cousins bedrooms.
I, I think I probably latchedonto the Arcanine illustration
the most, thinking like, Oh,he's so cool.
Charizard's got like a weirdgooseneck.
Uh, but Arcanine, he looksgreat! Like, the, you know, Both
(21:24):
him and Lieutenant Surge'sArcanine, or not Surge, I'm
sorry, uh,
David Hernandez (21:27):
Blaine, yep.
Joey Lopez (21:28):
Arcanine.
Yeah,
David Hernandez (21:29):
Oh, such,
Joey Lopez (21:30):
best
David Hernandez (21:30):
such a pretty card too, yeah.
Joey Lopez (21:33):
yeah, I mean, they're beautiful, so I think
that's really what it is.
David Hernandez (21:35):
So one thing I wanted to share, so this is a
long time ago back when I firststarted playing, um, I had, you
know, cards on the floor, justlike you said, I gave my cousin,
he was like maybe one or twoyears old at the time, uh, it
wasn't a rare card, thankfully,but it was a base set peak, or
I'm sorry, uh, jungle setPikachu
Joey Lopez (21:53):
mm,
David Hernandez (21:54):
his mom said, Oh, uh, that's going to be
messed up if you leave it alone.
I said, nah, it's fine.
It'll be okay.
So I leave.
I don't remember what I go do,but then I come back and all of
a sudden he just patted in hismouth and it's like, uh, like
the slimy and warped because heput the, he put the Pikachu card
in his mouth trying to eat it.
So couldn't keep that obviously,but I always loved the base,
(22:15):
the, I'm sorry, the junglePikachu.
And I was like, Oh no, it reallyis.
And that was my only one, but
Joey Lopez (22:20):
yeah, I think that's the, the, the Chunkachu one.
He's a,
David Hernandez (22:23):
yes.
Yep.
Yes.
Yep.
Joey Lopez (22:25):
what a bummer.
Kids are the worst,
David Hernandez (22:27):
Hey, I mean, at least it was, I mean, he was, he
was a little kid.
He's a two month old.
So, I mean, I'm not going to,
Joey Lopez (22:32):
Oh, man.
David Hernandez (22:33):
but I mean, imagine had, I'm glad it wasn't
like a holographic or anythingrare, like a base set charge,
right?
Otherwise, Ooh, there'd be adifferent story.
Joey Lopez (22:41):
Sure, no, no, I get that.
In, in, during my time playing,like, SoulSilver and stuff like
that, um, in the DS era, I wasgiven, like, a bunch of, that's
what got me into the Pokemoncards, I was given, like, a
bunch of, Pokemon cards from,like, a guy my grandmother was
dating at the time.
He was just like, Here, havethese Pokemon cards.
And I had all these Pokemoncards, and my friend and I
(23:02):
would, like, buy cards, and weall had our favorites and stuff.
And then somewhere in between,like, 2015, when I got out of
it, and 2020, that binder justkind of disappeared,
David Hernandez (23:11):
Oh, no.
Joey Lopez (23:12):
and it's gone.
And so many people have, like,that same story of, like, their
parents their binder, or givingit away in a garage sale, or a
kid eating it, a two month oldeating.
All the cards and stuff, but
David Hernandez (23:23):
Yeah, yeah, my gosh.
You said, you said Pokemon, I'msorry, you said Arcanine was
your favorite.
So do you, what is your likeprized Arcanine card?
Or is there a chase card you'retrying to get of that Pokemon?
Joey Lopez (23:37):
like the, I really like the Blaine's Arcanine, but
and I know I don't have iteither.
It's the Japanese BladesArcanine that I think looks the
coolest over the English.
I don't know why it is, but um,I don't have that one.
and it's kind of one of my like,the one of the ones I'm like,
uh, if I had that, it would goin personal collection and
nobody would look at it.
It would never see the light ofday.
(23:58):
It would just get put away andit's gone.
So.
David Hernandez (24:01):
I mean, you work with a lot of vendors.
I'm sure you've had to seen thiscard at some point.
Have you ever been tempted tolike see it in public and be
like, I kind of want to buy it?
Joey Lopez (24:10):
You know, there's a lot of cards that, like, come
through our table.
with our, like, card vending, wehave a big ass sign that's,
like, behind us that's, like,always buying.
It's what it says.
It's just, like, always buying.
And so we have so many peoplecome to us to sell us their
cards.
And I never see that one, like,cross our table.
David Hernandez (24:27):
Wow
Joey Lopez (24:28):
where I see things and I'm like, Oh, man.
want to pick this up for, forpersonal collection.
like Lugia is one of myfavorites too.
That's like my favorite legend.
And every time that comesthrough, I like have to take a
minute to like, just look at it.
And it seems like a lot morepeople have that one, but no, I
never see like a Blaine's,Arcanine.
Japanese coming through.
So I don't know, maybe I just,maybe that's for the best,
David Hernandez (24:50):
That potential I get
Joey Lopez (24:51):
like it's an expensive card.
It's just, I don't know.
David Hernandez (24:54):
Yeah, it's just it's it's something you want to
chase for and eventually you'llhave a good reason to finally
buy it
Joey Lopez (24:59):
Yeah.
Now that we are buying cards andwe have a big, you know, neon
sign behind us that says we'rebuying cards.
it would be cool for it to comeacross the table and then I
could snatch it up that way.
Uh, that's the closest way I'mgoing to get to chasing it
rather than, uh, opening packs
David Hernandez (25:13):
Gosh
Joey Lopez (25:14):
get it.
So,
David Hernandez (25:15):
Now, going back to you know building up the
rocket market, in the process oftrying to build this business up
together.
How did y'all first meet eachother?
What's the story behind that?
Joey Lopez (25:23):
yeah.
So, Caleb and I, we, we bothworked at a sign company
together where we built signsfor, buildings and, and wall
murals and stuff like that.
And I went on vacation for aweek, And when I came back,
there was Caleb and we veryquickly became friends over
Pokemon, but also we were theonly two that worked in the
(25:43):
company besides the two owners.
So.
almost like we were going tobecome friends anyways, I feel
like.
but yeah, we, we both met at thesign company I think listening
to the way he recalled it, I hadlike a Pokemon cup and I think
we just kind of bonded over likethe, the Pokemon on the, uh, on
the cup.
It was like a bunch of TCG stuffon the cup.
And yeah, that's kind of howjust, we, we became friends and,
(26:06):
um, He had the idea to do thedioramas.
I was like, let's do them in thecard form.
And yeah, the rest is ofhistory, but it was just kind of
chance that we
David Hernandez (26:14):
Um, I
Joey Lopez (26:15):
I don't think either of us would be kind of where
we're at with, uh, with Rocket'sMarkets and TrainerCon, without
meeting each other.
we probably would have been justdoing our own thing.
not even Pokemon related maybe.
David Hernandez (26:27):
mean, when you think about how big this has
gotten since you first startedand how fast it's grown to where
you're now going to a thirdlocation, did you ever expect to
get these kind of results?
Or are you kind of like shockedto see, you know, how much it's
progressed over time?
not.
Joey Lopez (26:44):
I really feel like event one, I'm, I'm such a
dreamer.
I really am like, deep down, I'mlike, when I see something and I
can, I can see it really big.
I'm, I really chase after it.
And I really saw Trainer Con,even with the low attendees that
we had, I saw people put faithin us and I think that's really
what.
(27:05):
What has been my drive from thestart is just people have put
faith in us.
They keep putting faith in us atthis new venue.
They, they almost, they, theydouble down their faith.
They, they put all their moneyon, uh, the red chips and, uh,
we're all going to figure it outtogether.
But I, I really feel like fromthe start, I was like, we could
(27:25):
make this big.
And so that's been like mydrive.
Caleb will tell you that too.
I'm the dreamer when it comes tothings, and so, uh, if I can see
something big, I'm, I'm gonna goafter it.
David Hernandez (27:36):
Well, let's expand on that a bit because you
say it's a vision, somethingbig.
What do you see TrainerConbecoming?
And where, where do you lack?
And you think that you want tosee improved from where you're
at now to in the future.
Joey Lopez (27:48):
Sure.
Yeah, I love that questionbecause, uh, it lets me talk
about kind of the vision.
And, and so my, where I seeTrainerCon now, so TrainerCon
was in Fort Worth.
It's moved to Dallas.
It's kind of like our homecomingback into the Dallas area.
I really see now TrainerConDallas being, you know, maybe
TrainerCon Houston, maybeTrainerCon San Antonio.
(28:10):
a trainer called Austin.
I see it growing from Dallas andI see those vendors going with
us.
we have vendors that we go, outof state and out of town with
already.
for like our, our card stuff.
And so I really see thosevendors, going with us out of
town and starting those rootsthere.
So what we're building is, youknow, a really awesome network
of, vendors that are puttingtrust in us.
(28:31):
And I hope when the time comes,you know, they'll, they'll
continue putting the trust in usto, uh, to move, you know, even
out of state, would be reallyawesome.
So that's kind of the bigvision.
I feel like is, you know, takeit, take it Mr.
Worldwide on it.
David Hernandez (28:47):
And I think it's kind of important to have
that vision because some peoplewill say like, Oh, if it
happens, it happens.
But if you don't actuallybelieve it, if you don't
actually see it, it's nevergoing to come true.
In my opinion.
for those who don't know, I usedto play basketball could never,
you know, I'm a big guy and I'mnot very agile, but I can get
around the court.
And I was more of a shooter.
Right.
And the one thing anybody who isa jump shooter knows, you've got
(29:09):
to envision the basketball goingto the net otherwise, you're not
gonna have the confidence and Ilove what you say because you
envision it and you don't knowhow you're going to get there.
You don't know the steps, butyou envision what you want to
see and you're going after it.
And I think that's it's sonecessary, especially whether
you do content creation or evendoing your own business.
I'm going to have to listen overand over again.
Joey Lopez (29:51):
but yeah, you really have to have a vision for it.
and not only on top of like, youknow, the vendor events, but
then we'll go to other people'sevents as well.
So like, A couple of our vendorsstarted doing their own events.
And so we'll go and support themnot only as vendors, but then
we'll go as attendees as well,just to attend those events and
continuing that network and thatcommunity.
So having the eye on the prize,being able to put in the, uh,
(30:14):
the work and the sweat into itis really what I think is going
to make this, um, a big foreveryone.
So we'll all, like we'll allbenefit from it.
David Hernandez (30:42):
Heavy lifting, you know, it's not for
everybody.
That's why not everybody's meantto be a business owner.
And I raised meant to be anentrepreneur.
They liked the idea, but when itcomes to the regard down to it,
a lot of people can't put ittogether in my opinion.
Joey Lopez (30:54):
That's really the truth and, and we've, we've both
really put in a lot of work toit.
this crazy story when we startedRockets Markets and we were
building these diorama cubes,there was like a big event, I
want to say it was Indigo's, um,big event in the Dallas Market
Hall.
I don't,
David Hernandez (31:08):
Yeah.
Joey Lopez (31:09):
that
David Hernandez (31:09):
Yeah.
Indigo Plateau.
Uh, well, the only one I went towas last year.
Joey Lopez (31:12):
Okay, gotcha.
In the summer, in the big, inthe inside, right?
David Hernandez (31:15):
Yes.
Yes.
Yeah.
Joey Lopez (31:18):
that event that we were like, okay, we've got to
pump out a ton of our dioramacubes.
at the time, we only had, like,I want to say we only had like
five Pokemon that we wereselling and we were like, let's,
we need like six more different,type of Pokemon in our diorama
cubes.
Caleb came over one night anduh, we were just cranking
(31:39):
through stuff, um, with these,these new concepts that we had
for these cubes.
were assembling them.
They take a very, very long timeto assemble, before you even put
them in the diorama, the, thelittle acrylic case.
And we put them in the acryliccase and out of like these 50
that we made, they were all toobig.
David Hernandez (31:56):
Really?
Oh no.
Joey Lopez (31:57):
way in production where we printed something too
big, or we assembled it too bigor something.
And so like, it was like two inthe morning.
We had work the next day.
David Hernandez (32:07):
Oh no.
Joey Lopez (32:09):
So we, we ended up like having to trash like so
much stuff, and restart regroup.
I want to say we were awake tilllike 7 a.
m.
We had work at like 9 a.
m.
the next morning.
David Hernandez (32:20):
Oh, that's awful.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Joey Lopez (32:21):
was horrible.
It was so bad.
but you really have to, you gotto put in the work if you want
to see it.
Um, if you want to see ithappen, just long story short,
but
David Hernandez (32:30):
No, that makes sense.
Joey Lopez (32:31):
sucks.
There's a, the trials and, andtribulations along the way.
David Hernandez (32:35):
Well, Joey, that's going to be an interview
for, uh, as a pokeball turnsbefore you go.
If people want to check out,what y'all sell, if you want to
connect with you, if they wantto actually attend the event,
where can they go by all means,please plug away.
Joey Lopez (32:46):
sure.
if you want to connect with us,you can find us across a couple
of social media channels.
So, um, you can find us on ourtrainer con page.
Uh, you can also find us on ourTCG page.
Um, there's not a lot going onthere just yet cause we are so
new, but it's a DFW PokeMart,you can find us there or just
Rockets Relics on Instagram.
And that's probably the bestways to, uh, connect with us,
(33:08):
but you can sign kind of seeeverything that's going on.
We have a lot of moving piecesand, uh, across, multiple
platforms.
So
David Hernandez (33:14):
Thank you for listening to As the Pokeball
Turns.
Follow all my socials and joinour Discord community to stay
connected by clicking any of thelinks in the description of this
episode.
Tune in next time for moreepisodes featuring more people,
more stories, and more Pokemon.
Until next time.
Hey guys, this is Joey from TrainerCon, and this
is my Pokemon story.
David Hernandez (00:43):
welcome to, as the pokeball turns, Where people
share their experience withPokemon.
My name is David Hernandez.
I'm joined by Joey from RocketsMarket.
Joey, welcome to As the PokeballTurns.
Thank you for coming on.
Joey Lopez (00:55):
Hey, hey David, I'm a super excited to be here.
And yeah, I appreciate youhaving me on the other half of
Rockets market so super excited
David Hernandez (01:04):
Now, for those who may not know, and I've
actually had your partner incrime, Caleb on the podcast,
definitely go check out hisepisode, but I was told by him
that you're kind of the brainsbehind the operation.
Is that kind of true?
Joey Lopez (01:16):
That's so funny.
In the, uh, episode that I waslistening to, he had me as the
loosey goosey one.
In the episode, and he was thebrains one.
Did he come back and tell youthat I was the brains one?
David Hernandez (01:28):
Well, he said, like, the idea came from your
head that, like, he's the onewho does the background type of
stuff and you're kind of theface, if that makes sense.
Maybe I'm saying the wrong word.
Joey Lopez (01:37):
That's so funny.
No, I, uh, I'll take the brains.
Yeah.
I, um, I, I'm the guy I feellike with, with the ideas.
Caleb's the, uh, Caleb's kind ofthe workhorse for us.
and you know, we both have areally good ideas, but, I feel
like my ideas are, uh, it kindof what we end up playing out a
little bit more.
David Hernandez (01:56):
I mean, let's give some insight to people who
are listening.
Can you tell people what isRocket Market?
What is the business y'all havebuilt up together?
Like, what is it about?
Joey Lopez (02:04):
Yeah, yeah, so, Caleb and I have known each
other for a couple years now, westarted a business that was kind
of, it was all based on Pokemon.
We started with these dioramatype cubes that we made into
Pokemon cards and dioramasaren't an original concept, but,
We decided to make them into,like, Pokemon cards and sell
(02:27):
them at markets.
And while we were going tomarkets and selling them, we
were like, why don't we createour own markets?
And so, yeah, Rockets Marketstarted and we created Trainer
Con from it.
So Yeah, it's been kind of allbased on Pokemon from the start,
Rockets Relics being the, theones that created the cubes and
then Rockets Markets kind ofdoing the trainer con and stuff.
(02:47):
So yeah,
David Hernandez (02:48):
Now, it's crazy to, for you to just make an
entire convention around justPokemon.
It's a lot of work to host theseevents.
What made you kind of want tospearhead and dive into this?
Ha ha ha!
Joey Lopez (03:01):
started, like I said, with the diorama cubes.
our very first event was withIndigo Plateau.
they've become great businessfriends of ours.
And, um, we brought our dioramacubes to, one of their outdoor
markets that they host theselittle mini markets.
And on our first event, we likemade a killing, like selling
these diorama cubes and we weresuper worried, like nobody was
(03:23):
going to buy them.
And, uh, we, we kind of feltlike millionaires selling like a
ton of cubes that weekend, basedon something that we were super
passionate about.
And so.
I'm kind of like theentrepreneur, I feel like
between the both of us.
And so with one of my other.
Businesses that I had on theside.
I had worked with, Bear CaveCoffee in Mesquite, and they
(03:45):
have like an event center in theback of their coffee shop, and I
had done an event with thembefore, and I was like, Hey, I
want to create a Pokemon event.
of our own.
And they were super gracious tolet us use the space.
Um, the owners there are supersweet.
And, uh, yeah, it was kind ofjust off to the races.
just, you know, createdTrainerCon.
(04:06):
I feel like almost out ofnothing and on a shoestring
budget.
Um, in a closet is what it feltlike too.
So, sure.
David Hernandez (04:15):
you know, it doesn't, I mean, unless you're
blessed with money, and ofcourse you weren't, but a lot of
times it just starts with anidea and you just kind of pursue
it and you kind of let it evolveand grow.
You don't have all the answers,but you kind of figure out along
the way, I think.
Joey Lopez (04:26):
Yeah, absolutely.
And it, it did evolve, uh, forsure.
And it, and it continues toevolve.
like I said, we started with 12vendors.
And I want to say most peoplewho came to the first TrainerCon
probably just people that werecoming through the coffee shop.
So our first people to actuallycheck out the event were like, I
had no idea this was going on.
And we were like, yeah, cause,you know, we use like 50 on ads,
(04:49):
so there was probably no way youwere going to know anyways.
So we did the first event andthen the second event we had a
little bit more under our belton what to expect.
And then by the second event wewere like, let's, let's really
bite this and let's go big.
So we went from 12 vendors tolike 70 plus.
on the next one.
and yeah, it's just been growingand growing ever since we're up
(05:11):
to 120 vendors at a, now a thirdspace.
yeah, it just keeps, it keepsgoing and we're super excited
and, uh, happy about thecommunity that we're growing
together.
David Hernandez (05:22):
One thing that Caleb said is that he's kind of
a logics kind of guy, but you'reone who says it's going to kind
of work out.
What gives you, I guess, thatconfidence to kind of.
Go with and say like, Hey, we'rejust going to host this event
and go to these differentplaces.
And it's going to kind of workout in the end.
Like, is it true that you havethat kind of confidence or is it
just more of that's hisperception?
Joey Lopez (05:41):
Yeah, I guess that does, um, play a role in, in
kind of our partnership.
He's a little bit more cautious,than I, I kind of look at it in
a way like.
When we started TrainerCon andRockets Relics and we were going
to events, we literally, webuilt it on Pokemon, about
Pokemon, but then our seed moneyfor starting all of this was
(06:03):
selling Pokemon cards in orderto have money to start doing
events and stuff.
So You know, from the start, youknow, he was really cautious
about that.
And in my head with liketraining cards and stuff like
that, um, with Pokemon cards, Iwas always like, you know, their
stocks, they go up and down invalue and, uh, we're going to
cash in some stocks and we'regoing to make this stream
happen.
(06:23):
But, you know, from the start,he was kind of cashing in, like
some of his childhood Pokemoncards.
And so he's always kind of been,I feel like from the start, a
little bit more cautious onthings, but, think our
relationship works really wellwith that where.
You know, every week I can cometo him and say, Hey, I've got
this idea.
And, and he's like, Oh no,what's the idea.
And then I run through the ideaand, uh, you know, we decide if,
(06:45):
you know, it's a good one ormaybe it's a bad one or it
needs, you know, a little bitof, um, tweaking and working.
And so, yeah, it, it just worksreally good with, uh, people.
David Hernandez (06:54):
for those who don't know my story, I started
this podcast with the idea of, Iwanted to build people up, you
know, originally I startedPokemon go and I wanted to get
the leaders.
Cause I feel like there was noplace to kind of bring people on
to, to share their story andwhat they do for the community.
And I had no idea what I wasdoing.
I'd never done recording apodcast.
I barely knew how to edit audio,but.
Like what you said, like youjust started building up slowly
(07:16):
and slowly.
And it's nerve wracking,especially for me, because I
think I relate more to Calebthan you honestly, to where I
got to see the analytics, butyou also had to kind of have
your spirit to where sometimesyou just got to go with the
wind, you won't have all theanswers right away,
Joey Lopez (07:28):
Yeah, yeah.
And, and, you know, I, I go withthe wind, but, you know, I,
we're both analytics in our ownway.
Full time, I'm a marketingdirector.
And so a lot of my job is theanalytic side of things.
Um, how things are performing,posts are performing, ads are
performing.
You know, that has carried us areally long way with, how we do
things.
(07:49):
And so it always comes down tothe numbers at the end of the
day, if something's not workingor it didn't work a couple of
times, we're not going to keepdoing it.
So,
David Hernandez (07:57):
right?
Joey Lopez (07:58):
but, but I think having that entrepreneurial
spirit and a little bit of goodluck and, uh, it's really
carried us.
David Hernandez (08:05):
Well, I was going to say, you kind of touch
on a very important partbecause, you know, everybody
talks about how they want to betheir own boss, right?
They want to be independent.
They don't want to have toanswer to anybody.
And, you know, here you are, yousaid it's, you have to both be
analytical.
You have to look at theanalytics of, are you getting, I
guess, the output of what youput into it?
You know, is it worth it?
And two, you've got to bedisciplined.
I imagine.
Joey Lopez (08:25):
oh yeah, there's, uh, there's definitely a lot of
discipline that goes into it.
We're at a point where, like,TrainerCon, I almost told
people, or I have told people inthe past that, like, TrainerCon,
up until this TrainerCon that'scoming up March 23rd, has been
pretty much a philanthropal,that the right word?
(08:45):
Philanthropy?
David Hernandez (08:46):
Fill in.
Joey Lopez (08:50):
to the community.
we really haven't, we've brokeneven on almost all things that
we've done.
So, you know, there is a lot ofhesitation in things where it's
like, Oh man, if, if weoverspend in this, then we're
going to be really in the red.
and so, I guess, yeah.
So there is a lot of likehesitation in that and, uh, we
want to be our own boss.
That would be cool one day tojust say, Hey, we, we do trainer
(09:13):
con.
That's our thing.
Uh, we also sell cards on theside.
with DFW Pokemon and so yeah, itis, is an idea to be our own
boss, but you know, you have to,I always tell Caleb, you gotta
find a way to fly kites and makemoney.
So it's, it, it, it's fun to,uh, to fly kites, but you know,
at the end of the day, it's gotto make some money.
David Hernandez (09:32):
Have, I guess, have you always had this
entrepreneur spirit or did itkind of like come from some
inspiration?
Joey Lopez (09:38):
I feel like I've always had it, ever since I was
like a kid, I would play likeshopkeep or something that was
like my favorite game as a kidwould be like, you know, play
shopkeep.
I was the one running the shopand.
I've had countless businessesover time and Caleb's had a
couple too.
So, you know, it's coupled bothof us, into doing this, but, uh,
you know, entrepreneurship isreally, I think where my heart
is at and, what I love to do,
David Hernandez (09:58):
And it's kind of cool because now you get to
kind of bring people with youwith rockets markets to where
people can kind of join becauseall those vendors, they're also
entrepreneurs in a way.
So it's like I want to say aclub of entrepreneurs, but it
kind of is because you all kindof do business together.
I
Joey Lopez (10:15):
our trader con event, but then we're vendors as
well.
So if it's not a rockets relics,um, stuff that we do.
With our cubes and our, our 3dprints and our diet, you know,
our dioramas and, uh, arcademachines and stuff.
We're also selling Pokemoncards, you know, at different
events.
And so a lot of us kind oftravel, you know, we, we all
know each other.
we all know struggles that we gothrough when it comes to like a
(10:36):
good event.
and so, yes, from the start, wewere like, let's make this as
great as we can for our vendorsas well.
and it may not always, I mean,in the beginning, it probably
didn't come down to.
I want to say not every vendorat the first event was maybe
profitable.
but we tried to make, you know,the best experience as we could
for those vendors.
And I want to say many of thosevendors that we started with,
(10:58):
those first 12 are still with usto this day.
So we just try to make, theevent great for the attendees,
of course.
But, um, then I feel like we dothe same for our vendors as
well.
David Hernandez (11:08):
know this can be blasphemy, but it's like
there, you're like 12 disciplesand y'all are like leading the
way.
You're the shepherds.
Joey Lopez (11:15):
I agree.
Yeah.
Yeah.
I mean,
David Hernandez (11:17):
Oh,
Joey Lopez (11:19):
really are 12 disciples.
I want to say they've probablyall, you know, stayed with us.
We've had a Judas along the way,but, uh,
David Hernandez (11:26):
no, I'm not.
Hopefully I'm not the Judas.
Okay.
Joey Lopez (11:29):
No,
David Hernandez (11:29):
I'm just a podcaster
Joey Lopez (11:31):
That's right.
Just the media.
David Hernandez (11:33):
exactly, but I want to ask.
So, you know, you've mentioned alot about Pokemon cards and
being TCG.
What is it about that aspect ofPokemon that got you interested
into that section before youbecame a vendor?
Joey Lopez (11:43):
Yeah.
So, uh, with TCG specifically,Like I started like, um, like
SoulSilver was one of myfavorite games growing up.
That was the first game Iplayed.
Um, then like along the way Ihad some Pokemon cards and, I
really haven't been as like intoPokemon cards until like, you
know, like the 2020 boom when Ithink everybody was into it.
Um, and Yeah, so, you know, we,we sell cards now.
(12:07):
We buy and sell cards.
it's just kind of an extra, anextra thing that we're doing
where it's still adding like arevenue stream to our business.
It is still a way where at theend of the day, if we were to
look at all of the pieces, it isstill a net positive thing that
we're doing for us as abusiness.
where, you Pokemon cards, thenmaybe we can use some of that to
(12:30):
continue to grow trainer con ornow that, you know, trainer con
is having a little bit of profitin it.
We can use that to grow ourPokemon card stuff.
So it all feeds into each other.
helps us put it on an experiencefor trading on, but then helps
us with our, you know, extraadditional side businesses as
well.
David Hernandez (12:45):
So do you look to Pokemon cards as a way to
kind of see which ones are goingto go up in price over time?
Or do you collect like certainfavorites?
What's your approach to thePokemon TCG?
Joey Lopez (12:59):
you know, we both have our own personal collection
where it's like we could neversell these, but from the start,
like I said, we both, you know,put money into the business by
selling Pokemon cards.
David Hernandez (13:10):
Mm hmm.
Joey Lopez (13:10):
you so much TP collectibles for, uh, that seed
money.
That you gave us
David Hernandez (13:14):
Oh wow, shout out TV collectibles.
Yeah
Joey Lopez (13:17):
Yeah.
Shout out Tom, the patron saintof Pokemon.
but yeah, he, he bought up, youknow, some of our first Pokemon
cards.
So, and then we look at it in away where it's like they're
stocks to us where, Cards willgo up in value and, you know,
we'll, we'll sell high, but, youknow, we can also buy back some
of those favorites as well.
When the market's down, So yeah,it, just a fun thing that we do
(13:38):
and it's, it's kind of a newthing for us, but we're already
like signed up for like a coupleof collecticons and stuff.
So we're taking it on the road,
David Hernandez (13:46):
On that road y'all hitting the hit y'all
hitting the streets now.
Joey Lopez (13:48):
we really are.
I mean, we're, we're hitting ithard this year and one of those
things where Caleb's a littlebit hesitant on it and I'm like,
let's go, let's roll, let's rollthose dice, you know?
Hey you! Yes, you with the ears!Don't go anywhere, just taking a
quick ad break.
We'll be right back.
Pokemon Trainers, listen up.
TrainerCon Dallas is back andleveling up in a big way.
(14:12):
And here's the best part,general admission is pay what
you want.
So that means you get to grabyour tickets for this event for
as little as a dollar onlinethrough March 22nd, or just pay
5 at the door when you getthere.
Kids under 12 are free.
This one day event is packedwith 120 tables featuring top
Pokemon TCG vendors, collectors,and creators.
(14:32):
So if you're looking for rarecards, must have merch, or a
perfect spot to make trades,this is where you want to be.
It's all happening Sunday, March23rd at the Dallas Event Center
in Farmer's Branch, from 10am to5pm.
TrainerCon Dallas is always apacked crowd, so don't miss out.
Get your tickets atRocketsMarkets.
com slash TrainerCon Dallas.
(14:52):
A special thank you to MattMonkeybread, Gus Ulrich, and all
other patrons for your continuedsupport.
Now let's get back to theepisode.
David Hernandez (15:01):
so you said your first game was SoulSilver
with Pokemon.
So you never played any of thegames beforehand or like, what
was your experience with Pokemonup to that point?
Joey Lopez (15:10):
Yeah, so, my earliest memory of, like,
Pokemon was like, I remember myolder cousins, and I was, I was
small, I was maybe like five.
My older cousins had, like,Pokemon cards, and they were
kind of, like, all throughouttheir rooms and stuff.
Just scattered everywhere, and Ilook back and I'm like, Oh man,
all those Pokemon cards on theground.
Um,
David Hernandez (15:30):
Yeah, it makes you cringe a little bit.
It's like, I don't know thevalue and the conditions of
them.
Yeah.
Joey Lopez (15:39):
So, to be honest, I wasn't allowed to play Pokemon
growing up.
It wasn't until like when I wasin sixth grade that I was
finally, like, allowed by myparents to play Pokemon.
They believed that Pokemon was,like, actual like demonic type
stuff.
David Hernandez (15:54):
Hmm.
Joey Lopez (15:54):
Like I, I'm pretty sure that I'm pretty sure it was
like church fed stuff where itwas like pocket monsters
David Hernandez (16:01):
Yeah.
They thought it was witchcraftand y'all were summoning demons
and evolution.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Joey Lopez (16:06):
yes.
It was around the same time,like Obama was also the
antichrist and stuff like that.
So, I mean, it was just thecraziest stuff the church could
say they were saying at the
David Hernandez (16:14):
Right.
So,
Joey Lopez (16:16):
so I wasn't allowed to play Pokemon growing up.
you know, I was like, In the 6thgrade and like my best friend,
he had a uh, a DS Lite and hewas playing of the Pokemon games
and I remember watching like hisDS and being like so, captivated
by just like all the things youcould do in SoulSilver at the
time and the DS was already likea super cool, game system for
(16:37):
me.
There was like a time where Ijust like begged my parents like
please like I just want to dothis yeah, I want to be able to
like play and battle my friendsand stuff like that
David Hernandez (16:48):
um, Hey,
Joey Lopez (16:53):
I got the upper hand over the church, but they did
cave
David Hernandez (16:58):
it's not, it's not easy overcoming Jesus.
That's pretty good.
Joey Lopez (17:00):
not you know, you know, it's not
David Hernandez (17:03):
You know, that's what, that's what helps
you with entrepreneur skills.
That's part of the negotiation.
You're already working on it.
God was working on you for thatanyway.
Joey Lopez (17:09):
Yeah, yeah, I, somebody was in my corner for
me, uh, higher power orotherwise, um, and, and my
negotiation skills did, did playthrough and I got to get
SoulSilver and it was like the,the set with the PokeWalker.
David Hernandez (17:23):
Oh yes.
Yeah.
Joey Lopez (17:24):
I mean, it's such a classic and I was, I was hooked,
like I logged hundreds of hoursinto SoulSilver and then my
excitement of like being able toplay through, the Kanto region,
at the end of SoulSilver isKanto region,
David Hernandez (17:38):
Yes.
You got it right.
Yeah.
Yep.
Joey Lopez (17:43):
all of like the legends that you could catch in
the game.
there was the casino in thegame.
There was the, the athleticcompetitions.
It was just like so much to doyeah, that's kind of like how I
started.
And then on the DS, you couldplay like the, the Game Boy,
advanced games.
And so.
playing, like, SoulSilver, Icould play, uh, still on the DS,
(18:04):
I could play, like, Platinum,and, uh, I think I played
Diamond, and then I switchedover to the Game Boy Advance,
and I could play, Emerald, whichwas super fun, everybody loves
Emerald, of course, and then,you know, Ruby Sapphire, stuff
like that, and I played all theway up till, like, Sun and Moon
came out, and I don't think Iplayed Sun and Moon, so I've
played, I've played for a goodwhile, So there was only like a
little bit of a gap betweengetting out of Pokemon.
(18:26):
I think that was probably like2015 and I got back in 2020.
David Hernandez (18:29):
I've always had the belief and it's gonna be a
bit of a hot take.
I actually think the Nintendo DSis the second ever best game
system from Nintendo.
I think
Joey Lopez (18:38):
the original Nintendo.
David Hernandez (18:40):
no, just altogether.
Like if you Yeah, because youknow, people usually usually
people in 64 and the switch iskind of up there.
I think it's at least number twothat the Nintendo DS by itself
is the best console Nintendo'sever released.
Joey Lopez (18:54):
Okay.
David Hernandez (18:55):
you have, you said you can also go back and
play the Game Boy Man's games.
The games are pretty solid.
You know, you have the gen fourgames all the way up to black
and white.
You also have the Mario Kartgames.
You had a lot of the wireless.
I think, like I said, you know,you started with SoulSilver and
I can't imagine what better gameto start your journey than with
Pokemon SoulSilver.
(19:15):
Cause that's the considered, Iguess, the golden era of
Pokemon.
And so you will.
Yeah, I feel like I got really,really lucky.
Oh, man.
I, uh, you know, it's Yeah,okay, so, like Yeah, yeah, yeah,
I think there's a lot of peoplewho win for better or worse.
Joey Lopez (19:44):
so much camaraderie went into that game and with
Pokemon and, uh, yeah, it wasjust such a great time.
Oh man, I I don't know if Iwould even go 6.
I really, I, I remember like thefirst couple times playing
(20:05):
through like, even in 5th gradeI feel like I was young.
Um, but like just likemainlining Feraligatr all the
way through.
Um, you know, he's like level100 by the time you get to the
elite 4.
Um, but Feraligatr and then, uh,Arcanine's always been one of my
favorites.
I can't remember if you can gethim in Yeah, okay, so like
(20:27):
Arcanine, and then, if I had topick one more, um, Gyarados is
always great.
Um, yeah, yeah, yeah, I thinkjust, I really think three is
kind of all I would roll with,for better or worse.
David Hernandez (20:41):
Yeah.
Joey Lopez (20:41):
it was really like, these guys are the coolest, I
wanna, you know, I wanna dothis.
David Hernandez (20:44):
Is one of those your favorite by chance?
Joey Lopez (20:46):
Arcanine has always been my favorite, I really,
really love Arcanine.
David Hernandez (20:50):
Oh, why Arcanine?
Joey Lopez (20:51):
big Arcanine fan.
David Hernandez (20:53):
Oh, why Arcanine?
Just because it's a dog or?
Joey Lopez (20:55):
Um, just fire dog, you know,
David Hernandez (20:59):
Hey, can't go wrong with that, yeah.
Joey Lopez (21:00):
Yeah, yeah, I, I really can't say why.
I think maybe, I'm sure it hasto do with, like, um, seeing
those Pokemon cards kind ofscattered in, in, um, older
cousins bedrooms.
I, I think I probably latchedonto the Arcanine illustration
the most, thinking like, Oh,he's so cool.
Charizard's got like a weirdgooseneck.
Uh, but Arcanine, he looksgreat! Like, the, you know, Both
(21:24):
him and Lieutenant Surge'sArcanine, or not Surge, I'm
sorry, uh,
David Hernandez (21:27):
Blaine, yep.
Joey Lopez (21:28):
Arcanine.
Yeah,
David Hernandez (21:29):
Oh, such,
Joey Lopez (21:30):
best
David Hernandez (21:30):
such a pretty card too, yeah.
Joey Lopez (21:33):
yeah, I mean, they're beautiful, so I think
that's really what it is.
David Hernandez (21:35):
So one thing I wanted to share, so this is a
long time ago back when I firststarted playing, um, I had, you
know, cards on the floor, justlike you said, I gave my cousin,
he was like maybe one or twoyears old at the time, uh, it
wasn't a rare card, thankfully,but it was a base set peak, or
I'm sorry, uh, jungle setPikachu
Joey Lopez (21:53):
mm,
David Hernandez (21:54):
his mom said, Oh, uh, that's going to be
messed up if you leave it alone.
I said, nah, it's fine.
It'll be okay.
So I leave.
I don't remember what I go do,but then I come back and all of
a sudden he just patted in hismouth and it's like, uh, like
the slimy and warped because heput the, he put the Pikachu card
in his mouth trying to eat it.
So couldn't keep that obviously,but I always loved the base,
(22:15):
the, I'm sorry, the junglePikachu.
And I was like, Oh no, it reallyis.
And that was my only one, but
Joey Lopez (22:20):
yeah, I think that's the, the, the Chunkachu one.
He's a,
David Hernandez (22:23):
yes.
Yep.
Yes.
Yep.
Joey Lopez (22:25):
what a bummer.
Kids are the worst,
David Hernandez (22:27):
Hey, I mean, at least it was, I mean, he was, he
was a little kid.
He's a two month old.
So, I mean, I'm not going to,
Joey Lopez (22:32):
Oh, man.
David Hernandez (22:33):
but I mean, imagine had, I'm glad it wasn't
like a holographic or anythingrare, like a base set charge,
right?
Otherwise, Ooh, there'd be adifferent story.
Joey Lopez (22:41):
Sure, no, no, I get that.
In, in, during my time playing,like, SoulSilver and stuff like
that, um, in the DS era, I wasgiven, like, a bunch of, that's
what got me into the Pokemoncards, I was given, like, a
bunch of, Pokemon cards from,like, a guy my grandmother was
dating at the time.
He was just like, Here, havethese Pokemon cards.
And I had all these Pokemoncards, and my friend and I
(23:02):
would, like, buy cards, and weall had our favorites and stuff.
And then somewhere in between,like, 2015, when I got out of
it, and 2020, that binder justkind of disappeared,
David Hernandez (23:11):
Oh, no.
Joey Lopez (23:12):
and it's gone.
And so many people have, like,that same story of, like, their
parents their binder, or givingit away in a garage sale, or a
kid eating it, a two month oldeating.
All the cards and stuff, but
David Hernandez (23:23):
Yeah, yeah, my gosh.
You said, you said Pokemon, I'msorry, you said Arcanine was
your favorite.
So do you, what is your likeprized Arcanine card?
Or is there a chase card you'retrying to get of that Pokemon?
Joey Lopez (23:37):
like the, I really like the Blaine's Arcanine, but
and I know I don't have iteither.
It's the Japanese BladesArcanine that I think looks the
coolest over the English.
I don't know why it is, but um,I don't have that one.
and it's kind of one of my like,the one of the ones I'm like,
uh, if I had that, it would goin personal collection and
nobody would look at it.
It would never see the light ofday.
(23:58):
It would just get put away andit's gone.
So.
David Hernandez (24:01):
I mean, you work with a lot of vendors.
I'm sure you've had to seen thiscard at some point.
Have you ever been tempted tolike see it in public and be
like, I kind of want to buy it?
Joey Lopez (24:10):
You know, there's a lot of cards that, like, come
through our table.
with our, like, card vending, wehave a big ass sign that's,
like, behind us that's, like,always buying.
It's what it says.
It's just, like, always buying.
And so we have so many peoplecome to us to sell us their
cards.
And I never see that one, like,cross our table.
David Hernandez (24:27):
Wow
Joey Lopez (24:28):
where I see things and I'm like, Oh, man.
want to pick this up for, forpersonal collection.
like Lugia is one of myfavorites too.
That's like my favorite legend.
And every time that comesthrough, I like have to take a
minute to like, just look at it.
And it seems like a lot morepeople have that one, but no, I
never see like a Blaine's,Arcanine.
Japanese coming through.
So I don't know, maybe I just,maybe that's for the best,
David Hernandez (24:50):
That potential I get
Joey Lopez (24:51):
like it's an expensive card.
It's just, I don't know.
David Hernandez (24:54):
Yeah, it's just it's it's something you want to
chase for and eventually you'llhave a good reason to finally
buy it
Joey Lopez (24:59):
Yeah.
Now that we are buying cards andwe have a big, you know, neon
sign behind us that says we'rebuying cards.
it would be cool for it to comeacross the table and then I
could snatch it up that way.
Uh, that's the closest way I'mgoing to get to chasing it
rather than, uh, opening packs
David Hernandez (25:13):
Gosh
Joey Lopez (25:14):
get it.
So,
David Hernandez (25:15):
Now, going back to you know building up the
rocket market, in the process oftrying to build this business up
together.
How did y'all first meet eachother?
What's the story behind that?
Joey Lopez (25:23):
yeah.
So, Caleb and I, we, we bothworked at a sign company
together where we built signsfor, buildings and, and wall
murals and stuff like that.
And I went on vacation for aweek, And when I came back,
there was Caleb and we veryquickly became friends over
Pokemon, but also we were theonly two that worked in the
(25:43):
company besides the two owners.
So.
almost like we were going tobecome friends anyways, I feel
like.
but yeah, we, we both met at thesign company I think listening
to the way he recalled it, I hadlike a Pokemon cup and I think
we just kind of bonded over likethe, the Pokemon on the, uh, on
the cup.
It was like a bunch of TCG stuffon the cup.
And yeah, that's kind of howjust, we, we became friends and,
(26:06):
um, He had the idea to do thedioramas.
I was like, let's do them in thecard form.
And yeah, the rest is ofhistory, but it was just kind of
chance that we
David Hernandez (26:14):
Um, I
Joey Lopez (26:15):
I don't think either of us would be kind of where
we're at with, uh, with Rocket'sMarkets and TrainerCon, without
meeting each other.
we probably would have been justdoing our own thing.
not even Pokemon related maybe.
David Hernandez (26:27):
mean, when you think about how big this has
gotten since you first startedand how fast it's grown to where
you're now going to a thirdlocation, did you ever expect to
get these kind of results?
Or are you kind of like shockedto see, you know, how much it's
progressed over time?
not.
Joey Lopez (26:44):
I really feel like event one, I'm, I'm such a
dreamer.
I really am like, deep down, I'mlike, when I see something and I
can, I can see it really big.
I'm, I really chase after it.
And I really saw Trainer Con,even with the low attendees that
we had, I saw people put faithin us and I think that's really
what.
(27:05):
What has been my drive from thestart is just people have put
faith in us.
They keep putting faith in us atthis new venue.
They, they almost, they, theydouble down their faith.
They, they put all their moneyon, uh, the red chips and, uh,
we're all going to figure it outtogether.
But I, I really feel like fromthe start, I was like, we could
(27:25):
make this big.
And so that's been like mydrive.
Caleb will tell you that too.
I'm the dreamer when it comes tothings, and so, uh, if I can see
something big, I'm, I'm gonna goafter it.
David Hernandez (27:36):
Well, let's expand on that a bit because you
say it's a vision, somethingbig.
What do you see TrainerConbecoming?
And where, where do you lack?
And you think that you want tosee improved from where you're
at now to in the future.
Joey Lopez (27:48):
Sure.
Yeah, I love that questionbecause, uh, it lets me talk
about kind of the vision.
And, and so my, where I seeTrainerCon now, so TrainerCon
was in Fort Worth.
It's moved to Dallas.
It's kind of like our homecomingback into the Dallas area.
I really see now TrainerConDallas being, you know, maybe
TrainerCon Houston, maybeTrainerCon San Antonio.
(28:10):
a trainer called Austin.
I see it growing from Dallas andI see those vendors going with
us.
we have vendors that we go, outof state and out of town with
already.
for like our, our card stuff.
And so I really see thosevendors, going with us out of
town and starting those rootsthere.
So what we're building is, youknow, a really awesome network
of, vendors that are puttingtrust in us.
(28:31):
And I hope when the time comes,you know, they'll, they'll
continue putting the trust in usto, uh, to move, you know, even
out of state, would be reallyawesome.
So that's kind of the bigvision.
I feel like is, you know, takeit, take it Mr.
Worldwide on it.
David Hernandez (28:47):
And I think it's kind of important to have
that vision because some peoplewill say like, Oh, if it
happens, it happens.
But if you don't actuallybelieve it, if you don't
actually see it, it's nevergoing to come true.
In my opinion.
for those who don't know, I usedto play basketball could never,
you know, I'm a big guy and I'mnot very agile, but I can get
around the court.
And I was more of a shooter.
Right.
And the one thing anybody who isa jump shooter knows, you've got
(29:09):
to envision the basketball goingto the net otherwise, you're not
gonna have the confidence and Ilove what you say because you
envision it and you don't knowhow you're going to get there.
You don't know the steps, butyou envision what you want to
see and you're going after it.
And I think that's it's sonecessary, especially whether
you do content creation or evendoing your own business.
I'm going to have to listen overand over again.
Joey Lopez (29:51):
but yeah, you really have to have a vision for it.
and not only on top of like, youknow, the vendor events, but
then we'll go to other people'sevents as well.
So like, A couple of our vendorsstarted doing their own events.
And so we'll go and support themnot only as vendors, but then
we'll go as attendees as well,just to attend those events and
continuing that network and thatcommunity.
So having the eye on the prize,being able to put in the, uh,
(30:14):
the work and the sweat into itis really what I think is going
to make this, um, a big foreveryone.
So we'll all, like we'll allbenefit from it.
David Hernandez (30:42):
Heavy lifting, you know, it's not for
everybody.
That's why not everybody's meantto be a business owner.
And I raised meant to be anentrepreneur.
They liked the idea, but when itcomes to the regard down to it,
a lot of people can't put ittogether in my opinion.
Joey Lopez (30:54):
That's really the truth and, and we've, we've both
really put in a lot of work toit.
this crazy story when we startedRockets Markets and we were
building these diorama cubes,there was like a big event, I
want to say it was Indigo's, um,big event in the Dallas Market
Hall.
I don't,
David Hernandez (31:08):
Yeah.
Joey Lopez (31:09):
that
David Hernandez (31:09):
Yeah.
Indigo Plateau.
Uh, well, the only one I went towas last year.
Joey Lopez (31:12):
Okay, gotcha.
In the summer, in the big, inthe inside, right?
David Hernandez (31:15):
Yes.
Yes.
Yeah.
Joey Lopez (31:18):
that event that we were like, okay, we've got to
pump out a ton of our dioramacubes.
at the time, we only had, like,I want to say we only had like
five Pokemon that we wereselling and we were like, let's,
we need like six more different,type of Pokemon in our diorama
cubes.
Caleb came over one night anduh, we were just cranking
(31:39):
through stuff, um, with these,these new concepts that we had
for these cubes.
were assembling them.
They take a very, very long timeto assemble, before you even put
them in the diorama, the, thelittle acrylic case.
And we put them in the acryliccase and out of like these 50
that we made, they were all toobig.
David Hernandez (31:56):
Really?
Oh no.
Joey Lopez (31:57):
way in production where we printed something too
big, or we assembled it too bigor something.
And so like, it was like two inthe morning.
We had work the next day.
David Hernandez (32:07):
Oh no.
Joey Lopez (32:09):
So we, we ended up like having to trash like so
much stuff, and restart regroup.
I want to say we were awake tilllike 7 a.
m.
We had work at like 9 a.
m.
the next morning.
David Hernandez (32:20):
Oh, that's awful.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Joey Lopez (32:21):
was horrible.
It was so bad.
but you really have to, you gotto put in the work if you want
to see it.
Um, if you want to see ithappen, just long story short,
but
David Hernandez (32:30):
No, that makes sense.
Joey Lopez (32:31):
sucks.
There's a, the trials and, andtribulations along the way.
David Hernandez (32:35):
Well, Joey, that's going to be an interview
for, uh, as a pokeball turnsbefore you go.
If people want to check out,what y'all sell, if you want to
connect with you, if they wantto actually attend the event,
where can they go by all means,please plug away.
Joey Lopez (32:46):
sure.
if you want to connect with us,you can find us across a couple
of social media channels.
So, um, you can find us on ourtrainer con page.
Uh, you can also find us on ourTCG page.
Um, there's not a lot going onthere just yet cause we are so
new, but it's a DFW PokeMart,you can find us there or just
Rockets Relics on Instagram.
And that's probably the bestways to, uh, connect with us,
(33:08):
but you can sign kind of seeeverything that's going on.
We have a lot of moving piecesand, uh, across, multiple
platforms.
So
David Hernandez (33:14):
Thank you for listening to As the Pokeball
Turns.
Follow all my socials and joinour Discord community to stay
connected by clicking any of thelinks in the description of this
episode.
Tune in next time for moreepisodes featuring more people,
more stories, and more Pokemon.
Until next time.
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