Hobby Musings: Leaf’s CJ Breen, Power Slap – Interview
Hobby Musings: Leaf’s CJ Breen, Power Slap – Interview Transcript
Hobby Musings: Leaf’s CJ Breen, Power Slap
Editor’s note: Some text has been changed from original audio for grammar and clarity.
KS: CJ, Leaf is known for its innovative brands, especially for some sports that might be considered kind of offbeat. You have a Power Slap product coming out. What made you decide to pick that up?
CJ: So, every Monday we have meetings and talk about innovative strategies, how we can differentiate from our competitors. And when Power Slap came to the table, it was a no brainer. Being that Dana White, founder of UFC, you know, one of the most polarizing people in the sports industry, being about Power Slap, it was, you know, a home run.
KS: These are athletes who probably have never had any type of trading card or probably were kind of surprised, what were some of the challenges in getting this product off the ground?
CJ: I’d say some of the challenges, a lot of the fighters weren’t familiar with trading cards at all! But the ones that were, were just super blown away that they’re going to finally get their own trading card. Some of these fighters never dreamed that they would be a pro fighter or these ex-UFC guys. Really kind of, and maybe second thought after pack hits in UFC products, now will be focal point in our products. But just educating the fighters on what trading cards are, how they’ll be distributed. How their friends and family can get one. That was a big question was: How do I get my own card? So, that’s super exciting. And we’re happy to get that off the ground.
KS: So, when you have a new product like this with a new sport offering, how do you go about kind of marketing and getting your, you know, your business partners excited for it and saying “hey, we’ll carry this in our shops.”?
CJ: So, I think it’s insane, the publicity we already got from this in shops, “How do we get this product?” It’s not going to be as large as print run as you see in football and baseball products from Leaf. It’s gonna be super hard to get. And I think that’s what’s… what’s going to make it so successful is the rarity behind it, the inscriptions. My first ever trading card. So as far as distributing it, I mean, you know, standard ways to get Leaf cards from distributors, hobby shops, direct to consumer.
KS: So overall though, you mentioned Dana White. What are some of the highlights collectors can expect out of these products?
CJ: Some super cool, multi signed cards. We even talked about doing some die-cuts of a hand and maybe some handprints. Maybe down the road we’ll do cuts from jerseys that we’ve acquired, some event used mats and all that, goodies from the event. I think another note will be the celebrities that are going to be involved… from Mark Wahlberg to Hasbulla, to some of Nelk Boys that have been at the fights, included in the product. So that’s another tidbit. As well as Dana White in the product. So, you’re not just chasing these first ever autographs of these fighters. You’re going to be also chasing some celebrities that have high value resell on the trading card market.
KS: Again, when are we going to see these live and in shops?
CJ: Expect to see these Power Slap, the FIRST EVER Power Slap trading cards early to mid-fall 2024.
Hobby Musings: Leaf’s CJ Breen, Power Slap
Kelsey’s ability to bring hobby coverage to the mainstream sports fan has been a true asset. GTS is happy to feature his thoughts on collecting in Hobby Musings. The opinions expressed are his and do not necessarily reflect those of GTS Distribution.
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