My name is Zerek, and I've been collecting Pokémon since the late '90s. I grew up playing Blue and Red on the Game Boy — which made me a Mewtwo and Charizard collector for life and gave me a deep love for the original 151. I chased cards the same way you did: for the art, the characters, the thrill of the pull. That's never changed. Everything here is run by a collector first — someone who still buys with the same eyes you do.
Life pulled me away from cards for a while, but it taught me the things Zerek Collects runs on today. I built an art business, Transcending Studios, into a successful retail venture, traveling the country vending my work and learning the show circuit inside and out. At the same time, I trained and taught Muay Thai, and in 2019 I won a National Championship title at TBA Classic, one of the largest tournaments in the country. I could have gone pro, but what I loved was teaching, showing up for other people.
Different worlds, same lesson: commit fully to what you love, and take care of the people around you. That's how I approach collectors now.
In 2023, Pokémon dropped Scarlet & Violet 151 — the exact generation I grew up with. That was it. I was back. I restarted on one rule every real collector understands: buy only what you genuinely love. Not for the money, not as an investment, just for the artwork and the cards that mean something. That rule still decides everything that ends up in this store. If it wouldn't earn a place in my own collection, it doesn't earn a place in yours.
I geared up, started buying collections, and booked my first show. I didn't even own a display case yet. There were shows we didn't make back the table cost. Barely anyone sold to us, because nobody knew who we were, and what we got was whatever other vendors had already passed on.
It was a slow start. But we didn't give up. We trusted the process. Every card we've handled since has come from that same respect for the hobby and the people in it.
It's 2026, and we're launching the new Zerek Collects site, traveling to CollectaCon and conventions across the country, and always growing. Above all, we're still collectors, which is exactly why we know how to treat one.
