Transformers was absolutely the best part of my childhood. I had a really fucked up childhood, poverty, sexual abuse, ADHD. Transformers was my only escape from reality. Being able to connect the best part of my childhood through collecting has really helped me cope as an “adult”. Great topic once again.
The piece mentioned about having a physical representation for something that means something to you is a large element for why I feel the need to collect, from figures to posters or even art books at times. I think for me it lies more with having some way of creatively showing to myself and others that I love this film, game, movie, etc. The easiest of that being collecting figures and posing them in a complimentary way to the character. Doing so reminds me of those joyous moments I had with that piece of media or when I first discovered it and the world it opened to me (for instance, getting into the idw comics and really wanting a lot of MMC figures as a result). I even caught myself wanting to design and get a bunch of tattoos of the many games I have enjoyed over the years like Portal, Little Nightmares, JSRF, and many more, but felt that was a bit overbearing. All that I really wanted was some form of art, physical or digital, to reflect its impact on me.
This really hit home. I had to sell my Transformers when my baby girl was born so I could make sure we weren't saddled with hospital bills. I felt good about saving them from my childhood and being able to do that. Now that I am doing well enough in life to rebuild, it is healing that younger me inside that was very sad to lose his toys. It is a cycle.
I've been trying to start this conversation with fellow collectors about this, and no one bites. It is a very sensitive topic. Thank you for covering it.
Mind blown! As a ICU Nurse I've never self evaluated this. Guess collecting keeps the kid in me. But still connects me to me my son as a child. He's 26 now and only keeps intrest thru me. As a medical worker I've subconsciously collected all transformers in regards to emergency, medical, and science characters. But I have OCD, so I look to balance with the opposite characters. Decepticons who are the most destructive. Collecting freezes you in different times of your life. To ultimately bring you joy and acceptance in current life Awesome episode Bobby. Deep deep
It's definitely therapeutic for me. Not only do they make my inner child happy, but they remind me not to take life so seriously and enjoy the simple things that life has to offer. Corny, I know. But I think enjoying the simple things will keep me happy and content and allow me to not be so harsh or bitter about whatever problems come my way. This was an excellent video from an excellent channel with excellent humans hosting it!
Loved to see it, loved to hear it, you da man Skully, I was paralyzed from my chest down in a car accident, and collecting action figures definitely helps me, I am very limited physically and posing figures is definitely therapeutic for me.
Bobby Young-face! The collect them all thing is so real. As an adult you do feel like you can finally check those boxes. But it is also just a positive distraction to other things in your life you can’t control. When that box arrives, or I walk by a figure maybe I haven’t looked at in a while, I just get a moment of joy. I’m thankful my family tolerates it.
as a kid, I had a few transformers, most bought by my grandfather who died when I was 11 like you said, I used to look at those inserts and dream of collecting them all, but as a kid I had no money of my own and my parents wouldn't buy them all (not did all of them ever be available where I live) so when I discovered MP about 8 years ago, I just wanted to get a few than I liked the most as a kid and never got back then. but at some point I decided to collect them all (well, just the characters from season 1&2 that were aired here, and only one of each), and fulfill a CHILDHOOD DREAM, because, most of our childhood dreams can never be fulfilled, and here I got a chance to with this one. thank you for this video
Collecting helped me ease with the things I was going through at the time I started; my father diagnosed and later passed away of cancer and at the same time my marriage falling apart. I could had easily gone on the alcohol- drugs route but I didnt because I watch TF reviews and as an 80s kid I had and still have some of my G1s, saw all this 3P TFs, Movie and MPs and thats what pulled me out of hole that I was in. Now that 10 years had gone since then I kind of slowdown in my collecting. To me it has worked as form of therapy and every time I enter my room after a long works day and take a glance at my collection, it always puts a smile on my face. Cheer everyone!
In my case, I always collected some Transformers. But In 2016 I got a chronic illness that caused me pain all the time, and I had to stop getting out with friends, exercising and playing musical instruments (all my hobbies). Then I discovered 3rd party TFs and started collecting, and that was like a Therapy for me. I don't have as much as Bobby ( I only have one shelf, and they are so cramped that you guys would skin me alive for my poor display) but I'm really happy to step back and take a look at them, or show them to people to come to visit. I don't have every character, just the ones that I liked from G1, and also the new designs I like from different companies, scales, etc (MP, CHUG, IDW, etc). I feel better now so my desire to collect went down, so I believe that in my case it was a therapy time. Awesome discussion! You guys are the best.
I always find the addiction component of collecting the most fascinating. More than the collecting itself. It’s because I’ve always fall into collecting in some form. When I dj’d, it was about collecting records. When I made music, it was about collecting instruments. Now I take photos of Transformers, so it’s about collecting toys.
I feel that story, Bobby. I was like 11 years old when my father passed away and we lost our house. We had to move suddenly and I didn’t get to save anything from my childhood. Almost everything was gone and left behind. Transformers, Joes etc…and now I feel like that’s what I collect. To recapture them back.
Yup. 100% agree. As someone who’s been through therapy. I was raised by my grandparents and I’ve lost both of them and I believe I latch onto my collection as an attachment to them and my childhood.
That story about your mom is fascinating. I had a similar thing with my dad in that when I was 13 years old and went away to high school in a different city, my dad through away all my TFs because "you're not a kid anymore". I'm sure that definitely is related to my collecting nowadays. For SURE.
It does bring healing but you also have to have balance. I've bought stuff only to turn around and trade it or give it away. Very good video as always. I think you tap into all of our heads when you have these conversations
Transformers collecting is more like minor archeology for me. I had an older cousin gift all his transformers when I was little, but by the time I was old enough to look for more the show was over and even G2 was rare. Transformers became like lost media to me, so collecting feels like finally revealing the secrets of the nerd kids before my time.
Collecting Transformers helps with my PTSD and depression. Collecting something I loved as kid before I got all fucked up. I'm so happy when I get a new one, handle one I already have it watch RU-vid vids about them I'm that little boy again. I think ok, what pics I can take of them to post to Facebook groups instead of being in my and wanting to kms.
I think everyone needs an outlet, and the best ones have rewards that are emotional, creative and otherwise healthy. I don't think it necessarily needs to be tied to trauma, but certainly can fill a therapeutic role. For me, adult collecting is a realization that the things I like are valid, always have been and always will be, and I should enjoy them when I can. Life is too short to not enjoy what makes us happy. Within reason, of course. It is also something I've been able to share with my kids. I've also realized that my collecting of action figures is reflective of my father's love of collecting of model trains. So there's an element of honoring that in my own way, and understanding that my kids will likely find their own niche to express their enjoyment.
It's crazy! I'm just watching this now and just released a video about collecting addiction. This is a very interesting topic that I never thought about. Healing trauma is a real thing. Being in the psychology/ social work field is funny. I never thought about it in this way! Great discussion!
I do think collecting is a trauma response from childhood, but I also believe it is an addiction, and it is a compulsion behavior as well. The point about community was very well put. I was never the cool kid in my classes. We were poor, and I didn't have the cool clothes or toys. I grew up near a rich neighborhood and went to school with those kids, so they all did, and I never felt like I belonged. Transformers collecting has given me that place in the online global community and within my own local community. I do feel a sense of shame and stress after the dopamine wears off but I fiddle with my figures all the time so it's not like the go on a shelf to look at.
Well this episode really pertains to me. I’m 41 and only started collecting transformers last summer because my mother was diagnosed with dementia and at the same time my GF broke up with me. Collecting helped keep my mental health intact and still does.
My mother also was from the “Pick up your toys or they’re going to Good Will” school of thought. After I lost Quick Kick and couple Captain Power figures I learned she meant business 😂. I also buried a bunch of Joes in the backyard after watching Boy Who Could Fly and never found them again.
The fact that Bobby's family is the way it is (given the personal details he's disclosed on Nerd Rage) and he's never heard of Al Anon is ABSOLUTELY WILD to me.
My parents, especially my dad, hated me still liking toys because he wanted me to be more into cars and sports. Eventually my parents decided we all needed individual therapy to fix their marriage. It became a ritual for me that I'd leave the therapists office, walk over to the mall and buy a Transformer or other robot as a total act of defiance. I did the same if I was dragged to my sister's therapist who was out of town, but down the street from a Japanese toy store ...so again....'If you guys are going to drag me to Albany, I'm going to Ironhorse, see you in an hour...'. Before I knew it, I had a sizable chunk of the line and yes, Collect them ALL kicked in and it took the Michael Bay movies to pull me back from the Abyss 20ish years later. This was like having a mirror held up to my soul, just replace Star Wars for you with Shogun Warriors and other super robots for me. The ostracizing, hit so close I thought for a moment we went to school together....and yes, my best friend of 30 years and many others to a lesser extent formed in the bonds of collecting. Great video.
Good topic and vid. Man, I’m fortunate that my parents never gave or threw away any of my toys. As for collecting to heal, I did rebuild my M.A.S.K. collection via Ebay because I’d sold it off in a garage sale when I wanted money for Nintendo games. Outside of that, I collect for the love of toys.
If I have to be very honest I can relate to this, because I also see that I collect a lot of things that I never had as a child because i was also very sad when my parent thro all my toys way while i was still playing and displaying my toys, and now that I am older I can buy everything I wanted to have as a child, and I think once I am done collecting that I can finally let go of my child inside, And when my interest in my collection will slow down more and more then I think it's a good thing to let it go.
I was literally just thinking this myself, I suffer from adhd and aspergers and when I get stressed out I noticed I tend to purchase transformers even ones I wasn’t really interested in just to have something new and fun to mess with and take my mind off stuff, I’m trying to down scale my stuff now
Great video and great topic to think about. I think you missed a part of when people do this and they don't have the money and they buy it anyways. Like people who buys stuff from Amazon but they never open it, it's just the hunt, finding and buying that they like. Hope that makes sense.
This is a fascinating topic that I've explored with some folks at times. I think there's a great deal of trauma response that is connected to a lot of folks in collecting. I can pinpoint a couple of moments in my life - both traumatic - that caused the collection and, to this day, have an influence on my collecting. I don't know whether to call it an addiction in as much as it's a coping mechanism - which I suppose is what an addiction IS often times. I'm no psych expert, so...what do I know?
I collected transformers long enough to satisfy the urge i couldn't satisfy when i was young. Once i had what i always wanted i quit collecting. I collect money now. Because i'm not getting any younger.
I'm at a point right now that I ask myself, Why am I buying all this stuff for? All I can do is look at them. I don't play with them. It's just impulse buys now.
I think there Is also a lot of assumptions because of how society still see adults collecting toys. Pretty sure that if you ask a sports fan if there is a traumatic event on why he still does it he could find one because we live through a lot. For me, if you still can handle your finances well and aren't hurting anyone by using our money we shouldn't worry about it. Bobby likes Star Wars since childhood and is fullfilling his dreams, so what?
Let's skip trough 40 seconds of that.sure ur patreon is fine but not for the actual audience. Bobby ... we had the trash bag.... we will throw it out. But it was the parents saying clean up.
You guys are getting really deep (so to speak) with this one. All of your points are valid in my opinion…and all of them I relate to. OMG!!! Is that BOBBY as KID?!?!? 🥲 Shout out to Laura with the hot take…cause YES!!!
