I have to talk about RealBreakingNate next, because this is the channel that dragged me into the whole universe of Pokémon cards, as I watched these videos with my then-seven-year-old son. To give a sense of how deep this went, my now almost-nine-year-old son has cards on his wall signed by Nate, a YouTuber who seems to be as warm and kind-hearted in private as he is on his child-friendly channel.
With over 1.5 million subscribers, Nate’s channel has been a long-term project, beginning in 2014 and running consistently since. Frequently recording with his wife Marie, the two have established a set of formats that run with the familiar regularity of a favorite magazine show.
The most notable of these are videos in which the pair go shopping for Pokémon cards in stores like Target, Walmart and Dollar Tree (Nate is, after all, the KING of the dollar store), and search for “hidden and out-of-place” Pokémon cards. This extends to lifting the bottom shelves, where a surprising number of packs have been discovered within the muck and detritus that gathers below. These are then opened back in their studio, in the hope of finding a stand-out card, rescued from obscurity.
Other strands include visiting Nate’s local card shop to trade cards and play in TCG tournaments, challenges between Nate and Marie to pull the best cards in openings, and the latest, an attempt to document collecting one of ever English-language Pokémon card ever printed.
But what stands out most about Nate is his kid-friendly approach. In almost every opening you can expect to see a moment where he gets into a conflict with an evil Psyduck plush in his studio, and most likely an extended speech in which he encourages his viewers to “be yourselves,” not letting others tell you who to be, effusively telling his audience how much they’re loved. He also has an array of catchphrases, from his opening pronouncement of “sending some positive vibes,” to the putting out of the miniature VIP velvet ropes for ultra-rare cards (along with the miniature box of Bagel Bites for guests), to his closing mantra of “I love every single one of you, alllll around the world…say it with me now, peace, love, and a high-five!”
As an adult, the repetition can become a little tiresome, but it’s such a smart way to engage with younger viewers. Also, his messages are so positive, so uplifting to his viewers. This is made all the better because of the channel’s lack of focus on how much cards are worth (prices pop up, but are almost never discussed), and that a card worth $30 tends to be reacted to the same way as a card worth $3. Plus, honestly, there’s just something inexplicably compelling about watching a man search under supermarket shelves for hidden treasure.
