By Krystle J Bailey
When Jon Riffle and Daniel Gordon joined forces to open their first business, Wax, Packs, and Throwbacks, in 2021, they never imagined that Tom Brady and friends would walk through their doors just two years later.
Hobby Rip Night, a nationwide event created by the sports trading card company Topps, took place across the country on Sept. 30 with the goal of bringing the sports card hobby back to the youth.
“The hobby has kind of phased out kids because it’s gotten so expensive,” shared owner Daniel Gordon. “Fanatics is trying to reel that back in and create a family atmosphere again.”
The focus is always on the local youth at Wax, Packs, and Throwbacks. Kids of all ages are invited to visit the store after school to play games, trade cards, and enjoy each other’s company in a safe environment without the pressure of spending money. Complete with video games and pinball machines, Wax, Packs, and Throwbacks is already a dream come true for young trading card enthusiasts.
Hobby Rip Night is a thrill of discovery for collectors, where they are invited to enjoy an evening of snacks, hanging out, and trading cards at their favorite local card shop. For this South Jersey store, Hobby Rip Night got whole a lot sweeter when Tom Brady, Kevin Hart, and Travis Scott walked through the door.
When the Linwood business got the call that the CEO of Merchandise from Topps would be coming to visit their 1,900-square-foot store, they were already thrilled to shed a little bit of light on their relatively new company but what they didn’t know was that it was about to get a whole light brighter.
A month prior to the event, Riffle and Gordon learned that the CEO of merchandise from Topps would be coming to visit their store. That quickly turned into a visit from Fanatics CEO Michael Rubin and a call that confirmed an A-list athlete would be making an appearance on Sept. 30 for Hobby Rip Night. The owners of the store had no idea who would be visiting until the night before the event and were asked to wait until the morning of the 30th to make an announcement, as only 100 people would be allowed inside.
With the help of the Linwood Police Department, on short notice, hundreds of local youth gathered outside of Wax, Packs, and Throwbacks high-fiving and fist-bumping Tom Brady and his guest, rapper Travis Scott.
Once inside, Brady revealed his own collection of playing cards, and eight hand-selected kids were chosen to trade cards with the seven-time Super Bowl champion. One young man traded his 2018 Eagles Super Bowl hat for one of Brady’s cards worth $1,000. Gordon reported that as Kevin Hart broke through the backdoor, making a typical Kevin Hart grand entrance, Brady joked with one of the kids wearing an Eagles jersey that he had found the vertically-challenged comedian a jersey in his size, alluding to Hart’s roots in Philadelphia and his short stature.
“It was so much more than I expected,” shared owner Jon Riffle. “We got to see the father in Tom Brady. He was cracking jokes, interacting, smiling, and laughing. We saw the family side of him. He’s a really great guy!”
“It’s still honestly so surreal; it’s beyond a dream come true,” echoed Gordon.
Pictures and videos flooded social media leaving locals asking why they didn’t know about the event. For those in attendance, they shared that it was a once-in-a-lifetime experience and one they will never forget.
Wax, Packs, and Throwbacks is located at 199 New Road in Linwood and is open seven days a week. When they’re not hosting NFL quarterbacks and A-List actors, the Linwood business is a hub for local youth with events including Pokemon camps, monthly card trading nights, and more.
Krystle J Bailey is a published author, multimedia journalist, copywriter, and content creator. She is a regular Shore Local columnist and digital contributor as well as the booking agent and co-host of the radio show Joe’s Table for Two on WOND. Krystle can be reached at KrystleJBailey@gmail.com
