10 Years of NARC: It Was Never About the Toys

[00:00:00] Speaker 1: What's up guys this is Craig from Not Another Retro Channel. I am on my way to Toys R Us. Let's see what they got. To hopefully find something. I'm with Mr. Bolston, Mike. Woohoo! Yes! I'm with my good buddy Chris and we are... What's up brother? How's it going, man? Hey, I'm trying to do a video. I met Craig back in like a toy show years and years ago. I'm Retro Calooza and I'm with the one and only Pixel Dan. What's going on? [00:00:30] Speaker 2: We're here with someone that's not like many other retro channels. Not many. This is my [00:00:35] Speaker 3: buddy David. He owns Back Alley Toys. Got to thank the family because it took too much time. 10 years ago I uploaded a video not really knowing where any of this would go. I thought this channel was about toys. Looking back through hundreds of videos over the last few years I realized it was never really about the toys. It's always been about the people. The friendships, the road trips, the conventions, the laughs, the memories. Some of these people were there from the beginning. Some showed up along the way but every one of them became a part of this journey. So for the next little while I want to take a look back at where it all started, how it evolved, and the people who helped make Not Another Retro Channel what it is today. The people I asked to be in this video mean the world to me and I only asked two questions. How we met and maybe a favorite memory. And what I got was this. I was blown away. This is 10 years of narc. You know when I uploaded my first video on YouTube I wasn't trying to be a YouTuber. I wasn't trying to build a brand. I just wanted to share something that I love with people who actually understood it. At that time it was all about the toys. Looking back now that first upload ended up changing my life in ways I never could have imagined. [00:02:08] Speaker 4: So I've known Craig for about 12 years. A couple years before we started Not Another Retro Channel. He had started up Retro Madness down here in Texas. And I walked in and we just talked over the years. And you know we like some of the same music, some of the same figures, games, stuff like that. And yeah it's just been a pretty good friendship for 12 years now. As far as favorite memories go, honestly it's awesome that we filmed a lot of stuff together. So you can look back and just you know relive all of that. Going back several years and everything. Had a lot of cool people, doing a lot of good toy hunts together. And yeah it's all there. I'd say congratulations on the channel making it 10 years and here's another 10 and hopefully another 10. [00:03:01] Speaker 5: Hey buddy! What an incredible milestone. 10 years. 10 freaking years of Not Another Retro Channel. Can you believe that Narc? Unbelievable. For a decade Craig Roberts has shared his passion for retro toy collection, collectibles. What started as a channel dedicated to things we love has grown into community of collectors, friends, family now who will look forward to every video you put out for us. Through toy hunting collectibles, showcase videos, conventions, flea markets, yard sales. An unforgettable adventure it has been. Craig has reminded us that collecting isn't just about the items on our our shelves. It's about memories, friendship, and stories that come with them. He always makes a story with every video that sucks us into him. Narc has constantly brought authentic, positive energy, love, respect to every one of his videos. Every time we go to a show convention we get to hear a great story why Narc got him out of a funk. Narc helped me through COVID. Narc your videos helped me get over losses and such. These videos are true. I've seen them. I've heard them. First hand witness. Thank you Craig for the countless hours of entertainment, laughs, memories, and for building a place where retro fans can feel at home. So for you buddy, here's to a 10 amazing years of not another retro channel and to many, many more toy hunts. Congratulations to Craig Roberts from not another retro channel. The toys may not be old, but the memories never get outdated. [00:05:09] Speaker 3: As the channel grew, so did the people around it. What started off as a hobby slowly started to build a [00:05:15] Speaker 6: community. Greetings, salutations, Ruby Great here. Craig, 10 years. 10 years. And it's crazy because in over those 10 years, it went from you being Narc and not another retro channel to all of us being a part of not another retro channel crew or group or whatever. And it's funny how we all got absorbed into that. And I'm not complaining about it one bit. I love you guys. So it's like, we're all friends in real life and we all became friends through this collection hobby of ours and just getting to know each other. And bro, I mean, you're a brother, you're a friend, you're a crewmate, you're a castmate, you're travel mate, you're bro. You're, you are that guy. And as many people that's going to be in this video or that got to say something or didn't get to say something that want to say something that's going to be posted on social media when this comes out or going to be in the comments, you are that guy. Don't think you're not. You're that guy. Okay. And we're all grateful for you being who you are. You stay true to who you are. You stay true to what you wanted to do. I remember us talking about stuff like this. When we first met up, I, cause I didn't want to meet up with you at first. Uh, George kind of pushed me towards that. He was like, man, there's a guy in the air. You got to go meet up with him. I was like, bro, don't you be putting me on to know person that I might end up in a basement or tied up somewhere. And yeah, and you got to be quite skillful. I'm a heavy dude. You gotta be quite skillful to get me. But anyway, I'm glad I did meet you. I'm glad I've gotten to know you. I'm glad, uh, you know, we're all closer. Blood wouldn't make us any closer. We are friends, family, everything. And I look forward to us growing old and talking about everybody else on the, on the porch, drinking sweet tea or diet, whatever. Cause yeah, whatever, whatever we have to drink, that's healthy for us. But yeah, dude, you're that guy. Love you to death. Appreciate you for everything you've done. Appreciate all the positive words. And I'm pretty, like I said, I'm pretty sure all the comments and everybody who's on post is going to say the same thing. Love you, bro. Congrats on 10 years. And here's to 10, 20, 30. Here's to everything else. [00:07:40] Speaker 3: And then I met Ed and Greco looking back at it. This is when everything started to get a little bit bigger. Let's start it as toy hunts became road trips, road trips became adventures. And eventually [00:07:53] Speaker 7: those adventures would create the attic invaders. Well, Hey there, Craig, congratulations with 10 years on the tube. Uh, it's been so much fun getting to know you. And I do believe that, uh, if we would have never met my channel would have never become what it is now. And, uh, yeah, I mean, some of the favorite moments that are on YouTube is I guess us meeting, um, us going to that big prototype collector, Matt, the first time we went over to roles collection. That was insane. And obviously all the stuff we've done with attic invaders. You guys stop it. All right. Be cool. Trying to record a video here. Um, yeah, everything we've done with attic invaders because it just shows so much of how you are, uh, you know, it's not about the fuse for you. It's about hanging out with friends and the way we get into all these adventures because nothing is staged with attic invaders. Sure. We get, get hooked up with, like, somebody inviting us over to collection, but just the thought of us going out on an attic invader adventure and not knowing whether we're going to end up in Michigan that night or in Louisville. It just baffles me. And somehow it just always works out. Um, but then there's also all the stuff that, um, you don't see, uh, stuff like the whatnot sales. Maybe you haven't seen those. Those are always fun to do. However, I don't like it until we're actually doing it. Um, just doing a barbecue, eating some bodan and, uh, probably the best stuff has got to be the late night drives when we, you know, drive through the night to get to the next toy shop or, or the next spot that we're going to hit up to find some vintage toys together. And just, uh, the chats that come out of that, the Conway collectibles thing we made up. Um, it's, it's so much fun, but, um, what it all boils down to is 10 years on the tube and, uh, 10 years of you, um, you know, providing a community with content, providing, um, yourself to the community, allowing tons of other people to come in and be part of your videos and, uh, being cool with everything, being, uh, super friendly, helping everybody out. That's what you do. You help out a lot of friends and you help out the community with everything you do. So, uh, uh, here's to like another 10, and hopefully we can go on a lot more adventures. Um, so yeah, that's kind of like my thing. Um, congratulations and, uh, I'll catch you in the next video. All right. Let's do some fact checking real [00:10:54] Speaker 8: quick. Okay. Before we get all sappy three addicts in 10 years, those aren't great numbers. Okay. Like, Ooh, watch out for them attic invader boys. They're going to get you once every three years. We're going to get you. I think that's a huge, we're a complete scam. This is a giant bait and switch. [00:11:15] Speaker 7: Nothing is staged without a conveyors. I mean, if we're being honest here, like I'm, [00:11:20] Speaker 8: I'm telling everybody, everything we've done has been staged. We've like all back rooms have been like professionally designed and stocked for rarities people coming up to Craig and giving him like a $200 figure for like 50 bucks or whatever. It's all crisis actors. It's they're all people, you know, we looked up on like Hollywood extras or whatever. None of this is real. And not only that, but like, we don't even like each other. Right. I can just walk right past that on the street, not even say a word to him. And if we're being honest, like I'm just around Craig because I, I'm in love with his wife, Rachel. I know when, when you and I put together that Lego Indiana Jones set, and we both reached for a block and we grazed fingers, I felt something. I felt alive for the first time and God knows when. Um, so if you're out there and you just want to take a chance with the real attic invader, um, sorry, I can't, that's great. Uh, but I mean, honestly guys, like, yes, we may not have invaded a lot of addicts together, but these fools have invaded my heart. I, I love these guys to death. The, it's just insane when you think about how this all came to be, right? I don't even know how it all came to be. I know Ed was a huge fan of mine and, uh, you know, he stalked me for a little bit and somehow that turned to us, um, jets setting the world together. Um, and, but just the fact that flipping on this stupid little camera phone here, like turn into this whole like universe, right? Of the whole attic invader universe, but not just us three, but all the extended players. Uh, I'm not going to name names cause I don't want to accidentally, you know, leave somebody out like on an acceptance speech, but, um, just meeting these crazy cast of characters that really make life that much more colorful. Um, it's great. Like, it's crazy that that like these people that were just like a subscriber number at one point in my life are now, honestly, like my closest friends and, you know, family, all that stuff, right? I like every thing we would do together is, is an event is an occasion. We mark it on the calendar. That's what I can't look for, you know, or that's what I look forward to the rest of the year, right? The next time we're going to be together. And it's just, I've never really felt more embraced and fully like smothered in love when it comes, uh, outside of being with those guys. Um, which I don't know if that's more a commentary of my home life versus how nice they are to me. Uh, but we won't get there. Okay. We, I'm already at the three minute mark. I've already hit my limit here, but I mean, 10 years, man, I can't, it's, it's unbelievable. I love it. I love you guys, everyone that applies to, and, um, I can't wait for the next 10 years. I don't know. So cliche, but, um, but you know what you are going to have to wait 10 years for? The next Greco Fabulous video coming 2036, 20th anniversary special, big time premiere. Um, yeah, so that's it. I, I love being an Atticivator and I can't wait to see what more things we make up and stage and script going forward. It's all fake. Hey, Narky, you just want to drop in and say [00:14:51] Speaker 9: congratulations on your 10 year anniversary on YouTube. Love you. Bye. [00:14:59] Speaker 10: What's going on everybody? Spruj here. So first off, I want to say congratulations on your 10 year anniversary here on YouTube. And I just wanted to reach out and let everybody know a little bit about how myself and Craig met and I met the boys and, uh, you know, a couple of things we've done together over the years. So the first time I ever talked with Craig, uh, was right through probably like Instagram, Facebook, all that kind of stuff. The same way I've met a lot of the other YouTube guys minus the ones that are around me here. But, uh, we got into chatting and everything and, um, was invited down to see and finally meet in person, um, down where he is in Texas. Unfortunately, I was unable to go that time. Um, and that's when the Atticivator started, but the following year we started doing our yearly trips and meeting up at, uh, first it was the Chicago toy show and then we went to Ohio and then we did Chicago and, and you know, it was a ton of fun. And finally, you know, that year, I like five or six years ago now is when we started doing this is when I finally get to meet him in person. And to be honest with you guys, it was like, you know, we've hung out for years when we first met up and hung out. Um, very down to earth guy. Uh, I love him like a brother and we, we talk quite often and I've made some good friends through him on top of that. My boy, Mac and Boston, Mike and Dave and, uh, turtle Chris, you know, I love seeing all those guys and talking to them when I can, uh, being up in the great, uh, Northeast here in mass, uh, Massachusetts, Rhode Island area. It's kind of tough to see these guys more than once a year, but, um, to not make this too long did want to say, you know, I love meeting up every year and honestly, some of my best memories are just some of the shenanigans behind the screen. Um, the stuff that we do, that's not caught on camera. Um, sometimes little pieces are, and they're shown to the world, but it's the things that I keep in my memory that aren't there. Um, just us being, you know, a bunch of grown idiots, uh, doing stuff, going, you know, this stuff that's not on camera. I can't really explain it all. You just kind of, it's one of those things you have to be there. So those of you that know, you know, um, but just don't ever be afraid to meet your friends that you talk to only through Instagram and Facebook or that you've, you know, wanted to meet, go out there and meet them. Uh, you never know what's going to happen. Honestly, you know, we won't see each other for more than once a year, but it's, it's like nothing's changed. So, um, I want to wrap this up because it's becoming very long, but Craig, thank you very much and congratulations. Um, and I can't wait to see you again, brother. Uh, October is going to be here sooner than we know it. So I'll see you then and, uh, enjoy everything that you do and happy birthday on top of it all. [00:17:55] Speaker 2: Peace out. Not another retro channel, narc, the man himself. What a good dude. So I, uh, I heard about this channel a very long time ago, long before I met him. And, you know, I would leave comments on his videos and he'd leave comments in mine here and there, but we never officially met until one day narc reached out and he was like, Hey dude, I'm going down to your area. Want to meet up? I was like, absolutely. Let's hang out. You're part of the community. You know, we have, if you're in this community, you know, how tight knit everybody is and how much everybody supports each other. So we met up, we had a good old time. We had a bunch of friends. We had a big group that day. He had a big group that day. And we just had a really fun time hunting toys and collectibles and video games. ETC. What was really cool to see too, is that my audience, that video actually ended up performing very well, much better than most of my videos, which led me to believe that, okay, my community of people on my channel really loved this group of guys and loved narc and seeing these people. And that's just a really good feeling to know, you know, validation from your community, even though you don't always need it, of course, but just nice to see your community support someone that you brought over, that you collabed with, so to say, even though it wasn't like a collab or anything like that. As far as a specific memory, I never like to give like specific memories because I don't like to lock in like our relationship to one thing. I will say the one thing to say about narc is every time I see this dude, because we have seen each other, you know, many times after that at conventions and different cons and we have each other's phone numbers, we text, we talk, we sell each other things. You know, if I get certain toys or if he gets certain games, we talk. The dude has never been in a bad mood or reacted in any certain way, especially being around me. If you don't know me, I can be very loud, obnoxious sometimes. And anytime I see him or run up to him, or even if I'm shoving a camera in his face to have some fun with him, he immediately is ready to have a good time and have fun. He's just a good dude with a good demeanor and a good shoulder on his heads. And, um, I'm proud to call him a friend. He's one of those dudes in the community that I am proud to call a friend, uh, at all times, every time he was just [00:20:03] Speaker 11: a good guy through and through 10 whole years on YouTube. That's like a couple of different degrees, but no, I'm going to just going to make YouTube videos about toys. That's what my guy Nark has done on the real. I remember the first time I met Nark. I was friends with Ed and me and edge channels were very small. And Ed was like, I have a friend named, named Craig Nark. You may, you may have heard of him. I'm like, of course I know him. He's got over 10,000 subscribers. You were like the biggest deal. And I met you at Retroplooza like, I don't know, six years ago, something like that, seven years ago. And I remember being like, bro, I'm nervous to talk to this guy because he's like a big deal, huge channel on YouTube with toys. And I just looked up to you, man. And here you are 10 years in to making these fun videos about vintage toys. And I, uh, have just loved getting to know you, bro. Uh, getting to go to the different, the different toy stores, the different flea markets and hunting for toys. And you, you know, telling me, educating me in them because I just always collect them because I think they're cool. But you're like the, you're the pro, you know all about them. I don't know anything about them, but it has been a joy, man, to get to know you, uh, to hang out with you and every single retro fest, every single retro Palooza getting just to spend time with you, eating lunch, eating dinner and getting to know you, uh, getting to know more about your family and just this crazy hobby that we get to do together. So again, man, thank you for your friendship and congrats on 10 freaking years on YouTube. It's crazy. [00:21:32] Speaker 3: Around that same time as when I met Dave and Dave was constantly pushing me to think bigger, not just bigger toy hunts, but bigger stories, more collaborations, more people. Before long, the channel wasn't just about me anymore. It became about all of us. And that changed everything. [00:21:50] Speaker 12: What's going on? Not another retro channel community. I am here to say congratulations to our friend narc for 10 years on YouTube. Now I'm going to keep it short. I'm going to keep it sweet because I know there's going to be some overachievers, uh, that are also submitting some videos and they're going to go on and on about how great it's been hanging out and all those memories and blah, blah, blah. Greg, thankful for all the memories we got. And I look forward to all the ones that we're going to continue to create everyone on this channel watching. Stay tuned because some awesome stuff is coming from this man right here. [00:22:36] Speaker 13: Okay. Well, let's see. How did we meet? Uh, I reached out on Instagram about two years ago to offer my limited services as an artist to your channel because I thought and still think that your logo sucks. Um, and I did it out of the kindness of my heart. Um, you know, I didn't do it to be some parasitic vulture and infiltrate your life. I didn't do it to use you to meet more famous YouTubers. I didn't do it to use you and your established platform to learn how to create content. And I sure as hell didn't do it to establish my own brand. I did it because I'm magnanimous, but enough about that. This is about you. This is your time. I would never trample on that as a friend. So, um, after our initial meeting, um, we became fast friends and that was on your record. You, you made that decision. Um, and as you know, I don't take those decisions very lightly. Anybody willing, um, and volunteering to be my friend. Yeah, it's a big deal. I'm a bit of a acquired taste. I get that. So it means the world to me and, um, um, you've been my buddy ever since you're there with the good and the bad. Um, you're, you answer the phone like 99, like 80, like 85, 90% of the time. You're always there for me. Even on days that you don't have time to give, you give me that time. Congratulations on your 10 years on YouTube. I know for a fact it is moderately deserved. So good job. I love you, buddy. [00:24:25] Speaker 14: But wait, somebody else wants to say a few words. Hey, Craig, it's Britt. I just want to say congratulations on 10 years sober or happy birthday or, oh, I don't know, but congratulations. I know over the past couple of years, he's become really important to Mac and Mac has become important to you. So I just want to say thank you. And it really means a lot to me that he has a friend like you that he can call on to be there for him. On a personal note, I just want to say, I really love having you and Rachel a part of my life. I really love watching your videos. They're super entertaining. Love seeing the attic invaders, but apparently this is the only way to get girl toys on your channel. [00:25:10] Speaker 15: So congrats. The council has summoned us. We have a special message from the Living Weeks council. [00:25:19] Speaker 16: Yes. Coming to you, the shorties. I'm shorty. And not so shorty. So this is, this is for our buddy Craig. Narc, you've been doing this for 10 years. You've been rocking it. We met you right before you were going to go to Europe and hang out with Ed. That's when I picked up all of the Darkwing Duck figures with accessories. And I remember your sweet mom there too. And then a couple of years later, we got to meet her [00:25:47] Speaker 15: and she's awesome. So for 10 years, keep on trucking. Keep on doing it. Keep on putting out that crazy content because we're here. We are wanting more and we're going to be here for all the new adventures. [00:25:58] Speaker 3: Yeah. Congratulations, Craig. We love you. But none of it would have happened without the people who were there before the first video and stayed through all of it. Congratulations, [00:26:08] Speaker 17: Greg on your 10th anniversary on YouTube. Job well done. Love you very much. [00:26:16] Speaker 9: What's up guys. It's Gavin, retro Gavin, mini Narc, baby Narc, mini Craig, whatever you want to call me, that's me, but I'm Gavin. All right. But I came here to hop on before I go to work and wish Narc a happy 10 years. What? That's freaking crazy, dude. Remember when he first started the channel? A little backstory for you guys. For my birthday a few years ago, I wanted a game room slash toy room so me and my dad could share. I wanted a game in there, have all of our collectibles in there, showcase everything. Guess what? Narc took it over ASAP and that's what began the Narc channel. You could go back to some of the earliest videos. You might see gaming videos, but once you get to the toy hunting videos, you could see our game room at first. Anyways, congrats, dad. Love you. Super proud of you. Just came on here and wanted to share two of my favorite videos on the channel. One, my all time favorite video ever that I hate watching just because of me, because I'm a little kid, but these videos are kind of the exception. But number one, when my dad, Cincy Nerd and Rube the Great surprised me with my favorite YouTuber at the time, Alex CND, Captain Nintendo dude. Super fun day, super memorable day. Memorable? Memorable day that I will never forget. We went to Toys R Us, movie trade company, and got to hang out with Alex CND and it's also on his channel too. What? Second, last haul of my life. Freaking insane if you haven't seen it. I gotta say. Last haul of my life, which led on to Retro Freaks and Retro Freaks 2. And just kidding. I can't, I can't say. I can't say. Now, 10 years later, row to 30,000 subscribers. [00:28:50] Speaker 18: Let's do it. Peace out. Hey babe. First of all, congratulations on 10 years of creating very nerdy and sometimes concerning content. I've been married to you for almost 17 years now and I still don't know if Trapjaw is an action figure, a character you made up, or one of your friends from YouTube. People assume that because I'm married to you, I'm into all this stuff too. But honestly, if your collection disappeared tomorrow, I'd probably just noticed that I could finally park in the garage again. So while I don't care much about the toys, I do care a lot about what they've created for our family. When you started this channel 10 years ago, I was excited to really see what came of it. And while I obviously enjoy making fun of you along the way, I'm just so thankful you had the nerve to do it. I will never forget when Boston Mike came to our house for the first time. You told me this guy kept coming around retro madness, which you owned at the time. And he was so funny and he was going to come by the house and pick up one of the kids' beds we were selling. So freaking Mike comes in with Mikey, who was little at the time. And Mike was so damn loud. I was like, Oh my God, who is this? Well, he never left. And now he lives two streets down from us. And his wife is my literal best friend. Fast forward to Dave. The way I remember it, you told me that this guy who's watching your channel kept messaging you wanting to hang out. And he had all these ideas for the channel and ideas for what you and your friends could get up to. I was like, okay, babe, go make more friends with nerds. I don't really care. The next thing I know, he's part of the crew too. And his wife is my other best friend. Talk about perfect. Okay. Also, I remember finally meeting Turtle Chris after hearing about him forever. I kind of felt like I was meeting a celebrity from the stories you told me. And honestly, he turned out to be exactly as awesome as you told me and everyone else. Okay, last one. But when you told me some more random mass YouTubers that you never met, we're going to come stay at our house for an entire weekend, I thought to myself, Jesus, how many more people are we letting in here? One of the guys was from Belgium. And the other one was from Boston. I packed up the kids and went to mom's for the weekend convinced we'd never see you again. Well, those same guys who ended up not being serial killers became some of my favorite people too. Greco and Ed from Ed's Retro Geek Out turned out to be lifelong friends. And honestly, that's just scratching the surface. God, just so many more people you have brought into our world that have made such an impact on me. So I guess what I'm trying to say is that this is what makes your channel so special from the outside. It looks like a bunch of grown adults getting excited about toys and arguing over pieces of plastic that are older than some of the people watching this video right now. Which to be fair is sometimes exactly what it is. But underneath all the nerdiness and the borderline hoarding, there is an incredible community here. The friendships that we've made through this channel are real. The support is real. The people who follow and support you are honestly some of the most genuine I've ever met. It feels like if we needed help, we could call anybody in this community and they'd be there in a heartbeat. And that's rare. And a huge reason for that is you, babe. One thing I've always admired about you is how much you care about people. You're always looking for ways to encourage someone, help someone, make a positive difference, or just bring people together. Even after 10 years, you're still finding new and creative ways to do that through your channel. So while I may never understand why anyone needs hundreds of Ninja Turtles, or why you need to keep every damn toy box, I do understand why people keep coming back. They come back because of you. So yeah, congratulations on 10 years, babe. I'm so proud of everything you've built and the lives you've impacted, the friendships you've made, and the community you've honestly helped grow. So here's to the next 10 years. I can't wait to see who or what you bring home next. Love you. [00:32:57] Speaker 3: I really want to thank you guys for submitting a video. I was not expecting to hear what I heard. Um, I asked two questions. I thought it was gonna be short and sweet, but instead I got, um, an overabundance of love. I mean, that's the only way I can put it because, um, man, you guys like, I love y'all. This is not the way that this video was supposed to go by the way, but I do appreciate y'all's friendships. Um, most of you guys are like family. You already know, you know who I'm talking to. And, um, I love y'all so much. And thank you for being on this crazy journey with me because with, without, you know, the support of the family, support of other creators and friends and you guys at home, the viewers, if you're not watching the videos, then what's the point. But I just want to thank everybody for a crazy 10 years. And, um, you know, hopefully here's to 10 more, you know, this video took so long to make, uh, if you know, you know, but I'm so glad that it did because I was able to go back and rewatch videos from years ago, from 10 years ago, and just kind of reliving those memories. That was a nice gift for myself. And I appreciate y'all so much. I love you guys. Thank you for all the support and thank you for watching the channel and just stay tuned for the next, uh, 10 years of Nike. Here's to you. Peace out.