Hear 4: TJ

What does it really take to become one of the most recognizable personalities in the Yu-Gi-Oh! community?

In this episode of Hear 4 You, I sit down with TJ from The Cali Effect for an honest conversation about content creation, entrepreneurship, mental health, and the future of trading card games.

TJ shares how he developed his on-camera personality, the business mindset that shaped his career, and the challenges of balancing creativity with consistency. We also have an open discussion about living with bipolar disorder, his diagnosis at 18, overcoming addiction, and the routines that helped him regain control of his life.

We also dive into:

• Building a successful career in content creation
• The realities of burnout and online criticism
• The current and future state of Yu-Gi-Oh!
• Pokémon, One Piece, and the changing TCG landscape
• Collecting vs. competitive play
• His dream of creating the ultimate trading card game convention and championship event

Whether you're a lifelong TCG fan, a creator, or someone navigating your own personal challenges, this conversation is packed with insight, inspiration, and hope.

Transcript

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0:02

Hey, I'm Eric and I'm here for you. If you're part of the Yu-Gi-Oh community, chances are you've seen TJ alongside TheCaliEffect, helping shape one of the biggest content creation brands in trading card games. But today's conversation goes far beyond deck lists, tournament results, and the latest meta. We dive into what it's really like to build a life as a content creator, the pressure of consistently producing content, the importance of staying authentic, and the business mindset that's driven TJ since childhood. More importantly, TJ opens up about something deeply personal, his battle with bipolar disorder, the difficult road that led to his diagnosis, and the routines and mindset that helped him rebuild his life. We also talk about the current state of Yu-Gi-Oh!, the future of trading card games, why constructive criticism matters, and TJ shares an ambitious dream that could completely change the way competitive card game events are experienced in the future. So whether you're a fan of trading card games, someone chasing a creative career, or simply looking for an honest conversation about overcoming adversity, I think you're really going to enjoy this one. So sit back and relax and enjoy my conversation with TJ.

TJ 1:23

I think understanding people from all perspectives is really important, so

Eric 1:27

Mm-hmm. And I think that's one thing that a lot of people don't understand that about you because again, you film a lot of videos with Callie, The Callie Effect, and you do a lot of incredible content. But you've always been the, at least in my personal view, the very bubbly, outgoing, but also kind of, for lack of better term, kind of whimsical, ditzy,

TJ 1:47

Yeah

Eric 1:48

kind of character. But that is not who you are at all. in conversation with you, you are outspoken, you're intellectual, you are creative, and I guess my whole point of saying that is, do you feel like you have to fit into that role, when you're doing these type of filming things? Or is it just you just having a good time and it is what it is?

TJ 2:06

So in the beginning, I was very bland. I was just plain. Like, it wasn't, anything different. you kinda looked at me and you're like, "You're a different person," right? But at some point I was like, "I have to differentiate myself." Like, we gotta make these videos better, we gotta make, the community better. Like, you know, there's so many different things that a character can tie into that eventually I had to, wanna say put on a persona, but I had to, tap into somebody that was still me, just wasn't active. You know? Just wasn't, being presented as often. And eventually it just kinda became so fluid that it didn't even feel... It felt like second nature. And, you know, I never felt forced to do it, but it always helped not only the videos, but it helped me interact with the viewers. Like, it brought... It, it, like, closed so many different, ties that were being opened. And, it felt really good, you know, after finding that little character there, because it's like, yo, now people can connect with me, and they can see my goofy side. They don't have to see my business side all the time

Eric 3:04

And that's the other thing. You said business side there. you are business-focused. Your operational mindset is, very interesting. what kinda put you into that structure?

TJ 3:14

At the age of five, my mom was a very entrepreneur type of person, and, my upbringing was always, "What kind of business can you create? What kind of sales can you make? what avenues can you take to make this better? Can you find product this way?" Like, there was so many things that she was teaching me that, just always been business mindseted. And, there's not a moment in my life I don't look at opportunities or different doors or pathways that can help me, my people, or just anybody, you know? Like, it's just what can you make of something?

Eric 3:44

Being a content creator, you have so much time, effort, energy that goes into just one 20, 30 minute video, but I assume this takes you days, weeks of preparation, and to have your mindset of what to put out, how to put out, and properly set it up, how difficult is that for you week over week?

TJ 4:05

You know, in the beginning it was kind of difficult. It was like, how I'm gonna learn this new deck, or how am I gonna structure this tier list or, these types of videos. And I would need to study a lot, or I would need to, play test quite often or something, you know? And, if it wasn't like watching different content or doing that stuff, I was in the booth, I was recording. So it was, it's a all-day cycle. Like, there's not a moment you're not thinking about it, but there's not a moment that I don't enjoy it either. Like, I do genuinely enjoy this process 'cause there's not a lot of processes like it. you can't do the same job as a banker. Like, you're not going in, you're not recording videos, you're not studying Yu-Gi-Oh!. You're taking money and you're rolling up change. So it's one of those things that I found that I love to do

Eric 4:50

So what has been your biggest challenge that you've faced as a creator, seeing as how you love to do so much of the individual aspects? There has to be difficult ones

TJ 4:59

Yeah. it's gonna be weird to say, but like friendships, time management, just like you're working all the time. you always have to find new c- content or, or find the new niche that you're gonna make your channel blow up. and so a lot of times, like you don't always have time for your friends or, you know, you have so much going on, y- y- your time management is just, it's, it's overwhelming, you know? but you find that middle ground and you eventually are able to have a social life. you can, structure your videos properly and get them on a schedule and then, you just have to find a way to keep that consistency going while managing your own life.

Eric 5:38

Hmm.

TJ 5:38

a job

Eric 5:39

And to that point, what's been the most rewarding moment of your content creation journey so far with all this effort you're putting into it?

TJ 5:46

Walking into a YCS and not being able to move for 30 minutes because people want signatures, and I have no clue why

Eric 5:53

Wow.

TJ 5:53

mine.

Eric 5:53

You know, walking up to people like you, Cali, and, as of this recording, the sad passing of Simo,

TJ 5:59

Yeah

Eric 6:00

it would've been a fantastic moment to have had a picture with somebody as charismatic and, kind and gentle as he was. and I think that goes into the mindset of a player of this game.

TJ 6:10

Hmm?

Eric 6:10

you and Cali and someone like Simo is, it's uplifting. It gives us a lot of good hope because people take your decks, your deck list, and make them their own. And I, I think it's easy to say you've inspired a lot of, young adults, to pick up this game. I can't tell you how many times I've heard people say, TJ just decimated, belt to ass on Cali with this deck, and no one's gonna beat me." And the kid did really well. I mean, he won. the local. it was very impressive. So you're a huge inspiration to a lot of people out there, and I think that speaks volumes to your personality, the persona that you've built, but also the time and effort you've put into it.

TJ 6:47

I appreciate that. I genuinely do. And honestly, it's not even a full thanks to me. Like, it's also you guys as viewers. Like, we wouldn't be here without you guys just as much as you guys wouldn't be here without us. You know what I mean? Like, it's a give and a take, you know, on both parts. So, it's a thank you to you guys as well

Eric 7:04

Yu-Gi-Oh! can be a very passionate community. so how would you describe, the audience you've built around the channel and you as a player content creator?

TJ 7:13

the community is amazing. obviously you're gonna have those people that come into stream or on the videos and comment things that are wild or way out there, but those are outliers, you know what I mean? those aren't your community, and that's not what defines them. the community's amazing. I hop in a stream and they're like, "Oh my God, TJ's here." Or they see me on a video and it's like back and forth banter in the content or comments about us. people have a record on our dual challenges. it's insane. I love it

Eric 7:44

It's very important to keep those records. so I can tell. Callie hates it, but it makes sense. I think,

TJ 7:48

yes.

Eric 7:50

So, as you mentioned, content creation is demanding. It's something that's, always gonna be hard. Have you struggled with burnout, anxiety, depression, or maybe, like, self-doubt during your journey?

TJ 8:02

All the time. I ironically could say, like right now is probably one of those moments. it's... something that the viewers may know, they may not know, depends on if they watch me or not, I'm bipolar. So like, I go through a lot of different emotions, a lot of different like, episodes, like quite often. they know that I, like the, devil's lettuce for that reason. I, have my medication, but at the same time, like it doesn't... I can't say it doesn't happen. Like, it happens all the time, and it definitely does affect my creative ability sometimes. But I take a step back, I take a breather and just kinda recollect myself and get right back to it, it's like I never left

Eric 8:36

So, this may be just a ridiculous thing to say. I, I, you know, I have, some family members, some friends that have bipolar as well, but it's, it's a vast, kind of array of effectiveness and just how intense it can be. Do you find that that kind of, creates maybe like a defissure or dichotomy between you and Callie or your other friends? do you finally get spikes during stress points? you had mentioned the devil's lettuce helps bring it down, but is there anything that you've learned personally to kinda help you reset and regroup during those moments?

TJ 9:09

I, always advocate for people to seek help. I'm terrible at this. I will admit this. I'm very terrible at seeking help even though I give this advice. but that's because through my journey I found ways that do help me. And I know if I, like, if I seclude myself for just a little bit of time, and I'm not saying, like, I gotta, like, ghost for two years, right? I'm just saying, like, maybe a day or two or a week at most, and just kinda collect myself, think about what's going on in my brain, understand my emotions, and just kinda like work through them. I usually end up fine by the next week. It's just sometimes they can be overbearing. Like, my brain is, like, sitting there and it's like, "Hey, man, you feel this way." And you just have to understand why you feel like that. And, some people are luckier than others, like myself, who can work through those wires and reconnect them, because some people, they aren't as lucky. They need more help or attention or medication or anything. And, more power to them when they do find it, because it's tough to get yourself there

Eric 10:02

Do you find that it has ever been crippling, or how do you feel those struggles affected your content creation and your personal life?

TJ 10:11

That was actually right when I disappeared from the channel, I wanna say in like 2014. Right when Schedalls came out, Schedalls, Glee 4,

Eric 10:20

Mm-hmm.

TJ 10:21

dropped, I disappeared. I wanna say I was in high school. I was partying a lot, I was doing drugs.

Eric 10:25

Hmm.

TJ 10:26

bipolar. and, my cope was to go party and do drugs. And, eventually came out on top. Can't say that for a lot of people, but I eventually came out on top and, you know, I got right back to what I was doing before. But it was a very, very long episode, I would say. Like, I would just lump sum it as one long episode, even though it was like

Eric 10:44

Hmm

TJ 10:44

of bursts of mini episodes. it was just like one overl- overlying thing was I didn't have control of myself. I didn't have my, my current mindset. I didn't know un- I didn't understand my bipolar and, it took a while to figure it out

Eric 10:58

What was the timeline where you figured it out then? did you find out about your bipolarism early on in life? Was it more of just like a growth evolutionary thing where you kind of got diagnosed later on?

TJ 11:08

Yeah, I got diagnosed at, 18. I

Eric 11:11

Eighteen

TJ 11:12

school, I was a senior. I was, literally about to graduate, and I was like, "None of my parents have taken me to a doctor. I know something is wrong. I need to go." Like, I had, a random epiphany one day after an entire bender of partying. and so I was just like, "I gotta go." And so I went there, and I mean, the doctor was just like, Yeah, you're bipolar, bro. Like, you need

Eric 11:33

Really?

TJ 11:34

And so from that moment I was like, "Oh, routine." you know, better correct myself and just figure it out. And I wanna say by, like, 21 I was way better, and that was at 18. So it took me three

Eric 11:44

Wow

TJ 11:44

of a diagnosis

Eric 11:45

Wow. first off, congratulations to you for putting in that effort to go do it yourself. Most people wouldn't even bother with that kind of setup. so you just had an inkling, said, "I need to get this taken care of," and the doctor, was able to figure it out pretty quickly, the situation at hand, huh?

TJ 11:59

Yeah, just from talking to him basically like, 'cause you know,

Eric 12:01

Wow.

TJ 12:02

to diagnose like mental illness. You

Eric 12:03

Mm-hmm

TJ 12:03

like run a test all the time for 'em. You know, maybe for like something like dementia or schizophrenia or something, but like bipolar, depression, you can't run a test for those. once you have that conversation, he was like, "Yeah, you are rapid cycle bipolar. You have too many episodes in a month. they're too quick. They're just constant.

Eric 12:19

Hmm.

TJ 12:20

bipolar, bro. Like here's medication, find regulation, get some counseling. Whatever's gonna work for you, do it." and that's what he told me.

Eric 12:27

Do you find that it's hard to balance taking care of yourself while maintaining this constant presence online?

TJ 12:34

I used to, then I got into such a routine of just doing it that the routine helped me just forget about it in the sense of like, not that I forgot that I was bipolar, but it was like I had... It's gonna sound terrible, but once I work out the words it'll, it'll sound better. I had no time for my own emotion. And the reason why that's good is because if you have just enough time to process your emotions, but you don't have enough time for your emotions, you can always work out your emotions with- without having them affect you. And that's exactly what I had to do. So creating that routine by doing these videos, hanging out with my brother Leon, going out with friends finally, just having a life and working, it allowed me to just be in a such routine where I was just like, "Okay, this is life." And I enjoyed it. You know? it's amazing because I don't have to deal with the negative side of bipolar

Eric 13:23

That's incredible. So y- your process is to basically push yourself into those periods of consistent working, basically filling up your time to get you to a point where you're like, "Okay, I don't even have to think about it."

TJ 13:32

Yes, exactly. 'Cause I mean, if you're allowing your brain to always run, you're gonna have something to think about, you're gonna have something to dwell on, you're gonna have some sort of emotion. if I can take that out, I could just bypass bipolar, and it's been amazing

Eric 13:45

obviously your method won't work for everybody, but the fact that you found this and it is working for you is amazing, and I'm happy for you for that.

TJ 13:53

it's been working, and, I haven't had too big of an episode, so you know, I'ma keep it pushing.

Eric 13:58

have your struggles changed the way you view success with what you're doing?

TJ 14:02

Yes, 100%, because I realize that no matter what somebody's going through or who somebody is, it's incredibly hard not only to get there, but maintain it. that's because a lot of people, they get there and then they just start acting different. And it's weird because, you know, you got there based off of who you were, just stay that person. It was working. You know? don't turn into this wildly different person

Eric 14:25

if I can, what do you wish more people understood about the emotional side of being a content creator?

TJ 14:32

Not everything works out. sometimes you have an idea and it doesn't work out or, sometimes you put a lot of effort into something and it just crumbles. And sometimes you have to just accept it for what it is and move on and understand that, the people or the idea that you put in really tried their best, but it just wasn't going to work out or you didn't find the way to make it work.

Eric 14:53

I think that's with any creative project, you have to come to terms with that, and I think anyone listening to it or understanding it needs to sit there and say, "This is, this was a good effort. This was,

TJ 15:02

Yeah

Eric 15:02

time and energy put in." And so, you know, and it does suck. There are a few videos I've seen where, they've talked down on you or Callie and, it seems ridiculous to have these little thing... like when you guys misplace something or they're like, "If JJ did this," or, "He didn't pay the cost for, malice," or whatever the case is. which I think you still owe Leon like 15,000 life points or something.

TJ 15:23

Yeah,

Eric 15:24

Oh,

TJ 15:24

I overly spent in that video and neither of us caught it

Eric 15:28

My favorite video by far. It was great. but seeing those comments, it kinda puts me off because, these people don't understand the time, effort you put into it. It could've taken you three, four hours just to record the video, get the editing in, send it off, recheck it, you know?

TJ 15:43

Yeah

Eric 15:43

it's incredible content. You guys put out amazing stuff and, I think just people need to be more empathetic to the effort you're putting in there

TJ 15:51

You know, if everybody was more empathetic, have no backlash. And I don't wanna say that all of the backlash is great, 'cause it's not. if you truly look at the real criticism, it's fantastic. Like, that's what you need. Because as a content creator, it might not be the idea I had, or maybe I thought about it, but hearing it from somebody else might be like, "Okay, you know what? Maybe I was wrong in the way I was thinking about it." And so you revert back to that idea and you go, "Okay, let me ponder on it." but when you get those hateful comments, I just skip by them. I don't read those. They're gonna say whatever they're gonna say, but they'll never say it to me at an event, they'll never say it to me in public, and if they do, I'd have more respect for them say it to my face. I'll respect you more than seeing it in the comment. You know what I mean? Like

Eric 16:29

to all of that, the current state of Yu-Gi-Oh!, because this is kind of your bread and butter. Now, I know you're also a Pokemon player. You've got, you know, other games that you're going, you know, everybody... If you're a TCG player, you're playing them all, right? And you're looking at One Piece, Magic, yeah. but, you know, I know you for Yu-Gi-Oh!, and I'm curious, as it is now, how do you feel about the current state of the game, and do you think the game is in a healthy place competitively?

TJ 16:51

Other than these mechanics that they keep giving us, like Yummy and, Cool Tune, yeah, I genuinely think it is. you know, there's so much viability, there's so much difference. Like, you can pick up a deck and it's probably gonna do well at least by, like up to a regional. There's a lot of decks that you will see in the top cut of YCS, When I speak of top cut, I mean 64 still. I don't mean this top eight thing, because people still get recognized for their top 64s at YCS, they just don't get prizing for it anymore. And so, you know, I think that having a healthy variation of decks is good. And, I love to be able to just play almost anything. I, I'm the kinda guy who likes to play a lot of decks. unfortunately, I build and I tear down decks all the time, 'cause I love play testing. And, yeah, I genuinely am having so much fun with it

Eric 17:36

I guess that's where the difference becomes, right? I think I know a lot of people who, much like you, love the play testing, love the deck diversity, love the idea of just switching things up. But then there's people who are more, competitive driven. You know, talking to Leon, his goal is to be the best. That's his hard push. For a lot of people I know, it's, "Okay, great, this meta deck tops. I'm gonna take cool tunes. I'll change my side to my locals and dominate, and this will be the deck until it gets hit, and then we rotate it." do you feel that that exciting passion of building decks and creating different type of styles is kind of lost or to the wayside of actually winning in the competitive sense?

TJ 18:17

Maybe a little bit, but see, the problem is that people like Leon don't understand that you got people like me who will side double Raigeki going first. and so you could try to be the best, but you gotta get through people like me. that difference in deck building can very much take that variation out, which is why I bring up the double Raigeki, is because who the hell sides double Raigeki going first? Nobody, but it works, right? Like, it's crazy. And so in order to, I think, be the best, you have to be able to play out of those situations. And I'm not saying Leon can't. I don't wanna, I don't wanna, like, dog my brother. Like, I know he can. He's amazing. He's potentially one of the best, if not the best, you know. and so, seeing how he deck builds, seeing how I deck build, and then seeing how everybody else deck builds is crazy. But there's not a lot of people that are winning a YCS with a deck that nobody ever saw, right?

Eric 19:11

Mm-hmm.

TJ 19:11

unfortunately, the numbers of decks being played is a lot higher for stuff like Cool Tune or Fairy Tail or, Branded, these types of decks, and they're more than likely statistically just going to win

Eric 19:22

So something as opposed to seeing your Ritual Beasts or i- in this case, your, your Satellarnights coming back to do anything decent, you're gonna see Cooltuan. It's just the numbers are better for the better decks, and you're gonna see these lists continuously

TJ 19:36

Absolutely. Now I'm not saying you can't see them at like a regional or something, you know, win or top or something, but it's just the likelihood of like a YCS is significantly less when

Eric 19:46

Hmm.

TJ 19:47

look at the version of top eight to a regional having standings in top 32

Eric 19:53

What concerns you the most about the direction of where this game is going?

TJ 19:57

The convolutedness, I, I think it's eventually gonna be too overwhelming or too complicated that unless you've been playing this game for 20 years, you're probably not getting into it

Eric 20:06

Yeah, I can see that. I mean, is there a similar thing to say that to maybe like Magic: The Gathering or, I mean, One Piece, but are there difficulties in those games that make them a lot less more appealing than Yu-Gi-Oh! is?

TJ 20:23

I would say things like, in Magic like Commander where their commanders could be a literal chapter book sometimes even with keywords could be a deterrent. It's almost damn near impossible to have a chapter book. And so things like One Piece, Magic, Lorcana, you know, so much easier to get into, but the skill ceiling is also incredibly high. So it's how much work are you willing to put in and learn these keywords and these, you know, these cards

Eric 20:48

I am gonna ask you probably after this here about the economy structure of these card games, but when it comes to specifics in Yu-Gi-Oh!, how difficult is it to pick up this game in comparison to the top TCGs? Would you say it's the hardest one to learn currently?

TJ 21:06

To learn, yes. Like the, learning curve is incredibly high. but then you look at something like Pokemon and I can put down six prizes, play my Pokemon, and my opponent can't interact with me, it's incredibly easy to learn. But the skill ceiling is also high. like, these card games, it's what's the introductory level versus the skill ceiling? Most of them, their skill ceiling is incredibly high, it's just not all of them have an entry level, gameplay

Eric 21:32

Hmm. And I will say since the first time I spoke with you,

TJ 21:36

Mm-hmm.

Eric 21:37

you kind of gave me the little bit of a fire to try this with my son. So we picked up Pokemon,

TJ 21:43

Yeah

Eric 21:44

yeah, and he learned it very relatively quickly. I mean, it took him a weekend, and, he played in his first tournament the other day and was so excited. it was very enjoyable to see, somebody in a new environment of a tourney, never been before, never been to a tournament. He loved the scene, loved the people, picked up the game really well, and I thought, maybe he could try this with Yu-Gi-Oh. we sat down for 10 to 15 minutes and he was like, "I'm out. I can't do this. It's not gonna work for me." and I have to remember that I've been playing this game for, I mean, damn near 20-plus, I mean,

TJ 22:16

Yeah.

Eric 22:16

25 years, so it's

TJ 22:19

yeah. It's, it, it is a true testament to the capability of a card game and seeing that somebody can go, "Hey, I will absolutely love to play. I wanna go play a tournament," to, "What the hell am I reading?"

Eric 22:34

So to kind of jump onto the, the economy out of it all. Now, we've seen it, it's pretty rough for Pokemon out here. Scalpers all day every day. And I will say since jumping in with my son, I don't understand the scalping mentality. I, I mean, I bought three decks for us and it came out to $65,

TJ 22:53

Yeah

Eric 22:54

and so I don't understand why people are buying up all this, this Pokemon product. And, I've asked around trying to figure it out. Can you tell me what is the appeal? And now I know we're switching TCGs,

TJ 23:05

Yeah

Eric 23:06

but what is the appeal of the scalping behind Pokemon? why is there such a high value to it?

TJ 23:11

So I can't tell you why it started. I wasn't exactly playing Pokemon at the time. I've kind of bounced around TCGs, so like, you know, I wasn't around for this beginning of scalping. But from what I've seen, like when I go to a shop called, 888 Collectibles, it's in Las Vegas. It's like, downtown somewhere next to the Strip. It's an amazing shop. It's one of the most recommended shops in Vegas. all they do is sell mainly Pokemon. I mean, they sell other card games. but like their cases are filled with Pokemon. they have ETBs on the shelf for like damn near eight, $900. So thought process here is a- as a scalper, if I'm gonna buy these ETBs and I'm not looking to flip them right away, I'm sitting on them. They're a goldmine. Like I literally have Bitcoin basically, because I know that in six months, this ETB that I bought for $80 is gonna be worth 250. But in two years I know it's gonna be worth 500, and in four years, if it's a Pokemon Center, it could be 800. So it becomes like a goldmine worth of stocks versus like buying a Yu-Gi-Oh! box for $100 and going, "Who wants it?" and somebody would rather spit at you than pay you for it. You know what I mean? Like

Eric 24:23

to that point, why is it such a vast difference between something like Pokemon and Yu-Gi-Oh! when it comes to collectability?

TJ 24:32

Yu-Gi-Oh doesn't have a 30-year-old game that's been nonstop releasing new generations. their TV show isn't technically as popular. Pokemon has three parent companies, where Yu-Gi-Oh has technically, like, one. 'cause Konami licenses the Yu-Gi-Oh card game from Shueisha,

Eric 24:51

Mm-hmm.

TJ 24:51

it's just Shueisha, while Pokemon has Game Freak, Pokemon Company, and, Nintendo.

Eric 24:57

Mm-hmm.

TJ 24:58

you have three parent companies in the mix that all have a lot of money to do whatever the hell they want. their events are huge. you go to an event and they have coloring area, they have games for you to play for free, they have different tournaments, they have their side events. It's literally like an all-day festival compared to, Yu-Gi-Oh, where you're like, "I can play and I can buy from vendors."

Eric 25:21

Yeah. I mean, pricing is also a big deal as well.

TJ 25:26

Oh, man

Eric 25:29

I guess my question is do you feel that the Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG and the level of pricing that they're giving, will it ever reach a point like Pokemon?

TJ 25:39

No, because Kazuki never wanted Yu-Gi-Oh to be a money game. And if, if Shueisha and Konami hold true to that, there will never be money prizing. And when you look at stuff like Magic, Pokemon, One Piece, Dragon Ball, I believe they all have some sort of money outcome,

Eric 25:58

Mm-hmm.

TJ 25:59

are worth insane amounts if they're not giving out money, you know what I mean? Like, I think Dragon Ball prize cards at one point were, like, three grand.

Eric 26:06

Mm-hmm.

TJ 26:07

you at least kinda get your money's worth, when you get your prizing. But with Yu-Gi-Oh, you get a handheld toaster and, a fire brick deck. Like, you don't, you don't... It's not much that they give you. And I don't know how many Switches... I think Pock has a picture, but he has a room just full of Nintendo Switches from winning. What is the appeal to this?

Eric 26:27

At least sell them, Pok, you know? It's

TJ 26:30

yeah. But at that point, you know, it just... But it goes to show you, like, how little the prizing is. And Yu-Gi-Oh! only gives you a giant card if you're, undefeated through Swiss. now you have to go undefeated in order to get this $1,000 prize card, otherwise nobody gets it

Eric 26:47

do you feel that that's a detriment to the game?

TJ 26:49

Yes, it makes it to where people don't wanna join competitive

Eric 26:52

Mm-hmm.

TJ 26:52

Now, I'm not saying people aren't joining competitive, but if you look at the rate of people joining like Pokemon, TCG competitive, Magic, Lorcana, all these games, I feel like it's at a much slower rate because

Eric 27:05

Hmm.

TJ 27:05

it's so hard to get introduced into this game

Eric 27:07

I agree to that completely. And I mean, even if you do get introduced to it, and let's say you learn the game, what's the benefit to it? You're putting, thousands of dollars into the cards. You're putting, hundreds of thousands into travel, accommodation, if you're doing this consecutively. I can't even begin to fathom how much money someone like, I mean, like Pok, like Sam are putting into this just to travel to these locations. to that, do you find... Do you and, Leon tend to do that as, you know, hop around as often as you'd like?

TJ 27:36

I, I think I'm usually the one that likes the competitive travel as much as he says he loves to be the best. there was a point like a few seasons ago, actually Snake Eye season, I was pushing him to go to competitive. I was like, "Let's go to regionals, let's go to YCS, let's go do this. Like let's go.

Eric 27:49

Mm-hmm.

TJ 27:49

drive and I need to do this." Like, you know, and so ironically I kind of have that and then I've noticed I've been doing that with Pokemon a lot too.

Eric 27:59

Oh

TJ 28:00

there's recent time there hasn't been a lot of money output, but if you look at Pokemon players, they get W-2s, so it's almost like a job. So their winnings turn around for them. Meanwhile, us Yu-Gi-Oh players are our credit cards to hopefully get back home

Eric 28:16

now Yu-Gi-Oh! has introduced Grand Master Rares stuff like that. is there a fear that we're gonna see more intense scalping on this front, much like they're doing with Pokemon, One Piece, and Lorcana to an extent?

TJ 28:30

I would love to say that it's probably going to happen, just because I want Yu-Gi-Oh to have a good issue for, for once, not being able to buy product because it's too damn expensive and everybody's buying it out. But, you know, I, I don't see the potential because when you have only 100 CLR's cards in each region between EU and, and North America, how do you chase one out of those 100 across 50 something states?

Eric 28:53

Yeah

TJ 28:54

near impossible. Now, for the over frames themselves, maybe. I mean, but you could also just buy the ultra rare versus the secret rare. Like, it's,

Eric 29:02

Yeah

TJ 29:04

They finally are doing what Pokemon's been doing for the longest time, and I don't know if they're doing it to the best of their ability yet, but we have different rarities of the same card in the sets. So not only do you have something to chase for, but you're like, "Ah, I could just pull the lower rarity

Eric 29:19

and so many people are gonna open these sets up anyway, the lower rarities aren't gonna be exorbitant, right? I mean, it should be fairly easy to get a good over frame set that you're looking for. where it is with Pokemon, I mean, again, jumping in, playing this game with my son, the latest set, I, I can't remember the name of it. Ca- Chaos Rising, yes.

TJ 29:36

Yep

Eric 29:37

it has, like, four different Meows. All of them are basically the same picture in one way or another, just one is, like, the ultimate shiny. I was able to pick up the two lesser ones for, like, a buck 25. Exact same card, does the exact same thing.

TJ 29:50

Yeah

Eric 29:50

and Yu-Gi-Oh! is essentially in that format I think. I think they're going that route. But, do you feel that if something like that were to happen where people are like, "We have to get these grand master rares, we gotta get these serialized numbers," does the game become less accessible for new players?

TJ 30:04

Depends on the set you're talking about. I mean, 'cause if it's like a side set with just reprints, But if it's a main set with the brand new meta deck that is common, super, ultra, se- like let's just say it comes in every rarity, and it's being bought out everywhere, yes. now you have it less accessible to you, it's harder to find, and you're almost forced to buy everything online, where those prices are gonna be even higher because you can't find the product to open it

Eric 30:31

Yeah. So do you think that players and collectors view the game differently than they did five or even 10 years ago now with all the new stuff that's popping up?

TJ 30:40

I think it constantly changes. back in the day, we used to get ultras and ultis. They were like sisters and brother, in every set. You know, perfect example, Zenmedi came as an ultra or a, a ulti in Generation Force, I believe, Gen Force. you know, that stopped after a certain point, so then only ultras existed in, in main sets, and then ultis got moved to, not Turbo Pack, it was Astral Pack.

Eric 31:04

Hmm. Mm-hmm. Yes

TJ 31:06

we lost the accessibility to these ultis because now they're only tournament given packs, and now you lose access to this rarity. So that changed how collectors collected things. Now they're forced to either buy them or go to tournaments and play instead of being able to buy them out of sets. Then you have, like we saw, the over frames. You know, so when things like this happen, it, it definitely transitions how collectors are gonna collect and how players are gonna play because now they have different ways of accessing these cards

Eric 31:32

how do you feel gaming communities have changed since you first got involved? to the point of like not just the economy, but just the ability and the accessibility of these games

TJ 31:42

just changed a lot. I mean, just to kinda tidbit off of, the Call of Duty scene from back in the day, you had FaZe. FaZe was a gaming group, company, friends, all these people that met on Call of Duty, and they would send contracts through Xbox message and, like, "Hey, let's play competitively," right? then you have Yu-Gi-Oh! 20 years ago, where it was like if you didn't know that there was a competitive scene, you just thought it was a card game.

Eric 32:11

Mm-hmm.

TJ 32:11

you didn't know anything about it. You thought it was a TV show, and you thought it was a card game, and that was it. You played it with your friends on the, playground. You might have known about a locals maybe, and you just kinda did what you wanted to do, and then it vastly grew. it's ultimately changed into, a huge IP, not compared to, like, Pokemon or anything like that, but it's getting there. it's up there. And so the direction of the card game went from, "I have fusion monsters, and I don't know how to play the game. Let me just summon it," to, "Holy crap, this link monster's not pointing in the right direction."

Eric 32:48

the, my biggest nightmare

TJ 32:50

Yeah. So, you know, I, I think games will always change constantly, it's not gonna be for Yu-Gi-Oh, it's not gonna be set monster, set spell or trap, pass. It's gonna be, "Here's my combo. Can you beat it?"

Eric 33:02

do you feel like that's kind of the negativity of this specific card game? Because you have something like Pokemon where it's like, "Okay, I've done my things. Your turn," and then you set your hand down and watch them go off on you. Whereas in Yu-Gi-Oh, it's like, "Okay, I now have, two Omni-Negates, four set back row. I'm about to summon back Dark Armed Dragon for no reason." you have all these just counters. Do you have Nibiru? No. Do you have Ash? No? Okay. What do you do, you know? I feel like it makes the game damn near impossible to play, but still there's quite a large group of people that play. I mean, some would consider Yu-Gi-Oh still being in the top three of TCGs.

TJ 33:37

Yeah. and to that point, I actually don't mind that. Now, do I wanna hand my opponent a questionnaire every time I start my turn? Yes, but, you know, it's, it's a part of the game. I think as Yu-Gi-Oh players, we need to understand that that's where this game is. we've been complaining about it for a decade now, like, "Our turn. Our turn." But it's been our turn for 10 years. We might as well accept it. It's what they want. And so you look at it and it's a strategy. You gotta think about it as a strategy now. It's a mind game, and unless you're willing to play those mind games or that strategy, you're probably not going to do well or enjoy it. do I love being able to turn off my brain, set my hand down, and just, know, sit there like a, a Humpty Dumpty on a wall? Yes, but every game is entirely different. And, I think you just have to figure out what you like the most. and, you'll go so far with it if you do figure it out

Eric 34:26

how do you feel when it comes to people leaving the game? When you have somebody who says, All right, here's Riftbound. They have tournaments that do $25,000. It's a brand new game, been out a year or so." Here's One Piece, it's been out three years and they're giving out, legendary cards at baseball games and soccer games, football games. it seems like every other trading card game is really capitalizing on being for the player, where Yu-Gi-Oh has just kind of faded into this nonexistent just nostalgia hopefulness

TJ 35:01

I think, power to them. I mean, first off, more power to them. you found the game that you wanted to play. think people don't understand when they come from that mindset that truly what they were doing is that they were biding their time. They halfway enjoyed this game, so they stuck to it until they found something better, and now they found the game that they actually wanna play, and they're going to look down on Yu-Gi-Oh! because it was never what they truly wanted. And that sucks for Yu-Gi-Oh! because it's not the card game's fault, it's the person who was playing it not realizing that they didn't enjoy its fault

Eric 35:34

that's a fantastic way of putting it. If you as a content creator, do you feel like you have a responsibility in influencing not necessarily just card prices and market trends, but the game itself? 'Cause you speak very highly of it. You love the game, obviously. and you're also saying, "Hey, if... Play the game you wanna play, love it and enjoy it." Do you think that you have a big influence on the growth of Yu-Gi-Oh itself?

TJ 35:56

I would love to. I wanna say no because one, normally I'm, I'm not making the tier list with Callie. I don't, I don't generally, I'm not always in the video. I mean, I know I've been in some recent time and, you know, I've kind of been more active on the channel here and there, but it's never directly me. Like, I'm not making a, a PSA, "Buy this card, it's about to go up," like, you know, stock market kinda thing. maybe when I play in dual challenge and I use, like, a certain card, I might influence people to buy it out or, or really look at it or something. But I never intentionally or thought I had that power

Eric 36:34

Is that something you'd like to have?

TJ 36:36

No, I, I would go insane with power if I did because I would be making Zen Media a $500 card

Eric 36:43

Gross.

TJ 36:44

of them. You know what I mean? Like

Eric 36:45

Gross.

TJ 36:47

but I don't think anybody, like any one person should have that power. I think that as players we should look at trends or we should look at key cards and it out for ourselves. You know? You shouldn't have to always rely on the content creator to do it for you. And I'm not saying everybody has that capability or time, but I think as a community that we should aspire to, to do it ourselves

Eric 37:11

I think that's a very smart, kind way to put it, with a lot of negativity surrounding the card game structure as it is now. I think a lot of people turn to content creators, much like yourself, to really help guide them to what the next big thing is. I'd be remiss if I didn't say there are times I watched y'all's videos and, you guys got me into Cool Tunes. you know, they were a cool concept to begin with, but

TJ 37:30

Yeah

Eric 37:31

the way Leon talked about it and the way things, were playing out in the videos, I was like, "This is the next best deck." another thing I feel like Leon and you, have been very vocal in some of the issues that Konami has, I guess, avoided when it comes to making the game better and being a little bit more responsive to the players. Do you feel that these other YouTube-tubers that are out there, co-signing and saying, "Konami's great, can do no wrong," and they're getting paid sponsorships, they're getting the box early, do you feel a little jaded to that point, or do you feel like it's better to have your stance and say, "Hey, these are the wrongs. This is how it sh- could be fixed. Just fix it"?

TJ 38:08

no disrespect to them, when I say any of this, but if you were getting paid by, Kia to drive a Kia Soul and it broke down on you, would you talk shit about it? Or would you say, "Hey, I'm just getting it fixed. It's a great car. You know, I just had a issue," right? it's not that you don't wanna speak out on it, it's that you don't wanna hurt your chances of the sponsorship, and I think that's what too many Yuki Tubers are afraid of, is that they don't want Konami to turn against them. think what they fail to realize is that nothing changes unless somebody speaks out. And they could do whatever they want with my ID. I don't care. I will tell you your issue, and that's because I love this game so much that I want it to change. I want it to get better. I want them to do well. And so if it comes at the cost of me being banned from playing competitive play or something, have at it

Eric 38:54

do you feel like that constant course correction for the company is for them to sit there and say, "You know what? we're not gonna fix this. it is what it is. Play the game or don't." Do you think that's a detriment to the game itself?

TJ 39:03

Because they won't communicate to us, yes. If they just openly said, "Hey, this is what we wanted," we would understand better as players. They could probably break it down to us and we'd understand their viewpoint finally, because we don't know what they're thinking. And that's been the biggest issue is one, their communication, and two, the way they handle these changes

Eric 39:19

Mm-hmm. what kind of goals do you still have as a creator moving forward?

TJ 39:24

I never really had goals as a creator. that's the crazy thing, is that, like, I was always on this journey of I'm gonna help my brother, I'm gonna help my friend, this person I have a channel with. and as much as he and everybody else loves to say I'm part of the Cali Effect brand, I never saw myself as that. And so I never truly set goals because I was just there to help. I was there to see my brother's dream through. I was never there to fulfill my own dream. And so, I guess you could say the only dream I currently have is just making this card game championships that is, like, insane that every company is not able to ignore it. They have to look at it. They have to join it, because it's gonna make them either, A, so much money, or bring their community so much bigger it's something that they have to be like, "Let's reach out to this person and get on board with it." And I know I

Eric 40:11

Mm-hmm.

TJ 40:11

I basically wanna create, like, an EDC for card games. I want Friday to be opening night and potentially also day one of some games, while Saturday is day two for those games and finals, and then day one of everything else. And then Sunday you have the literal top cut and finals, and it's, like, the grandest stage. That is my dream. that's what I wanna create

Eric 40:31

I think it's a fantastic dream. I think it's something that can be done. Is there anybody you'd be like, "Hey, this is what we're trying to do. I'd love to work with you to get this, popped open and make it happen"?

TJ 40:41

I haven't exactly thought that far because I'm such a logistical thinker.

Eric 40:44

Mm-hmm

TJ 40:44

I never really get to that point until I'm like, "Hey, this idea is like almost fully fledged. Now I need this." That's usually one of the last things I think about, 'cause If I go out and I reach out for a collab and I don't get it going, I mean, I kinda did the work backwards. You know what I mean?

Eric 40:58

Hmm. Mm-hmm.

TJ 40:58

wanna get somebody else prepared for something I'm not ready for

Eric 41:02

So in the next five years, because you're helping, with The Kali Effect and the channel, I don't wanna ask you where do you see yourself and the channel going. I'd much rather see in the next five years, where do you think you, this card game, and the idea of what you're planning looks like?

TJ 41:17

I think in the next five years, I potentially finally give up playing Yu-Gi-Oh! in the sense that I'm running this big, huge event. I'm working with the card game essentially, not maybe with Konami directly, but just with the card game overall, and I get to view the players enjoying it. And that's really truly where I do get a lot of my enjoyment, is creating something and seeing the success in it. And so if I can do that, I probably would never pick up Yu-Gi-Oh! in a competitive sense again. I might play with friends here and there. I might keep up with it just because of the information. But could see myself just being like, "Hey, you know what? It is what it is. my playing time came through, and, now I got this huge thing going for me." And so, you know, I always wanna be connected to the game. I just don't know in what aspect I will be in five years

Eric 42:08

Mm-hmm. Do you see yourself playing any other game in five years? Let's say not competitively, but you still dabbling in anything else?

TJ 42:16

I could see myself always dabbling with like Pokemon, just 'cause I love the franchise so much. I mean, I play the generations all the time. I'm waiting for Gen 10 to come out.

Eric 42:24

Oh, yeah

TJ 42:25

playing ZA. Like, you know, I love those games so much that I could see myself continuing with the Pokemon card game, whether it's competitive or not as well. I don't think I'd ever give up card games completely unless I like just become a vegetable for some reason. it's just always in me to play these card games. So I think in some sense I will always play the card game, it just might not be competitively

Eric 42:45

It has been, again, a joy to talk with you. you're a blast, and I would've loved to continue on more about Overwatch, other card, trading card games. I wanna elaborate more on the plan that you have moving forward. I think that is a fantastic thing that should be done. but just a few, closing questions, if you will.

TJ 43:02

Yeah

Eric 43:02

what's one lesson Yu-Gi-Oh! has taught you about life?

TJ 43:05

Not everything is as it seems. might have an idea or a thought process about something, but just one small thing can throw that way off

Eric 43:14

What's something that you've overcome in your own personal journey in your life that you're proud of?

TJ 43:19

Bipolar.

Eric 43:20

Simple. Simple, right?

TJ 43:22

Absolutely

Eric 43:24

What do you hope your audience remembers about you beyond the cards and the content?

TJ 43:29

Ah, I know where this question is coming from, and I do appreciate it because RIP to Simo. and I hope people remember him for everything he's done because he's been a huge contribution to not only this community, but just to people. I mean, there's people that don't even watch Yu-Gi-Oh! that watched him. So I want when I'm either, A, no longer in the community at least, or if I do happen to go, that they remember me for being this uplifting, optimistic, and just overall relief in, in, in Yu-Gi-Oh!, and providing people with, with joy

Eric 44:04

Yeah. And I think you've done that very well. I don't think there's anybody that could say the opposite of that for you. just personally, I think you've nailed that.

TJ 44:13

Thank you

Eric 44:14

super rapid fire, best deck in the game?

TJ 44:16

Wind-ups.

Eric 44:17

Trash. best card?

TJ 44:19

Rageki

Eric 44:22

Worst deck to play against?

TJ 44:24

Oh, Brandon.

Eric 44:25

Oh, no. worst card

TJ 44:27

Oh, MSD doesn't negate

Eric 44:29

What's your Mount Rushmore? Top four best players of all time

TJ 44:33

Best players of all time, Patrick Hoban, Jesse Cotton, Pock, I don't remember his last name, so I can't say it. I'm sorry. I'll just throw Jeff Jones in there

Eric 44:41

Wow. Really? Jeff Jones?

TJ 44:42

he, if you look back at his OG, like heroes and stuff like that, he was the guy

Eric 44:47

Okay, I'll give it to you. I'll let you have that one. And where does, I mean, if you had to throw Leon in there, I mean, where, what, what number would he be at?

TJ 44:53

Well, he'd have to be number five 'cause he's 50/50

Eric 44:56

thank you so much for your time again, man. I really appreciate everything that you've done, everything that you're doing, your triumph and continual work with bipolarism as well as your content and everything you're putting out. I know you're gonna do incredible stuff. if someone's listening today possibly struggling with bipolarism or is also kind of looking for something to ground them, whether it be a card game, what would you want them to hear?

TJ 45:20

don't succumb to the drug thing. Please do not. I got lucky and I made out of it, and not everybody gets that lucky. but it's okay to need help. It's okay to seek for medication and find the medication that works for you. It's okay to, open up to people, and if they're not willing to listen to you, find somebody who will because you need to be able to speak to people, and you need to be able to be heard. If you're not being heard, you're not gonna get through it. And so, it's okay to not be okay. But at the end of the day, if you don't know what to do or you don't know where to begin, you can always reach out to me and I will either provide you a hotline, at least listen to you a little bit or something. I'll tell you that I hope you have a better day. Just whatever you need to hear. but just know you're not going through it alone

46:05

Thank you all so much for listening to today's episode of Here For You. I wanna give a huge thank you to TJ for not only taking the time to join me, but for being willing to have such an honest conversation. It's easy to talk about tournament wins and successful YouTube videos, but it takes real courage to speak openly about mental health, personal struggles, and the work it takes to keep moving forward. One of my biggest takeaways from this conversation is that success isn't just about numbers or accomplishments. It's about remaining authentic, continuing to learn, and finding ways to help the communities we're passionate about. TJ's vision for creating something bigger than himself, a massive celebration of trading card games, is incredibly inspiring, and I truly hope we get to watch that dream become reality. If today's episode resonated with you, please consider following the podcast, leaving a review, and sharing this episode with someone who could benefit from hearing TJ's story. As always, if you're struggling with your own mental health, know that asking for help is a sign of strength, not weakness. You don't have to face those battles alone. Until next time, take care of yourselves, take care of each other, and remember, there's always someone here to listen.