About Us

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Erin Giddings

Erin Giddings started his collecting in the 80’s with football and baseball cards. At the age of 16 he began working at a local card shop and by 18 was managing the store.

Erin then went on to earn a degree in advertising, but while in college he interned at Donruss Playoff LLC with the marketing department. Upon graduation, he was hired full time as a Community Manager where he worked with hobby retail stores across the country and helping with trade-show marketing. In his five years at the company he worked in sales, licensing and marketing.

After leaving in 2008, he opened Area 51 Gaming & Collectibles in Grapevine, Texas. The store grew to be a 5,000sq ft. retail store in less than four years. After six years he sold the store to a local hobby store chain and went to run another business venture in the online card sales market.

Back at it again, Blake and Erin teamed up to bring back the favorite Area 51 brand. With a new look but same great feel, Area 51 is poised to be your new home for collecting and investing information in the hobby industry.

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Blake Hockenbrough

Blake has been a collector since the early 90’s. With his father, Blake has been investing in sports cards for several years, following market trends and analyzing data to make the most profitable buys / sells. Blake received his bachelors degree from Abilene Christian University in 2007 and majored in Business Management.

Recently Blake began diving deep into the analytics of day trading sports cards and collectibles and has successfully predicted a number of big breaks and market falls. As he truly embraced the hobby and found his passion for market trending, he partnered with Erin Giddings to bring back the Area 51 brand and help other collectors learn how to enjoy their hobby for both fun and financial gain.

Blake has recently started teaching his oldest son about the hobby and getting him involved at an early age. His wife and three kids have been rock stars, supporting his hobby and encouraging him to continue pursuit of his passion for investing and educating others on how to achieve the most from collecting!