We had the good fortune of connecting with Christian Leal and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Christian, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
My name is Christian Leal, from Grand Prairie, Texas, 26 years of age and I am the owner of Spinners Toys & Collectibles. I was born with brittle bone disease, also known as Osteogenesis Imperfecta, and yes, I have been confined to a wheelchair my entire life. I attended the University of Texas at Arlington, and Graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing and Management in 2021. I started off as a regular Funko Pop collector back in late 2015. I got my first pop from my mom for Christmas, and that was the official start to me collecting. It became a hobby for me and I went wild (like all new collectors). In 2016 I attended my first event, where collectors sold and traded Funko Pops and other Collectibles. My friend Gabe invited me and I shared his table with about 6 or 7 items. There I met Jay of Crazy Loco World, and we quickly became friends. We bonded over wrestling, Funko and all other pop culture related things. We didn’t realize it would be the start of a great friendship and brotherhood.

In 2017, I began attending more shows throughout the months, buying more and more, until I spoke to a few friends I had made in the community, mainly Jay of Crazy Loco World, and Shawn of 181 Comics and Collectables, about possibly joining the resale business. After mulling the idea, I finally gave in and decided to do it as a side hobby. It was just something that was supposed to be fun and give me something to do.

Fast forward a couple of years, and I realized I was doing quite a bit of shows, and my inventory had grown way bigger than anticipated, at least at the time, with maybe 150 items in inventory. My mom thought it was so much at that time, little did she know what it would become. After a couple years, I was approached by Jay in mid/late 2019, if I wanted to join him in his shop expansion and be a full-fledged partner of the shop, which was over in Vikon Plaza in Garland. It was a super exciting opportunity and I immediately said yes. I joined the shop in late November of 2019, and together we had the shop for about a good 6 months, right up to the occurrence of the lockdown for Covid. We ended up having to leave the shop, and went back to doing our own thing during the lockdown period.

Once lockdown was lifted, events picked back up, and I was back to business. Business was slow for a while, but eventually I was able to build back up my inventory and was more focused than ever. I began attending more events and I eventually got into my first Convention which happened to be the first Weeb Con, in August of 2021. It ended up being the best show I ever had (at the time). It was so crazy for me to finally have been a vendor at a convention. Going from a local pop swap in my home city, to a convention. It was a big milestone for me. From that show on, the growth skyrocketed. Not just for the business, but for myself as well. I realized that what I was doing, was growing and I just loved it. It was so much fun, and even became sort of addicting. The confidence in myself skyrocketed, and I had so much more time to dedicate to the business now that I was out of school. Post weebcon is when I decided that I was all in. Fast forward to now, I’ve set up at shows that I never thought I would ever be in: Fan Expo, Retro Expo, Kameha Con, DFW Vintage Swap Meet and Collect A Con to name a few. Closing off the year I have Anime Dallas and Anime Frontier on the schedule and multiple booked for next year. In addition to that, I also had a shop location for a 7-month period. From September 2021-May2022, I had a booth in a vintage store in North Richland Hills called JNJ’s Vintage-Retro. It was a fun experience, made a lot of new friends, and clients. Also was able to bring customers to the store as well. This was an important time in my career and life. I really wasn’t sure what exactly I wanted for the business, or what it would lead too. I just knew it was going to be beneficial in the long run, and I truly believe it was. I learned a lot in my time there. I began to see the impact I had and that I was making, so I knew that whatever my next moves were, would be big ones, and since then, they have been. I am now attending out of town shows, I’ve been in New Braunfels, and San Antonio. I still have Houston, Austin, and a few more this year.

In addition to attending events, I’ve also thrown some as well. I have thrown 9 shows so far. One of those was actually at JNJ’s as well. Inside and outside of the store, we had about 15 vendors, and we tons of customers roll thru. New and old faces. It was an amazing experience. The most recent event I hosted was an event in Allen.

Jay and I now have an event, we call “DFW Swap-A-Palooza” The latest event took place in Allen, Texas at Fan Fortress Allen. We were fresh off a previous event, and only had 2 weeks to promote this event. We wanted to do something a bit different with this new event, and we wanted it to make an IMPACT on the community, and BE a show for the community. We had about 40 vendor spots sold, and it was an outdoor market. These shows are continuously growing, and we are very proud of how the community has responded.

In addition, Jay and I started a podcast. The Podcast is called “The Vendor Spotlight with The Palooza Boys”. We will discuss our lives as business owners, business and personal. The things we deal with in our daily lives, and we’ll also have guests on it, who are other vendors and business owners who can come give their viewpoints and experiences and help promote their business as well. The first episode is on YouTube under the channel “The Vendor Spotlight” Since then, we have thrown 3 DFW SWAP-A-PALOOZA events, & I am currently waiting to throw my next solo show May 19, 2023, at Four Corners Brewing Co, the UROC POPUP!

I’ve been really blessed to do what I do. Especially given my situation, I never let it control my narrative as a business owner or anything like that. People have come up to me and told me I’ve inspired them, or got them into the business or hobby, and I really appreciate that. I appreciate everyone who has supported me at any point of my life. It really does mean the world, and that’s how I can continue to do what I do. If I can inspire someone to do the same things I’m doing, that’s amazing. But follow my work ethic, follow my drive, and whatever traits you see that are relatable to you. It was never my initial intent to inspire, because I didn’t realize that’s what I was doing. Though if that the position I am in now, I won’t let anyone down. Because at the end of the day, I’m just a guy who just happens to sit down all the time, and happens to run a business at the same time. As long as I know that I’m doing good, and not swaying into a direction that’s making a negative impact or changing in a negative way, then I’m happy with that. And for anyone looking for that nudge, or scared to take a risk, all I can say is, always be prepared to take a risk, never settle, because if you don’t believe in yourself, who will?

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
To go deeper in the business, I offer a wide variety of Funko Pops, Nerf Guns, Squishmallows, Anime Apparel, and am branching out further into vintage and retro items. I do have a website, where I sell most of my products. In addition to selling products, the one thing that I wanted to do with my website was separate from other collectible websites. When you enter the website, there is a section that has my upcoming events, and a “Past Events Summary Blog” where I go more into depth about the events I attend. I give my experience of the event in its entirety and how I saw it. I discuss from set up to breakdown, and give as much detail as possible, so that the people who didn’t attend, get a chance to hear about the event. They’re also getting a viewpoint from the eyes of a vendor.

I feel like my business has a lot of layers. I don’t just sell products, but I create content for my instagram and my Facebook group (Undiscovered Realm of Collectibles), throw events, design logos, and now have a podcast. All these things intertwine together and I’m really proud of what we’ve done. I appreciate all the people who help me get here, I wouldn’t be here without them.

I think the spinners brand itself is what I’m most proud of. It’s become more than what I thought it would become. I also love the fact that my team, customers, and peers have helped raise money for multiple charity drives. The one that was closest to me was Scottish Rite Hospital for Children. Besides that, it’s hard to speak on the things that I’m most proud of. I am happy with what I’ve done, but I know more can be done. I don’t know exactly how to explain it because talking about yourself in this way is so odd to me. But what I do know is that I’m told by a lot of people that I’m doing great things, and that people are noticing, and I think that’s enough for me.

Now that I’ve branched into the clothing world, with Spinny Brand Co., and my events UROC, and DFW Swap-A-Palooza, I notice my hands are very full, and have a lot on my plate. But, I’m able to juggle everything, and keep pushing through. At the end of the day, we make our own decisions. We choose the path we take, and we have to deal with it, the good and the bad. I’ve been fortunate enough to put myself in a situation, while even though I am working almost all the time, I’m okay with it. I feel what I am doing is for a good reason, and the sky is the limit. The goal is to just keep going up and up and up!

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Well one of our favorite spots is Four Corners Brewing Co. We throw our Pop-Up events here, it’s always a good vibe with great people. The food is really good, and the drinks are great! They have loteria night on Thursdays, and Trivia on Sunday. I’d also recommend going to Dusty Attic Toy Show in Garland, every 2nd Sunday of the Month (3rd, if noted). The next suggestion would be attending any event by The DFW Vintage Swap Meet, and Carne Asada Fest in May. And of course, if you’re looking for a Toy Store open everyday, check out 181 Comics and Collectables, in Fort Worth! And of course don’t miss a DFW Swap-A-Palooza event! Our next sponsored event is on May 19, 7-11pm at Four Corners, and hosted by one half of the Palooza Boys, Spinners!

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I think the biggest shout out I have to give, is to my parents. They have both been very supportive, throughout my entire career. While there were concerns on whether my career choices were sustainable, they never down talked them, nor tried to force me in a different direction. I really appreciate them for that. Business has picked up this past year, and I kinda got them on their toes more than ever lol. I’m doing these 3 day long conventions now, that start usually on Thursday for a 6 hour set up, and run until Sunday night, after packing up and getting home. My mom stays most of the time with me on these longer shows. Running a 20ft x 10ft booth is no easy task. My dad now helps us load and unload. It’s definitely a grind, but it’s worth it. It wouldn’t be possible without them. I’m truly grateful, and I know sometimes I don’t say it enough. I will get better at it. Just know they raised a genius, and I hope to make them proud.

Website: spinnerstoyscollectibles.com

Instagram: @spinnerstoyscollectibles

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christian-leal-09aa331a9/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SpinnersTC

Youtube: https://youtube.com/@TheVendorSpotlight

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