Where does one start? Do I start by talking about my long love for Star Wars, a love I’ve had since my childhood, or about all the things I loved growing up? As a Gen-X kid, there were without a doubt, many great things to love about my childhood. As a child in the 70s, I sat back and watched the strangest kid shows ever put on a small TV tube. From Sid and Marty Krofft’s Land of the Lost to the acid-filled crazy of H.R. Pufnstuf. As the 70s ended, my childhood turned into my teen years, but I wasn’t ready to grow up just yet. The 80s Saturday morning cartoons really kept my childhood alive with odd shows like Pac-Man or even a cartoon based on the Rubik’s Cube. Then there were more mature cartoons like Dungeons & Dragons and G.I. Joe. As I got a little older, I still found enjoyment on TV with shows like You Can’t Do That on Television. A kid-friendly SNL-type skit show, and then there was the wacky Out of Control, which brought a David Letterman-like talk show feel to the kid channels of the 80s.
While making a YouTube channel, it was easy to talk about my first love, Star Wars—a movie I stood in line with my brother to see back in the summer of 1977. To say it changed my life would be an understatement. It shaped my life; it made me who I was as a kid and who I became as an adult. Star Wars is part of my DNA. So without a doubt, I knew I would have to talk about Star Wars on any YouTube channel I created. But after starting my “Star Wars Junk” channel, talking about the release of the films, the toys based on it, and its impact on my life, I couldn’t limit myself to just Star Wars if I was going to talk about my childhood.
So I rebranded to better fit the Gen-X life I grew up with. I had already taken the title of That Junkman for a few reasons. One, “The Junkman” was already in use, and I had already grown a good following at “Star Wars Junk” on social media. But why “Junk”? I would love to say it’s because as a kid, we kept all the toys in an unused bedroom we called the “Junkroom,” but I’ve also heard this a lot: “What is this Star Wars junk” or “Why do you buy all this Star Wars junk?” Be it from a wife, then an ex-wife, my parents, or even friends. Star Wars Junk felt right—it was a way to take back what was used as a negative.
Now rebranded as more of a “Junk of Gen-X pop culture,” I felt free to talk about those 70s kid shows, 80s cartoons, and my love for Star Wars and the toys that made the movies come alive on the floor of my bedroom. I could talk about unreleased toys, not just from Star Wars but action figures from the huge names to those oddball ones you saw once at a drugstore. My goal has always been to give back to the Gen-X adults some forgotten memories of their past or to show other generations just how great we had it. Was growing up in the 70s and 80s really a magical time with no problems, or is it just easier to look back at it with rose-colored glasses? I like to think it is a mix of both. Sure, we had problems, sure it wasn’t perfect, but damn was it a blast!
BIO:
A child of the 70s, a teen of the 80s, and a 20-something of the 90s, That Junkman grew up in the best pop culture era. From the 70s cartoons, to the 80s summer blockbusters, to the 90s collector toy boom, it was an exciting time. You can find Junkman on any social media platform, but he’s always over on his YouTube channel, “That Junkman,” where he talks about something he loved as a kid, forgot about as a kid, or just wanted to have as a kid.
