MIKE ZARNOCK

MICHAEL ECKERSON . February 28, 2023 . All Feature Vehicles

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Hot Wheels Super Collector

Mike Zarnock is an American author and columnist, who writes collector guides and articles about Hot Wheels Toy Cars and Accessories and currently producer/editor and host of “Hot Wheels TV” on YouTube.

Mike’s knowledge and his massive Hot Wheels collection (approximately 30K vehicles) has earned him notoriety around the world. Whether it’s because of the 14 books, numerous chapters in other books and hundreds of magazine articles that he’s written about Hot Wheels Toy Cars and Accessories or just the sheer magnitude and diversity of his twice held Guinness World Record Hot Wheels Collection, he has earned the most distinguished label: “One of the world’s leading Hot Wheels authorities.”

Mike’s massive collection, world notoriety and World Records have also raised him to an elite new level of collecting as only a handful of collectors around the world have been classified as a “Super Collector!”

D! So at what age were you captivated with Hot Wheels? Share a little of your childhood memories

MZ I first saw a Hot Wheels 1968. I was riding my Sting-Ray bicycle down to the local strip mall to go to a store called WT Grants. I was looking for Tom Daniel models. Tom Daniel was the greatest guy in the world for designing cool stuff. He’s best known for the Red Baron, Tijuana Taxi, Tarantula, and many other iconic designs made into Monogram model kits.

I walked into WT Grants and there were Hot Wheels, the whole display. Man, I wish that display was still around. I fell in love instantly. There were superchargers sticking out of the hoods and tripped out paint, mag wheels, and slicks. Wow. The coolest thing was that I saw the Beatnik Bandit and the Silhouette. I’ve always been a big fan of Bill Cushenbery. Now at that time, you know, those cars were only seen in magazines and here they are right in front of me.

I didn’t have any money in my pocket. So I went home and asked my mom for a dollar and that was it. I mean, I fell in love instantly. I really don’t remember which one it was, but it was one of the two of them, The Beatnik or the Silhouette. But they were definitely the first two Hot Wheels in my collection.

Every time a new Hot Wheel came out, I had to have it. So I’ve been a fan ever since I was ten years old.

D! Tell us your journey as you went from fan to collector, to World Record holder, to producer, and more.

MZ It wasn’t really anything crazy or anything special. I mean, whenever a Hot Wheels came out, I had to have it. Everybody knew I loved Hot Wheels – my family, my neighbors, everyone knew what to get me. Any kind of holiday, birthday, whatever, you know.

I’ll share a funny story about Hot Wheels and Christmas. My mother gave you some money to go down to buy everybody Christmas gifts. So being eleven years old at the time, I thought, you know what? I’m going to buy everybody Hot Wheels because they won’t want them and they’ll give them back to me.

So I came home with a bunch of Hot Wheels and my mom said you were supposed to buy everybody a Christmas gift. I said, yeah, I did, I bought everybody Hot Wheels. She said well, they’re not going to want him. I said I know, then they’re going to give them to me. She got really upset. But then she gave me more money to go back to the store. I did get to keep the Hot Wheels. So, yeah, that’s the kind of kid I was.

I collected Hot Wheels and I had to have one of everything. Back then it didn’t matter what color they were. Up until I was about thirteen, fourteen years old.

I was talking to a friend of mine and I was asked him if he saw this new car or that new car and another kid said “Hey, you collect Hot Wheels?” I said, yeah. He said, “You collect baby toys?” I felt really bad. I stopped collecting for a couple of years and that was the enamel years ‘72 and ‘73. I really, really regret that. After those couple of years I thought, I don’t care what anybody thinks about me. I’m going to collect my Hot Wheels.

So I did. Whenever life permitted it and whenever I saw something I went out and bought it. So for the past fifty years I’ve bought everything and anything that has the Hot Wheels logo on it. I’ve got underwear, socks, sunglasses, toothbrushes, shampoo. You name it! If it’s got the Hot Wheels logo on it, I have my collection.

As far as having the world’s largest collection, I’ve had two Guinness World Records, I’ve been in Ripley’s Believe It or Not a couple of times, been on different TV shows, a lot of magazine articles, and I’ve even gotten to do the Hot Wheels. 50th-Anniversary Special for the History Channel.

So it didn’t start off that way. And you know, I never thought I’d write 14 books or have Mattel say, hey let’s do a Hot Wheels of your dragster. It’s just something that evolved. I’m very grateful for it.

D! What are some more of the important collecting tips that you can share with us?

MZ People ask which ones will be worth all kinds of money and, this and that. And, I tell them, you know what? If you’re going to collect Hot Wheels, it’s like anything else, if you’re going to have a hobby, enjoy the hobby. Buy things that you can afford. There’s a lot of things out there that are very expensive and people think that their selling price is going to go sky-high.

Back in the mid-’90s, people were buying up Hot Wheels like crazy, putting thousands of them away thinking that they’re going to make tons of money on them in twenty years. And, you know, there are many people that did that and in twenty years, people were bringing them out and saturated the market. You could pick them up five for a dollar. Things like that.

It’s a hobby. Enjoy it. Don’t spend crazy money on things. I’ve seen people not make their mortgage payments. I’ve seen people not make a car payment. Don’t think you’re going to make a million dollars on it. Do it for the hobby, not the profit.

D! Knowing that, what’s the most you paid for a Hot Wheel?

MZ I like all kinds of Hot Wheels. If I’m buying a car, I might have spent maybe three or four hundred dollars on some cars. But I have spent a lot of money on track sets. There’s there’s some really rare stuff out there. I’ve spent $500-$800 dollars on a track set.

And as far as big money, I’ve got real cars and I’d rather put $10,000 into my truck than I would into a Hot Wheel. So, I look at it from that perspective.

D! What are your top three Hot Wheels of all time?

MZ That’s like asking which one of my kids is my favorite. But my favorite is the Mike Zarnock Altered Roadster. Hot Wheels actually did my old race car that I used to race on the East Coast back in the late ‘70s. That is definitely my most favorite choice. That’s a dream come true.

Second and third are the Beatnik Bandit and the Silhouette from the original Sweet 16. Those cars are the ones that made me fall in love with Hot Wheels.

Speaking of favorites, I got to choose 19 of my favorite cars for Fireball Tim’s latest coloring book. Fireball did my official Mike Zarnock Hot Wheels Coloring Book. He did an amazing job. People have been buying them up like crazy. You can get them on Amazon.

But it’s hard to pinpoint what are my favorite Hot Wheels because I love them all. They all have a different meaning to me. No matter how old they are or what era of Hot Wheels, they always bring me back to a different part of my life and what was I doing at that time. That’s the big thing with me. Each different Hot Wheels is a different part of my life I’ve had some ups and downs and so those bring back some good memories, some bad memories, but you know, the only thing constant in my life in the past fifty five years has been Hot Wheels and that’s a cool thing.