Don’t Sleep on Kyle Tan—Singapore’s Resident “Mr. Snorlax”

22nd November 2024 EDT FEATURES

Don’t Sleep on Kyle Tan—Singapore’s Resident “Mr. Snorlax”

We didn't even need to use a Poké Flute to rouse him into doing this interview.

Don’t Sleep on Kyle Tan—Singapore’s Resident “Mr. Snorlax”

Kyle Tan is well-known throughout Singapore’s TCG community as an avid collector of all things Snorlax—going far beyond TCG cards alone. This niche has undoubtedly raised his profile within the community tremendously.

SNKRDUNK recently spoke to him about his journey within the TCG and collectible world as well as his deep love of Snorlax.

Could you introduce yourself?

Hi guys, this is Kyle. I think many of you know me as “that Snorlax collector”; I’m also a really big Naruto fan. I’m a car dealer by day and a TikTok streamer by night, so just hit me up if you have any questions about any of these.

What is it about TCG collection that keeps you coming back for more?

It really depends on the person. Some people stay in this for the collectibles themselves while others do so to make a profit, and with new sets and series always coming out, there’s always more on the way. But for me, it’s because I have a very, very, very soft spot for Snorlax.

Anything that has to do with Snorlax—official merchandise, keychains, TCG cards, plushies—I’ll pick them up on sight.

I first got into TCG as a child, when I was about 10 years old. Mostly for gameplay as I didn’t yet know about the cards’ financial values. Then I mostly stopped around when I started secondary school, though I did sometimes visit card shops. A lot of it had to do with the fact that my cards were always being stolen—I never knew by who.

Unlike many TCG collectors who often specifically collect English or Japanese cards, you collect both. Why have you chosen to do so?

I find that the main difference between the Japanese and English cards has to do with the texture of the cards since the artwork used is the same. The textural depth of the Japanese cards tends to be more obvious—sometimes you don’t necessarily get that with the English cards.

Of course, that won’t stop me from getting English Snorlax cards. Ultimately, I just want them all and will never stop chasing them—no matter the language.

Can you speak about your experiences with TCG products on the SNKRDUNK app, if any?

To be honest, I usually prefer to buy TCG products in physical stores. Although I do have the app, I don’t normally use it to shop. When there are drops, I’ll receive emails or notifications and look at those.

I do frequently go to the SNKRDUNK store on Orchard Road, and many of the items I own were bought from there.

Even with pre-orders, I do want to touch the items in person first. Although it can sometimes be cheaper to do it all online, I would rather go there myself, see and touch them for myself, then buy them. I usually only make exceptions for impulse purchases via online stores.

In your time as a TCG collector, what has been your greatest experience?

Being able to be exposed to the TCG community. I’d never expected to be accepted so warmly and openly.

I came back to collecting TCG products because of my eldest son. It started when I asked my son about what he wanted to become when he grew up, and he said “a YouTuber”. That in turn got me researching more about the world of social media.

Then we started a livestream together but being just a kid, he wanted to back out of it before long, though he would come back every now and again to open a pack or two on stream. But even then, I enjoyed all the experiences and conversations and everything else on the stream itself. We’d open packs on stream and just talk about them. He’s still very much into Pokémon—just not so much the streaming these days.

Later, I decided to join a streaming company where I developed my skills and experience even more. Six months later, I decided to go solo and that was when I realized how much I really loved it and how I wanted to continue doing this in spite of the odds.

It’s always been about the community for me, and it’s first and foremost the community who I do all of this for. I’ve never thought about what I do as a business. It’s not like with other people who see TCG as an opportunity to make money. Going to card shows and events and interacting with the community have been the main ways by which I’ve broadened my knowledge about TCG in general since coming back to it.

On my streams, I always make it a point to clearly state that I’m not in this to make money as well as how the community has supported me ever since I started this whole thing. This is why I nickname my close followers my “angels”—because that’s what they are to me.

Do you have any favorite cards that you either own or are pursuing? If yes, which ones and from what franchises?

I’ve always dreamed of acquiring a card, but I might never be able to—it costs more than S$10,000 per copy. It’s a first-edition PSA 10 Snorlax card from the Jungle set.

Of course, there could easily be even higher-value ones—probably BGS Black Label cards, but I don’t know if those exist. So for now, that would be the dream card for me to have in my collection.

The most expensive card I own right now is a Rocket’s Snorlax ex card. Its English version is a card I’ve been after for a while now because the English version is worth seven to eight times more than the Japanese version which I now own.

I only managed to obtain the card about two to three months ago from someone in the community who has connections to people in Japan. Whenever I put it in my booth and anyone asks, I claim that it’s being sold at a ridiculous price so that no one buys it. More than anything, I just want them to know that I own it. Very few people actually own the card; therefore, acquiring it was one of my greatest achievements on my TCG journey.

How much is your entire collection worth?

Around S$8,000.

Which Pokémon TCG sets do you rate most highly?

There’s one set I believe beats them all, and that’s Legendary Collection. For one thing, holofoil cards from Legendary Collection have a special type of holofoil which has never again been used in the history of the Pokémon TCG. Visually, the holofoil itself has firework patterns and these cards are known as “reverse holo” cards. So, other than the little box which has the Pokémon’s image in it, the entire card glitters like fireworks.

Can you talk to us about your Pokémon tattoos?

For one thing, whenever I stream, I just show my hands; I don’t have a face cam. So it makes my streams more eye-catching. Also, I wanted to relive a part of my childhood. The Pokémon TCG was my very first TCG that I got into as a child. So when I got back into it, I wanted to show everyone that I was truly passionate about Pokémon.

In late December 2023, I contacted a tattoo artist named Jasper. I had been planning for my Pokémon tattoos to be more cartoonish rather than realistic. My tattoos ended up being sticker book-style. There’s no sequence to them, but I did want him to group them together according to their evolutionary families. I even have one of MissingNo.—a glitch “Pokémon” from the code of the Pokémon Red and Blue video games.

The whole thing took around four months; each session was once a week, about four to six hours. It was actually loads of fun and I even found it rather addictive; as time passed I just wanted more and more of the tattoos.

My tattoos actually created quite a buzz within the community because even if they had never seen me in person before, they had seen my tattoos.

How did you start giving your wife the pet name “Snorlax”, and on that note, do you ever refer to your kids as “Munchlax”?

It started when I named her “Snorlax” in my phone contact list and spread to in-person as well because she really behaves like one—even though she might not look like one. Eat, sleep, flip out when she gets not enough of either—that really is Snorlax.

At that point we were mostly into the Pokémon anime; I wasn’t expecting the Pokémon TCG to become such a big part of my life again.

I actually do refer to my kids as “Munchlax” though not as often since they don’t necessarily behave like one. But of course, there’ll still naturally be that connection since my wife is Snorlax.

What are your experiences with card grading services?

I started out by collecting single Snorlax cards, intending to put them in my albums and binders. But as time went on, I began to become interested in card grading because of the visual impact of seeing the card inside the plastic slab.

There are many people in the community who’ll send in their cards for grading often for valuation and flipping purposes, but I don’t really care about that aspect that much. If I really love a card, I’ll just get it graded and placed in the protective case for my own display and viewing pleasure. I’ll sometimes have it displayed in the case at card shows as well.

I should mention that getting a card graded is rather expensive, so it’s important to work within your means. In general, I would recommend mass grading for valuation rather than collection purposes. For collection, the main thing for me is to select the cards that look the best inside the slabs. This way, there’s no need to keep flipping through a binder to display those specific cards to everyone. But all in all, it’s most important to know what you’re doing regarding grading because of the financial cost involved.

Can you talk to us about your involvement with OnlyFriendsLah! (OFL)?

I recently joined a TCG community known as OnlyFriendsLah! (OFL); I was the last person to join. I regard OFL as the family that I never knew I’d have. So, thank you OFL for accepting me and for everything else…

OFL is a group of TCG collectors seeking to give back to the TCG community, especially new collectors. There are so many scammers and bad actors in the community, so we are trying to bring positivity to the community and not let such people tarnish its reputation. We want to make this the norm in the community.

We recently initiated a charity drive in conjunction with the Singapore Children’s Society in which we will be putting together a series of binders featuring a card of each of the 1,025 Pokémon. Once everything is in order, we plan to auction off all the cards and donate the proceeds.

It really resonates with me because I didn’t have the best childhood, so it makes me want other kids not to suffer in some of the ways that I did.