SNKRDUNK Interviews Nate “Shiny Vert” for the Story Behind His Burgeoning Pokémon TCG YouTube Channel and More

20th June 2025 EDT FEATURES

SNKRDUNK Interviews Nate “Shiny Vert” for the Story Behind His Burgeoning Pokémon TCG YouTube Channel and More

To say that his handle has "personal meaning" would be putting it lightly to say the least.

A Pokémon TCG YouTuber with over 200,000 followers, Nate—better known as “Shiny Vert”—has come back from rock bottom to emerge as an increasingly well-known Pokémon TCG content creator.

We spoke to him to learn more about his Pokémon TCG journey as well as the astonishing backstory behind his handle.

Could you introduce yourself?

Hey! I’m Nate, but most people just call me “Vert” now. Everyone always thinks the “Vert” from “Shiny Vert” came from me being a huge fan of Lil Uzi Vert, but it really came from a sickness I had a hard time dealing with a few years ago called vertigo. It was a tough time in life so the “Vert”‘s a cool reminder to just keep pushing through. The “Shiny” part is just because I like Shiny Pokemon.

I’ve always had a dream of doing YouTube and regained my childhood love for collecting during the Covid-19 Pokémon TCG boom so I combined the two, and now I feel truly blessed everyday to be doing Pokémon / YouTube as a full-time job. It’s genuinely surreal and I couldn’t be more thankful.

How did you get into TCG collection?

I actually grew up in Virginia and was taking a trip back there for the first time in 5+ years so I wanted to show my friend the local Target I used to get packs from because it was so nostalgic to me as a kid. When we went in, they had a few tins and I hadn’t opened packs since being a kid, so we decided to get some, took the tins back to the hotel, turned on the camera, and just had fun ripping together. I think it was the nostalgia that hit me differently but from that point on, I was full-on addicted again.

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

There’s so many different things about collecting that make it fun for me. I’m super big into graded cards, so I love the feeling of getting 10s back, especially when it’s a big pull that has a memory attached to it.

My biggest chase was the Giratina VSTAR at the time from Crown Zenith and I pulled it inside the Universal Studios park in Florida, right in front of the Harry Potter castle. I had no sleeves so I had to stick the card in the back of my phone case all day in the middle of a hot summer.

Once we finally got home, I sent it for grading and it still managed to get the 10 so to this day, even though it’s not the most expensive card I have, it’s still my favorite because of the story. Meeting people who also love to rip packs “just because they can” along the way is just a huge bonus.

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

The SNKRDUNK app has some dope Pokémon stuff to shop from.

What would you regard as the primary advantages of purchasing TCG products via an online store such as that of the SNKRDUNK app?

Especially right now, shopping online is a must. My online Pokémon store, shinyvert.com, has seen a massive uptick due to no one being able to find products in stores. Also you don’t have to worry about the craziness out there of waiting in a tent for three days to get one single product and risk getting yelled at by people in person when shopping from an online store like mine or SNKRDUNK’s.

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

My greatest experience was an artist named Pardyalone reaching out to me as a fan of my content. Huge shoutout to Pardyalone—his music is insanely good and I’m now a huge fan of his. He reached out to me and brought me backstage to an Atlanta show to rip vintage packs after his performance. As a huge fan of music in general, it was just something I’ll never forget.

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

The Giratina VSTAR I mentioned is my favorite card with a memory attached to it, but I’ve got to go basic here with my next pick and go with the alternate-art Umbreon VMAX from Evolving Skies which is still my favorite card on artwork alone. It looks like a literal art piece you’d see in a museum or something. Hot take: 10x better than the Prismatic Evolutions [PRE] Umbreon.

The cards I’d love to add to my collection are a PSA 10 Mewtwo LV.X promo from the DP Black Star Promos and/or the Special Illustration Rare Espeon from Prismatic Evolutions [PRE]. Espeon is GOATed.

Do you have any comments on specific Pokémon TCG sets?

HOT TAKE!!! Crown Zenith is a top 5 set of ALL TIME. Crown Zenith is jam packed with good hits and it has great pull rates. It’s just a super fun set to open. I do enjoy opening Prismatic Evolutions [PRE] packs right now for a chance at the God Pack as well.

Can you talk to us about your YouTube channel—how it started and what keeps it going today?

The YouTube channel started because it was literally my dream to be a YouTuber, but Pokémon was never the original plan. I actually had posted like 2 travel vlog videos, and in one of those videos, when we went back to Virginia, we visited the local Target and got packs. We enjoyed it so much that I just ended up taking the channel in the direction of Pokémon only.

What keeps me going today and still loving it is definitely the friends, the community, and growing the collection. I just have a ton of goals with YouTube and it’s a ton of work behind the scenes that no one ever sees—they just see the videos, but between emails, scheduling, editing, packing orders, content ideas, procurement, and so much more, it’s a lot: but it’s all worth it because I feel like I’m working towards something I love and trying to reach my goals while enjoying myself doing it. I also love learning new things along the way.

And how did you come up with your screen name “Shiny Vert”?

To go more into the name, I have Ménière’s disease. I started getting vertigo attacks really bad for two years straight. Vertigo makes you super dizzy to the point you either get lucky and can fall asleep, or you’ll be throwing up for a long time. It’s not fun at all. I was serving at a restaurant one time and got hit with vertigo so severely that I passed out and had to go to the ER.

On top of all that, they said I’d lose all my hearing in my left ear overtime. It’s not curable and should have only gotten worse. There were definitely times I wanted to give up because it made life suck but I just kept going and somehow, my vertigo attacks went away and my hearing got better. I was wearing a hearing aid at one point and don’t have to at all anymore. It was genuinely a miracle and just feel super lucky. So “Vert” comes from that and “Shiny” comes from my love of Shiny Pokémon.

On a semi-related note: what are your six favorite Shiny Pokémon?

Even though it’s not the best Shiny variant, I’ve got to put my boy Mewtwo because that’s my favorite Pokémon. Giratina’s Shiny is sick so that’s in there. Rayquaza goes hard. Only 6 is hard to pick but for the other 3 Shinies, I’d probably go Galarian Zigzagoon, Dialga, and maybe Yveltal honestly.

Can we have a final message for your social media followers?

Final message is to LOCK IN. Just focus on you and the things that make you happy. Don’t worry about what other people think. Set goals, strive for better, and all the rest will come with it. I’ve made plenty of mistakes already whether it’s in business and/or life, and it’s easy to get down on yourself, but just learn from those mistakes, do better moving forward, and don’t take life for granted. Take chances.

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