EP06 Don Garrison My Journey Into Pinball
Episode 6 – Don Garrison’s Journey Into Pinball Today we sit down with Don Garrison of Don’s Pinball Podcast to hear how he first discovered pinball, how the hobby pulled him back in, and the path...
Highlights
- Don purchased his first pinball machine, a Black Knight (George Gomez layout), in 2020 during the pandemic after moving to Wisconsin
- Don's first new-in-box game purchase was a Jersey Jack Guns N' Roses Limited Edition, which he later sold to a friend for around $6,000 after 14 months
- Don started Don's Pinball Podcast around the time of the 007 Cornerstone release (roughly 2020-2021)
- Don has released 217+ episodes of his podcast as of this recording
- Spooky Pinball sent Don prototype parts (upper playfield ball lock from TCM and Looney Tunes) and invited him to factory visits
- Don was offered a job at Spooky Pinball and has relocated to Benton, Wisconsin
- Don attended a midnight release party for a Spooky game launch organized by himself
- Mad Pinball (Jeff) provided Don with a Godzilla Premium new-in-box for $8,400 MSRP when demand was high
Notable quotes
“I learned how to solder on that game. I learned how to lift a playfield up. I learned how to move a game in and out of a house.”
“I figure, like, I don't know. It's just like a matter of time before they figure out, like, I'm just some nobody who's getting in and they're letting into their factories. So I'm like, I got to take advantage now.”
“I'm 70 shows in and some guy emails me and he's like i just found you last weekend and went through and power listened to every one of your episodes and i'm like god that's like 48 straight hours of me talking what the hell”
“There's a Kaneda in every hobby that's like this, just like real strident, right? A real strident guy.”
“You know what? I'll just, I'll get the equipment. I'll make t-shirts. We're going to launch it. And then if three people listen, that's fantastic. Otherwise it's me shouting into the void.”
“I opened the door and I'm like, oh, it's not Beetlejuice. So Beetlejuice is real. It's going to be like another year.”
“I don't want to have any kind of like fear that i missed out anymore so any ever to every opportunity i'm just going to jump for it”
Entities
- Eau Claire Games and Arcade· company
- Jersey Jack Pinball· company
- Mad Pinball· company
- Spooky Pinball· company
- Louisville Arcade Expo· event
- Beetlejuice· game
- Black Knight· game
- Evil Dead· game
- Godzilla· game
- Guns N' Roses· game
- TCM and Looney Tunes· game
- Benton, Wisconsin· location
- Don's Pinball Podcast· media
- Bug· person
- Don Garrison· person
- Eric Meneur· person
- Kaneda· person
- Ken Cromwell· person
- Sterling Martin· person
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