Pinny Origin Stories

theoriginalz

I asked this in the slack group and got a couple responses, but I'm curious what everyone's 'origin' story is. When did you find out about Pinny's, what was your first reaction, etc.

For me; I was at pax east and an enforcer encourage me to grab a couple pins from a bowl next to Mike and Jerry. I didn't think much about it until I saw the Hanna pin that sold out 5 minutes before I got to the shop.

agentcooper

These do get lost in the Community Thread but that is the place for "Introductions". I've cut and pasted mine from there, information accurate as at Dec 2014


I've realised that as I've now become a "Pinthusiast" I should introduce myself

Started reading PA about 2005, I still remember spending hours "working" reading back through the years of strips I'd missed.

Bought some merchandise over the years, "supporting the cause" I liked to think of it. First purchase was from Thinkgeek 2004, and this included a PAX 04 DVD Set. I said to my wife "One day we have to go to one of these!".

In 2012, we organised a trip to the US, but the PAX timing was poor, and did not eventuate (though Hurricane Sandy did!). BUT, PAX AUS 2013 was announced that year and so while on holiday in the US, tickets went on sale and I snapped some up! Just amazing that we Down Under have the privilege of hosting a PAX!

Bought the core set from the PA Store when they came out, and the Xmas, Halloween, 15th etc. when they came out. Bought some pins at PAX AUS 2013, managed to trade a pin with Mike and not Jerry, did the reverse at PAX AUS 2014, and then the bug really bit hard!

And since PAX AUS 2014 via trading, eBay, I've managed to build a bit of a collection. I've still got some Staff and KI and a few others to get, including the mythical DLC of course. I backed that at a much lower level


Fair to say the Community Thread is quite large now

misskass

SO I wasn't originally going to go to PAX Aus 2013, because I didn't buy tickets before they sold out. But, I really really wanted to meet the Rooster Teeth guests for that year (Burnie, Gus, Jack) so I applied to be an Enforcer. I picked up three of the coveted Aus '13 core sets, one for me, one for my Dad, and one because I accidentally traded away a couple of the pins from the 'one for me' set to Mike and various other attendees.

That was also where I got my first US pin, a Handheld Lounge Gabe, from one of the PA staffers. Once I discovered there were other US pins, I went on a mad rampage trying to get hold of the Ellie pin, made a trade on Pinny Pals (for the HH Gabe, which I only managed to replace this year), made an account here, and the rest is history.

Since then I've been to each Aus PAX and one East PAX, but I accidentally went and made Enforcer friends at East so I have to go back at some point. How terrible for me.

evanephrine

I started reading PA back in 2004 or 2005 when I was in middle school and it immediately became one of the comics I checked daily. In fact, I think it was one of the first comics I ever started following aside from the crap in the newspaper. Anyway I don't remember what I was doing when PAX became a thing but I knew I wanted to go eventually. It took me a long time into my adult life to realize that I am in fact an adult and can go out and do things on my own, so when my close friends invited me to come to East 2014 with them I was all over that.

I had been following Pinny Arcade at that point and thought it was super cool so I went into that first PAX with the expectation of just collecting pins that were found at the PAXen I attended in the future. So Friday I show up to line early somehow and managed to get my show set and my shields and I was all like "Sweet! Man these things look cool." Right next door was Bandland with all the StripSearch artists so I mosey'd over, having followed the show, to say hi and talk to them (read: geek out). That's when I noticed that Amy had Strip Search pins, so I made an exception to my "show pins only" rule and offered to trade her one of my shields for one, since it was the one I had extra of. Surprised at the offer and not wanting to rip me off she gave me two SS pins like the bro she is.

After that I knew I had to have the Ellie pin that Naughty Dog was putting out since I had seen pictures of it and had just recently finished The Last of Us. Still reeling from making my first trade with one of my favorite artists, I popped down to the expo hall and picked up a couple of Ellies. I knew at this point I was getting in deep, so I distracted myself with panels and demos for a while. But it didn't work and I was hooked. By the end of that weekend I had traded for a Hanna, a Tabletop Tycho, and 2013 Merch and Enforcer pins, among other pins. The last thing I did before leaving the convention center was see another trader with Kitty Kemper on their lanyard and trade them for it. In that moment I knew there were many more pins out there that I wanted besides just those at the show and that this is going to be expensive but so so worth it. Here's what I ended up with after that show, starting with nothing and trading up from what I found or bought there:

And there you have it! My descent into madness took me all of 3 days at my very first PAX. It took me another year and PAX South to get really involved in the community and I have to say that getting to know you all here has made the experience hundreds of times better.

silrn

My origin story is two fold, but pretty simple. My very first pin was the DLC pin. I collect pins outside of Pinny Arcade, so when I saw for a mere $150 bucks I could get a super cool pin, I agonized over it, but figured what the heck, it's PA, I'll throw them some bills and be happy I'm getting anything (also the exclusive USB thumb drive is super rad).

I went to PAX Prime 13 and I had originally intended on being a "casual" collector, get the pins I like and be done with it. But a few exciting things happened, I think my first trade was with PDK for a full East 13 set, I met a significant majority of the PA staff and Strip Search crew and had awesome interactions, next thing I knew on like day 3 of 4 at Prime I had all but a Ben Staff head. So then I couldn't NOT have a complete Prime set right?!? so I chased Ben down, got the last pin I needed on Day 4, and realized I was missing only 2 total pins from the entire collection, and I traded online for those via the forums and have been a completionist ever since!

Ayefkay

Was never really a big Penny Arcade or PAX fan, until about 2010? when season 1 of the video series started airing, got to learn alot more about the company and i started to find they ticked alot more boxes that speak to me personally than just 'gaming comic' .

I never knew much about PAX, other than it was a gaming convention i would never go to, then in 2012 i got the news that they were bringing it to Australia in the next year and i guess the rest is history!

As for pinny arcade, i was basically hooked as soon as they announced it. I've been a collector of things i love practically all my life, Added with the fact i would be going to PAXAUS 13, I finally joined the forums and thats that

TheAggroCraig

I was big into PA mostly back in 2007-2010, so I knew of PAX and then found out about the East one, so obviously I went, but let's jump to East 2013. I don't think I went right to the merch booth that year, but I did buy an East 2013 and a Core set, just because I liked them. I ended up trading away 3/4 of the East 13 set as well as Flesh Reaper for 2x of each staff pin, with the intentions of buying another East 2013 set, but lo and behold they were sold out. Whomp whomp.

I ignored the pins for the most part, I might've posted in the pinny thread sometime before Prime 13? idk. I liked them but wasn't hooked (yet).

Circle to Prime 13, I was in the line for merch that morning before expo. I snagged a few of the Prime 13 sets, and promptly loaded up the lanyard, then was on my way. Later on by merch I was with a friend of mine who is friends with Jeff Kalles, so I was introduced and started chatting, and I ended up trading for his staff head. Next to him was Ryan Hartmann, who had a full fucking lanyard of Aus 13 Kempers and was doing 1:1 trades for more Kempers... so off went a Kitty Kemper and that got me my arguably best trade since I started the hobby! I collected a few other pins over the weekend, but didn't really decide to "go balls deep" until Monday. I learned about the DLC pin and what people were attempting to do to get one, but didn't see it in person until late Monday, so I had no chance of encountering staff for one as I had no idea it was that pin from the kickstarter that I didn't back.

Since Prime 13 I've been posting in this forum non-stop and got hooked. I got a bunch of Hannas which helped me build the collection, rebuilt the East 13 set, and am now sitting at a full collection due to some crazy luck bs. I love this hobby and hope to continue to keep up with it so long as my wallet doesn't give out.

surette

I've been reading PA since 2009 and attending PAX since 2012. I can't find my confirmation email for the order, but I could have sworn I started with the Core 1.0 set when it was first released. I've never really been a collector of anything, but I loved the idea of Penny Arcade pins when Mike first wrote about it on the site. When I got to East 2013, I bought a East show set and loved the designs -- they're still some of my favorites. East 2013 remains the only PAX I've ever obtained a full show set, considering there were only nine or so at the time. Zombie Tycho and CTS Gabe are especially meaningful since trading for them was my first time meeting Mike and Jerry. Towards the end of day 3, I was still missing the Pinny Arcade logo, and then I happened to see Gavin near the merch booth and was able to trade him a spare Chandra for it.

After East 2013, my pinsanity was confirmed as I tried to justify doing this:

but I suppose in the end it was a good choice.

I'm not a completionist by any means, but I try to acquire as many pins while at PAX without devoting my entire weekend to it. I focus mainly on the Penny Arcade pins, and then limit myself to 3rd party pins for IPs that I actually like/care about. Very glad to be part of this community, you're all lovely people.

Senno

I really didn't know much about Penny Arcade or even about pins prior to PAX Aus 2013. Up until that point I knew of the site, but I may have made a handful of visits in total. I didn't know about the team, the community, or anything really. I went to PAX Aus 2013 completely open to what would come, knowing no one, knowing nothing, but open to an experience. I surprised myself with purchasing the tickets - but sometimes you just know that this is something not to miss out on. PAX Aus 2013 was held in multiple halls at the showgrounds, and while I was in the freeplay area, I remember overhearing someone saying that there was one of the creators (I think it was Mike, but I can't remember). I decided to go up and get a photo. A few other people were there, getting lanyards signed, getting photos, but the person in front of me asked for and received a pin trade. I knew nothing about it. But I thought about it afterwards, and the merchandise area was nearby, and I saw they had pins. I decided to get the Aus set, and a shirt, as a kind of reminder - but still not really into the experience. On the last day, I did my first trade, with a staff member. I can't even remember the pin - I believe it was Rayman, but I can't remember. I guess I got hooked after that experience. When PAX Aus was over, I felt I had a good time, but I wanted to read up more about the community, and I guess I lurked here a while before joining in. Shortly after that, the Halloween set came out - and they were cool, and I wanted them, and then the Killer Instinct pins just looked awesome, and well - here I am.

Capt Wasabi

So a friend tried to get me into penny arcade in 2001 and failed. They tried again in 2002 and I have been a fan ever since.
My first pin was the first pin, Merch 1.0, 2012. My wife got it for me by purchasing enough loot in the Christmas 2012 deal.
I saw the DLC kickstarter and decided an extra $50 was not worth it for a single pin, so I backed at the tier below the pin! (Most expensive $50 I have ever saved)

PaxAus 2013. I got an Aus Set and Core set. I traded 2 of the core for Mike and Jerry's pins, and I also traded for the logo pin.
Then I hung up my pins and forgot about them.
It was PaxAus 2014 when the brain squirrels ruthlessly attacked! And its been trouble ever since :P
Last week I made a trade to complete my set. All pins upto now.

orthancstone

In an attempt to try and remember what spurred my interest (other than my long term love of PA, going back to 99), I looked back to the oldest threads in this forum to see what I said. Unfortunately the oldest comment I could find was my desire to see a Wolf of the Year pin.

So I can only assume my original interest was due to it being PA characters (Tycho, Gabe, FF, Merch, etc.). Now if only I had not thought that $150 was too much for a single Kickstarter; the DLC USB drive is great, but the pin would've been nice too.

(In summary, I'm a sucker for Merch.)

fishfishmonkeyhat

fish is as fish does.

fishfishmonkeyhat

As near as I cant tell this was my first post on the forums (although I created my account sometime before that for some reason).

I actually still have the bit of paper they sent out with the extra xmas pins that year.

Also it's nice seeing an @Ayefkay post under one of mine actually being nice to me. :P

Ayefkay

Those were different times, I didn't know you very well back then.......

Rod.H

I tend to pick up odd thing from time to time. Typically it's pins and badges or tour tshirts. Rocked up to pax aus '14 saw some pins at merch and went 'must have', completely missed getting that years LE and thought nothing more about them.
Come this year and it was basically the same, 'till I attended 'The Panel' which then resulted in a rush to merch for insuffecent cores to burn in trade at the staff event and I've basically gone on from there to a colection that fills a small cardboard box and will no doubt require an storage upgrade in the near future.