Sports Memorabilia and Collectibles
Steve Aoki shows off his card collection at his Las Vegas home. (Photo: Sean Jorgensen)
LAS VEGAS, NV — What would you collect if you were a world-famous DJ? For Steve Aoki, the answer is: just about everything.
The Grammy-nominated DJ tours globally year-round in front of millions of fans. But his Las Vegas home is something he calls “Aoki’s Playhouse.” And it lives up to the name.
Open the big cement door, secured with a key, to one particular room in the basement, and you’re faced with a stunning collection of vinyl records.
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Take a few steps inside, and rows of black shelves are colored top to bottom with some of the most sought-after trading cards in history.
Aoki collects all kinds of things — sneakers, vinyl and cards, to name a few. He collects every kind of card — every sport, every trading card game.
“It’s insane, the cards,” he says, looking around, in awe of the treasures he has accumulated around him. “I’m surprised I even remember all this stuff.”
He lights up when he discusses one card in particular, and the nostalgia it triggers.
“I remember seeing the ’52 Topps Mickey Mantle as, like, the card I would never, ever own as a kid,” he says with a proud smile.
Today, it sits locked in a display case, neatly tucked away next to a pair of other legends: Babe Ruth and Hank Aaron.
He gets up from his chair and excitedly jogs over to them.
“I always wanted some Babe Ruth cards, so I got the 1933 Goudey red back, 1933 Goudey green back … both PSA 8,” he says, pointing to both Ruth cards. “This card, last year, just sold in auction — PSA 8.5 for $1.5 million,” he says of the red back, almost in disbelief. “And I bought this for about a hundred grand.”
Minutes later, he turns around to face the full 2009-10 Panini Threads Stephen Curry rookie card autograph letter patch set, spelling out C-U-R-R-Y.
“When it comes to like high-grade, or I mean very expensive six-figure cards, I will spend money on Curry cards. That’s when I will dish out the serious bucks. But one of my favorite cards I own is this triple auto, the Upper Deck Black LeBron James, Kobe Bryant and Michael Jordan,” he says, tapping on the card featuring the trio of NBA legends, safely tucked away in the display case.
“Having that is like a treasure for me.”
He takes a few steps down, toward his Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi Mega Cracks PSA 10 (cards in top-grade, Gem-Mint condition) rookie cards.
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“This Messi sold a few months ago for $825,000 and then someone offered me over a million for this card, and I don’t want to sell it because I’m just like a collector. … Now I’m potentially negotiating to sell (it) for even higher than that. I’m working on that one. That’s a massive card.”
Look around, and the list of legends goes on. Lewis Hamilton. Hulk Hogan. Tom Brady. Even cards of Aoki himself.
“Culture. You’re holding culture,” Aoki says. “And what has kept me so deep into this space is the community.”
Whether he’s launching cakes into the crowd — his signature stunt — at one of his high-energy shows, or hiding autographed cards in locations all over the world for his fans to find, it’s easy to see Aoki is all about connecting with his community.
“The card boom is back,” he says excitedly.
As Aoki took The Athletic inside his personal collection, it became clear this passion, like his music, is where it all comes together: collecting, culture and community.
At 14 or 15 years old, Aoki discovered music as a vehicle to express himself, to help shape his identity.
His earliest memories of collecting go back even further, though, to when he was no older than 9. He collected cards and comic books, and was drawn to Wolverine comics, specifically.
“My friends would have binders of Barry Sanders rookie cards and Ken Griffey Jr. rookie cards. I’m just like, this is crazy. If I get one, I’m happy, you know?” he remembers. “That was a big deal. I still remember going through my friends’ binders of all their cards, their Michael Jordan cards, whatever.”
Aoki rediscovered his childhood passion for collecting during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, when touring was put on hold. He was looped back into the hobby through friends and was taken aback by how much their cards were selling for.
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“I started seeing some of their posts like, ‘I bought a card and then sold it for 10 grand,’ and I’m like, holy cow, this is crazy. Cards sell for that much?” he remembers.
Entrepreneurs Josh Luber, Gary Vaynerchuk, Dan Fleyshman and Jason Koonce — Aoki refers to them as the “four pillars” — taught him the strategy of buying base cards, which were hot at the time despite being plentiful. Aoki then bought 60 PSA 10 base Luka Dončić cards for $1,600 each (now worth about $200 each) and 50 PSA 10 Zion Williamson cards for $500 each (now worth about $25 each), thinking that while he was producing music at home, he could also start trading cards.
He quickly realized, however, he’s not a vendor — he’s a collector.
With the help of collector Matt Allen, also known as “Shyne150” — who revealed himself as one of the purchasers of the Jordan and Bryant 2007-08 Upper Deck Exquisite Collection dual Logoman for $12.932 million, the most expensive card ever sold to date — Aoki pivoted to collecting “grails,” or high-end cards, specifically chasing after the vintage ones.
“2020 was the first time I’m like, I have money and I want to buy some f—ing cards, you know?” Aoki says. “So, what do I want to buy? I gotta get that Mickey Mantle.”
Aoki purchased the PSA 6 ’52 Topps Mantle — among the most famous sports cards in history — from entrepreneur and fellow collector Rob Gough, who memorably purchased the PSA 9 for $5.2 million in 2021.
“We were always on the phone talking, and he’s like, ‘I have a PSA 6, I’ll sell it to you for $90k’ at the time, and I’m like, ‘I want this,’” Aoki says. “I opened it up and I’m like, ‘Oh, this feels so good.’ I mean, I just remember that. Like I just got the chills, just holding that card, knowing I own this card that I never thought I would ever own.”
Aoki wanted to share his hobby and grow the community even larger, and so he created the “Aoki’s Card House” Instagram account, where he regularly posts videos about his cards and collecting journey.
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“In 2020, I’m a pretty successful DJ. I have a career, I have a platform. So when I’m doing something, people are listening, I have some level of influence,” he says. “I need to speak about these things. I need to share my thoughts and … share the cards and the journey. And since then, I mean, I’m in it for life, like I’m a collector.”
One of the other ways he connects with fellow card collectors is through scavenger hunts, promoted through the “Aoki’s Card House” social media channels, in which he’ll hide specific items, often a signed or otherwise rare card, around the cities he’s touring in for people to find. He recently completed his 200th hunt while in New York City in late September.
A post shared by Aokis Cardhouse (@aokiscardhouse)
“I have my world, and then there’s a collectible world. What’s the bridge? I’m always thinking about how to bridge these two because I have an amazing, loyal fan base around the world,” Aoki says. “You have a community that also obsesses about these things, and you share it and then the obsession grows further and it brought me back to the same psychology of when I was in high school and I found music.”
That sense of community is how he’s able to balance both passions.
Aoki’s collection spans the sports landscape, both modern and vintage. From his PSA 8 André the Giant rookie card to his PSA 9 Muhammad Ali (then Cassius Clay), from his Tiger Woods rookie card to his Wayne Gretzky 1979 O-Pee-Chee rookie.
And then there’s his Shohei Ohtani collection.
“Whatever Shohei Ohtani does, I’m watching everything he does,” Aoki said. “I’m also a Dodgers fan, so the fact that he moved to the Dodgers was a big deal for me, and I’m obsessed about how the Dodgers are doing.”
Aoki also boasts one of the largest UFC collections in the world, which includes a 2021 “True” Black Prizm Conor McGregor 1-of-1, a Khabib Nurmagomedov 1-of-1 autograph and at least 20 Khamzat Chimaev 1-of-1s.
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“Probably the one consistent sport that I know the most about — and I’d say I only know 10 percent about it — but I know I’m the most obsessed with would be UFC,” he says. “I really love these fighters and I love watching.”
But those are just his sports cards.
Aoki points to three holographic Charizards signed by Pokémon CEO Tsunekazu Ishihara. Below them is a PSA 9 Pikachu Illustrator. “I wouldn’t let this go for under $1.5 million,” he says.
And there are about 37,000 other cards in the PSA Vault — “a highly sophisticated storage facility located in New Castle, Delaware, designed and outfitted for the safekeeping of collectibles,” according to PSA’s website — with which Aoki partnered earlier this year to help streamline the selling process. He’s also partnered with eBay to auction some of those cards in the vault.
“I haven’t cashed in on some of my huge grails. I’m definitely looking to do that,” he says. “I have certain cards I’m letting go from the collection. I’m a businessman, too, so I want to make those wise decisions.”
Aoki’s process for buying and acquiring is about looking at opportunity and timing, and going “off the gut.”
“There’s certain things I really, really want,” he says. “I already owned a Ronaldo (rookie card). I bought the PSA 10 Mega Craques for $50 grand five years ago. I just bought another one for $288 grand from Fanatics, because I have a feeling there will be an opportunity in the future, and I could be wrong here, but that may be a $500,000 to $1 million card. Then I’ll sell.
“But I don’t want to sell my $50,000 investment for $500,000, regardless if it’s $500,000, because then I have to f—ing buy another f—ing Ronaldo. … He’s Ronaldo.
“And it’s just a matter of, like, do you need the cash now? That’s the other question I asked myself. I don’t need the cash right now. I’m DJing, like, a lot.”
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Aoki is open to listening on more Curry Logoman cards as his next ‘Holy Grails.’ For the most part, though, he claims his appetite is full.
His focus, right now, is vinyl.
In 2023, Aoki helped found Audio Media Grading, a company aimed at grading vinyl and other recorded music formats — similar to how cards are graded.
Vinyl records, like cards, are collectibles, and Aoki wants people to see that they can have just as much value.
“I want to get the test pressings and the acetates of albums and singles and music and records that have impacted the world, you know?” he says. “There’s records out there that everybody knows; everyone knows Michael Jackson’s Thriller. There’s an acetate out there that exists. That acetate could be worth a lot of money. (But) people don’t have a value on it because there’s no exchange.”
That’s a big part of collecting, Aoki says. Anticipating the next big thing and recognizing what can rise above the rest.
“There’s people that are above the trend,” he says. “There’s certain people that you identify the entire sport with; Messi or Ronaldo. You don’t have to even watch soccer, but you know those two. They just defy it. Michael Jordan defies it. It doesn’t matter if he’s not the No. 1 all-time scorer. He’s the GOAT. It’s the same with DJs.
“Luckily, I’ve been able to mix my world with theirs.”
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Sarah Jean Maher is a Senior Editor for The Athletic. Previously she was the Manager of Communications at the Ontario Hockey League and held roles with the NHL, Sportsnet.ca and several other outlets. Sarah is a graduate of Carleton University’s journalism program.
