 Hello everybody hooded Cobra Commander 788 here and we have more Cobra Convergence 7 for you and we have someone returning from Cobra Convergence 6. I'd like to introduce Rob. Rob, just please introduce yourself and tell everybody who you are and what you do. Hey everybody, this is Rob Vegas and I'm checking in from Melbourne, Australia and of course I'm here on HCC 788 show for Cobra Convergence 7. And yeah, we're ready to roll with an awesome video today. So yeah, let's get cracking. Yes. And you are no stranger to Cobra Convergence. Last year you filled in for someone who had to drop off the calendar for personal reasons. But you were already jumping on the Cobra Convergence. You were already doing it. So tell everybody what you did last year, even before you were put on the calendar and help us out. Yeah. So last year with Cobra Convergence, I decided to just, you know, turn it up to 11 and do a video on YouTube of my show, which is called assemble the troops every day for the month of Cobra Convergence. So we ended up putting out 31 videos, one every day for the whole convergence. And, you know, just to bring the noise and yeah, spread the word about our good friends at Cobra and how awesome the characters are and spread the love as it were. So yeah, we just wanted to dial it up. And yeah, somehow by a real fluke, I ended up being a featured presenter then and again this year. So, you know, yeah, they must must not have had anyone else. What you your name was the first and only name that came up. So, like everybody wanted you in. And I think everybody appreciated what you did. That's, you know, I have to tip my hat, my invisible hat to you. Because that's that's a significant amount of videos and I personally appreciate it. And so now I have an opportunity to directly say thank you for all of the work that you did last year and I'm really excited about what you're going to do this year. Yeah, yeah, no, you're welcome and I'm, you know, it's, it's just part of what I do. So, yeah, it's always a good time and and I think the fun element of, you know, sharing about the the figures and the characters and of course memories of, you know, enjoying them. When we're a bit younger and everything like that is really important. And, you know, some people might have like say for example a couple of years ago, before I started my YouTubing assembled the troops journey. Like if someone walked into my garage and found the box of all the toys and the bits in it, they would have just gone. All right, well this is just trash let's send it to the garbage tip or to the op shop or something like that. But yeah, when I, you know, found all my old GI Joe's and everything I was like, Oh man, these guys need some love and, and you know, I made an admission. And especially after seeing, you know, say, all of the YouTube creators out there like your good self. And, you know, Kevin, everyone out there, you know, I was like, Well, you know, these guys, these action figures, like they really, you know, deserve to be shared and enjoyed and put out there and, and I've got, you know, I'm like a jukebox, you know, you put a dime or a quarter in me and I could talk about each figure for hours on end. And I want to share that with everyone and that's kind of how it all started. And yeah, also, of course, with Cobra Convergence 6, you know, I just was like, let's step on the gas and yeah, get everyone on board and spread the stories and the fun and, you know, make sure these action figures aren't, you know, falling apart and rotting in some, you know, tub in a garage somewhere. So that's how it all began. And here we are. Here we are. And don't you feel like, I mean, the toys are cool and everything, but don't you feel like it's more fun being able to share that, rather than just have some just all to yourself. You talked about sharing and I think that's the, that's the key, that's the motivation isn't it? Yeah, absolutely. Of course, sharing the, you know, the figures and just how cool the designs are, but also sharing the experience of, you know, growing up with these guys, where like, say, you go into a lot of toy shops and things nowadays and like, let's be honest, you know, it's like a lot of stuff's kind of a bit on the nose, you could say. And it's like, well, back in like the 1980s, you know, we had really awesome stuff and let's, you know, encourage people to, you know, I guess as consumers and product buyers to demand better stuff because, you know, like the standards have slipped. And it's definitely a different environment for toys, a wildly different environment for toys than what we remember. You touched on it a little bit and I think I want to pick your reign about it more. And that is your experience with GI Joe as a child. Can you, can you tell us about what it was like to be a fan when you were a kid? What was your experience with it? Well, it all began. We got, for Christmas, I think in 1985, I got an A team play set that had, you know, all the guys like Hannibal, Face, Murdoch and Mr. T. Well, no, B8 Barakas, I do apologize. You know, we got that and that was awesome. And it came with, and you know, you just messed around with them and they had a dinghy and all sorts of gear and that was cool. And then moving forward from that, we went to the shops one time. And I'm going to give a bit of a plug here. Oh, I like plugs. Oh, so my favorite football team of all time is a team called Melbourne, the Melbourne Demons. And of course their colours, as you can see, are red and blue. And we went to a shop called Maya at a place called Knox City, southeast and suburbs of Melbourne. And I saw an action figure that was the same colour as my football team. And that, of course, was the original Viper. And I'm like, you know, just speechless. And, you know, I hassled my lovely mum and she was kind enough to purchase that and, you know, just having like this one action figure. You know, it was just, it opened up so many possibilities. And to seeing the artwork on the back of, you know, the cross sell with all the other figures that were available that year, you know, that just created a million possibilities for adventure, you know, with different characters and things like that. And, you know, every sort of week with my pocket money, which, you know, a couple of bucks or whatever and save up and, you know, you gradually get another one and we got like Falcon and Jinx and a few others. And, you know, you build up, you know, this massive fun play situation. And also, like, we were going to move house in 1987, I think it was. And we had heaps of cardboard boxes. But we never ended up moving for whatever reason. But we had these cardboard boxes left over and every single one of them we just made them into like bases. That's the cobras and that's what you make. Yeah, you make like you just get like a, you know, what we call a Stanley knife or a box cutter. You make them into, you know, forts and castles and bases and stuff. Yeah, just have fun. And, you know, that was like what you do on a Saturday afternoon, like, yeah. You know, it's funny, like we are on opposite sides of the planet, but and I'm a little bit older than you but our childhood experiences playing with these toys is not that dissimilar. I mean, we we did a lot of the same things with this basically the same toys. And I think that's really fascinating that we can live on other sides of the globe and have such similar experiences. But but your your your gateway was Cobra the Viper was your gateway in is that right. Absolutely that was the hook. Do you have a favorite Cobra. Wow, that's a tough one. You know, um, wow, that's a very good question. This is the hard hitting journalism that you can expect. These are the tough, hardball questions that you can expect in an interview from me. So, but I mean the Viper was your first. I mean, you, you, there's got to be some kind of sentimental attachment to the first one that you picked up. But since then, of course, you've had access to everything, right. You now at this point you've seen everything would just, I mean, is the cinema sentimental attachment to the Viper still what stands out the most. Or is there any other character that really jumps out at you that that means more. Yeah, I know those guys. Slice and dice. Yeah. I love those guys. They're definite favorites. And yeah, I thought I'd bring them along for show and tell. So they did they'd be up there. Also, you probably recognize these guys. Oh, yeah. Now, I didn't actually get them when I was a young lad. Like they sort of adult collector pieces, you know, that I've got, you know, in the last couple of years. But um, yeah, obviously, Viper, slice and dice and the Baroness and Firefly are up there with my favorite covers. Awesome. We talked about your childhood experience, but you also touched on like coming back to it as an adult. Can you can you tell us a bit more about that about coming back to this and kind of rediscovering your enjoyment of it? Yeah, well, as I sort of mentioned, you know, they were all sitting in tubs in like the garage and, you know, we moved house in some reason I moved house a lot. I don't know why. But anyway, you know, you just sort of open up these big tubs and it's like, wow, all this stuff like it needs some love. And that was kind of what motivated me. And of course, like we had to stay at home quite a bit a few years ago for no apparent reason, which I won't. Yeah. And that that sort of became a hobby of mine, you know, just researching the characters, fixing everyone up, you know, replacing like, I must replace hundreds of o-rings and stuff like that. You know, some of the figures had, you know, the old busted thumb syndrome. And, you know, I'd be like searching for replacement arms and things like that. And, you know, the old unfortunate waste piece injury that does happen to some figures. And, you know, we have to fix that up. And yeah, it was just like I said, I didn't want this, you know, box of what would seem like other people to be, you know, bits of random plastic to just waste or something like that. And of course, all of the sentimental, you know, memories and playtime and stuff like that from back in the day. And like, if my partner goes out, I might, you know, bust out some guys for a quick battle every now and then when she's gone. Don't tell me that. Yeah, nobody will ever hear this. Don't worry about it. It's just going out on the internet, but nobody I'm sure I'm sure she won't see it. So you, you still had some childhood toys then you still had some of the ones that you play with back then. Absolutely. Like I said, they just been, you know, doing time in these plastic tabs and, you know, they've gone from that to being restored, having new parts and being fixed up where possible. And I'm, yeah, we've got the like a display, you know, case for them now down in the lounge rooms that they've really, you know, regain their, you know, former glory and stuff like that. Yeah. I remember, if you don't mind me rambling on. If you'll pardon the pun. I remember back in like 1994 or thereabouts and like G. I. Joe as a brand cops, like a few blows because a the comic book, you know, wrapped up, of course, which was that was pretty hard to deal with. And then be, of course, you know, you go to the toy shop next year, and it's like, hey, there's a lot of Star Trek, the next generation and micro machines and stuff, and Ninja Turtles but you know, like our, our good friends at GI Joe were gone. And that was like a real, like, that was a downer I've got to say. And I ended up, you know, taking it out or just like not for a long time I didn't lose interest in the brand and the characters and stuff like that but that was a real sort of culture shift as it were because you know it was like every year you know, the, the Joe's are there, you know, and all that. And also, I guess, you know, I would have been 14 or at that point in time. And as you sort of get to that age you discover different things. And I started playing guitar and heavy metal bands and, you know, all the other things that sort of come with that. And of course, yeah, as I said, you know, our good friends at GI Joe ended up in plastic tubs and not getting looked at for a while which I'm glad I've been able to bring the guys back and you know enjoy them again and have so much fun and share all the memories with everyone. That's that's fantastic. I'm also really glad that you dug into the archives there and and brought them out. And then you got on YouTube and you started doing videos. Talk about like how you started that why you started that and kind of how that launched. Yeah, well, um, I guess, um, say professionally, something I've done for a long time is talk to people be that like talk to them on the phone or, you know, go to conferences and just talk and things like that. Yeah, hopefully I've been able to convince some people of something along the way. And yeah, I just thought hey, let's talk and let's share my memories. Originally I started out doing like music related videos like, you know, showing people how to play songs, which I still do. You know, talking about music and my favorite CDs. And then, as I was sort of, you know, going through the, the old GI Joe's and stuff, I thought, well, hey, I can talk about this. And I just thought, you know, this, like as I, as I think I mentioned before, you know, I've got a wealth of memories and stuff that I wanted to share with everyone, which is where it all began. I guess when you talk about assemble the troops and I guess coming up with the name for the show was probably the most difficult thing. It's a good name. It's a good name. It flows really well. It's way better than hooded Cobra Commander 788. That's your name flows much better. So you picked a good one. You picked a good one. No, no, thank you. And I'm, yeah, I remember like in a lot of the bands that I've played in, you know, coming up with the name for the band was always the hardest thing. You know, we'd be sitting around and we'd be like, are we going to call ourselves the rhythm brothers or something? You know, you'd just be stuck on coming up with a name. And I'm the, a lot of people have asked me this, Mr. 788. And I will have to. Here we go. A real news scoop. Breaking news on HCC 788. The whole whereas there it is. The Rob Vegas name. I did not come up with that. That was given to me by someone else. So, because if you sometimes if you give yourself a nickname, it can backfire. Yes. One of my buddies, he's, he wanted, he said, man, I want you guys to call me sniper. And of course being Australian and, you know, how can we roll here? So, you know, you don't come up. Yeah, as best as you can. Don't come up with a nickname for yourself. But I'm, me and my buddies in the band, we always used to talk about traveling to Las Vegas and being like the rat pack like Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin. And, you know, just, you know, leaving it up and like Sammy Davis Jr. Yeah, that was the thing we were obsessed with for a couple of months. And then one of the guys just goes, Yeah, you're Rob Vegas. And, you know, that's, that's a good name. It's a good nickname. Yeah, you got to keep that you got to. Yes, you must roll with that. That's an excellent name. It's a good name. And we talked a little bit about before we started. First of all, to let everybody know, of course, we're recording this well in advance of when you will see it. This will be put up during Cobra Convergence. There will be a link to Rob's channel in the description of this video. You can go straight to it and check out what he's doing. And so we're recording this before you have done your Cobra Convergence entry. But for those who are about to go and see it right now, can you just talk to us a little bit about what you're planning to do, some ideas that you're working on. What might they expect to see when they go check out Cobra Convergence seven was Rob Vegas. Now, of course, we have an espionage spy theme this year, I believe, and I've decided to roll with that. But we're going to do it in a kind of 1970s British police show sort of style. And if you can imagine, if you think back to say the professionals or something like that, or whatever the sweetie, that's how we're rolling this year. So we are going to go full tilt on that theme, and we're going to see some all sorts of espionage and spy actions. So if you can join me for that. And yeah, we might even put in a few bonus videos through the month of Cobra Convergence as well. That would be excellent. And I'm looking forward to seeing it just the description that you're giving me I am eager to see what you come up with it's going to be fantastic. So, we'll see we talked about your favorite Cobra we talked about your history we talked about the past and we even got the scoop. We got the scoop on your name. You know this is, you know, a first here, you know you you heard it here first. Yeah, you, there seems to be a pretty sizable Australian fan base for GI Joe, at least there's a lot of them in our community that you're aware of them as well. I mean, was that a big thing in in Australia when you were growing up was that something that a lot of kids were into. It's funny that you mentioned that because a lot of people gravitated towards like in like where I grew up like masters of the universe seem to be everyone's jam and same with the transformers. Like, I didn't really dig masters, but I do have some transformers kicking around. And, um, yeah, I guess, you know, say growing up. And, you know, my dad shout out to him, he, I don't know, always brought home, you know, like every weekend we'd have like a video night. And, you know, we'd watch like commando or, you know, Rambo first play part two, and, you know, so on and so forth, you know, James Bond, blah, blah, blah. And I guess the whole action aspect of those movies, how to be an influence on playtime and yeah, you know, you'd have like, it'd be like, well, they don't really have giant robots or, you know, like, gelatin dudes from outer space in the army and in those movies and things. These action figures, you know, like, say, for example, you know, this kind of, you know, general walk was kind of more more relatable than, you know, something far out and fantastical like Robotech or whatever. So that was kind of what we gravitated towards and appreciated a lot. You know, we've watched a lot of, I hope my parents do see this, but yeah, we'd watch a lot of World War II movies and things like that. And it was just like, well, that sort of, you know, translates into playtime. It's a bit easier than, you know, like obviously there are fantastical elements to G.I. Joe, like, of course. And yeah, that just translated a lot better and was more relatable to me growing up. And, you know, that was, you know, a big influence. There was a lot of kind of cultural influence at the time that fed into that popularity. You're exactly right. G.I. Joe, at least not till 1987, didn't have a movie. And the 87 movie wasn't a big one. But there were all these other movies and TV shows and things that kind of fed into that appreciation. And that's just something that if you grew up in that time, you know, you're very aware of that. So I want to wrap up by basically giving you the floor and letting you have a few last words with our audience. But before that, before that, I wanted to put you on the spot. We've had you for Cobra Convergence 6. We've got you for Cobra Convergence 7. Can I lock you in for Cobra Convergence 8? Well, absolutely, Lisa. Alright, cool. And I say that having absolutely zero plan for that. That's way like out in the future. But now I've locked you in. You're locked in. Well, Rob, thanks for talking to me. I would like to basically turn the floor over to you to say any parting words you'd like to say to the audience before we send them off to check out your Cobra Convergence 7 presentation. Well, normally I'd end on a song or something like that. But yeah, and I just wanted to say thank you to everyone out there in the YouTube community for dropping by the channel and saying good day for whatever it is you say in other countries. And of course, yeah, just keep on sharing, keep on enjoying. And, you know, there's so much awesomeness from our good friends at GI Joe, a real American hero, The Lion and Cobra. And I just hope everyone can, you know, share their memories and, you know, inspire other people to do so and, yeah, assemble those troops, as it were. Thank you, Rob. And thank you for sharing your memories. I love it and I appreciate that you've done it. And once again, everyone there will be a link in the description of this video that will take you directly to Rob to check out his Cobra Convergence 7 presentation. And this interview will go up the same day that his goes up so by the time you see this, you should be able to see his so everybody go check it out. Thank you again Rob thanks for doing it thanks for everything you did last year and thank you for everything you're doing this year and I will, I will talk to you again soon.