 Hello everybody, HCC here, and I want to get right to the point and then I would like to try to answer any questions That you might have the point is I am retiring this YouTube channel I'm not deleting the channel, and I'm not removing any content, but I will no longer be producing content for this channel I am wrapping up this project this 10 year long project. In fact, this video should post Almost exactly at the 10th anniversary 10 years is enough. I feel like 10 years is enough And I don't feel like it's something that I can move forward with This is not a hiatus. This is not something that I am going to pick up again at some point in the future This is something that I am Permanently wrapping up because I feel that this is the time to do that There are obviously some questions that you might have, the first of which would be why There are a lot of reasons why, but it really comes down to the fact that I don't have the passion for GI Joe that I once did This is something that I have sat on for long enough to Be sure that this is not just a passing phase. It's not something that I will just get over I have tried, you know Some of the things that I always used to do to kind of re-spark that passion and it is definitely not done so I have waited long enough to Be sure that that's how I really feel about it That I it's not something that I'm going to change my mind about and here we are I'm quite confident that this is the time to move on. Obviously I could keep making videos Some youtubers have done that in areas where they no longer have the passion that they once had but they can still Pump out content and of course, there's something to be said for that if that's something that They can do at least they can still you know Have a project and entertain people, but that's not something that I can do. I I would feel like I was being dishonest if I were to Make content that I didn't really believe in and that's something that I've never done before That's not something that I ever wanted to do. I've always tried to be upfront and honest and I've never phoned With you and that would I think just be too phony and I can't do that I'm not gonna lie to you. I'm not gonna pretend with you and So just keep pumping out videos that you know, I don't believe in Would be doing that so all of the other reasons They really come down to the one that one reason if that were not the case then the other reasons would be you know Endurable but But that's what it really is. I just I just can't do this anymore. It's something that I've Put ten years of my life in and I've enjoyed it. It's not something I regret I Have Enjoyed making the content. I've enjoyed working with people. I enjoyed collecting This channel has opened a lot of opportunities to me for travel for meeting people Going to conventions and learning things. I mean most of all like I've got friends who I hope will Still be my friends forever. I mean I've made some lifelong friends here that I wouldn't sacrifice for anything That's ultimately more important to me than you know plastic It's a more more important to me than then then videos as well And I want to try to keep those connections with those people but I can't keep The the channel going I can't keep Creating something that my heart is isn't in and that's where I just kind of have to Draw the line I have to be I have to be honest with myself I have to be truthful with myself and that's not always easy, especially when the truth is something that you don't necessarily want to accept but If I'm Frank and honest and truthful with myself. I know that It's time to stop. In fact, it's really past time to stop It's a it is time to move on some other questions You might want to ask would be like what about the collection? Well, I've got a fairly sizable collection here. I Will be keeping things that have any sentimental value to me things that were gifts I will keep All the things that people have sent to me things that people have given to me in person these are mementos of a Special time in my life the other stuff the the stuff that is in the collection and doesn't really have any other Personal value which is most of it. I will sell I'm I'm in the process in fact of trying to move some of that The collection takes up a lot of space. I have I have no closet space Half of my living space is taken up with storage bins full of Toys a lot of that just has to go it just has to it's gonna take a long time to Sort through all that to sell all of that I mean it took ten years to get it so I'm hoping it won't take that long to to move it on But for anyone wondering if you know if I will keep anything I absolutely will especially things that were gifts Because those things those have personal meaning Those weren't things that it were just acquired to fill a gap in the collection But a lot of this stuff was acquired to fill gaps in the collection So that stuff over time needs to go I I'll resort to eBay, which I don't really like I've sold on eBay before but there always it seems to be somebody on eBay trying to Run a scam or get something for free But I will brave eBay at least for the time being to try to move some of this stuff And then we'll look at other ways to see if I can like unload some of it more wholesale But even keeping the things that really have value to me and only getting rid of Everything else. That's that frees up a lot of space in this this tiny place that I'm living That would be a lot of freedom for me freedom You know to do some things with my home that I can't right now because a lot of the space is totally taken up with Toys and you know the storage bins for them another question that might be on your mind And it's certainly heavily on my mind and that is we're supposed to have Cobra convergence eight coming up And I'm supposed to have an appearance at Joe Fest And I haven't completely figured out what to do about those things yet. I Will not be making content for my channel. So it doesn't make sense for me to make Cobra convergence content But I did you know Put together some of the planning for that already We're at a point in the year where it has to be past the planning and you know actually Putting some things together and that is not something that I've really started on So I don't know exactly how Cobra convergence eight is going to come about I'm not interested in making my own content, but I do believe in the people that we've assembled for this Event because they are doing good things and they are still passionate about what they're doing and I do care about them So somehow I feel that I need to Make sure that they They they get the attention they deserve Without compromising my own principles About what what I think I should do so I don't know exactly what the answer for that is In regards to Joe Fest in in June in Augusta I Have already got the room. I had Reserved a table space. I had asked for a panel, but at this point like I Want to go but I would like to go Just in the capacity of You know a regular attendee. I don't want to go for the purpose of promoting something I want to go and see people and Devote all my time to seeing people because That'll be my last chance. That will be my last chance to see a lot of These people that I care about because moving on for me. You means moving on it would that means Not you know attending these conventions as I have been So it's kind of a last hurrah a last chance to really see people in person Of course, I'll see some folks in The future, you know, I do sometimes Meet and hang out with friends individually but in the In the context of a GI Joe centered convention This will be the last opportunity and I'd really much rather focus on that than doing any kind of promotion or panel or You know booth or table So I'm not I'm really not sure what I'm going to do about that either I don't know if The other participants would want to Take that over and run with it They would like to do something with it. I'm really not sure so I don't have Specific answers for that and it's something that's really weighing on my mind because these are things that I had planned to do and I don't like backing out of things that I planned to do especially when they involved other people so I don't know what the answer to that is But I've got a little bit of time to figure it out But I've got to figure something out pretty soon the patreon. I will eventually take down I'm going to leave it up for a little while I did incur some some debt in the collecting in the production of some of the videos and the The patreon helps, you know pay off some of that debt I don't want to anyone who's on the patreon to Continue to support the patreon if they're not comfortable supporting it under those terms So I'm letting everybody know now if you're on patreon But you don't want to continue to be on patreon if you're not getting new content. This is the time to To delete that or to cancel your subscription to that I completely understand I don't want to take anything from anyone that they are not willing to give so I'm letting you know now Once the the that debt is paid off then I'll shut down the patreon as well But at least for a few months. I need to keep that going so that I can so I can pay some of that down So it's for those of you who do stick around. Thank you. It really helps. It helps a lot It's greatly appreciated But please do not make Make it any kind of financial hardship on yourself if there's even the slightest doubt about whether you would want to continue To be on the patreon. I'd rather you not be I'd rather you you cancel Then to do something that you would regret down the line. So please consider that and update your Patreon subscriptions accordingly But regardless of whether you stay or you go Your support has meant a lot to me. It really kept me going during some very difficult times It kept me afloat when I didn't have much else to keep me afloat It it saved me on more than one occasion. So thank you for that. I'll never forget that You've done You've done everything that that you need to do you you don't need to do any more I appreciate you for everything that you've already done. So thank you From from the bottom of my heart. Thank you, and I'll never forget your support I've been asked by a couple people if I will ever do anything on YouTube again and My answer is well, maybe I feel like I've spent half of my adult life on YouTube in some capacity or another So, I mean I may someday do something But but it won't be this it won't be this channel and it won't be this content If something inspires me and I feel like you know, I want to run with it and do something with it Then then I will but I don't I don't have anything like that in mind right now I just won't I won't discount it for the future, but it won't be this this project This project is wrapping up in regards to the production of content on this channel and in regards to My participation in the GI Joe fan community all I can say is I did the best I could Somebody smarter could have done better But I did the best I could this channel accomplished far more than I ever thought it would I thought the channel would Max out at 10,000 subscribers. That was my target. I thought that would be about the top end and As I'm recording this we're close to twice that that's Far exceeded my expectations. This channel has been successful beyond my wildest dreams So there's nothing more really to accomplish with this channel It's already done more than I ever thought it would do I don't have any subscriber goals. I don't have any Projects that That are undone that I really Passionately need to do I feel like I've done What I wanted to do and done far more than I wanted to do so as far as You know the success of the channel. It's been wildly successful. It's been one of the most successful things. I've ever done And I have you to thank for that. So thank you for being here. Thank you for sharing in the fun times and Thank you for helping, you know make this such a roaring success. I couldn't ask for any more You know, I really like I really there's nothing more To do. There's nothing more to accomplish. I'll say a few words in regards to community The GI Joe fan community has meant a lot to me You have meant a lot to me. It's not something that I will be A part of in the future, but I do still care I especially care about a lot of the individuals that I've gotten to know through that community. So It matters and it has mattered to me I Have tried to Build I've tried to build rather than tear down I've tried to Include rather than exclude I May not have I know that I haven't done everything Right, I know that I've made mistakes My mistakes were made with the intent of of doing good, but you know You know good intentions, you know Do not necessarily produce good results, but I tried I did the best I could For those of you who will carry on in this community and hopefully build rather than tear down Hopefully you will include rather than exclude. I Will offer a few Words that you can take or not, you know take them for what they're worth But whatever community you have will be the one that you build You will have the community that you create and you cultivate and if you If you Participate in that community with the values of inclusion and the values of caring and the values of Building and creating Then you'll have a healthy community and you will do well you will have You'll be able to support projects and conventions and Kickstarter's and YouTube channels and podcasts and you can have you can have all of those things And I hope that you do whatever you Support that's what you will have And I hope that you make wise choices. I did not always make wise choices In my In my effort to be inclusive I Would often give people the benefit of the doubt even sometimes when there wasn't really any doubt and That didn't always serve you very well for which I apologize like I said Somebody smarter could have done better, but I did the best I could And I hope That what I'm leaving is at least as good as What I found when I first arrived I At least hope I didn't do Any damage I Certainly tried not to Because this community Means something it means a lot it It's a community that that saved me more than once So what happens to it has always mattered to me When you start dividing a community this small those individual Divisions aren't necessarily enough to support the kind of projects that we've had over the last ten years if you're if you're a Star Wars community you can divide several times over and each of those divisions is still large enough to have movies and TV shows and Kick starters and and everything else conventions all of those things that you get When you have a good healthy thriving community The GI Joe fan community is not that big and When we start dividing up tribes each tribe Doesn't have Isn't big enough to to do those things the things that Really are are the benefits of having the community the the gatherings the the conventions the the things that we would do to Look at each other face-to-face and sit in the same room and talk to each other The the kick starters that gave us like these amazing books and Action figures the entire action figure lines that came from the efforts of this community You can't you can't have that in a community this small small if you start if you start dividing it up so Keep that in mind as you go forward with your community and deciding how you want to approach it That that's at least that's how I approached it And that it was even the source of some of the mistakes that I made Maybe you are smarter than me and maybe you can do a better job than me And I certainly hope that you try and I very much hope that you succeed I think that covers everything that I wanted to cover in this video This should be I believe the last video Uploaded to this channel. Thank you. Thank you for everything Thank you for ten years. Thank you for the kind of support that honestly I only dreamed of it's just It's almost surreal how Amazing the support has been over these ten years and how you know what we've built together Thank you for that and good luck Come to Joe Fest Augusta, Georgia June 2024 Come see me if you can Some of you I will see Because we have we'll have opportunities to get together Outside of conventions, but for those who you know are only able to make it at the conventions And that's the only place that we might see each other than this is this is This is my chance to To see you to talk to you to shake your hand and to thank you in person. So make it if you can and continue to Support your community and continue to build. Thank you and goodbye