WAYNE — Thursday night go-car racing has begun in Professor Tinker’s workshop.
Professor John T. Tinker, whose real name is Brian Young, said people have traveled from as far away as South Carolina for the competitions, which are held every Thursday from 7 to 8 p.m. at the workshop, 102 S. Watson St.
The workshop is next to Young’s residence but accompanies his toy store, ProTinkerToys.com, located blocks away in a former bank building Young purchased downtown. Calling itself the “Toy Tinker,” the store is full of “boys’ toys and girls’ gifts.”
Slot car racing was popular when the Baby Boomer generation was in its infancy, but Young said it never went away. Plus, it’s not just for kids, slot machines appeal to adults too.
“Slot cars are really becoming popular, more than popular,” said Young, who is 63.
“I’m trying to reach out to people who had it as kids. See, slot cars peaked in the mid 60’s, then peaked again in the mid 70’s, and then in the 80’s they had some success and then in 99 they just died completely to the mainstream marketers , but we’re trying to give it back in a big way.
Young remembers a time when slot car racing was huge across the country and a big part of American and foreign pop culture.
“It was in Batman, the TV series, there was even car racing in a James Bond mockumentary with David Niven, Casino Royale, in 1967. They had an all-electric track in this huge room.
“If you look at a lot of older movies, you’ll see a lot of slot cars because they were really popular. That’s what I wanted to do is create that, but also create a good toy store where people can have fun.”
Young, a graduate of Bowling Green High School, owned and operated Young’s Newsstand in Bulgaria, featuring games, toys, comics and magazines, from 1987-96.
He first opened Professor Tinker’s Workshop at Woodland Mall in 2001 as a place not only to buy toys, but also to have fun playing with them.
“Walk on the beach”
Brian brought in his son, Ryan, 34, who had the technical know-how to take the business beyond Wayne.
“I was doing something on eBay, semi-retired, and I was doing trade shows for another gentleman who had other products, so I was going to Vegas, Atlanta, California and Florida to do trade shows and promote their product and then Covid hit.
“In January and February 2020, I did four trade shows, and the last one was the New York Toy Fair on February 22nd, and then two weeks after that, the whole world shut down and all of a sudden our website just took off. It was amazing.”
Every day, the store has regulars from up to 75 miles away, and online purchases are from all over the world.
Slot car races are streamed live on YouTube, attracting a larger audience, and their videos on how to fix toys such as slot cars are also appreciated.
“That’s how I explain the Internet,” Brian said. “The Internet is basically a beach. Imagine a beach and all the little grains of sand on the beach — that’s what websites are all about, right?
“So you’re walking down the beach and you pick up this little piece of sand and it could be Arbor’s website for chicken nuggets or some weird Arbor gadget. No one will see you – you’re just a speck on the beach.
“I told Ryan until we’re a rock on the beach or a big rock, we’re not going to have the numbers. Well, he did a lot of research and a lot of hard work, and we’re a rock on the beach.
It got to the point where the Youngs wanted to expand the store. Wayne could use a little downtown development, and Brian, who frequents The Country Farmhouse, a popular downtown restaurant, knows this because he promotes the restaurant in his own videos and commercials.
A bit of everything
In addition to cars, the store has trinkets such as animal keychains, science kits, children’s stamps, Barbie dolls and a limited number of Cabbage Patch dolls.
Although he says Hobby Lobby is still a large mass marketer selling slot cars, it is capturing one market.
“I don’t carry what’s in a traditional toy store because I have toy guns,” Brian said.
“People always tell me, ‘Well, toy guns are a thing of the past,’ and I say, ‘Well, they’re not.’ My number 1 customer for toy guns is moms and the second place I sell toy guns is California and New York. In addition to the toy cars, I also sell toy guns.
Father and son have to deal with running a business that is non-stop.
“We try to have the right amount of product in the store. It’s awfully small, but we didn’t expect to have the volume of traffic we have now,” Brian said. “In a way, it overwhelms us. Our Saturdays are just crazy. Between noon and three is “zoo” time.
Brian is also preparing for the moment when this becomes Ryan’s business.
“I’m going up the hill and he’s coming up the hill. So I’m just having fun, really. We’re trying to create a place where people can come and have fun.”
