My first 20 years with pinball...

As a product of the early 1980s, video gaming in general is in my blood. I was part of the perfect generation for it, with the release of the NES system in 1985 and the arcade craze peaking during my early youth.

I was 9-years-old at the birth of modern pinball in 1991, and unlike most kids my age who were more interested in the fighting arcade cabinets, or sidescrollers, pinballs were my calling.

I can remember spending countless hours with my best friend hunting down pins at various places, a roll of quarters in our pockets, and spending the whole day mastering old and new machines alike. Some fond memories were spent behind Data East's Batman machine (the closest machine I could bike to at a video store at the downtown square of the small town I grew up in) and The Addam's Family at an ice cream shop near our lake house in Southmont, NC.

As I grew older, I continued my love of pins, and got the opportunity to enjoy and experience an array of machines once they were released in local arcades, bars and restaurants, including Doctor Who, Attack from Mars, Theatre of Magi", Tales from the Crypt and, later, with early Stern titles like Monopoly and High Roller Casino.

However, in the last few years, I've found that finding a good pinball machine locally to play is becoming harder and harder. I had never dreamed of actually owning a machine, but once I found out that the option was open and there was a big arcade auction just 10 miles from me bi-monthly, I became obsessed with the prospect of having my own machine(s).

Being a huge Doctor Who fan (Classic and New), I knew that would be my first machine. I picked it up in January of 2012, and have been hooked ever since. A Stern Nine Ball I picked up in January 2015 was my 40th machine purchase, though I usually only keep 11-14 at a time. Since collecting, I've gotten pretty good with repairs and have started doing some tech work in the local area for home owners and fellow collectors. It's been a great hobby that I hope to continue for many years to come.

UPDATE 2020: Since writing this story about 7 years ago, I've come a long way. My home repair work evolved into Carolina Pinball Repair, where I service and repair games all over the state of North Carolina. In July 2016, I became the full-time technican at Abari Game Bar in Charlotte, where I keep a cylce of roughly 30 pinball machines and 60 arcade games up. At this juncture, pinball and arcade repair account for about 95% of my income. I still occasionally take on large corporate video projects, but fewer and farther between. It's been a heck of a ride, would have never thought that my hobby could evolve into a full-time career like it has, but I am very thankful that it did. I keep 3 machines out on location at some local bars as well, and my game count at this point is nearing 150 machines personally owned. My home collection of 15 machines, for the most part, is the dream collection I always wanted. Very thankful for everything and to be able to work on these machines for day in and day out.