Adam McClamrock - Owner

I started out playing Magic the Gathering because that’s what was being played when I went on camping trips with my father when I was around 5 or 6 years old. Then in 1st grade I was going to a friend’s birthday party and my father took me to the mall to buy a gift but while there I saw a base set Pokémon starter deck for the first time in my life and my dad purchased it for me. This was right as Pokémon was coming to America and would lead to me and my older brother Matt playing Pokémon and attending the local Pokémon League at Media Play. Years later Yugioh would start airing on TV and this would lead to many years of playing Yughioh at Time Tunnel Comics and Toys. I would spend most of my years while I was in School playing various card games such as the Naruto TCG at Time Tunnel and watching enough Anime to fill a lifetime with Matt. As a young adult I would start a Pokemon League at the Dugout which lead to me also getting a job there. While there I would learn a lot about the TCG business and be exposed to more TCG games like Weiss Schwarz. From here I would go onto help open R and B Games and would manage this store for the first year of its life. This again showed me more of the inner workings of the industry and would set me on the path to open my own business. In 2014, I would do just that and would establish The Otaku Hangout LLC in September right before marrying my wife, Charlene. I literally opened my first wholesale accounts while walking onto the cruise ship for my honeymoon. I definitely struggled at first and this would lead to meeting Rusty with TCA gaming. After doing some business with him he would ask me to help him open and manage his physical store. While here I learned more than I could have imagined and I owe him a great deal for the knowledge I learned from him as this would really get my own business put on the right path. TCA shut his storefront down about a year later due to just wanting to be online and not having a physical store and I would start really doubling down on my own business. After some time and growing the business, I started having inventory overflowing into my house and taking up too much space which led my wife to finally tell me to either open store or find somewhere to store my inventory. I signed the lease for our first and so far, only store front in 2021 and opened later that year in October. From there my customers are my story and I am thankful for all of them and all the various TCG games, board games, and more that we have played.

Charlene McClamrock - Owner

Growing up I was not really into hobbies that we have in the store. I was always outside and didn’t do much besides your standard board games such as Sorry, Life, Monopoly, Othello, etc. A basic deck of Bicycle cards was a standard around my house, we would play games such as Rummy, Spades, Hearts, and Canasta with my Grandma Betty. When I was in middle school my cousin Anna got a Pokémon game for her Gameboy color. I knew the basic characters but was not super interested in what it had to offer. Most of my teen life I did not do anything with TCG or anime. I met Adam in middle school we went our separate ways after high school but found ourselves having chats about life and developing a great friendship. As our friendship transpired, I would buy Adam Pokémon cards to help me move or anything else that would pay for his time (much simpler times :)) Adam and I got married in 2014 and before that we knew he had what it took to help in a card/comic shop. After all of his ventures in the various shops he worked in, I encouraged him to take his knowledge and open his own shops. So, that is what we did. I may not be in the shop 24/7, I have a full-time job as well as a part time job. I am an active part of the ordering and the policy and procedures. With that being said, I have come around to having a large TCG collection, if you ever have sold any full art trainers you know I have a very large collection. I have also ventured into collecting Eevee’s and MTG “pretty cards.” I also love board games and playing games such as Avalon where you can have a big group around a table and laugh and have fun.

Matt Soots - Manager

Much of my childhood and adult life has been spent playing video games and watching various shows and anime. I got into cards games when Magic first came out when someone at camp had some cards and we used our candy to gamble on who would win games. When I was in school a good friend Jamal and I got very into anime, especially Sailor Moon. This would be one of the first anime I would watch with subtitles, and because most of it didn’t come to America for many years later, this would also be the first anime I would order and have in its original Japanese audio. I also remember the days of watching Dragon Ball Z as it aired on TV for the first time but much like Sailor Moon, they didn’t release much of it and I was forced to go onto the internet to find and watch episodes airing in Japan. Then later on I got into Pokémon because of the hype and Found Yu-gi-oh! cards out of nowhere at Media Play. Then one year the Naruto anime started showing on TV, but I got impatient and order more of it from Japan and watched it until I started having to watch it week to week on the internet. During this time Adam and I found Naruto the card game and we played it heavily for years. Adam was given special permission to be its youngest judge as he wasn’t even 18 yet, so that I could host its first ever regional level Event at Hickory Con. From here I would dabble in the industry while Adam was graduating from High School in 2007. I’ve always picked on Adam saying he learned a lot from me and what I did at this time including setting up at conventions. Adam and I played numerous TCG and video games after that over the years.. Current best game is Grand Archive in store, I know you haven’t heard of it, but you should! Come see me I’ll teach you how to Play!!!

Katherine McClamrock - Website Specialist and Inventory Manager

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Levi McClamrock - Store tornado and disorganizer

When mom was pregnant with me, they thought through many names for me as Dad wanted something cooler and mom wanted something more normal. Finally, they named me after a character from Attack on Titan. I’ve been here since I was born and I have always run the place. You’ll often find me playing with cars or anyone who will pay me attention (especially Jon). Other than that, I’m often making sure that everyone has plenty of work to do by taking the inventory and mixing it up. I also love to make messes for the other to clean up. Someone has to make sure there is enough work to go around and I’m just the guy for the job.

Lexie Russell - Front Counter Associate

I love working here because I have grown up in the convention scene helping my parents. My parents sell Funko pops of all shapes, sizes, and genres, so I know these products well. My interests include Sonic, My little pony, and music. I love helping customers by educating them on products and games as well as getting to know them because having a connection with someone is important to me, I want every customer to feel important. I want this store to be a comforting and safe space for everyone who comes in.Talking to people is one of my favorite things, I love bonding, so please feel free to talk to me about any interest you have!

Grier Morris - Front Counter Associate

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