Local Sports Auctioneers Are 'All Star Dealers'

During a brief stint living in San Diego, Darren Russek got hooked on the television show “Pawn Stars.”

History channel’s reality television series, which chronicles the daily activities of the 24-hour, family-owned business World Famous Gold & Silver Pawn Shop in Las Vegas, got him thinking.

“I swear to God, I’d say to my roommate all the time, ‘They could easily do this with Grey Flannel,’”—his family’s sports memorabilia consignment-based auction house in Westhampton Beach—24-year-old Darren said during an interview last week. “And look at us now.”

Earlier this year, the Russeks—Darren, his father and store owner Richie, and his older brother, Michael—officially hopped on the bandwagon with their own Discovery Channel show, “All Star Dealers.” But their reality series is unlike the rest, members of the family say.

“Since ‘Pawn Stars,’ there have been so many shows based on our business, but ours shows the whole process,” Darren explained. “Tracking down a consignment in California, bringing it back to the office, inspecting it, researching it, authenticating it, all the way to the auction where it sells for ‘X’ amount of dollars.”

“The authentication process and detail, that’s where someone really gets to love a shirt and understands why it would go for $100,000,” his 28-year-old brother, Michael, added. “When you watch other shows, their expert will tell you that this is worth between four and six hundred dollars. When you watch our show, you actually know what the item sold for.”

“It’s not, ‘It might go for,’” Darren said. “It’s, ‘It did go for.’”

Since Grey Flannel Auctions opened its doors in 1989, the Russeks have seen their fair share of rare, game-used sports items, from baseball icon Babe Ruth’s “The Called Shot” jersey, worn in Chicago during the 1932 World Series—fetching more than $1 million—to boxer Mike Tyson’s athletic cup, which sold for $3,000.

Most of the items sold at the business’s four annual auctions come directly from the athletes themselves, the sports fanatics explained, as they work very closely with retired football, baseball and basketball players.

“It’s pretty amazing what we get to touch every day,” Michael said.

“And it’s not often that you get to watch yourself with your family at the workplace on TV,” his brother added. “Not many people can say that.”

The Russeks got their big break last August, when they were picked up by Discovery after showing their “sizzle reel,” a three- to six-minute mini-pilot produced by Los Angeles-based production house Fly on the Wall.

Discovery was so impressed, the Russeks said, that they skipped a pilot altogether. A 10-man crew descended upon Grey Flannel a month later and filmed 13 episodes in 45 days, shooting from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. The budget was $125,000 per episode, Richie Russek reported.

“They were up our asses. It was overcrowded and uncomfortable, but it was all worth it,” he said. “I loved every second of it. I guess maybe because I’m a ham, I don’t know. What I do know, I’m a real pain in the ass, so I can’t work for anyone but myself. I’m impossible.”

“Absolutely,” his eldest son said, seated next to Darren, without hesitation. “Family businesses are weird. Anybody who’s in one will tell you that the dynamics are crazy.”

“Fact,” his youngest son said, nearly talking over his brother. “Come back Monday. There will be proof.”

“It’s really reality,” Richie said of the show, talking over both of his sons. “It’s a realistic picture of what goes on. You’ll catch me yelling or raising my voice to either one of them. It happens. I’m usually wrong, but my personality is A-1 plus.”

The camera crew followed the family patriarch across the country, as he cruised in his red Cadillac XLR-V to visit collectors, celebrities and athletes. He met up with: baseball icon Yogi Berra at the New Jersey museum and learning center named for him; world-champion rodeo cowboy Ty Murray and his wife, singer Jewel, at their ranch in Texas; basketball legends James Worthy in Los Angeles and Dennis Rodman in New Jersey; and heavyweight champion Evander Holyfield in Atlanta.

But, so far, it’s not Richie’s face that’s catching the locals’ attention.

“I’m in Southampton yesterday, and a guy says to me, ‘Boy, that’s a beautiful car,’” he recalled. “‘You know, there’s a guy on television who drives that car.’ He said, ‘I’m telling you, this is on television, this car.’ And I said, ‘I know. I’m the guy!’ And he said, ‘Oh, you are!’ So my car got recognized before I got recognized.”

His boys chuckled, noting that they haven’t basked in any fan praise yet. Richie gave his 6-year-old Polish Mountain Sheepdog—named Mountain—a pat on the head and assured his sons that it’s only a matter of time before they’re spotted as celebrities.

“Maybe,” Michael said. “But I love the shows, I will say that.

It’s amazing watching.”

“We all do,” his father said, adding he has high hopes for a second season, and is even producing sizzle reels that have promise to become reality shows of their own. “There are some great finds, and that’s the real fun of it.”

“People usually know what they have, but every once in a while, there’ll be someone with an old jersey from the ’20s who never knew it,” Michael said. “It was in their closet, and it can be worth thousands of dollars. I don’t think that will ever get old.”

Watch “All Star Dealers” on Thursdays at 8 p.m. on Velocity. For more information, visit dsc.discovery.com/tv/all-star-dealers or greyflannelauctions.com.