The new Mantel online hobby community is built for collectors of all kinds.
John Newman

Evan Parker has always been a collector.

Like a lot of us, he started with sports cards as a kid, but he collects what interests him. Besides sports cards that could mean watches, memorabilia or who knows what.

He has a sports journalism background and worked for NASCAR for eight years as their head of content before moving to The Athletic, which hired him in 2019 as SVP and General Manager. In 2021 he was named to the Sports Business Journal’s Forty Under 40 list, which honors excellence in the sports business industry.

Now he’s the CEO of Mantel, a new online hobby community for collectors, and not only just sports card collectors. Like the way he collects, he wants other collectors to have access to a community for whatever their collecting passion may be. The new site helps bring those collectors together.

Evan Parker of Mantel.
Sports Card Nation

Newman: To PSA’s Chris Carlin, collectors are like family 

It launched earlier this year after Parker partnered with Alexis Ohanian of Reddit and Brent Montgomery, the producer of Pawn Stars, King of Collectibles, and other reality TV shows. They’ve garnered enough enthusiasm and confidence to receive investments from noted collectors Steve Aoki and Gary Vaynerchuk, women’s basketball superstar Candace Parker, and Adam Hansmann, the founder of The Athletic, among others.

The name “Mantel” is a play on words from “Mantle” of the Mickey variety. The site launched in early 2024 and is in its early stages but running smoothly, probably because Parker is very hands-on. Any and all feedback goes directly to him.

He wants to build a product that collectors can enjoy, no matter what you collect. What users are seeing now won’t be the final product. He’s using that feedback, both positive and negative, to make something we can all enjoy together.

What impresses me most is that Parker is on the front lines and hands-on when he could’ve passed that task on to someone else. That’s an indication to me of his dedication and passion. His previous track record also bodes well for the platform.

Newman: More hobby mantras collectors should follow 

This is not another “sell your items here” platform. Frankly, it’s the opposite—a place where the community can come together to share and discuss what they enjoy, communicate with each other, and showcase their collecting passions and items on their own “Mantel Piece.” Selling is not allowed on the platform.

Parker welcomes feedback as he says it’s the blueprint on how to make the platform the best it can be. Early activity has been very good as users continue to come aboard. There will be many new features coming since it’s always being improved upon.

There is no shortage of new entities entering the hobby, but Mantel has a fresh, different feel, and yours truly has started utilizing the platform more and more. Check it out at onmantel.com and, by all means, let Parker know what you think.

— John Newman is a collector, dealer and the host of the Sports Card Nation podcast. Catch his Hobby Quick Hits on Monday and his guest interviews on Friday on your favorite podcast plat­form. You can reach him at sportscard­nationpc@gmail.com or on Twitter at @sportscardnati1