RAISED ON THE GAME. SHAPED BY THE MARKET. BUILDING WITH THE CARDS.

CONNOR’S STORY

FROM THE YEARS AT HOME TO THE FLOOR OF THE SHOW

1. 01

   THE ATHLETE

   Growing up

   Connor grew up as an athlete and passionate sports fan. But after being diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes as a child, increasingly severe and unpredictable blood-sugar swings gradually changed what everyday life looked like. While other kids his age were going to school, playing sports, attending events and spending time with friends, Connor increasingly found himself at home.

   Even attending a sports-card convention, one of the things he loved most, could become difficult. His family remembers trips where severe glucose swings meant leaving shortly after arriving.

2. 02

   HE WENT DEEPER

   The years at home

   But during those years at home, Connor never stopped being connected to sports. He went deeper. Cards became his window into the sports world. He spent countless hours studying athletes, products, rookies, parallels, short prints, autographs, grading, population, recent sales and the differences between modern and ultra-modern cards. What began as a childhood passion gradually developed into an unusually deep working knowledge of the sports-card market.

   Connor developed exceptional recall for players, products and values, along with an instinctive ability to recognize relationships between scarcity, player performance, collector demand and price.

3. 03

   THE RESEARCH

   University of Chicago

   Connor’s story changed dramatically again when, as a young adult, he became a participant in pioneering clinical research involving transplanted islet cells for Type 1 diabetes at the University of Chicago under Dr. Piotr Witkowski. Following his transplant journey, Connor achieved sustained insulin independence, an extraordinary milestone that gave him something even more important than improved numbers: independence itself.

   Today, the young man who once struggled to spend an afternoon at a card show can attend one independently. He is exercising, traveling, building relationships, attending college and operating a business around the passion he developed during some of the hardest years of his life.

4. 04

   THE STUDENT

   Sports Management, Grand Canyon University

   Connor is studying Sports Management at Grand Canyon University, where he has earned collegiate honor-roll recognition. His long-term interests include sports business, athlete representation and the rapidly evolving intersection of sports, collectibles, media and live commerce.

5. 05

   GIVING BACK

   Breakthrough T1D

   But Connor’s story extends beyond business. He has begun sharing his experience with the Type 1 diabetes community and with supporters of the research that helped transform his life. He has participated in Breakthrough T1D storytelling and advocacy efforts and speaks about what clinical research can mean not simply in laboratory results, but in the everyday life it can give back to a young person.

   Connor and Lyons Cards also intend to use the platform they are building to give back to Type 1 diabetes research and the community that supported his journey.