Justin Zinz owns more than 5,000 baseball caps
Not everybody who lives in Justin Zinz’s neighbourhood knows him by name until you mention “The Cap Guy.”
The 23-year-old Penticton resident has a unique hobby. He collects caps... and lots of them.
At last count, he was well over 5,000 or, as he insists, about halfway to his ultimate goal of owning 10,000 caps.
“When I was four-years-old, my grandfather put a cap on my head and I liked it. He bought me four caps and I loved all the different styles, and his friends began giving me caps and before I knew it, I was up to (owning) 25,” recalls Justin, who is a die-hard fan of the Vancouver Canucks.
His hobby was put on hold until around 2008, when it was rejuvenated by a trip to the Salvation Army thrift store. Once again, he was hooked.
Since that time he’s become a serious collector, frequenting Value Village and other second-hand stores. Many of the caps in his collection have been donated.
Although Zinz has great hair, he always wears a cap and keeps his favourites in a separate pile, all neatly stacked like building blocks. The vast majority of his collection is categorized and stored in boxes.
His favourite is a Freightliner trucking cap because this specific style is now considered a rarity. He also collects sports caps, hockey being his favourite especially the NHL Budweiser set.
“It’s interesting seeing all of the different styles of caps and colours. All baseball (team) caps are not the same,” he said.
Although he owns a sombrero and a few other novelty hats, his collection is restricted to baseball caps.
Zinz has been able to connect with others online who share the same passion. His collection of 5,000 caps seems modest in comparison to an American farmer he met online who owns more than 100,000.
Born and raised in Vernon, he’s resided in Penticton for the past several years moving here to join the Upper Dek Vees ice hockey team.