TRUE BASKETBALL AMBASSADORS
Ivan & Kiki Beslic are true old school basketball fans. Here we introduce their pop culture collectible store in Langenfeld. We also recorded a podcast!
If you are interested in trading cards, pop culture collectibles and art, we recommend a pilgrimage to the Rhineland. More precisely, to Langenfeld, a small town between Düsseldorf and Cologne. There you will find the B-Brothers store of Ivan and Kiki Beslic in the small 'Stadtpassage' on the main street.
In Germany's basketball scene, the two have long been known as old school bball advocates; Ivan on top of that is a renowned artist and Kiki a super collector of trading cards. And that is exactly how their store, which opened in November 2021, looks like. When you enter, you are literally flooded with impressions and you don't know where to look first.
A signed Michael Jordan jersey hangs in the frame on the wall. Hand-signed posters of Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Penny Hardaway and Charles Barkley. A huge table which top was made entirely of hundreds of Kobe Bryant trading cards. The Formula 1 helmets of Lewis Hamilton and Michael Schumacher, of course also with the original signatures. Football players, baseball players, NFL and NHL players. We did not count all the memoribilia, but there must have been thousands of them. All certified originals.
But not only sports collectibles can be found here. We saw a signed trading card of R&B legend Whitney Houston as well as James Bond trading cards and of course the worldwide known Pokemon cards, either as 10 card booster pack or in the still sealed box or as a framed and graded single card with a high collector value.
While the front part of the store is fully dedicated to the mentioned collectibles, the back part reminds of a vernissage with the best exhibition pieces of Ivan's hand-painted paintings. Jay-Z, Tupac, Kendrick Lamar... Rappers, basketball players, legends.
You see, we couldn't have wished for better guests for the first episode of our ALL BALL! PODCAST to represent the numerous different facets of basketball culture!
It is with great pride that we present to you episode 1 of True Basketball Ambassadors with our special guests Ivan & Kiki Beslic.
The episode is divided into two parts. In the first part Ivan & Kiki talk about their own basketball journey, the differences between basketball then and now and the importance of Kobe Bryant for them personally and the trading card market. The second part, which will be released in a few days, is a deep dive into the trading card scene and Ivan tells an incredible story about Rick Ross.
Please note that these episodes are in GERMAN language.