On December 15, 1980, Bob Tinn sat in Anaheim Stadium watching for the first time two professional teams play American football. Bob, a British-Italian transplant, knew nothing about the game. So when he showed up to watch the Los Angeles Rams face-off against the Dallas Cowboys he was perplexed, yet fascinated. He knew of Dallas–the setting for the hit 1980s soap opera with the same name. He also knew of the Hollywood-style American cowboy who rode his horse into the dusty sunset. But when it came to American football, Bob was clueless. He was also very lucky.
FOR THE LOVE OF THE GAME
As the crowd roared and players tossed the old pigskin down the field, a kind-hearted Rams fan taught Bob the object of the game. The more he learned, the more he fell in love. The pristine uniforms, the acumen of Tom Landry–the Cowboys’ iconic coach who led the team to 20 consecutive winning seasons–captured his interest in a way that still shapes his life.
It would be several decades before Bob decided to transform this love of sports into a business.
He spent 40 years in the energy industry, lived all over the world and collected sports memorabilia from his favorite teams. As the years went on, Bob amassed so much gear he started designing and building his own sports-themed entertainment rooms to house his collections. He equipped each of the rooms with epic sound systems, swanky lighting designs and dubbed them “fan caves.” Bob and his family enjoyed the fan caves so much that Bob decided to launch a business to help others create their own.
DELUXE FAN CAVES
This year, Bob opened Deluxe Fan Caves, an interior design service focused on curating and displaying sports memorabilia in stylish, custom-built spaces.
“It’s a unique offering,” Bob says. “There are other interior designers, but there are not interior designers who are sports-memorabilia focused.”
Deluxe Fan Caves customers get Bob’s expertise designing, sourcing and installing rooms dedicated to their favorite teams. The firm can also put in custom lighting or audio equipment to make rooms not only aesthetically pleasing, but a fun place to catch a game on TV or enjoy family movie nights. Bob’s first rooms, in fact, became a place where Bob and his family created many memories watching movies together and eating popcorn.
A UNIQUE COLLECTION
Bob’s current fan cave is (naturally) an elaborate tribute to the Dallas Cowboys. His collection centers on the Ring of Honor, a distinction that celebrates players and coaches who’ve made significant contributions to the team. Over the years he met several of the Cowboys players and had them sign anything he could. He has several autographed jerseys from Ring of Honor players on display along with a throwback helmet signed by Cowboys hall of famers and replica Super Bowl trophies signed by Cowboys who’d won the Super Bowl.
It’s taken years to amass his collection, but it’s a process Bob truly enjoys. He’s passionate about meeting the players, hearing their stories and getting them to autograph his pieces. For many sports fans, collecting autographs or sourcing memorabilia might prove difficult, but Bob knows exactly how to go about it. He helps customers source the exact memorabilia they want so that no space looks like any other.
“One thing I’m committed to is to make each home unique,” he says. “I won’t replicate an idea that one person has because it’s personal to them.”
Bob can even hire talented artists to adorn customers’ walls with elaborate sports-themed murals. His own fan cave has a brilliant mural depicting the famed history of the Cowboys. The scene centers on five dazzling Super Bowl trophies surrounded by some of the team's most legendary game plays. It features larger-than-life depictions of coach Tom Landry, “Mr. Cowboy” Bob Lilly and longtime Cowboys owner Jerry Jones.
Bob’s mural took 34 days to complete, but each customer’s project installation time will vary. A typical project can take anywhere from six to eight weeks. Bob will purchase and stage items first and then get customer approvals before installing anything in the home. Above all, his service is about understanding his customer’s vision for the project and bringing it to life.
“The important thing is listening to the voice of my customer, understanding what they want and delivering that,” Bob says.
DeluxeFanCaves.com
