Professional wrestler, MMA fighter, Guardian of the Galaxy, James Bond villain, and lunchbox collector? Dave Bautista is known as a lot of things, but the latter is something that a lot of fans might not be aware of when it comes to the legendary WWE Superstar, but collecting vintage lunchboxes is a hobby of his.
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A lot of people collect things, but few would’ve expected the Animal to be interested in lunchboxes. However, Bautista has a collection to be proud of, boasting some incredible pieces, some of which have sentimental value to him, while many of them have extremely high value due to how rare they are.
How Did Dave Bautista Get Into Collecting Vintage Lunchboxes?
- Batista loved lunchboxes when he was a kid
- It all started in 2003 when he was hurt in WWE
- A Fat Albert lunchbox was the first one that started the collection
Getting into collecting vintage lunchboxes is a rare situation, and while Bautista was a fan of them since childhood, it wasn’t until his adult life that he started collecting them, as he explained to Complex. He was in his WWE career when it started, with Bautista owing this collection to an injury.
“I was in WWE, and I got injured, and I was hurt. That’s when I discovered eBay, so I was surfing on it a lot. That’s when I really started collecting. Then I search for ones because of certain reasons, because of rarity. So I was going back constantly searching for the same ones, and when I got it, I’d start a new search.”
The first lunchbox he ever had was for the show Fat Albert, with the version he currently has valued at $500. This was something that his mom got him when he was a child, and that was something that started his obsession with them, even though he didn’t start collecting them at that point due to his finances.
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What Are Dave Bautista’s Rarest Lunch Boxes?
- His Toppie lunch box is worth $15,000
- He has a collection of Volkswagen lunch boxes worth $800 a piece
- Bautista owns a Beatles lunch box still in its original packaging
Bautista has an incredible lunchbox collection that focuses on the television shows and movies that he grew up watching. They provided escapism for him during his youth, and that’s why a lot of his lunchboxes have sentimental value to him, with this collection being a lot more personal than just having a set of rare items that are worth a lot of money and look visually striking.
His most valuable lunchbox is also one of his rarest, and is a “Toppie,” box that is estimated to be worth $15,000. It came out in 1957, and people could only buy the lunchbox with stamps, which made it such a difficult item to pick up at the time, and one that’s extremely rare to find today in good condition.
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He also has rare VW Bus lunchboxes that people could only get by going and test-driving one of the vehicles, which is why they’re such rare pieces, with those being worth $800. The first time he spent thousands of dollars on a lunchbox was for a special item based on The Beatles, which is still in the original wrapping.
What Lunchboxes Does Dave Bautista Want Next?
|
WWE Tenure |
Notable Titles |
Notable Rivals |
|---|---|---|
|
2000-2010 / 2014 / 2018-2019 |
WWE Champion x2; World Heavyweight Champion x4;World Tag Team Champion x3; WWE Tag Team Champion |
Triple H; The Undertaker; John Cena |
Bautista might love collecting vintage lunchboxes, but there are only so many available that fit the bill of what he’s interested in and willing to spend money on. While he’s got an extensivecollection, that doesn’t mean he’s looking to add anything to it.
“I’ve pretty much got almost everything I want. Every time I come up and look at these, they make me happy. I still enjoy the collecting process, and sometimes the collecting process is waiting. You wait, you wait, you search, you wait, you search, you wait, you search. Once you find what you’re looking for, it’s like, now you have to find something else that you’re looking for. Those moments are becoming more rare for me because I have everything I want.”
However, seeing the lunchboxes on his shelves made it clear that he had new items related to some of his movie roles, such as a Drax the Destroyer section and a lunchbox for the Army of the Dead. Therefore, there could be some further additions in the future as his Hollywood career expands.
Plus, Bautista has other collections within his home that he might look to focus on instead. He also collects pinball machines and life-sized dinosaurs displayed around his garden, with the former WWE Superstar having a unique property.
