LARGO, Fla. — Growing up, we probably all had that favorite movie that we could just watch over and over and over again. Well, there's a man in Largo who has taken his love for his favorite movie to the extreme.
Every time JD adds another VHS copy of Titanic to his collection, he feels like he’s the king of the world.
“You know, Titanic is best on VHS,” said JD. “'September 1, 1998, take the voyage home,' that’s what they were saying. That’s what I was playing on the VCR, I was watching this thing over and over and over again.”
The more people learn about JD’s collection, the more tapes he receives, coming in from all over the world.
“I check that P.O. Box. I mean, I got to fill the car up because there is so much Titanic, baby,” said JD. ‘’I’m trying to get to one million. We have 2,467 right now, so we are so close to that one million.”
Don’t forget, Titanic includes two VHS tapes, which means it takes up double the space in JD’s house. He said eventually, he’s going to have to rent out storage.
He even built a Titanic out of all the Titanics, one of the many fun videos you’ll find on his YouTube Channel, TitanicFan 97.
“I go to sleep thinking about Titanic, and I wake up thinking about Titanic,” said JD.
JD travels all over the country, searching thrift stores, flea markets and garage sales for copies of the movie.
“You can’t escape this movie. Everyone had it, your grandma had it, your mom, your dad, whoever, someone in your family had this movie,” said JD.
He’s already spent thousands of dollars on the hobby.
“I will go into debt for this gladly because it is well worth it,” said JD.
The majority of his collection consists of standard and widescreen, but he does have an ultra-rare screener version.
“It took me about a year to find this one. It’s in great condition, just love this thing,” said JD while kissing the film, which took home 11 Academy Awards.
It’s only fitting that JD shares the same initials as the movie’s lead character.
“My sunshine, my cream to my coffee, that’s just the man, the legend, you know him, he’s Jack Dawson,” said JD.
Among the shelves of tapes, you’ll find Jack Dawsons of all sizes and shapes.
“We do have Jack to the Future. He is a more futuristic Jack Dawson,” said JD.
With all the talk about JD, you can’t forget about CD, as in Celine Dion.
“We also have the world’s largest collection of Titanic the soundtrack on CD,” said JD. “Ripley’s Believe It or Not took me in, and I will be in the next book."
However, all the newfound fame is really just the tip of the iceberg. This super fan never loses sight of the ultimate goal: one million copies.
His heart and his VHS collection will go on.
If you want to help JD reach his goal, send your VHS copies of Titanic to P.O. Box 5355 Largo, FL 33779.
