Mike Zarnock

Michael Zarnock is an American author and columnist, who writes collector guides and articles about Hot Wheels toy cars and accessories.

Michael's knowledge and his massive Hot Wheels collection has earned him notoriety around the world. Whether it be because of the 13 books, numerous chapters in other books and countless magazine articles that he has written about Hot Wheels toys or just the sheer size and diversity of his die cast vehicle collection, this extensive knowledge has earned him the label,

"One of the worlds leading Hot Wheels authorities."
Did you know?

• Michael's collection has also earned him 2 Guinness World Records! First in 2003 and then again in 2007!
• He is in the record books for owning the "Largest collection of different model cars".
• He is featured in the 2008 "Ripley's Believe It Or Not!" book #5 “Prepare To Be Shocked!”
• And the 2011 "Ripley's Believe It Or Not!" book "Utterly Crazy!"

February 2009 Michael was inducted into the "Diecast Hall Of Fame" and later that year Mattel Hot Wheels ® honored Michael by reproducing his old Altered Roadster Race Car as part of their Nostalgic "Drag Strip Demons ®" Series!

Michael was born April 21, 1958 in Utica, New York, into a working class family. As with most young men of that time, he grew up with aspirations of getting married and working with his dad in their family Body Shop repairing cars. But, as we all know, things change. His parents divorced in 1974 and his dad moved to Florida. Michael stayed in Utica with his mom and attended local schools while working as a Auto Mechanic at "Nichols Dept. Store".

He has worked full time since the 11th grade. "Everybody thought it was pretty weird that I came to school with my blue work shirt that had "Mike" on it everyday. They couldn't understand that I worked 45 hours a week while I was still in High School. They were all playing sports and hanging out while I was turning wrenches and fixing their parent's cars."

He graduated from John F. Kennedy High School, Utica, New York in 1976.

Some of Michael's other accomplishments over the years include racing Moto Cross as a teenager to building and driving many show and drag cars as an adult. Some of those drag cars ended up being street racers for other people. Michael has many stories about those street racing days including the time that he got kidnapped at a street race. This story has made it all the way across the country to Hollywood where he was asked to write a screenplay about it for Actor/Producer Christopher Titus. He has also rewritten that script to be published as a novel.

Michael has had a passion for Hot Wheels toy cars and their accessories since their release in 1968 and has collected them whenever he could find them. It's come to be, that Michael has spent so much time and effort on his collection that he has become one of the world's most respected authorities on Hot Wheels ® and their variations. So much so, that it prompted him to write a best selling Variation Guide called "The Ultimate Guide to Hot Wheels ® Variations", that was published by Krause in 2002 and went into it's second printing just a year after it’s released. That book is now out of print and sold out. Since then he has written 10 more books, was under contract with Toy Cars & Models Magazine for 6 years where he wrote a monthly Hot Wheels column and price guide, written numerous chapters in many other die cast books and countless articles for magazines such as "Die Cast X" and "The Car Room Magazine".