I’ve been living less than two blocks from Brixton Hyper Pawn, a dazzling pawn shop at the corner of Wimbledon Road and Caroline Street in Brixton, for almost five years. But it took me until a month or two ago to finally walk inside.
Outside the Brixton Hyper Pawn — the only structure in Joburg that somehow makes barbed wire look good.
A moment of appreciation for the coolest mint green bakkie in front of the coolest bright yellow pawn shop in the coolest Joburg suburb.
Brixton Hyper Pawn is famous for its old-school painted signs. There used to be even more signs but a mean person in the Joburg City government tragically made the Hyper Pawn take them down.
One of the surviving signs.
Brian Fernandes, owner of the Hyper Pawn (more on Brian in a moment).
Martin, the Hyper Pawn security guard, in front of my favorite sign.
I love thrifting and all things secondhand, so I’m not sure why it took me such a long time to explore the Hyper Pawn. I guess I thought pawn shops were intimidating, and I also assumed they wouldn’t let me take photos inside. Wow, was I wrong. Brian, the owner of Brixton Hyper Pawn, along with all his staff members, are incredibly nice and welcoming. They were happy to let me explore and take pictures. Best of all, they purchased some old camera equipment that I no longer use and I walked out with cash in my pocket!
Inside the Brixton Hyper Pawn
The Hyper Pawn, which first opened in 1991, is not just a shop — it’s an institution. And this place has STYLE. It’s totally eclectic but at the same time perfectly curated; you can see that careful thought, and even love, goes into all the signs and merchandise displays. I could spend hours just wandering around reading all the signs, not to mention the literal treasure trove of items to look at and potentially buy.
Fortunately I left my guns at home and they let me in without a mask.
My favorite room in the Hyper Pawn. Many of the signs were painted by local artist Steve Mware. In the top-right corner is a portrait of the three founders: Brian and Manny Fernandes, brothers who were born and raised in Brixton, and their friend Richard Venter. Manny and Richard have both passed away but Brian continues to run the Hyper Pawn. (Note the “If the shit hits the fan, call Brian” sign.)
More interesting signage and tools for sale.
Is anyone in the market for an iron or a robotic dinosaur?
How about an arcade game, some giant stereo speakers (there are many of these), or a soft-serve ice cream machine?
A gold watch, perhaps?
...Or an entire collection of tiny clocks?
There is a great selection of guitars, as well as MANY turntables and stereo systems. (There’s a good chance my future record-player will come from the Brixton Hyper Pawn.)
Some serious sewing machines.
How to Do Business at the Hyper Pawn
I didn’t fully understand how pawn shops worked before this, so here’s the deal: Pawning an item is basically like getting a loan. You take an item to the pawn shop, they give you a cash loan in return, and then you make payments on that loan to eventually get your item back. If you’re unable to make your payments for whatever reason, the pawned item becomes the property of the pawn shop and goes up for sale to the general public.
Gas heaters (an essential item for winter in Joburg), TVs, and more guitars for sale.
Alternatively, you can straight-up sell an item to the pawn shop and get cash for it — that’s what I did with the camera and lens I had.
Bianca and Kimm process my sale. I had to provide a copy of my ID (I think this is to protect against fraud), fill out a form with my name and contact details, and I got my money in less than five minutes).
I’m so happy to have finally made the Brixton Hyper Pawn’s acquaintance — I plan to do lots of buying and selling there in the future.
If you have something you want to buy, sell, or pawn, contact the Hyper Pawn at 011-839-2889. Or just stop in to have a look around — you won’t regret it.
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Did you see anything you really liked? I feel like it would be hard to come out empty-handed!
Oh yes, many things. But I don’t want spend the money I just made right away! I’ll be back though.