How open are you about your Lego passion?

[Sir Fred]

Pretty much everyone I know knows I'm into Lego, has been like that for years now, I haven't exactly been trying to hide it. When I was in High School I did a speech on how awesome Lego is and my prom date was "Lady Lego", the barmaid from the MMV. I think the staff at the local Toys R Us is beginning to recognize me...

[indyman09]

I absolutely agree with you. Well I'm 14 and only my family knows it. My friends knew that I still played with it when I was 12, but after that I always clean up my room before friends are coming. It's not really that I am ashamed for it, I just know people are going to bully me cause the already did that when I was 12. I also don't like to call it playing with Lego, It's just collecting and building with it. But I think if you're 21, like you, you can be open in it. Not everyone has to know it, but your best friends understand it on that age in my opinion. Just try it, and if they don't understand you, maybe they're not the bestest friends in the world

By the way: I don't really play with it anymore, just building. Yesterday I bought battle of Alamut, and than you just play a little bit. Fighting with minifigs is always good!

Edited December 29, 2010 by indyman09

[Walter Kovacs]

I don't even try and hide it. Heck, my mother-in-law is my best source of new sets. She has deep pockets

I keep a photo of one of my MOCs as a background on my computer at work. Add to it the Bionicle that is climbing over the monitor, and you get the effect.

[Sirens-of-Titan]

Very nice Buckshot!

It's interesting to hear what people think. I don't play with it like I used to back in the day (when you'd have a storyline for your figures and go on adventures )

I build because I am good at getting an idea in my head and creating it with bricks. I love the imaginative aspect of building where it is as much about technique, aesthetic appeal and creativity as it is about fun.

IDK, sometimes I get the feeling some people miss that finer point in Lego building; that it's not really a toy, it's in it's finest examples an art form and that is certainly very true when you look at some of the amazing creations people upload here on a daily basis.

[Stegoceras]

I think only people close to me know, I'm not exactly waving my obsession around, nor am I hiding it. And I agree with Arigomi, Most people just don't care what your hobbies are and I'm not one to advertise it. Some might have the weird look on their face when they find out, but generally most people have some hobby or another that's consider strange by the general public.

[Ravenclaw2010]

I'm 18 going on 19, so I think I'm younger than most people on this site. I stopped liking Lego when I was about 12, then only started liking it again recently. I mostly keep it a secret, as only my twin bro and a few of my friends know about it, because they kinda like Lego too. When I buy CM, I feel really weird, because it's only kids that are trying to get them too!

I absolutely agree with you. Well I'm 14 and only my family knows it. My friends knew that I still played with it when I was 12, but after that I always clean up my room before friends are coming. It's not really that I am ashamed for it, I just know people are going to bully me cause the already did that when I was 12. I also don't like to call it playing with Lego, It's just collecting and building with it. But I think if you're 21, like you, you can be open in it. Not everyone has to know it, but your best friends understand it on that age in my opinion. Just try it, and if they don't understand you, maybe they're not the bestest friends in the world

By the way: I don't really play with it anymore, just building. Yesterday I bought battle of Alamut, and than you just play a little bit. Fighting with minifigs is always good!

You say you're 14... don't you need to be at least 18 to become a member here?

Edited December 30, 2010 by Ravenclaw2010

[Enpaz]

Dudes, don't be ashamed of playing with Lego! Heck, if you still have the ability to play with it and enjoy your Lego like a child does, you should be proud of it! Now that really shows who's still got imagination... don't let social conditioning make you feel bad about playing!

If you still have this ability, try to keep it and keep it like a treasure. I'm serious.

Edited December 30, 2010 by Enpaz

[Derek]

I'm trying to stop caring what other people think about it. For the most part, when I tell people I know, they tease me about it, but they generally think it's pretty interesting.

And as for the cashier at Target, I really don't give a damn what they think. I have a part time job as a grocery store cashier and once you have a customer buy condoms and cornbread as their only two items, you realize a Lego set is nothing to judge a person about...

-Derek

[Cloud0]

They say people with higher IQ tend to enjoy creativity more. Lego is brain medicine! Besides, being able to afford Lego is some sort of status symbol, it aient cheap to amass such a huge quantity.

[AllanSmith]

I have been buying LEGO for my self since my late 20's. I am now 54. Everyone knows its for me, shops, work mates, family and friends. Even my car displays my love for LEGO (see my personalised number plate on the left of this message )

[BrickArtist]

If you walk into my room......you'll no I like lego, and more importantly lego Star Wars! My favorite sets are displayed on shelves, their mifigs in line on dispalay stands, legos are all over the floor, my desk drawer conceals a star-wars visual dictionary, which I pull out, and rest in the drawer (like you would a real dictionary ) and use it as reference for my SW MOCs. Am i ashamed? Not at all! I'd like to see some of the people giving the looks interlock bricks for a SNOT a technique, or combine technic with studs to sturdy-up a MOC. I once remember seeing an AFOL poor out a large complex technic set on a store-counter, and saying "You build it", to this day he is my hero You get the point, I love lego, building lego, and everything about lego.

Edited December 30, 2010 by brickartist

[Iysk]

My immediate family knows, but cousins and aunts and uncles don't. I don't have people at my house a lot so it's not like many people know. I have told close teachers about my plastic crack addiction to Legos and Transformers (which died off around 2003). I don't usually play with them (legos are designing, TFs for displaying/photo taking), unless they have wheels to race on.

I usually feel most uncomfortable at Target since my Toys R Us closed around early 2000's (I don't even remember when it did, but I know that it was after 2001)

But today I was at Target and usually female Filipino ladies (I'm 7/8ths) don't mind and usually assume I'm buying for someone else. Other times I get strange looks from employees around my age.

19 btw.

[AndyC]

Life is too short to worry about it. I don't make any effort to hide it and most of my friends think it's cool anyway. Some people give odd looks (like when large orders get delivered to work ) but nothing more than that. To be honest if the worst thing someone can find about me is that I like Lego, I reckon I'm doing alright.

[indyman09]

I'm 18 going on 19, so I think I'm younger than most people on this site. I stopped liking Lego when I was about 12, then only started liking it again recently. I mostly keep it a secret, as only my twin bro and a few of my friends know about it, because they kinda like Lego too. When I buy CM, I feel really weird, because it's only kids that are trying to get them too!

You say you're 14... don't you need to be at least 18 to become a member here?

Well I don't think so, I have an account for almost a year now

[Pinky]

No secret here, I positively enjoy the "your kids will love it" "nah it's for the misses and I we dont have kids" moment that I get from shop or eBay pick ups.

That an showing off our loft, generally we get positive interest or sighs. Misses winter village went down well for Xmas.

Regardless of what your hobby is anything that makes you passionate can only be good

Be proud, sod the rest

Pinks

[Ravenclaw2010]

Well I don't think so, I have an account for almost a year now

I'm sure that before you join, it says you must be 18. But if you've had it for more than a year now without any problems, then I suppose it must be ok.

[Sirens-of-Titan]

No secret here, I positively enjoy the "your kids will love it" "nah it's for the misses and I we dont have kids" moment that I get from shop or eBay pick ups.

That an showing off our loft, generally we get positive interest or sighs. Misses winter village went down well for Xmas.

Regardless of what your hobby is anything that makes you passionate can only be good

Be proud, sod the rest

Pinks

Amen sir!

I like what I'm hearing, definitely reassuring.

[Modulex Guy]

I am 20, about to turn 21, and am not at all ashamed about my LEGO hobby.

I have no problem buying LEGO, walking into the LEGO Stores (everyone knows me at all the LEGO stores anyways) and buying stuff.

I tell my friends about my hobby and how I exhibit my MOCs with NILTC. The usual reaction I get from them is "oh cool" but some just say its still "kids stuff".

Personally though, I think that those who do not think this stuff is fun are those that just forgotten how to have fun, I think building is a great way to relieve stress and forget about the troubles of the day.

If I have friends over, I tell them that my basement is a bit cluttered with LEGO, and they do not seem to grasp the shear insanity they are walking into, having 200K+ brick is not the easiest collection to hide, I get the "Holy $#!+" reaction all the time, but them "this is awesome" as the second reply.

What sometimes is funny though, those people I tell about LEGO who think its "lame and childish" sometimes end up at one of our club shows sneaking around in the back to actually see the displays.

I will never be ashamed of my Hobbies, I just tell others "Well, at least I know how to have fun".

[vexorian]

Once you transition from dark ages to AFOL, there is little time left before it will be rather impossible to hide the hobby once people get into your house... It is just one year after my dark ages ended and I already have space issues, and I didn't even rebuild most of my old sets.

Edited December 30, 2010 by vexorian

[Omicron]

I am damn proud to be an AFOL. I don't hide it. I share my work with my friends, family, and coworkers. I've made custom figs for friends and coworkers. I can care less if someone judges me for doing what I do.

-Omi

[allanp]

I'm the same as buckshot! And i'm so with you Omicron, well said sir!

They ask if it's for me and i'm like, yes.....yes it is, got a problem with that! I told my girlfriend about it on my first date, and told her about all the cool MOCs i make. She seemed to find it quite endearing, there have been many birthdays and christmasses with lego sets from my childhood (thank God for brinklink) wrapped up from her. Love you Carrie!

I generally find peoples reaction quite positive, they find it sweet at times, afterall there are many worse things aldults do to occupy themselves.

Edited December 30, 2010 by allanp

[robuko]

Yeah, I was just like you when I was in my twenties. Luckily, now that I'm in my late thirties, I don't really care anymore.

Clerk: "Is this for your children"?

Me: "This Lego? No, it's all for ME! HAHAHAHA!"

Getting old does have some benefits

+1

What is not awesome about the creative, artistic, mathematical, and scientific aspects of this hobby? And now it's getting quite social too.

Of course, it is much tougher when you are younger and peer pressure is strong, and different towns/countries/societies have different levels of peer pressure. My guess is the big cities will be more tolerant and welcoming than small towns in the USA, Sirens-of-Titan. I think you have to judge for yourself if you want to keep it secret. You will experience more admiration and more approbation for being open, it's a personal choice how you will respond to that. My colleagues at work know I like lego, outer space and dinosaurs, just like any normal 5 year old boy, and on balance I think they have a lot of respect for that. Though, this is Japan and so geekiness/connoisseurship is well valued.

If you choose to keep it secret at home, at least you will always have the fellowship of EB and similar forums, which is a big advantage we 30somethings never had.

Play well

Edited December 30, 2010 by robuko

[Jargo]

Lego is probably a cure for althzeimers disease. It stimulates parts of the brain other less interesting and less challenging pastimes can't reach.

At 43 I'm past caring what people think. It's a peaceful way to pass some time and it's money well spent on something that will last for decades rather than wasting it on alcohol or other almost instantly disposed of substances.

as for buying Lego, I mostly buy online due to not being mobile but before when I could get around more easily I'd happily wander round toy stores covetously stroking lego boxes and purring in contentment. quite often parents would ask me if I could help them find whatever their child wanted. Parents can be so lazy sometimes. I didn't mind though. I'd tell them to pay the extra for Lego quality over cheap clone brands. Explain how each lego brick is a mini masterpiece of engineering. How I still have bricks from when I was a tiny child. I probably give the same speech to people whenever Lego and me are mentioned in the same sentence. I'm proud of my Lego and how sane it keeps me. It stops me getting all grown up and pompously dismissive of creative outlets. It frees my inner child and keeps me young at heart.

Just remembered, a 20+ guy called at my house trying to sell me some new internet package and in passing he asked if he was interrupting anything. I replied that I was sorting through Lego minifigs and the guy almost broke his neck trying to peer into the room where the minifigs were. twenty minutes later he was on his hands and knees giggling like a kid playing with them and wanting to see the rest of my Lego collection. So I reckon there's an awful lot of people out there who may sneer at Lego and look on disapprovingly but secretly harbour jealousy and a yearning to play with plastic bricks and feel the liberation of creative freedom again.

At the end of the day, don't let anyone steal the joy a hobby/pastime brings you. people you meet in stores are probably more embarassed than you are and cashiers and store managers don't care as long as you pay for goods before leaving. There are far worse things a person can buy or choose to spend their time partaking of.

[NickyBlade]

My 14 year old daughter and I just recently got her old Legos out of the garage. Then we ordered the Emerald Night and motorized it with PF. Now, we are hooked! We actually told everyone that we are working on building a train town and asked for Lego for Christmas... but we received zero Lego. lol. It's not a secret for us and we will try again next year when everyone asks what we'd like for Christmas. :D

[Endigo Vandane]

There was this period when I was 14 years old where I would have conversations with myself, which went along the lines of:

"Am I too old for LEGO? Should I be going out in the weekends like everyone else? Maybe I should switch to TECHNIC, that's acceptable for up to 16 year olds. Am I weird for staying in my room all weekend, surrounded by little plastic bricks?

Ooh, that's a nice new part, but I will have to buy that set and the people at the checkout might think I'm a bit strange for buying it."

And other such selfdoubting rubbish. But at 14 there is this inbuilt desire to fit in, not stand out, be part of a group.

This went on for about six months. During which time I still bought sets, feeling my head become the colour of a tomato each time I went to pay for them.

Then came the turnaround in my thinking:

"Why should I deny myself something that gives me pleasure and does no harm to anyone else? If I start going out, I'll be surrounded by all the same people that annoy me when I'm at school. So what if they think I'm weird, at least I won't be a sheep mindlessly following the herd. Ooh, that's a nice new part, next time I'm at the store I'll get multiple copies of that set. After all, you can never have too much LEGO."

Moments like that are very liberating.

And this internet thing has been around for a while now, so anyone can find others who share their interests and fit in, not stand out, be part of a greater community.

Had it been available in 1987, I might not have had my dimly lit period.

Now when I'm asked if I have any hobbies, I just say it: "LEGO."

Most times the responses are positive.

But there will always be people who tend to, have a problem with, make fun of, or don't understand, it, they're ussually the same ones who don't have a hobby and lack imagination.

You know the type, 30- or 40-somethings that think talking about sex makes them sound 'cool'.

I might be a big kid (37), but at least I'm adult enough to admit it.