How open are you about your Lego passion?

[Pennas2000]

My family know but that's it. I work at Bigw and when they say "geez, buying more lego?" I tell them it's for my little brother. I want to tell them hell yes it's for me then educate them.

[LEGOMAN132]

Iam pretty open everyone who knows me knows about my hobby. I think the last time I was made fun of for it was in the sixth grade.

Edited July 23, 2011 by LEGOMAN132

[22kane]

I hope someday I'll be able to be so open about my hobby, because being embarrassed about sometimes stops me getting new sets.

(First of all, very good and important topic.)

I can understand that people feel this way. It really depends on age as well. Someone in their teens to mid twenties is considered a dork or nerd for playing with toys.

I spent most of my teens and twenties playing in bands and partying like a rock star. I began to settle down in my late twenties and started a family, gave up partying and started model railroading again (one of my biggest passions). I'm 33 now and I don't care what anyone thinks about me and really the older you get the less you really do care. If I was single and didn't have a family I may feel differently but then again maybe not. Everyone has some kind of strange hobby that may or may not be accepted by the masses but I always thought- if it's something you like to do, who gives a shit what other people think.

My family of course knows about my "obsessions" and my staff ( I run a pet store) some of the girls think it's cute. And even if they thought I was a big loser, then so be it. It's much better than blowing money at the bar or on drugs so enjoy and be proud.

[Larrynautik]

I was totally hiding my passion for Lego, until I recently decided to stop putting my minifigs and sets in my bedroom each time someone came to my apartment. Now I display my sets everywhere and, so, people just realize by themselves.

So, my friends and family know, but not my job's colleagues, as there's not a really good ambiance in the enterprise I work in. It doesn't helps talking about passions. In fact, you can only talk motorbikes, motorbikes and ? Oh, well, motorbikes.

Only one of my colleagues has serious clues about my hobby, and it's kind of voluntary. It's a cool guy, totally obsessed by Linux ( He sticks Tux posters everywhere at work and even have a Tux plush on his desk )

But I also know another colleague hides his passion for guns. I don't know why, maybe he gets his reasons. I'm sure a lot of people where I work get secret passions they would never talk about. I think it's their secret garden and I respect everything a man or a woman can love to do as a hobby. I would love to meet another AFOL in fact, because I only know through internet for the time being. But the creations I see here are just amazing

[gtg905s]

Every since getting back into Lego I haven't been really open a it about. Until my friends started to ask where the heck I was when I would disappear for a weekend building lol ;-)

So I finally told them, mostly because we all have engineering degrees so I knew that all of them had to have Lego sets as a kid too. They laughed at it but were intrigued as well. So when they would come over to the house they would always ask to see my collection.

I keep it all in my office and office walk in closet when possible and for now, but that is slowly not possible. With 500+ sets and lbs and lbs of loose brick the room is getting overwhelmed. So the new rule is to keep it all upstairs. The big builds get put in either my bedroom or the hall way. The rest stays in the closet and office for now.

My guest bedroom is looking more and more tempting to take over the as the Lego Room.

I don't out right tell anyone I am a big Lego collector. Even at work all my colleagues don't know. The rare times some of them bring up Lego in conversation, I make a nice educated comment on it and they take a second look at me. They have not really asked me about how much I have or if I still buy. That time will come soon enough. I am in a Mechanical Eng. firm so it would not be the craziest hobby by far and would not bet against at least one other person in the company being an AFOL.

I am not ashamed at all of Lego and should probably talk it up when people mention it. I would probably get more offers to buy their past collections. Always nice to get more brick :-)

[FuzzyBallz]

Just got back to LEGO couple months back. I started with LEGO robin hood set way back when, then into the castle and kingdoms, and pirates before I stopped. Don't know where all the sets are now, but I'm starting all over with just Technic sets. People know I'm into it. There's no shame in loving LEGO!

[Moz]

It's in my online dating profile, and my google+ profile, and there's another AFOL at work that I chat with so half my workplace know. I enjoy saying "Lego's great, it's so cheap compared to playing in my workshop". Which is true, I made a four poster bed recently, about $600 for two weekends entertainment. Admittedly, now we have a four poster bed, but building that stuff wears off really fast for the people who have to live in a house crammed with cool projects. Lego at least I can take apart and build something else with.

[ziljin]

My uncle just saw my lego collection and was in utter disgust. Never experienced such a negative reaction. Good thing I only see him like once every five years. He lives in different state. And I thought my dad reacted poorly. He had a similar reaction but his tone wasn't nearly as serious. My dad probably doesn't care that much probably.

[wokajablocka]

I like to be open with it. Every now and then you will find someone who also like Lego as a kid and you can get talking. I like to tell everyone I know so I can try and pick up some great Lego deals, as friends and family always do cheaper prices. If its your hobby and passion you will want to talk about Lego so how can you not let poeple know.

My partner is sick of Lego. She is very understanding but I bore her really quickly when I come and tell her about Lego news of mad deals I see and I want to spend money on them. At least she understands and lets me and our son have a hobby.

[HumanPackMule]

My family fully supports my hobby. When my grandmothers came down for my high school graduation this past May, they were just in awe of all the things I have built. When I have friends come over they take interest, having played with the medium as children. And my peers, they've always thought I was weird so it doesn't makecmuch of a differencevif I'm open about this hobby.

Edited August 16, 2011 by HumanPackMule

[The Real Walkers]

Only three of my friends know of my collection. But one is a massive Harry Potter fan, the other has some lego and so he doesn't mind and the other thinks it's a good investment I would tell others but in my opinion it wouldn't bode well. But that doesn't stop me buying sets (well only Harry Potter)

But my family loves my Harry Potter collection and it's one of the centrepoints in my floor, my dad sometimes gets annoyed that I still buy the sets cause im not 16 but he still thinks it looks good when it's finally put up, my mum loves my collection and fully supports me. I'd tell my girl-friend, but I haven't got one To me they are an long term investment and a short term pleasure. I intend to keep all my LEGO for my kids when I'm older. I'm also trying to get my little neice into lego at the moment.

Edited August 16, 2011 by The Real Walkers

[LandShark]

Interesting topic.

All of my family knows, as do most of my fiends.

I don't have to worry about a wife yet (that could be good or bad, depending on how you view it), but I'd like to think I wouldn't marry someone who was against my Lego.

[HumanPackMule]

Interesting topic.

All of my family knows, as do most of my fiends.

I don't have to worry about a wife yet (that could be good or bad, depending on how you view it), but I'd like to think I wouldn't marry someone who was against my Lego.

That goes with one of my philosophies, if they can't tolerate it, they're not worth it.

[Ogre]

That goes with one of my philosophies, if they can't tolerate it, they're not worth it.

Exactly.

If you're going to accept me, then you accept ALL of me...the good, the bad and the LEGO.

[Blondie-Wan]

I have no problem acknowledging my enthusiasm to other people. I don't actually go up to random strangers in the street and accost them just to say, "Hey! I love LEGO!!!" and run off, but I don't certainly don't avoid mentioning it or skirt around it if it should come up in conversation, whether with close friends (of course, most of my friends have geeky passions of their own anyway), family, coworkers, or people I've just met.

[brickmack]

My uncle just saw my lego collection and was in utter disgust. Never experienced such a negative reaction. Good thing I only see him like once every five years. He lives in different state. And I thought my dad reacted poorly. He had a similar reaction but his tone wasn't nearly as serious. My dad probably doesn't care that much probably.

My dad is sometimes like that, but not often. A few years ago he said "It's absolutely disgusting that adult would spend thousands of dollars on a kids toy". Oddly enough, he seems to sometimes think it's cool, and I've caught him building (albeit horribly designed, with no color coordination, and reminicent of the constructions of an average 4 year old) spaceships and such.

Edited August 17, 2011 by brickmack

[Aanchir]

I probably ought to mention that while my family is very LEGO-tolerant, my mom and dad do sometimes act a bit condescending towards the themes I like. Neither of my parents really understood BIONICLE when I was into it, and my dad can't even wrap his brain around the much simpler Hero Factory theme. He insists that he just doesn't get the idea of robot characters, although when I pointed out that the fleshy organic-looking characters of Galidor were the alternative he had to admit that robot characters make sense from a pragmatist point-of-view.

My dad also thinks Ninjago is a bit ridiculous (I think it's the name that bothers him in this case, not the content of the sets). It should be pointed out that when showing off the features of sets I've built to either of my parents, they marvel at the designs just as much as I do, no matter what the theme. It's the overall aesthetic and background stories for the themes that they have the most difficulty understanding or connecting with.

On a related note, my mom really wishes more of my LEGO building was from a more artistic perspective. She is often mentioning how much she'd like me to try and build things from real life rather than building fantasy spaceships and action figures.

[K-Nut]

Only my family and friends know about my hobby. And I like it to stay that way. I don't want to tell somebody and have them asking me non-stop about my hobby. I've never been thrown into a conversation about it and it doesn't seem like anyone really cares, and I like that. One thing I laugh to myself about is that my brother has looked at my hobby as a waste of time. And then I would go downstairs to where I left my bricks out to see a little, horribly designed thing that was never there before. It proves that no matter how much you dislike them, unbuilt LEGO's are things that sit there and taunt you.

[AndyC]

It's the overall aesthetic and background stories for the themes that they have the most difficulty understanding or connecting with.

In fairness I can totally understand that, as those are aspects I've never really found much appeal in myself. Even in themes I do love, like Pirates, I don't really have any interest in the official 'storyline'. As a kid I prefered my own ideas anyway, so perhaps that's where that comes from.

On a related note, my mom really wishes more of my LEGO building was from a more artistic perspective. She is often mentioning how much she'd like me to try and build things from real life rather than building fantasy spaceships and action figures.

Well you should encourage her to 'gift' you some fine Architecture sets and some of the great models like Tower Bridge or Taj Mahal. Then dismantle them and MOC them into Ninja temples.

My parents thought it a bit odd, then saw sets like 10030 and had to admit it wasn't quite the LEGO they remembered. Once I showed my mom the Emerald Night (and convinced her it honestly was LEGO!) and the Taj Mahal, she definitely understood. She's even started suggesting a family trip to Legoland Windsor the next time I'm over that way.

[The_YongGrand]

Ok, here's my story about that. Pardon me of being too new, I just joined less than an hour ago.

When I was younger (5-7) my parents used to buy me Legos. I have quite a handful of the classic Town sets vehicles and minifigures. I had a blast playing those things, until when I reached almost 8, my parents had become very strict to us (me and my oldest brother only). They said that as we have grown old, we should not play the Legos, so my ma told me to shelve it and stop touching it because "it interferes with the studies". On times I took it out for a play when I was 9 to 11 but I get very disapproved looks from my parents. Instead of encouraging, they would go on about "make your time studying". I did quite average in school, didn't fail anything but I got >70% average in my total grades. Yet, they weren't too happy 'cause they compared it to my brother who was doing very very well in school. I do not blame my parents for being strict as I know they thought playing is a bit way too wrong.

Over the years, my computer games addiction became worse. And alongside with it, depression made its way when I was 18. I was almost suicidal. My grades on my A-Levels is not too good, and was rejected from attending local universities. Finally, I got accepted into one private university after a year, and I resumed studies. All the ups and downs made me think of one thing again : Legos.

In 2008, my brother began to look at the older Lego catalogs online. There he went again, digging out the broken older sets and reassembling it but it's in vain 'cause most of them were destroyed with missing parts. What triggered my interest again was when he purchased a mini Lego fireboat.(it was the small plastic bag thingy in the retail store, probably 'starter' sets)

In 2009, when I had a walk in a local toy store, I saw that huge Lego Pirates set. With the tower and with the prison and stuff. There, I didn't think much. I paid, and just went out of the toy store with the thing. The big box.

On last year and this year, I begin to amass a handsome collection of Lego city sets, mainly police ones. My parents looked at it, they didn't complain.

My father, he looked at amazement, "Wow, this is just so cool! Those models are close to real!". On times he may be staring at the vehicles like a little kid in a toy store. My ma still complained that it was a waste of space, but I didn't bother her nags.

And also, my coursemate collects Legos, so I had a very easy chat with him. I am very proud of my Lego collection. Everyone should be proud - it's not for the little kids. It's also for the 'big boys and girls'.

Nowadays, in the toy store, I don't see kids looking at Lego sets anymore. Guess what they actually wanna buy? Playstation Portables, weird sharp-edge spinning tops, or uh... can't recall. I see many kids being glued to their GBA more than they played Legos. Worst still, I saw kids playing GTA4.

[redryder]

My parents know, cause they see Lego all over the house when they visit. My son leaves them lying around everywhere.

My wife used to just tolerate it, but now she's started getting into the hobby after getting hooked on the minifigs series 3 and 4. She hasn't built anything yet, but generally prefers houses and architecture. Friends of the family who have visited my place know, but otherwise my work colleagues don't and I generally don't tell anyone. So basically only those people who have visited my house would know about it.

[1980-Something-Space-Guy]

When my family went to the Lego store at Orlando (and it was the first Lego store we ever visited), I went crazy buying stuff. My mother and my sister, who were not that into Lego as my father and me, were attracted by the play area. Eventually, a guy who worked at the store offered a chair, and in no time they were playing with Lego pieces!

I think that although if you tell many people that you are an AFOL, they might think that you are childish or strange, most people have enjoyed Lego, and would enjoy Lego if they gave themselves the chance. The problem is that we live in a society were there are many stupid rules, imposed by what most people do, but that actually make no sense at all. Who ever said that when we grow up we have to stop enjoying some of the good things in life? The worse thing is that we often participate in suppporting these social stereotypes.

Anyways, I'm not open about my Lego passion, but I don't think that I hide it either. I just don't have many friends who enjoy Lego, and it's not something that can make a conversation with people who are not into it. But whenever I meet an AFOL, it's Lego conversation guaranteed.

[ExpiredHero]

I am very open about all my crazy / childish hobbies - I figure if people can't get over it then that is their problem not mine

My wife is super supportive of the hobby, and is always keen to offer advise on what I am doing. Ultimately it keeps me out of her hair and she thinks it is cheaper than some other hobbies (how little she knows )

My best friends all know as we are all iant geeks at heart be it in DnD, CRPGs, Wargames etc and although they have no intrest in Lego themselves they are happy to put up with me when I insist on showing them what I have bought / built.

Finally, the people at work I sit with all know - and I have even gone so far to show them photo's of what I have built recently. A few of ladies have young teenage boys themselves and think it is funny that boys "never really grow up".

[tedbeard]

I went very public today as part of Speak out with you Geek Out and wrote about my LEGO-love on Facebook.

[brickmack]

I went very public today as part of Speak out with you Geek Out and wrote about my LEGO-love on Facebook.

Heh. I might have to get involved in that, sounds interesting.