Block Booking

Lego fans are steadily building their own culture in South Africa

- Bruce Dennill

The tiny plastic blocks that have built the foundation of one of the world’s largest toy companies are also the driving force behind a hobby that is practiced with the same intensity as training for marathons or buying a country estate because you jump a pony in amateur competitions at agricultural fairs.

Lego enthusiasts have formed their own vibrant communities over the years, and the phenomenon is on the rise in South Africa.

“Among our adult population, we’ve grown in leaps and bounds,” says Dax McKinnon of the Lego Users Group (LUG) South Africa, the local version of similar assemblies all over the world.

“When I really got into Lego again in 2008, I thought I was alone; that weirdo hanging out in toy stores and making people nervous. When we had our first LUG gettogether, we had no more than 10 people arrive, and we’re now up to about 60 regular members. And that’ll probably grow as more people realise that they’re not weirdos.”

How did you connect with such people, if everyone was initially feeling nervous about outing themselves?

“A while back, a store called Toy Adventures in Irene Mall had a Lego exhibition and a number of us turned up there,” recalls McKinnon. “We met and started chatting, and that led to Facebook groups and websites and wanting to find out how to get more involved.”

The tribe is speaking