North Texas LEGO master turned childhood love into dream job
GRAPEVINE - Most people put away their LEGO sets as they get older, but a North Texas man has turned his childhood love into a dream job.
"In my model shop, I'm like a fish in a fishbowl, so kids can always come up and talk to me and interact with me, ask me questions," said Thaddeus Bennett, the master model builder at LEGOLAND Discovery Center in Grapevine.
It's a position you can't interview for. You have to win it in a timed competition with a live audience.
Bennett didn't get first place until his second try.
"You wear a LEGO hard hat, get LEGO dumped all over you, and you've been officially crowned as a master builder," Bennett said about the moment he won.
Bennett doesn't leave LEGO behind when he leaves the office. His apartment is filled with his favorite LEGO builds. He remembers the first one he completed in 1999.
Bennett's family moved around a lot when he was a kid, so friends were hard to keep. LEGO became his constant.
"I wish I could just go back in time and let myself know or show myself a little glimpse of the future," he said.
Now, he can show the possibilities to younger kids. A big part of Bennett's job is inspiring the next generation of builders.
Bennett is one of just 15 LEGO master model builders in North America. They're responsible for taking care of and creating all the LEGO displays at the centers.