Man Spends Up to 18 Hours in Front of Famous Monuments Building Lego Sets of the Sites (Exclusive)
Ethan Dewhurst builds Legos on location and connects with people while doing it
NEED TO KNOW
Like many people, Ethan Dewhust began playing with Legos as a child
He rediscovered his love for Legos in 2019 when he bought the San Francisco skyline set
Now, he buys Legos of famous monuments and builds them in front of the buildings themselves in a TikTok series aptly titled, "Legos on Location"
Ethan Dewhurst loved to play with Legos as a kid, and says he and his brothers often found sets of the colorful bricks under the Christmas tree.
As he grew up, however, he tucked his Legos away — that was, until 2019, when he rediscovered his love for the plastic construction toys.
"When my wife and I started traveling, I got back into Lego by just buying the small skyline sets," he tells PEOPLE. "San Francisco was the first one in 2019. Then, when I started building again, I just got addicted."
Eventually, he owned a skyline set for each of the cities that he and his wife had traveled to, and by 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic began to spread, he was "ordering a large set every day."
Soon, he started sharing videos about his Legos online as a way to show off his collection. After several videos related to his travel collection went viral, he created his "Lego on Location" series, in which he builds Lego sets of famous monuments in front of the structures themselves.
"It actually started maybe a year and a half ago, where we would go places, and I would bring my Lego, I would talk about it for maybe two minutes, and then I'd put it away, forget I ever did it, and then enjoy our trip," Dewhurst shares.
"When we started branding it, 'Lego on Location,' we came up with the formula of what the show would be; it's not just showcasing it and reviewing the set, it's watching the building process," he explains. "I wanted it to be more in-depth and not even really talk about Lego. Let's talk about the real thing. Let's not get a history lesson; let's talk more about where we are. Let's talk about travel a little more in detail. We did our first official Lego location in August of this year."
His first "Lego on Location" was at the Neuschwanstein Castle in Germany, which immediately drew a crowd.
"In Germany, we had a line of maybe 50 people for photos, not because I'm anybody, just because, 'Hey, there's a castle in front of the castle. I can take a photo,'" Dewhurst shares.
However, as Dewhurst has built up the series and his following online, he says more and more people have stopped not only to see the Lego, but also him.
"People will come and stop and talk, either because they recognize us or because it's Lego. So either way, that has added fun, but also a challenge to it, which slows you down on the build, which is not what you need when you try to get these big sets done in daylight, but makes it a lot more fun and rewarding," he shares.
During the builds, Dewhurst says people often stop by and hang out for around 30 minutes, asking questions about his process and the sets.
While he's done live builds everywhere from the Rockefeller Tree to Hobbiton, New Zealand, he says there's one that stands out to him the most.
"The Eiffel Tower was crazy. That was super hard," he says, noting that it took around "18 hours" to build something so "difficult."
"Because of the accomplishment, that was my favorite," he adds. "We were able to build that in one of the busiest, most famous locations."
Despite drawing attention and interacting with strangers for hours on end, Dewhurst notes that he hasn't had many scary encounters because "Lego just makes everyone nice."
"If you have a Lego set in a Lego box and you're doing something that no one does, then everyone is super nice," Dewhurst says. "Everyone loves Lego. It's a good change of pace when people see some dork building Lego."
"Paris was super fun because we built it in the main square, then on the bridge, then on the boat, and then we were able to get access to that boat during the sparkles [of the Eiffel Tower]," he adds.
One of the hardest parts of building Legos abroad, he says, is getting them back home. At first, he would wrap the finished sets in plastic wrap and hope they would survive the trip back home. However, he has since started giving the finished pieces away.
"We're meeting people throughout, you'll be able to tell who really loves it and who's really excited. I get their contact, and I just give it away to them at the end," Dewhurst says.
Another downside to his "Legos on Location" series is simply the time commitment, as he balances building the sets while interacting with fans.
"It's genuinely hard to build on location. What I could have gotten done in 30 minutes now takes 15 hours," he says. "That's a big difference, but it also means I'm promoting and doing something that is a little bit more standout."
Recently, he held an event in New York City, where he invited followers to come see him in action.
"That was cool to interact, and be personable, and meet followers that have been following me for a long time," Dewhurst shares. "That is a cool aspect. I would never meet these people if we didn't do that."
Although Dewhurst doesn't want to spoil any of his content plans, he is "obviously gonna be pushing the limits in 2026" as he continues taking his sets around the globe, building connections brick by brick.
Read the original article on People
