Nanaimo dad earns 'once in a lifetime' honour from Lego

Nanaimo, B.C. -

In the beginning, Mike Sinclair was simply using Lego to bond with his boys.

“You really see the joy they get out of it,” Mike recalls. “They create their own little worlds.”

When he wasn’t supporting his children in building their custom creations, or making stop-motion movies, Mike would take them to Lego conventions.

“I was just blown away by what the possibilities were,” Mike says about seeing what adults were building.

Mike was inspired to build something of his own, and discovered it would dismantle his stress at the end of the day.

“You kind of let go,” Mike says. “And let things flow.”

Mike started creating simple scenes, which lead to more complex ones, in a room that’s dedicated to Lego.

“The room is a bit over the top,” Mike laughs, showing shelves full of elaborate builds, a wall featuring hundreds of mini-figurines, and a building desk surrounded by dozens of drawers to organize countless Lego pieces.

Now that his boys have developed other interests, the space is part sanctuary, part gallery, and all art studio.

“I never viewed myself as having artistic ability,” Mike says.

But after a lifetime of lacking a creative outlet, he seems to be making up for lost time.

“I feel like this is something I probably should have been doing all along,” Mike smiles.

The room is where Mike has designed and constructed one-of-a-kind, thinking-outside-the-box builds, featuring characters and stories told through creative details, that have earned kudos from both local and online Lego communities.

“It’s a pretty neat feeling,” Mike says. “(To get) that recognition from your peers.”

But nothing can compare to the feeling of receiving an email from Lego headquarters saying, “We are impressed.”

“I was pretty sure it was some sort of a prank,” Mike recalls his first reaction.

Turns out it was a legit. The invitation was a “once-in-a-lifetime opportunity” to embark on an all-expenses-paid trip to Denmark and be one of just 15 adult builders from around the world to have their work displayed at Lego House.

“It’s a pretty big recognition,” Mike says, agreeing its like an amateur actor being hand-picked from obscurity to appear on stage at the Oscars.

“This wasn’t even on my radar.”

After Mike accepted the invitation and flew to Denmark, he built a dramatic action scene featuring gingerbread men defending themselves against hungry elves. It will be on display at the Lego House Masterpiece Gallery for the next year, with the goal of inspiring more than a quarter-million visitors a year.

“It’s the dream come true of a dream I never really had,” Mike smiles.

A dream sparked by a dad bonding with his boys over bricks.