For the Love of Brick: Interviews with LEGO Enthusiasts Greg McDonald

It's Father's Day today and we are releasing a special episode dedicated to our late son Alby, who unexpectedly passed away a few weeks ago. Greg shares how LEGO played a role in their relationship and in the weeks after Alby's death.

Greg sits down with Bruce B. Heller, a US AFOL who went from a successful career in animation to building LEGO commissions full-time. He is also the founder of GayFOLs- a global community providing a safe and inclusive space for LGBTQIA+ AFOLs. He discusses some of the discrimination faced by many in the community, and what GayFOLs means to its members. Bruce educates listeners (and Greg) on how they can be allies to the LGBTQIA+ community and shares his hopes for the future of GayFOLs.
***Episode Content Warning: Suicide
 
Check out Bruce’s bespoke LEGO models through his Cornerstone Brick Designs business: cbdbespoke.com.
To join the GayFOLs Facebook community: https://www.facebook.com/groups/899536703460398/
Follow GayFOLs on Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/gayfols/
 
For our Australian listeners:
If you require mental health support, here are some helplines:
Lifeline – call 131114 or visit https://www.lifeline.org.au/
Suicide Callback Service – call 1300 659 476 or visit https://www.suicidecallbackservice.org.au/
For our younger listeners, visit Kids Helpline online at https://kidshelpline.com.au/ or call 1800 55 1800
For LGBTIQA+ support – call 1800 184 527 or visit https://qlife.org.au/
 
For our International listeners, please speak with your doctor for local support services.
 
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Thanks for listening :) Don’t forget to subscribe to us, wherever you get your podcast fix. Drop us a line by email (fortheloveofbrick[at]gmail.com) or at our socials if you want to say hi! Twitter: https://twitter.com/4theloveofbrick, IG: https://www.instagram.com/fortheloveofbrick/, or FB: https://www.facebook.com/forthelovebrick/.

In today's episode, Greg chats with Corey D. Samuels, the LEGO STEM Teacher from the first season of LEGO Masters US. Corey talks about how he uses LEGO to enhance students' engagement in his science, technology, engineering and mathematics classes. He discusses his other LEGO projects including his fashion creation, the Brego (LEGO brooch). Corey also chats about starting a charity with his brother Travis called Brothers Who Brick, a project close to their hearts, inspired by Travis’ diagnosis of cancer as a child.
 
Please check out Corey’s website to learn all about his various LEGO projects (STEM classes, Brego and Brothers Who Brick): https://samzbrego.com/ .
You can hit Corey up on his socials including his personal one: https://www.instagram.com/samzbrego_llc/ or Brothers Who Brick’s IG:
https://www.instagram.com/brothers_who_brick/ .
 
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Thanks for listening :) Don’t forget to subscribe to us, wherever you get your podcast fix. Drop us a line by email (fortheloveofbrick[at]gmail.com) or at our socials if you want to say hi! Twitter: https://twitter.com/4theloveofbrick, IG: https://www.instagram.com/fortheloveofbrick/, or FB: https://www.facebook.com/forthelovebrick/.

Greg had the extraordinaire opportunity to chat with Nathan Sawaya – former corporate lawyer turned brick artist, renowned for his large-scale LEGO sculptures. Nathan is also a LEGO Master Builder, LEGO Certified Professional AND holds four Guinness records for his artwork! Nathan talks about his successful art career and how his art has evolved over the years. He also gives us an insight into his work helping bring the latest season of LEGO Masters US to the screen and how COVID provided additional challenges to the show’s production.
 
For our US listeners, LEGO Masters US Season 2 has officially started:  https://www.fox.com/lego-masters/ .
To learn more about Nathan, see his past and current work including exhibition details, please visit https://www.brickartist.com/.
Nathan's IG: https://www.instagram.com/nathansawaya/ .
 
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Thanks for listening :) Don’t forget to subscribe to us, wherever you get your podcast fix. Drop us a line by email (fortheloveofbrick[at]gmail.com) or at our socials if you want to say hi! Twitter: https://twitter.com/4theloveofbrick, IG: https://www.instagram.com/fortheloveofbrick/, or FB: https://www.facebook.com/forthelovebrick/.

Greg catches up with Jay Ong, a fellow Aussie AFOL behind Jay’s Brick Blog – an independent LEGO blog that started when social media was just in its infancy and influencers weren’t a thing. Jay shares with us why he finds creating media content about LEGO so fulfilling and what he hopes his followers get from following his blog. Jay talks about embracing the type of LEGO fan he is and his latest project ‘Extra Pieces’ – a shiny new LEGO podcast with another Aussie AFOL, Richard Jones (Rambling Brick).
 
Check out Jay’s Brick Blog: https://jaysbrickblog.com/ or follow his socials including his Instagram account: https://www.instagram.com/jayong28/.
In his spare time, Jay is also creating content for his YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/JaysBrickBlog/.
If that wasn’t enough, he also has a podcast with Richard Jones called ‘Extra Pieces’: https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/extra-pieces-lego-conversations-perspectives/id1561004198 .
 
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Thanks for listening :) Don’t forget to subscribe to us, wherever you get your podcast fix. Drop us a line by email (fortheloveofbrick[at]gmail.com) or at our socials if you want to say hi! Twitter: https://twitter.com/4theloveofbrick, IG: https://www.instagram.com/fortheloveofbrick/, or FB: https://www.facebook.com/forthelovebrick/.

Greg chats with the accomplished emiko oye, a US jeweller who creates bold and colourful jewellery using repurposed LEGO. She shares with Greg her LEGO journey - going from having dreams of becoming a fashion designer to having her work exhibited at numerous shows and museums. Greg learns more about the unique qualities of LEGO that make emiko’s jewellery so engaging and how jewellery is considered a serious art form. emiko also talks about how blind luck played a role in connecting her with the LEGO Group, that kick-started their collaborations.
 
To get a chance to ogle at emiko's striking jewellery, please visit https://www.emikooreware.com/.
You can also follow her socials: https://www.instagram.com/emikooreware/ and https://www.facebook.com/emikooreware.
 
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Thanks for listening :) Don’t forget to subscribe to us, wherever you get your podcast fix. Drop us a line by email (fortheloveofbrick[at]gmail.com) or at our socials if you want to say hi! Twitter: https://twitter.com/4theloveofbrick, IG: https://www.instagram.com/fortheloveofbrick/, or FB: https://www.facebook.com/forthelovebrick/.