In 2010, AFOL: A Blocumentary was released, highlighting the lives of several members of the early AFOL community of the late 2000s. Back then, being a fan of LEGO past the recommended age printed on the sets was not as “cool” as it is today. In fact, dare I say, the lifestyle of an AFOL as presented in the documentary was actually quite awkward. Yes, there was a time when an adult purchasing LEGO for themselves was not something to trumpet online.

Fast forward to the present, and there isn’t a better time in The LEGO Group’s history than now to enter the hobby as an adult enthusiast. The LEGO Movie and LEGO Masters both brought the brick to a new level of status in popular culture, the latter making the creative talent in the LEGO community more known in the public eye, where previously it would have been unknown.

And as difficult and devastating as the pandemic in 2020 was, LEGO was a source of entertainment, therapy, and expression for all ages during those trying times. That same year, LEGO launched its “Adults Welcome” campaign with sets based on botanicals, nostalgic entertainment, and classic household items for adults to build and display. LEGO had officially evolved into a lifestyle brand, promoting a way of life for its consumers.

But how is this lifestyle—this way of life—now shared with those both new and familiar to the brick? Beyond its presence in nearly every major retail space and entertainment like The LEGO Movie and LEGO Masters, The LEGO Group’s own “lead users” are a major source of advertising and promotion for the company today. These lead users are members of the LEGO community with whom the company directly communicates. While lead user is the more technical term, “influencer” and “ambassador” are both titles for these individuals that can be found in other lifestyle brands.

The influencers within the LEGO community, both inside and outside of the LEGO Ambassador Network, have arguably done more than any other form of marketing, paid or earned, to promote and develop LEGO as a lifestyle brand in the last ten years. Think of how many times a friend or family member has asked YOU for a recommendation for a LEGO set. LEGO has turned its fans into the biggest army of advertisers for the brand, from displaying cool sets to even organizing full-on conventions for a corporate product. AFOLs drove the early awareness of a brand originally meant just for kids showing the world that you can build anything with LEGO—even communities.

But times change. Today, professional “influencers” have seemingly become the favorites of LEGO to reach the masses. What was once a one-on-one personal (and time-consuming) approach is now an appeal to the highest number of viewers possible. But what’s the trade-off? LEGO has become more accessible and socially appropriate to engage with across many generations, but has anything been lost in the process?

In this op-ed, I’ll be looking very broadly at the nature of LEGO as a lifestyle brand and the roles that influencers play in shaping the landscape of the LEGO community.

Authenticity and Influence

Authenticity is a rather loaded concept, one whose roots are found in 18th and 19th-century existentialist philosophy. To sum it up simply, authenticity is the degree to which an individual’s actions are in line with their own values and beliefs, regardless of pressures that might exist from society to conform. For instance, punk and heavy metal scenes are both contemporary examples where authenticity is a value in and of itself, and one that defines participation in the culture both as an artist and a listener. Participants in these cultures are called to a level of personal integrity that may not be found in the broader commercial landscape of music production.

One of the tenets of a lifestyle brand, as previously outlined, is to create an air of authenticity. Companies with a lifestyle brand demonstrate a level of transparency with their customers, making sure their values are clearly understood and presented. Part of developing that authenticity for The LEGO Group is through its lead users (typically members of the LEGO Ambassador Network or LAN for short), who are a direct line between the company and its consumers. LEGO User Groups were the earliest form of these lead users, who provided feedback and lines of communication to and from LEGO. The relationship was organic and reciprocal.

Now that we have considered the past, let’s take a look at modern influencer culture and ask some questions. Are influencers, both within and outside of the LEGO Ambassador Network, authentic? Do they align with The LEGO Group’s values? What kind of values are presented in their content? LEGO’s values are not hard to find on their website. They champion creativity and imagination as two of its leading values, which have been present in its product and marketing initiatives for decades.

It can be argued that modern LEGO influencers promote fun through building sets and that the imagination of LEGO designers knows no bounds. They can show concern for their own communities and care for their viewers. Production values of quality content have also never been higher. However, values like learning and creativity are harder to embed into content, especially when things like news and reviews bring more views (and therefore economic gain) than other content that takes longer to produce.

More and more, it seems like “commercial content” takes precedence over creative content. This commercial content includes set reviews, vlogs highlighting trips to the LEGO Store or other places that sell LEGO like Bricks and Minifigs, sponsored posts and videos, and coverage of LEGO news through official press reveals. Though this content may be entertaining, it doesn’t quite align with the values of The LEGO Group from my perspective. While I understand that these content creators need to make a living, the plethora of reviews and product hauls across many social platforms encourages quite the opposite of values like imagination and creativity: consumerism and conformity.

People of influence set the pace and define the culture of a brand and community. A video highlighting the hundreds of dollars spent on new sets or minifigures to simply add to an already massive collection only encourages viewers to replicate this kind of behavior. The backdrops and spaces in which many of these videos are developed are deliberately designed and staged to curate an appealing style of life to be replicated through the purchase of expensive display pieces and minifigures. It reinforces the inaccurate concept that in our modern society, what you buy is what defines you as a person.

This criticism is not reserved solely for LEGO influencers. The LEGO Group is complicit through the marketing of their Adults Welcome campaign and the LEGO Ambassador Network’s encouragement of consumer-centric content. While a few of the LEGO-provided sets result in thoughtful pieces that help consumers make decisions or celebrate creativity, I’d argue that the majority turn into noise—a constant hum of reviews that represent an ever-changing goalpost of consumerism where you must continue to buy to be part of the community.

If LEGO Club TV was about the cool things kids could do with their LEGO bricks at home, like cross play with different in-house themes, hobbies and activities, then much of the content coming from modern LEGO influencers is about the things that LEGO makes that grants kids and adults the status of “cool.”

What Does Real Authenticity Look Like?

There’s a moment in AFOL: A Blocumentary where one of the AFOLs featured (Wayne Hussey who helped create the LEGO fan community in the Seattle area) is showcasing part of a larger MOC he’s created and, while precariously holding in front of the film crew and describing how it’s to be attached to the rest of the build, he accidentally drops a large chunk of it and it shatters on the floor. It’s unscripted and awkward and is undeniably an authentic moment. It is something that most builders can relate to, showing a fear of the rapid disassembly of our hard work, followed by the commitment to rebuild better than before. AFOLs sharing what they do best with anyone who wants to listen is the core of most LUGs and fan conventions and is as authentic as the community can get.

Compare that to many of the reviews, hauls, studio tours, and reports from exclusive events often shared by modern LEGO influencers. This type of content serves a more cultivated image, one specially crafted to convey a specific ideal. Cultivated content has more in common with reality TV than reality itself. Trips to the LEGO Store or building a set as covered by influencers have the appearance at the outset as reality, but they’re carefully constructed to appeal to as many people as possible to drive engagement. This content may be informative, but in my opinion, it is not as authentic.

This is by no means a total condemnation of the LEGO influencer culture. Pure, authentic love and fervor for a hobby is not something that is accessible or able to be distilled into easily consumed content. This goes for both LEGO fans and influencers—I’ve met a number of fans of LEGO whose love for the brand is not appealing or even understandable to other people. Oftentimes, their fervor is hard to navigate or handle, but it’s certainly real, and individuals in these moments are definitely staying true to themselves in their own authentic way.

On the plus side, influencers inside and outside of the LAN make the LEGO hobby more accessible to a broader audience. Much of the success of LEGO (and its profile in broader culture) would not be possible without the work of many of those content creators on YouTube, TikTok, websites, blogs and beyond. But if that content does nothing more than encourage consumerism and conformity, authenticity is being lost, and the core values of LEGO are not being upheld. I would hope that these creators find other ways to instill creativity and imagination in their followers to remain “authentic” to the values of LEGO as a brand, and some do.

It is something that BrickNerd celebrates every month, highlighting some of the best, most authentic content from the community. While the round-up doesn’t include everything since live content or even video shorts can be difficult to promote, it tries to capture a slice of authenticity from both LEGO influencers and the broader fan community.

But wait, I can hear your comments already—BrickNerd is a member of the LAN, publishes some reviews, and has affiliate links. Doesn’t that make them an influencer and culpable in participating in the promotion of LEGO as a lifestyle? I don’t speak for BrickNerd as a whole—in fact, the entire team is built of individual volunteers from the community using this site as a platform to celebrate the LEGO hobby and the people who make it happen (and if you want to join, we always welcome new voices through guest posts or becoming a contributor).

Yes, this site (and by extension, the creatives involved) has LEGO influence, but it is a site that strives to be authentic at its core while navigating the commercial aspects required to remain solvent (which is why the Patreon is important to be as independent as possible). It is a community that is composed of voices of the fans, for the fans. It is what attracted me to write for BrickNerd because it highlights individuals, tells stories, interviews interesting people, and spotlights what makes the LEGO community so special—without regard for commercialism. There are thankfully a few other sites that do this too but not nearly as consistently.

Maintaining and Celebrating Authenticity

Authenticity might be awkward. It might be messy. But it’s real. And in a world increasingly curated and commercialized, that kind of real is worth fighting for. Authenticity isn’t easy. It doesn’t always trend. It doesn’t always get the views, the likes, or the brand deals. But it resonates. It builds trust. And it’s what makes the LEGO community so powerful—because behind every MOC is a real person with real passion, not just a polished thumbnail. I’d encourage anyone looking for authenticity to seek out a LEGO community in person. You’re bound to find those with an uncurated love of the hobby teeming with raw authenticity and a willingness to share.

Photos of LUGs from around the world from the LAN Community Locator.

When it comes to LEGO influencers, authenticity comes before influence—and sometimes, in spite of it. Before someone can be influential in a meaningful way, they have to be authentic. But once someone has influence, staying authentic gets harder. Influence brings pressure like brand expectations, audience demands and increasing viewership, and those forces can push an influencer away from their original, authentic voice. In a way, maintaining authenticity can sometimes require active resistance despite the influence gained which is not an easy road to navigate.

Ultimately as LEGO continues to grow as a lifestyle brand and as influencer culture evolves alongside it, we as fans have a choice in what we support, celebrate, and create. We can chase algorithms and commercialization—or we can champion authenticity and community. One comes with more content; the other creates more connections—which is what the core values of the LEGO community should be about.

What do you think of LEGO’s lifestyle brand and influencer culture? Let us know in the comments below!

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