In this week’s “Inside LEGO Masters” article, Randall Wilson gives us an inside look at his relationship with his partner Syreeta Gates, how it brought him to LEGO Masters, and what this experience has taught him. Each week we will bring you insight from the builders themselves as they share what it was like building under pressure, handling the challenges, and any behind-the-scenes secrets they discovered along the way.

This is your official spoiler warning for LEGO Masters US Season 2 Episode 5.

A Most Incredible Opportunity

When Syreeta and I arrived on the set of LEGO Masters, we were excited and motivated to tell our story through our relationship and our builds while on the show. Having seen the first season, we knew there were big shoes to fill and we wanted to put our own stamp on this legacy. Our connection was powerful enough to lead us to the moment of competing for LEGO glory.

A few years ago, Syreeta started building LEGO Architecture sets of her favorite landmarks—over time, however, she wondered aloud what a set might look like that’s centered within her worldview and interests she has, one of those being hip-hop. One of our mutual friends connected us since he and I both majored in Architecture and he knew of my lifetime love of LEGO.

Once we were introduced to each other, we started exchanging ideas of what we wanted this venture to be. We eventually named it Most Incredible to give us a perpetual north star for us to aim toward. We soon started making pieces we wanted to see out in the world. We built the Run-DMC logo, a sculpted bear head for Kanye West’s College Dropout album, and a Grammy, just to name a few things.

The other aspect of our relationship that makes this dynamic work is the way we communicate. It’s an understatement to say that we engage in banter every now and then and we poke fun at each other often, but it’s all out of love and it made us contenders for a TV audience to watch.

LEGO Masters Family

Once we finally met everyone else on the show, I saw how our relationship dynamic fit in perfectly with the rest of the cast. It was wonderful to finally meet my people and have in-depth, geeky conversations about pieces, parts and techniques—especially in an environment where we’d be able to show off what we know. Being on LEGO Masters is such a unique experience; after each challenge was over, we’d walk around to look at what we all created and it was like seeing a new LEGO convention each time! I had such a fun time getting to know everyone’s paths to LEGO, their relationships with each other, and what made them the builders that they are—and after a while, we were able to let our guards down as we became more familiar with each other.

For example, I’d be lying if I told you that the Hero Shot challenge was our favorite to do. We struggled to find a way to make a compelling story out of a centaur and it showed. After that challenge, I asked Bryan if I could borrow his Lord of the Rings DVD set so that I would never be that underprepared again! The silver lining of that experience is that to this day, everybody teases me whenever a centaur comes up in conversation—and I’m totally fine with it! It wasn’t my finest building hour but I’m glad that I have a funny, positive memory to associate with it.

Another memorable moment was during the Hats Incredible challenge—we worked next to Mark and Steven and interacted a few times. As we were testing our hats while building, I wasn’t sure which one of them was going to rip the runway, but when I discovered it was Mark, I was so excited! Just like the rest of us, he doesn’t take himself seriously so I was curious as to how this would turn out. When I saw his commitment to the cause, and the face he made to match, the rest of us laughed SO hard. Once that pucker face was made, Brown Steel was born—and I told him to own it; it’s a nickname he won’t be able to escape amongst us builders!

I’ve hung out with several of the other contestants since the show premiered as well. No matter how many of us meet up across the country, we love to relive the experience with all of you and trade tales of building on the clock with more bricks than you’ll ever stack. We learn so much watching the competition with each other.

The Last (Hanging) Brick

All of that made it tough to have our last moments in the competition be in the hanging brick challenge. Just like everyone else, Syreeta and I made deliberate choices to infuse our interests in our builds, but with this one, we decided to simplify and make something that would hopefully read across the room. Once the brick descended from the ceiling and we discovered we’d be building on one hanging Technic brick, all I could see in my mind’s eye was a hot air balloon.

We started building and I used the same technique from the Make n Shake challenge of connecting Technic bricks in a perpendicular manner to make the build strong and not weigh the build down.

One thing that was not shown in the episode, as I started building the balloon and Syreeta built the basket, I rushed to the brick pit for more pieces and I tripped over myself and hurt my calf muscle! I’d lost a lot of building momentum and time as I was being assisted and helped by the medic, so Syreeta stepped up and took over a lot of building as I was getting back up to speed to help finish the balloon.

Once we finished, we realized that we fell short of the judge’s usual criteria and had to say goodbye to our newfound friends, but we closed this chapter with our heads held high. Being on LEGO Masters is an experience of a lifetime that only a select few have been through, and we learned so much about ourselves, what our strengths are, and what’s next to conquer on our LEGO journey. I cherish our time on that set and more importantly, the 22 new friends we made while we were there.

If you’re reading this, I hope you take the leap and get the chance to become a LEGO Master—you’ll have such a great time and meet new people in the community while you show off your skill, creativity, and personality! It’s a memory I won’t soon forget.

What do you think of the second season so far? How do you think you’d handle the relentless pressure to build with Will Arnett constantly keeping you in stitches? Let us know in the comments below!

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