In this week’s “Inside LEGO Masters” article, Maria talks about how she started building with LEGO and going to LEGO conventions, what her family means to her, and how she faced challenges both in life and on the show.

This is your official spoiler warning for LEGO Masters US Season 2 Episode 7.

Our LEGO masters journey started about 2 years ago when a casting agent named Raph commented on an Instagram post of mine. That comment completely changed our lives in so many ways and for that we are so grateful.

You see, Philip had been building with LEGO since he was 6 and creating MOCs for more than 10 years – he was the LEGO builder. I had always been amazed by his ability to turn these plastic, rigid cubes into life-like sculptures, buildings, and landscapes. As for me, I would tell people my abilities with LEGO extended to boxed sets and rainbow warrior square houses.

In 2013 Philip told me he’d like to attend a LEGO convention in Chicago. I was skeptical, but I went with him and thoroughly enjoyed walking the hall – the creations I saw were mind-blowing! The life-like replicas, scale architectural models, and pop culture creations really helped me to appreciate the art form of building with bricks.

Year after year, we continued to attend Brickworld Chicago. We started bringing our kids and becoming more involved with the event and community. Though I was still far from clicking bricks together myself, I was invested in helping my husband organize his collection. Every time he traveled for work, he’d come home with a new cup (or two or three) of Pick-a-Brick LEGO. He would search the grocery store shelves for clearance sets. There was no shortage of sorting to do.

Following Brickworld Chicago 2019, I shared a picture on Instagram of the HGTV Dream Home that Philip had built. Right around that time was when we saw FOX announce a new competition-based reality show revolving around LEGO. I looked at Philip and said, “You have to do this! Surely one of your LEGO buddies would do it with you!” He quickly brushed it off, citing lack of skill and desire to be on TV. Several weeks later, Raph commented on that Instagram post and asked if we’d be interested. I assumed he was only interested in recruiting Philip, but he was insistent that we apply together.

After years of watching Philip build, appreciating LEGO MOCs, and helping sort Philip’s collection I had a good knowledge base to work with. We created our first build together for the audition. Philip did most of the work, but I learned some techniques to create life-like trees and other landscaping. While we didn’t make the cut for Season 1 of LEGO Masters, I learned so much about building during our audition.

January of 2020 was when my interest in LEGO became personal. Inspiration grabbed me and I decided to create my first MOC—a replica succulent. And then I made two more!

Suddenly I found myself hunched over a pile of bricks late into the night, feverishly trying to puzzle them together in new and interesting ways. I created a LEGO-specific Instagram account (Midwest Builders) to share our work. Soon, Philip and I started working together. He did a lot of the heavy lifting at first, but he consistently pushed me to try new techniques, to make things more polished, more life-like, more colorful, creative, and exciting!

But the summer of 2020 brought about some unexpected life-changes, and not just those related to a global pandemic. We had been building together for a few months when I found out that I had Papillary Thyroid Carcinoma. I quickly underwent surgery to remove my thyroid and 37 lymph nodes followed by a treatment of Radioactive Iodine. Thankfully, I was surrounded by a talented team of doctors and amazingly supportive family and friends. My treatment and recovery went really well, but it was still exhausting. For over two months we didn’t even touch the bricks.

When we saw the announcement for casting of LEGO Masters Season 2 it didn’t seem like a possibility, but we decided to touch base with casting anyway. We were different people and different builders one year later, we felt like a brand new team auditioning this time around. After several months of interviews and waiting, and auditions and anticipation, we got the call we had been waiting for. We were so humbled and honored to be chosen for Season 2 among some incredibly talented builders.

Each challenge we progressed to felt like a gift. Every episode Philip was convinced we’d be going home, but we kept outdoing ourselves. We never took our spot on the show for granted. We celebrated with those who won challenges and mourned when teams were eliminated. It was exhausting, challenging, and draining, but also magical, exciting, and heart-warming.

And my favorite part of being on this show was that I got to experience it all with my husband, my partner in life, and my best friend. Having gone through this experience, knowing the place these new friends have in our hearts, knowing all the inside jokes we have, the things we learned – they would have been empty if I were on my own.

That Instagram comment two years ago was the impetus to bringing me into this incredible hobby that I now share with my husband. Every step of the journey – the good, the hilarious, and the hard – has been worth it. Thank you to all of our family, friends, and supporters who made this journey possible, who have shared in our excitement, who have cheered us on. We leave with our heads held high, with no regrets, and with a head and heart full of wonderful memories. This is only the end of the beginning.

Philip and I will continue to attend LEGO Conventions and we would love to meet you! We’ll be at Brickworld Detroit in September, so please find us to say hi! We love hearing stories about families watching the show together and adding LEGO into their routine. We love you all and look forward to meeting you!

How did your LEGO journey begin? Leave your thoughts in the comments below.

Do you want to help BrickNerd continue publishing articles like this one? Become a patron like Charlie Stephens, Marc & Liz Puleo, and Paige Mueller to show your support, get early access, exclusive swag and more.