LEGO secrets from a ‘LEGO Masters’ star: How Boone Langston built a new career, brick by brick

Boone Langston, one of LEGO Masters’ bearded builders, attends the GeekWire podcast from his home in the Portland, Oregon area.

Boone Langston is an accomplished LEGO builder from the Portland, Oregon area who shares his creations with the world BooneBuilds.com and on his Boone is building YouTube Channel. He also runs a virtual one Boones construction camp for children and adults.

After working as an IT support specialist and videographer early on in his career, he became a darling on the first season of the FOX TV show as one half of the Mark and Boone team, also known as the “Bearded Builders,” in 2020 of fans LEGO Master, in which teams of two compete against each other by building spectacular LEGO creations.

He was also known for his improvised singing, hitting his signature chorus: “Here We Go, We’re Building With Bricks Now!” in true rock star style, to the delight of LEGO Masters presenter Will Arnett.

Much to the horror of their shocked fans, Mark and Boone did not win their season of the show as Judges Amy Corbett and Jamie Berard nodded to newlyweds Tyler and Amy who announced at the beginning of the season that they were expecting a child.

My colleague Kurt Schlosser captured the subsequent controversy perfectly in his headline at the time: Oh baby, the LEGO Masters final lands like a brick on indignant fans contesting the winner’s pick.

My family was among those who were surprised and disappointed with the result. As roommates of the Pacific Northwest, we cheered Mark and Boone on all season and everyone in our living room thought about it her project “Artopia” objectively superior in the final.

That feeling wasn’t shared by Tim Ellis, a trained electrical engineer, a Redfin employee and host of the podcast Broadcasts from the multiversewho occasionally writes for GeekWire on games and other topics. After Kurt and me spoke about the result podcast on the GeekWire podcast, Tim started a lively debate with the two of us about text.

“Tyler & Amy total deserves the win, and if anything, Mark & ​​Boone should have finished third behind Sam & Jessica’s peacock! ”Tim wrote to us at the time, based on the third-placed. “You should only do a podcast on Season 2 Season 2 if you let me join in for the much-needed compensation. 😂 😂 ”

That spring, before season two of LEGO Masters began, Tim reappeared his suggestion to record an entire podcast episode about the show. I recorded it – with my own surprise.

Without informing Tim, I contacted Boone through his website. He kindly agreed to join us as a guest on the podcast, and I scheduled him as a surprise in the middle of the session – after Tim and I re-heated our debate on the outcome of Season 1. For additional fun, we had two LEGO fans accompanying us during the recording: Tim’s daughter Maezie, 9 years old; and my daughter Maggie, 10 years old.

Listen to the episode above to see what happened. Subscribe to GeekWire on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to it.

We started by discussing Boone’s path to a career at LEGO. Then he shared his own feelings about Season 1 and turned out to be as magnanimous as one would expect. By mid-season, he explained, he and Mark realized that if someone hit them, it would be Amy and Tyler.

He then shared his tips on how to go beyond the standard LEGO building kits to unleash the creativity. Start by taking these kit builds apart and trying to create something completely different, he said. Also, look for a store that sells individual LEGO from trash cans and look for parts that will stimulate your imagination.

In addition, as an introduction to technology, he gave insights into the use of motors and gears to get LEGO creations in motion. The father of two answered Maggie’s question on the divisive question of the pineapple on pizza before giving Maggie and Maezie one final word of wisdom.

Boone Langston on GeekWire podcast with Todd Bishop and daughter Maggie, left frame; and Tim Ellis and daughter Maezie, top right.

“When you build with LEGO, there is no right or wrong,” he said. “There is only what makes sense to you and your imagination. The sky is the limit. Never be discouraged. “

He explained, “The great thing about LEGO is that if it breaks you can always put it back together. It’s not really broken. If you’re building something and after a while you don’t like it, you can take it apart and build something else. It doesn’t create mud or sawdust. It doesn’t create a sticky mass that you need to clean up. That’s another thing I love about it. “

“Go build something amazing,” he said.

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