The smell of cinnamon and nutmeg fills the air, presents line the tree skirt, and a 5 year old Scott Brown runs down the stairs on Christmas morning.

 Unable to control his excitement, he picks up one of the brightly wrapped packages and shakes it. The sound of hundreds of pieces of plastic rumbling around in a cardboard box is music to young Scott’s ears. 

Forty years later Scott Brown, the Program Manager for Donor Relations at Summa Health and father of three GlenOak students, still has a fascination with those tiny plastic bricks, and has even used his personal collection of 400,000 Legos to provide entertainment for millions of strangers all over the world. With 180 thousand TikTok followers and counting, Brown has taken something that was just a mere hobby, and turned it into an internet sensation.  

“I would say it was a pleasant surprise,” Scott said. “I didn’t think there would be anybody that would want to watch TikTok videos of an old man playing with Legos.”

However, before TikTok was even a thought, Scott had already had a huge interest in Legos. His fascination began when he was a child, and it took off from there. 

“I got my first set when I was 5 years old,” Scott said. “When I was in college, I got away from it because I really didn’t have room for all the Legos but my mom kept them all…In our first house we were able to have a little Lego room and I got them back from my parents and I’ve been adding to it since.” 

Scott not only sees Legos as small plastic pieces to build structures, but also as small plastic pieces to help build his mind.

“It’s helped me be creative,” Scott said. “We finished this basement with the Legos in mind. It was bare concrete when we moved here.”

The basement is the house of the Lego collection, altered and designed to accommodate every Lego collector’s needs, including built-in storage shelves shaped like Lego blocks. This factor was the icing on the cake for the creation of the TikTok account. 

Though the entire Brown family had heavily encouraged him to create the account, his daughter Maya Brown, a sophomore at GlenOak, was the main influence. 

“It’s kind of insane, the amount of Legos we have,” Maya said. “I felt like people would want to know about it.” 

Darla is Scott’s wife, and she believes that the account is a good way to show the world his immense collection.

“I think it’s a lot of fun,” Darla said. “I think it’s a nice way for him to be able to share his hobby with other people, and get people excited about playing with Lego.”

On January 18, 2022, the first video on the @hoflego account was posted. Soon enough, Scott would begin to post on average 1-2 times a day, views getting higher and higher per video. It wasn’t long before Scott would get recognized by strangers. 

“It’s been kinda fun learning what’s popular and what’s not,” Scott said. “I work in a hospital, and random people in the hallways have stopped me and asked, ‘Do you do Legos?’” 

Not only has Scott been affected by fame, but so has his family. 

“Everyone wants him to be their dad,” Maya said. “A lot of people want to know me because of my dad.” 

However, with the fame came responsibility and adjustment, which has been a little difficult for Scott.

“It’s taken a little while to get comfortable,” Scott said. “I’m comfortable with it now, but I wouldn’t say I was in the beginning.”

Nonetheless, @hoflego is still up and running, and there are plenty of local fans that support Scott, including sophomores Greta Burchfield and Kylee Pudder.

“I think it’s funny but entertaining,” Burchfield said. “It’s fun to watch him build stuff.” 

“He has so many, like an actual addiction,” Pudder said. “It’s kind of cool that he makes some of the buildings without directions.”

Sophomore Kamdyn Hershberger is a good friend of Maya’s, and has been following the account since January of this year. 

“It is the coolest thing I have ever seen,” Hershberger said. “I am proud to tell people that I have been in the Lego filled basement of Scott’s.” 

Now, the sweet symphony of plastic rattling in a cardboard box is still one of Scott Brown’s favorite sounds. From just collecting Legos as a hobby to sharing them with the entire globe, Scott has really earned his title as TikTok’s “Lego Dad.”