The Olympics captivated the world in July with incredible feats from talented athletes. Team USA had an impressive showing, including the US Women’s Rugby Team winning a bronze medal in rugby sevens—the first-ever medal for the US in rugby sevens. After the victory, the Instagram algorithm brought me several joyful videos from the new Olympic medalists. Those videos included one of Sammy Sullivan passionately talking about LEGO in an interview. I don’t know if I have ever related to an Olympian on this level. Or at all. I talked to Sammy about what got her hooked on building LEGO sets, how LEGO helps her unwind, and more.
Nerdist: Congratulations on the medal! I feel weird being like, you won an Olympic medal, let’s talk about LEGO!
Sammy Sullivan: Thank you! And no, this is great.
Tell me about what first got you into LEGO and what your first LEGO set was.
Sullivan: My very first set, OG was elementary, middle school time. It was the big SpongeBob where you open it, and it’s Plankton or whoever controlling him. That was my first set that I can remember. But my twin brother, Jackson and my dad were always super into Star Wars LEGO, and being boy and girl twins, I feel like he would always get the LEGO sets for birthdays and Christmas and I would get whatever else. So growing up, unless I bought it for myself with spending money, I didn’t get LEGO.
But my first adult experience with LEGO was early 2023, my second year with the rugby team. I was not in the best place mentally, just struggling with sophomore year blues. A lot of the times when people have really successful rookie seasons, their second season can feel like a lot. And my second season being the Olympic year, I was really struggling with coming home, worrying about practices, worrying about rosters, and everything.
My happy place growing up was walking around Barnes and Noble. So, I went to Barnes and Noble one day after practice to smell the books, read the backs of books, the whole vibe, and there’s a whole section of adult LEGO sets. And so I’m looking at these sets, and I was like, you know what? Maybe instead of spiraling when I get home, maybe it would be good to do something with my hands. Something tangible with a gorgeous end product. So, my first adult set was the Hocus Pocus house.
Really, from there, it was an instant obsession with the building process and collecting.
Building sets can be such a mindful activity. Has it continued to be a go-to for unwinding and calming your mind?
Sullivan: Yeah. It is so soothing. It almost takes you back to a childlike mind because ultimately LEGOs are toys in a sense—obviously some are meant for adults—but it takes you back to a simpler time where you come home from school and have something fun to do outside of homework. I put on a good podcast or a good YouTube video game playthrough in the background and have that disconnection from adult life. It’s definitely a bit of escapism from the every day. I mean, at certain times it definitely becomes maybe a little unhealthy when I’m not looking at the clock and I look up and it’s two in the morning and I’m on bag 13 of whatever…
That is very relatable. Do you collect certain types of LEGO sets or is just vibes?
Sullivan: It’s mostly vibes, but I typically go for structure sets: the treehouses, houses, huts. I’ve really been liking the medieval sets recently. I just got done with the Lion Knight’s Castle. I built the blacksmith set with the beautiful blue roof and the Viking village. I’m looking to get my next one, the medieval village that complements the Lion Knight’s set. Oh, and the big treehouse that’s safari-like with the two tree houses connected with the drawbridge—that one is absolutely gorgeous and one of my favorites.
But I think my next venture into LEGO will definitely be the Technic sets. It looks really complicated, but in a fun, challenging way. So yeah, definitely looking to get my hands on some Technic sets moving forward, but structures for sure are my favorite.
What LEGO set will you be building next?
Sullivan: The Dayton Brick Shop in Ohio was kind enough to send me the Eiffel Tower set after they saw my plea to LEGO after the Olympics. It’s currently sitting with my neighbors, but as soon as I get home—, I already told Josh, my husband, don’t talk to me for at least four days because that’s all I’m going to be doing. This is my plan. I’m going to decompress.