Living Room Fun

John Wayne Daugherty
John Wayne Daugherty ('97, '97 M.S.)

The quarantine turned John Wayne Daugherty ('97, '97 M.S.) and his LEGO collection into a video star.

Daugherty, a certified public accountant who lives in The Colony, started building LEGO sets about four years ago -- eventually building a Disney castle and a recreation of his own version of Disneyland.

When the coronavirus pandemic gave him some free time at home, he put the entire park in his dining room and posted videos on Facebook and YouTube. His channel JWD Lego Fun caught the attention of Good Morning America, People.com and Kelly Clarkson's talk show -- which gave him $5,000 in new LEGO sets.

"Building with Lego is like therapy for me -- it's peaceful, there is a plan, and at the end you feel you have accomplished something when you complete a set," says Daugherty, who hopes to build his own version of Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge at Disneyland. "When people started to discover my videos and the Lego builds were bringing joy to people, especially right now, that was probably the most amazing and gratifying part of it all."

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