Just like this: Zariq (right) hosting a workshop at Legoland Malaysia in Iskandar Puteri, Johor. — THOMAS YONG/The Star
ISKANDAR PUTERI: When Zariq Mohd Ali lost his e-commerce job last year, it marked a challenging moment in his career. However, this setback ultimately opened the door for him to achieve his dream of becoming Malaysia’s first ever Lego master model builder.
While job hunting online, the 30-year-old spotted the unique job posting and decided to give it a try, as he has been a big fan of Lego since he was three.
“I was born in France, and growing up, my family moved around a lot as my dad used to work as a pilot. Playing with Lego was my constant companion that kept me relaxed and took my mind off things.
“I knew I had to grab the job opportunity despite it being something totally different from what I used to do as a business development manager in the e-commerce sector,” he said in an interview.
“I’d like to think that I have been training for this job my whole life because over the years, I have gone through various sets and generations of Lego, thanks to gifts from my loved ones,” added Zariq, who comes from Kuala Lumpur.
Zariq said it was a dream come true when he clinched the job about five months ago, as he gets to share his passion for building with the children and adults who visit Legoland Malaysia here.
He added that his mother supported him fully on his huge career shift, while his father was slightly hesitant at first out of concern.
“However, after he saw photos of the Lego structures that I built, he understood that I could build a new career out of my passion and threw his full support behind me.
“I understand that people usually assume what we do is just play with toy bricks all day, but it actually requires a lot of brain power – we have to plan and analyse building instructions, especially for big structures,” he added.
As the master model builder, Zariq will also serve as the resort’s ambassador, creating fun and educational social media content, along with helping to design, produce and host events at the theme park.
“I also underwent a month-long intensive training to familiarise myself with over 3,700 types of bricks and the techniques involved in building the large structures.“My biggest build so far was a huge 14-coloured dragon for the theme park’s recent event, which was made from more than 275,000 Lego pieces.
“My team spent about seven hours daily to complete it in 32 days,” he added.
He would also be conducting workshops at the park in conjunction with its Christmas celebration from Nov 15 until Jan 5, where he would be teaching visitors tips, tricks and techniques to take their building skills to the next level.
Zariq, who speaks five languages namely Bahasa Malaysia, English, French, Spanish and Mandarin, said that among the things he enjoyed the most about the job was engaging with visitors at the theme park.
“Recently, I met a family of French visitors who reside in Singapore. I loved seeing their children’s eyes light up when chatting about our shared love for the bricks,” he added.
He also hopes to inspire others to follow their passion and never give up on their dreams.
“With so much information and resources available online, just keep learning and upgrading your skills; one day you might just get the opportunity to turn it into your career.”
