Simon and Dan, better known as Two Gay AFOLs, are vibrant voices in LEGO fan media, sharing their love for the hobby on social media and at fan events. The pair are also pillars of the Minifig Habitat community and sigfig scenes, helping build community and ensuring that everyone feels welcome. We sat down with Dan (the talkative one!) about the pair’s rise and the importance of GayFOL visibility (Gay fan of LEGO) in the hobby.
TBB: Let’s start with the beginning of your LEGO journey. When did you first play with LEGO? Do you remember your first set? If it was as a child, did LEGO stay a part of your life ever since or did you go through a “dark age”? What brought you back to LEGO as an adult?
Dan (Two Gay AFOLs): Growing up LEGO was very expensive. Playmobil was more popular in Spain so I had more of that. The only LEGO I had was a bag of used LEGO given to me by a family friend. There was a lot of classic space and pirates sets mixed in. Two of my favourite sets that were in the bag were the MTron Ionizer and the Forbidden Island set! I kept rebuilding the sets time and time again.
Simon and his older brother grew up with LEGO while his brother had more Technic sets. Simon enjoyed some of the Fabuland sets and classic space and pirates too. We both went through a dark age and we came out of it together shortly after we met, back in 2018.
TBB: Can you talk about how “Two Gay AFOLs” came together? Was love of LEGO something that brought you together or something that grew after you met?
Dan: I remember the first time I went over to Simon’s house he had a little LEGO set built on display. I think it was a little gift with purchase or similar so I asked him if he liked LEGO and he said yes, I said me too! Shortly after we went on a date to LEGOLAND in Windsor and the rest is history as they say! We started gifting each other LEGO for birthdays and Christmas and we started a little collection.
When the pandemic happened, back in 2020, I was furloughed from work while Simon kept working from home. That was when Simon suggested going to his mum’s attic to rescue his childhood LEGO boxes so I could have something to do. He had all the LEGO mixed, instructions books, and lots of catalogues. That was when I decided to start @twogayafols on Instagram, to showcase his LEGO and also our growing collection!
TBB: Dan, you’re the public face of Two Gay AFOLs, but I’m sure there’s a lot more that happens off camera. How does the partnership of running TGA work?
Dan: I have always been the face of TGA. Simon is very shy and I don’t mind being in front of the camera playing silly! I run the socials, plan the content, create the posts, respond to DMs and emails and manage any partnerships. I am the Ambassador for @twogayafols in the LEGO Ambassador Network so all the LEGO communications come to me and I share them with Simon. Simon gets the fun part of building some awesome sets!
TBB: TGA has a presence on most big social media, but it seems like things are always changing with how to connect with LEGO fans (something the Brothers Brick are quite familiar with!). What platforms and communities are you most excited about these days? How has the type of content you’ve created as RLFM changed over time?
Dan: We started on Instagram and this is where our biggest community is and where all our content is. From there I will repost on the other platforms like Facebook, Threads, Youtube and TikTok.
The type of content has not changed much as one of the first things they tell you when they accept you in the LAN is not to change the type of content you do and to keep being who you are. Probably now we post more reveal posts when new sets get announced since we get press assets in advance from LEGO. Of course with time and experience you learn to edit both pictures and videos so the content can get better.
TBB: Fandoms – especially those around what might have been coded as “boy spaces” in the past – are sadly not always welcoming to LGBTQ+ people and representation. Figures like yourselves can be so inspiring to those who might otherwise not feel safe being their whole self in a fandom. Were you ever worried about making your media presence a celebration of being both AFOLs and gay? Have you seen changes in the fandom since you first got involved as content creators when it comes to celebrating LGBTQ+ voices in fandom?
Dan: Absolutely there has been a change in the LEGO community in the last five years. It didn’t take me long to come out with the name @twogayafols when choosing a name for our community. At the time, we didn’t know anyone in the LEGO community and only followed a handful of LEGO fans who posted pictures of their minifigs. We didnt know any LGBTQ+ AFOLS.
I wanted to highlight that we were gay, and that we were fans of LEGO and that we were proud of it. I remember getting a lot of hate when I started introducing our community online, specially on Facebook groups. This doesn’t happen so much today.
The last thing was when LEGO France reposted our rainbow TRex a couple of years ago and they had to close the comments on Instagram due to the hate they were receiving. I was never worried about making our presence a celebration of being GAYFOLS. Thats why I chose the name. I wanted for people to know its ok to be gay and to build LEGO and I wanted for people to know we are a safe space for everyone. Being gay wasn’t easy when I was younger and I did get bullied a lot growing up in Spain. Im in my 40s now and I dont have the time to focus on negativity or hate! I always appreciate when I get DMs asking for advice or simply saying thank you for representing the community. Those kind of messages really make my day and make it worth it!
TBB: In recent years, the LEGO Group has shown a commitment to supporting LGBTQ+ fans and more inclusive representation in general. In a global climate where a lot of corporations seem to be backpedaling on support for marginalized communities, that support is more important than ever. What are your thoughts on LEGO’s commitment to inclusion and safety for all fans?
Dan: I have just finished rebuilding the Everyone Is Awesome set. I will always be thankful for LEGO for releasing the set. For us it wasn’t only another product on the shelves. For us that set represents a hug from LEGO, it represents LEGO holding our hand and it represents LEGO saying “hey guys, we are with you” and thats a really cool feeling!
I believe LEGO will be always committed to inclusion. Next week Pride is celebrated in London and LEGO will be present and we will be there to witness it! And remember that lots of the sets you build are designed by members of the LGBTQ+ community!
TBB: As adult LEGO fandom has exploded in recent years, so many new communities have formed and thrived. For example, the pandemic lockdown introduced a lot of adults to building through habitats and mosaics, and recently there’s been a renaissance of creativity in the minifig space. In the past it felt like fandom was more homogenous, but now it’s a colorful quilt. From your perspective as RLFM and as participants in communities like the habitat challenges, what are your thoughts on the current LEGO fandom landscape?
Dan: It seems to be all about short form video content nowadays which is fun! People want a 30 second video telling them all about a new LEGO set!
When we started it was all about pictures. I cant remember reviews back then (only 5 years ago!)
It was all about community challenges and having fun taking pictures of your minifigures.
Maybe we were not aware of the LAN back then and of course we have many many more Ambassadors now so the content is much different.
But never fear the challenges are still here!!!! Pride Habitats just completed its third year and Habitats Challenge has been going on for 5!!! Kate @brickhuntress also carries on with her Building Series every month! That’s another challenge we love taking part when we can.
TBB: Speaking of Pride Habitats, the #pridehabitats25 challenge that you hosted just concluded. How did this project come together? How do you feel about the response so far?
Dan: I have known Jen for 5 years now. We have participated in her habitats challenges since her first one (a Halloween one) I have offered my help to Jen a few times in the past to help running the challenges as it takes A LOT of work! When I asked to cohost the Disney one Jen told me that she already had a cohost so I suggested the Pride Habitats as a new challenge and Jen said yes straight away! That was 3 years ago now!!!! WOW! The response has been incredible.
We knew the turn out would not be as great in numbers as the other challenges. You will see people who build for all the other challenges but not the Pride one and that’s ok. I respect everyone’s choice. On the other hand the AFOLs who turn up and build for Pride habitats just melt my heart and make all the hard work worth it! The stories that are told in brick form, most of them personal, really hit home and are full of emotion. I love when people have never build a habitat and they show up for the Pride ones.
I can’t thank Jen enough for trusting me with Pride Habitats and allowing me to highlight the awesome LGBTQ+ AFOL community.
TBB: A lot of your content is around new sets and community, but you also make MOCs. Can you share about what you like to build? (If you have links to or photos of some creations you’d like to spotlight, that’s much appreciated and I’ll include in the article).
Dan: I wish I had time to make all the MOCs I want. This year I displayed for the first time at a LEGO show, Bricktastic. It was something simple but it allowed me to get out there and experience what it is like to display at a show. I loved it and I already know what I will bring next year! It will be bigger, better and more MOC like! I love building in Bricklink Studio. The possibilities are endless. I love mashups and building with colours that dont exist in real life LEGO. I have to thank Kate @brickhuntress for coming up with the Lets Build Digital challenge. That was when I learned using Studio. My favourite build to date has to be Unikitty/Star Wars mashup!
TBB: Are there any builders/creators who inspire you that you’d like to spotlight?
Dan: There are so many builders and creators who inspire me. I have to definitely call out Jen @brickfambuilds and Kate @brickhuntress for inspiring me since my early days in the community and for being such strong forces within the community. They really are what “BUILD TOGETHER” means. We need more community building challenges!!!
TBB: As we wrap up, do you have any last message you’d like to share?
Dan: I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who has sticked by us for the last five years. Every like, every comment and every share doesn’t go unnoticed and its really appreciated. THANK YOU! We will always be a safe space for EVERYONE in the LEGO community! We are a DM away!