Did you unleash your inner architect and play with Legos as a child?
A South Kona woman did, and has taken it to the next level with an appearance on the new Fox show “Lego Masters.”
Captain Cook resident Jessie Rex and her Lego building partner Kara Fletcher from Rogers, Arkansas, will compete for a cash prize, the ultimate Lego trophy and the grand title of Lego Masters.
Rex and Fletcher have been friends for over 20 years, raising their children together. About seven years ago, when Rex was living on the mainland, Fletcher, who is passionate about Lego, had a dream of starting a club for kids in the community.
“Every month they would have a lesson and be able to take home their own little creation that they built with Lego,” said Rex of the free club they started for kids that met once a month.
Four years ago Rex moved to Hawaii.
“One day, I got a call from my friend Kara and she said ‘I have this opportunity, please hear me out,’” she remembered.
Fletcher had applied to be on the show but she didn’t realize she needed a team member. She asked Rex if she could apply to be her teammate.
“There was no way I was saying no, what an opportunity, so I said, ‘let’s do this!’” said Rex.
During the ensuing vetting process, which took months, they had to complete builds as well as submit photos and videos of their creations.
“They loved our story and they chose us,” she said.
The show is hosted by actor and producer Will Arnett and based on the hit British reality-competition series of the same name.
According to its website, Lego Masters brings imagination, design and creativity to life when teams of Lego enthusiasts go head-to-head, with infinite possibilities and an unlimited supply of Lego bricks.
Ten teams of two will compete against each other in ambitious brick-building challenges to be crowned the country’s most talented amateur Lego builders.
In each episode, Arnett, alongside expert judges and special guests, will encourage the builders, introduce incredible challenges and put their creations to the test. The competing pairs who impress the judges the most will progress to the next round, until the finale.
Rex said although she played with the iconic bricks as a child, it wasn’t until she had her first son 26 years ago that Legos became a mainstay in their household.
“Three more sons later, I owned thousands upon thousands of Legos, my boys all loved them,” recalled Rex.
Rex and Fletcher wanted to compete under the team name The Lego Ladies, because that is how they were known when running the club.
“But Kara has always had a pretty big deal about her hair, she never goes anywhere without hairspray. She’s a Texas girl and has big hair,” explained Rex.
During the interview process, Rex recalled that Fletcher said, “The higher the hair, the closer to God.” The show loved it and assigned them that as their team name.
Rex said there’s almost not enough amazing words to describe the experience of being on the show.
“It was phenomenal to see how TV works behind the scenes and what it takes to make a show, and to be on such a fun show,” she said. “It was an experience of a lifetime I will never forget.”
Rex said the creativity and builds on the show are mind-blowing. They had access to nearly a million bricks and each themed build took thousands of pieces to complete.
Although she cannot divulge the season’s winner, she promises viewers an entertaining, engaging series.
The show premiers Wednesday on the Fox network.
