BYU-Idaho Radio · An Interview with Jared Jacobs - A Viral Lego Animator
Sometimes, our passions and hobbies can turn into something special with hard work and dedication.
Jared Jacobs attended Ricks College and received his associate's degree there. He went on to work for a lumber company in Boise before he started to take up unique Lego projects.
Jacobs creates stop-motion animation videos with Legos. He's recreated iconic sports moments like Kawhi Leonard's buzzer-beater against the Philadelphia 76'ers in the NBA 2019 Eastern Conference Semi-Finals, Tiger Woods' hole-in-one in the 1997 Phoenix Open and others.
Once he started, people loved them and asked for more.
"They started sharing [my videos] out…and I got a little following that way," Jacobs said. "They encouraged me to keep making [videos]."
Jacobs has made appearances on ESPN's SportsCenter and other major networks for recognition of his work.
He also created a unique video of a mock NCAA Men's Basketball Championship between BYU and Kansas, where TJ Haws hits a championship-winning three-pointer.
Today, he has over 3,500 followers on twitter and over 32,000 followers on Instagram.
"I love it right now," Jacobs said. "It started out as just a creative outlet, but now it's an actual [job]."
Jacobs said that once the Lego projects started making scheduling difficult with his other job, he decided to pursue the Lego projects full-time.
"It started getting crazy, and I [thought] I've got to do this full-time, or else I'll always look back with regret," Jacobs said.
Perhaps sometimes the best option is to go forward with what we enjoy, rather than taking a more conventional job solely to make money. To watch Jacobs’ videos, visit https://www.instagram.com/goldyeller/.