(00:15)
Darren Jamieson: On this week’s Engaging Marketeer, I wanted to talk about something that is very special to me and, and, and very personal to me, and that’s my obsession with absolute nerdy geek culture.
Um, what I’ve got behind me, for those of you who aren’t watching this on YouTube, so if you’re listening to an audio podcast, you’re probably going to want to check this one out on YouTube.
Uh, I’ve got a load of LEGO behind me. Now, when I say a load of LEGO, I’m talking about probably a couple of grand’s worth of LEGO, and genuinely there’s one LEGO set—
(00:53)
Darren Jamieson: —behind me here, the, the LEGO Ultimate Collector Series AT-AT. That’s 750 quid on its own.
And I’ve got—I’ll just move out the way for the video people—as you can see, there’s X-wing, there’s the Luke’s Landspeeder, we’ve got Ghostbusters, we’ve got Back to the Future, there’s a Batmobile, there’s a Friends set.
Huge quantities of, of very large LEGO sets that I’ve been buying over the years and haven’t yet had time to build.
Uh, but these, these are just the ones I haven’t opened yet. I’ve also got in the house the Ultimate Collector—
(01:26)
Darren Jamieson: —Series Millennium Falcon, for those who, who know their LEGO. A huge set, which is—I’ve got in a glass coffee table, um, to, to protect it from all dust and, and various sticky fingers of kids that happen to wander into the house when family members come around.
Uh, I’ve got a Ghostbusters fire station, Ghostbusters car, different car to this one. I’ve got Stranger Things set. I’ve got lots of different Star Wars sets. I’ve got the Tumbler Batmobile.
Let’s just say I’ve got a lot of LEGO.
Now, the reason I’m mentioning this is because, as, as sort of—
(01:59)
Darren Jamieson: —a public business owner, or as somebody that presents an image across social media, for many years, uh, I’ve been reluctant to come out with stuff like this, to talk about building LEGO, because it’s seen as a bit of a, bit of a kid’s hobby, bit of a childlike or even childish hobby.
So when people ask me as a business owner, you know, what it is you like to do in your spare time, what sort of routines do you have, what things do you do to unwind, it’s tempting to say the usual [bleep] that most business owners come out with, like, “Oh, you know, I like to read—
(02:37)
Darren Jamieson: —self-help books. I like to read business books. I like to go out for a run.”
Well, no one’s going to believe that of me if I were to say that.
Or, you know, “I like to watch business programmes. I like to do things to educate the mind. I like to spend time with the family and wind down because it’s really important for the mindset.”
You know, all that bollocks, basically, that most people will come out with in my position.
And I’ve always been reluctant to say, “You know what? I like to build [bleep] LEGO. I like to spend absolutely hours putting together a LEGO—
(03:10)
Darren Jamieson: —model that is literally just going to gather dust,” because it is seen as a nerdy thing to do.
And I’ve had situations over the years, because I have put posts on Facebook—not LinkedIn, sometimes Twitter, but not so much—I put posts on Facebook about LEGO builds that I’ve done. That is really only for friends and family.
And I’ve had situations where I’ve got into arguments with other people in a business environment who’ve trolled me and looked at what I do on Facebook, and I’ve gone, “Huh, you’re just into your LEGO. Why don’t you—
(03:47)
Darren Jamieson: —piss off and build a LEGO model, you child, you man-child,” that kind of thing.
And they’ve used it as a sort of a stick to, to beat me with, as though because I collect LEGO and I build LEGO, therefore my opinions are not as valid, therefore my experience in business is not as valid, my knowledge of using social media or digital marketing is not as valid because I build LEGO.
And quite frankly, I’ve reached the point in my life where I don’t give a [bleep]. I do not give a [bleep]. I’m a nerd. I’m a geek. I’m quite happy to admit it.
I’ve—
(04:21)
Darren Jamieson: —got a—I said the F-word again. I’m trying to reduce the swearing on these things. I’m trying, believe me, I’m trying.
I’ve got a [bleep] ton of LEGO, uh, more than I can possibly build in a month if I were to do it straight, more than I’ve got space for in the house, and that’s why it’s all here in the office.
Actually, we were doing something for social media for National LEGO Day, which was the, the last Sunday in January, so I did a big social media post about this. Got quite a bit of interaction. I’m quite pleased with that.
I thought, while the LEGO’s—
(04:55)
Darren Jamieson: —here, let’s make a podcast about it as well, because it’s important.
So I would, would like to know from you, from, from the people listening to this, what sort of things do you do in your spare time? What sort of hobbies do you have? What do you collect that might not be considered acceptable in a business environment?
So if you were at a, a board meeting, or meetings with clients, or at conferences, or posting on social media about your business and what you do and how you help others, because you’re, you’re looking to get maybe leads or connection into your—
(05:30)
Darren Jamieson: —business, what sort of things would you not talk about because you’re worried about how it would be perceived as a successful person within business if that were an interest you had?
Because mine is LEGO, but it’s not just LEGO. As, as, as many people who know me, I’ve got a lot of nerd interests. I have a lot of Transformers. A lot of Transformers.
And for those, again, on video, I have a tattoo on my arm here, which is the Japanese Transformers logo. But it’s one of those things I can get away with in, in clubs, or if, say, I can just say, “Oh yeah, it’s—
(06:05)
Darren Jamieson: —it’s a Japanese logo. It means love or peace or some bollocks like that,” and nobody’s really going to know unless you speak Japanese.
Now, I’ve started to tell people honestly it’s the Japanese Transformers logo because I have had a few situations where I’ve been out and Japanese people have seen it and gone, “Ah, Transformers,” and they shout at me.
So I know it’s accurate, at least. I know it’s correct.
So that’s the kind of nerdy person that I am.
I have dressed up as a Jedi, as a, a Jedi, yes, in public. I’ve gone out to—I went out to PizzaExpress—
(06:38)
Darren Jamieson: —dressed like that. I don’t know why I did that.
Uh, I’ve dressed as a Jedi for business purposes. I’ve gone to networking meetings dressed as a Jedi. I’ve worn a Ghostbusters proton pack to a BNI meeting before because it was interesting, and one person there actually thought it was part of my business. They thought I was some kind of exterminator.
Yes, an exterminator of ghosts. Do you see any ghosts around you? No. Thank you very much. You’re welcome.
So that’s the kind of nerdy person that I am, and there are other nerdy people out—
(07:07)
Darren Jamieson: —there who are open about it, actually open about it.
Uh, Henry Cavill, for example, is an actor. He is a heartthrob. He is a very, very well—well, fit man. Uh, but he is also massive into Dungeons & Dragons, and he plays with the little plastic models, and he paints them, and he puts the little fake moss and fake grass on them, which is probably the most nerdy thing you could possibly do.
Anyone who’s walked past a Games Workshop—not called Games Workshop anymore, like, forget what they’re called. D&D games hobbyist? I forgot what the name is, but—
(07:43)
Darren Jamieson: —they used to be called Games Workshop, where they’re really dark and there’s people in there playing with the models and people in there painting them, and they are the nerdiest of the nerds. They really are.
Henry Cavill is one of them. He’s one of them people.
So it doesn’t matter. It doesn’t matter what geeky stuff you’re into because you can be out with it. You can tell people, and they have to accept it.
Rod Stewart. Rod Stewart is one of the most iconic rock and roll stars of the last 100 years. The man has fathered more children than—
(08:14)
Darren Jamieson: —somebody who’s fathered a lot of children, yet Rod Stewart is massively into his model railways.
He has a huge model railway setup because that’s what he loves. That’s what he likes to unwind with. And he doesn’t care who knows about it. He doesn’t care who he tells because he is proud of the fact that he is into model railways.
I’m into LEGO and Transformers and Star Wars, and I also play a bit of HeroQuest and various video games. So yeah, I probably take it a little bit too far, perhaps.
But what sort of stuff are you into? Be proud about it.
(08:49)
Darren Jamieson: Let me know. Put it in comments. Put it in messages. Plaster it on social media. I don’t give a [bleep].
Let me know what you’re into because it doesn’t matter. It doesn’t matter what other people, people in business think about you.
If it’s something you’re passionate about, it sets you apart. It makes you who you are.
Plus—and here’s the key, here’s the most important thing—if you hide who you are and you hide the interests that you have from others in a business environment, you’re going to be portraying something you’re not, which means you’re going to—
(09:21)
Darren Jamieson: —attract people as potential clients, partners, referral partners, whatever it may be, who are not knowing the real you, so they’re not going to be your kind of people.
Whereas if you are open about who you are, about what a massive nerd you are, or how much you like playing Dungeons & Dragons, or how much you like collecting railways, then you’re going to attract the kind of people who are also into that.
And they’re going to be much better and easier and more productive for you to work with than pretending you’re something you’re not, working with people—
(09:55)
Darren Jamieson: —that you don’t really have the same values and the same ideologies as.
So don’t hide your stuff. Don’t pretend to be something you’re not. Be proud about it, whatever you’re into, unless it’s really weird.
Whatever you’re into, get out there and tell people because it’s going to make life a lot easier for you, and it’s going to make business a lot more enjoyable.
So hopefully that’s been useful. Give me a subscribe if it has. Give me a subscribe if it hasn’t. I don’t care, because I’d like you to subscribe to the podcast, and I will catch you on the next one.
